Syracuse University has refused to grant a Young Americans for Freedom group status as a Registered Student Organization (RSO)

Syracuse University denied an application for Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) to become a Registered Student Organization (RSO), stating, as one of its reasons for doing so, that requiring students to believe in the U.S. Constitution is “exclusionary to international students.”

The Syracuse Office of Student Activities denied YAF’s application, in part because members must support the “Sharon Statement,” which is a statement of support for the U.S. Constitution. Syracuse took issue with the Sharon Statement, alleging that adhering to it violates the college’s policy of non-discrimination.

“The Board considers the ‘Sharon Statement’ to be contradictory to Article XI Statement of Non-Discrimination,” Syracuse's RSO Review Board stated in its rejection email to the group, according to documents obtained by Campus Reform. “Additionally, requiring students to agree in the superiority of the U.S. Constitution is exclusionary to international students and other individuals.”

Additionally, Syracuse's RSO Review Board took issue with the fact that Young Americans for Freedom is associated with its parent organization, Young America’s Foundation, which the board claims has “extensive control” over the former organization.

Young America’s Foundation has a “pattern” of promoting discourse through “inflammatory" means, according to the Board.

“The Board recognizes that the parent organization, Young America’s Foundation, has demonstrated a pattern of past practice of supporting discourse via printed materials and/or other means that are deemed inflammatory,” the Board stated in an email to the group’s president. “Specifically, products that are supplied free of charge, including the ‘Patriot Pack’ that illustrates an aircraft entering into the World Trade Center and inflammatory statements. The Board considers these materials to be contradictory to the educational mission of Syracuse University and in turn the purpose of a Recognized Student Organization.”

The college listed a variety of other reasons for denying the group registered status, including an “incomplete" constitution, the group's “undemocratic" nature, “continuity” issues as they relate to the group's activity during the summer months, "ambiguous" meeting times," and how money is deposited and reimbursed.

Justine Murray, the YAF group's president and a Campus Reform correspondent, asserted that even if those issues were resolved, Syracuse would still deny their application.

“I want to stay hopeful that maybe they will approve YAF if I made the proposed changes but based off their first two points and the offense they took to our recognition of the U.S. Constitution, it doesn’t look very probable they will accept us,” Murray told Campus Reform.

Koen Weaver, who is the group's vice chairman, told Campus Reform, "while I understand the important job of the Office of Student Activities in confirming RSOs on campus, I am concerned by the bias and almost anti-Americanism displayed by our rejection."

"I cannot fathom how an American University could find fault with students upholding and promoting the ideals of the U.S. Constitution," Weaver added. "Calling the constitution non-inclusive, while completely ignoring the inflammatory rhetoric of the anti-Capitalist and anti-Israeli [rhetoric] of the university's International Socialist Organization, shows the obvious political bias, if not the liberal indoctrination agenda of the Office of Student Activities."

Weaver was referencing the fact that the board previously approved an application by the International Socialist Organization to be an RSO. As an RSO, the group promotes open borders on its Facebook page, which is linked from the official university website. The group's cover photo states, "let them all in," a reference to the caravans at the border. The group has also posted graphics that read,  “Capitalism Sucks” and, according to Murray and Weaver, put up flyers on campus that read, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” an iteration of a statement by Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill at the United Nations last year, which eventually led to Hill's ousting as a CNN commentator.

Murray further commented on the outcome, telling Campus Reform that she was “seriously disappointed" by the decision.

“It was a blatant rejection of free speech and free assembly as if they either don’t understand the U.S. Constitution or actually understand it and hate its provisions,” Murray said. “Every club has its core belief and the RSO Review Board seems to be selective in how they enforce this aspect of its bylaws as if they’re saying conservative beliefs are exclusionary, but liberal beliefs are not and therefore, any conservative beliefs must be silenced.”

Murray calls it “absolutely ludicrous” for the board to suggest the U.S. Constitution is “exclusionary” for some students.

“It’s absolutely ludicrous for the RSO Review Board to suggest that any recognition of the Bill of Rights by a university club violates some rights of foreign students,” Murray said. “Interestingly, the reason many students from abroad come to study in the United States is because of our freedoms and the constitution that protects these freedoms. The Review Board is basically saying you cannot celebrate America.”

Murray provided Campus Reform with further documentation showing that the group appealed the Office of Student Activities' decision. However, the appeal was denied because it was submitted an hour and a half after the deadline.

"Unfortunately, the appeal for the Young Americans for Freedom Chapter at SU was submitted after the deadline had passed, therefore, it will not be considered," the email that denied the appeal reads. "Additionally, the application submitted on behalf of YAF was incomplete because there was no completed advisor contract. It is clear that YAF's application is still incomplete because it is still missing a completed advisor contract, a required component of the New RSO Application. Therefore, this appeal is moot."

Murray told Campus Reform that the group asked five faculty members at the college to be their faculty advisor. Only one faculty member, whose name appeared on the group's RSO application as a "prospective advisor," indicated that they would be willing.

Of the Syracuse University registered student organizations that appear political in nature, Campus Reform identified six of them as left-leaning while just one is conservative. According to the Syracuse University Registered Student Organization Handbook, RSOs are eligible for, among other benefits, university funding and use of resources.

Weaver told Campus Reform that he would like to see more conservatives get the chance to have their voices heard.

"I hope that conservatives and those who reject certain far-left ideals of the OSA have the opportunity to represent themselves and have their voices heard in the near future," Weaver said.

Campus Reform attempted multiple times to reach various people at Syracuse University who could comment on this matter, including the individual who sent the rejection email as well as the Director of Student Activities. At the time of publication of this article, none of those calls or emails were returned.

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2020 Dem. Amy Klobuchar to indebted students: I’m not a magic genie, so no. You’re not getting free college

As the 2020 Democrat primary race heats up, there’s been a mad dash to the left. That means that no social position is too radical, as candidates try to one-up the competition as they out-progressive each other.  It also means that no federal program is too expensive, and no tax hike is too high, if it means offering something for “free.”

Already announced freebies include health care, child care, education, abortion, contraception, food, and housing.  The Democrats have basically become the party of “free stuff” as they promise to cover the cost of your life from the cradle to the grave. It’s ridiculous, untenable, and no tax hike could ever cover it all but, if you’re a Democrat, it’s what you’re supposed to be offering.

Apparently, no one got the memo to Senator Amy Klobuchar (D, MN).  She’s been bucking the current left-wing trend in an attempt to portray herself as the most-sane person in a field of what appears to be asylum escapees.

Last night, during a CNN town hall, she made it clear that she has no intention of giving young liberals four free years of higher education. She’s not “a magic genie,” so they’re out of luck.

Demanding a yes or no answer, a recent college student asked Klobuchar if she would be “willing to stand with my generation and end the student debt crisis by supporting free college for all? And would you include undocumented and formerly incarcerated people in that program?”

It took a while, but eventually Klobuchar got around to a clear yes or no. “No, I am not for free, four-year college for all,” she said.  “If I was a magic genie and could give that to everyone and we could afford it, I would.”

Host Don Lemon pressed the point that, on a college campus, she would probably be facing a lot of similar inquiries from kids who would like the free stuff her opponents are offering.

“I know that, but I’ve got to tell the truth,” Klobuchar responded. “We have a mounting debt that the Trump administration keeps getting worse and worse. I also don’t want to leave that on the shoulders of all these kids, right? So, we’ve got to do a balance. Some of it’s major tax reform in terms of reversing some of the things that this administration has done, and then some of it is making sure that students are getting degrees and being led to jobs where we actually have jobs.”

I’m going to skip the usual point about Dems who ignore Obama’s massive debt hike. I’m also not going to get into the fact that she’s complaining about jobs, when Trump’s policies have – unarguably – been responsible for extraordinary job growth. Instead, I’m just going to say, “kudos to Amy Klobuchar.”

She’s probably alienated much of the left-wing base, she’s angered young socialists and, by refusing to promise all the free goodies, she’s probably doomed her already slim chance of success. But at least she answered honestly…

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Teachers Union in Struggling District Threatens Strike over 12 Percent Pay Raise

An Oakland, California, teachers union announced Saturday that a strike will begin on Feb. 21 after failing to reach an agreement with the school district over increased pay and smaller class sizes.

Oakland Educators Association said teachers were seeking a 12 percent raise over three years to help keep educators in the Oakland Unified School District, according to a Saturday press statement.

“We agree that our teachers deserve to be paid more,” OUSD spokesman John Sasaki said, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday. “It’s just a matter of how much can we pay, given our financial reality.”

The district has suffered from financial woes for a while, however.

California loaned OUSD $100 million in emergency funds — the largest at the time — after gathering a $37 million deficit in 2003. The district managed to get into a $30 million deficit in 2017, according to the Chronicle.

Generous teacher pay raises, decreasing enrollment and hefty special education costs contributed to the financial crisis in the district.

The district has been caught for misusing funds like paying for parking and legal fees, the Chronicle reported.

The union said they have been negotiating for two years, according to OEA’s news release.

“The only option that Oakland teachers, parents and students have left to win the schools Oakland students truly deserve, and to take control of our school district back from the control of billionaire campaign donors, is for the 3,000 members of the Oakland Education Association to go on strike,” OEA President Keith Brown said in a statement.

An entry-level teacher with only a bachelor’s degree can earn around $47,000 a year. A teacher with a bachelor’s degree and 90 graduate level credits can start earning $55,000 and bring in as much as $84,000 annually after working for 31 years as a certified teacher, according to OUSD data.

Brown added that 18 percent of teachers left each year due to increasing housing costs, the Chronicle reported.

The median home value in Oakland is $735,000 and is expected to increase by nearly 8 percent over the next year, according to Zillow. The median monthly rent price was a little over $3,000.

OUSD does spend, however, $13,500 for full health care benefits for educators and their families, according to the Chronicle.

The district contacted OEA for renegotiation Saturday, but did not hear back, according to the district’s press release.

Up to 150 administrative and support employees could be laid off in order for the district to save $21.7 million, the newspaper reported.

OUSD is planning to hire substitute teachers in the event of a strike, which could affect 36,000 students.

The northern California city’s teacher strike follows after Los Angeles teachers walked out of classes in January. Their strike resulted in the Los Angeles Unified School District agreeing to a 6 percent raise for teachers and “meaningful” class size reductions.

The Los Angeles deal, however, could bankrupt the system already running on a $500 million deficit, according to The Associated Press.

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