Wednesday, October 02, 2019

Activists Launch Effort To Stop Ben Shapiro From Speaking At Boston University

In yet another example of left-wing efforts to curb conservative speech on a college campus, student activists at Boston University have launched a petition to ban Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro from speaking at an upcoming student organization-sponsored event. The petition, which smears the mainstream conservative political commentator and bestselling author as a “racist hatemonger,” follows the university’s attempts to downsize the event by half and force the event’s host, the Young America’s Foundation, to pay exorbitant security fees to protect against potential leftist violence.

As Young America’s Foundation’s Kara Zupkus reports, the petition labels Shapiro a “notorious racist and misogynist” and condemns the university for allowing the mainstream conservative to voice his opinions on its campus. The petition paints the university’s free speech-suppressing move to dramatically reduce the audience size of the event and burden YAF with unreasonable security fees as simply a self-serving effort to protect the university’s “image” in light of progressive outrage over allowing conservatives to speak on campus.

“Recently, Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), a conservative political group, announced that it has plans to host the notorious racist and misogynist Ben Shapiro, at Boston University,” the petition reads. “The announcement came as the group was told to cut its audience size and pay for security costs. These measures by the University were supposedly put in place for ‘security reasons.’ However, the University is still open to giving Ben Shapiro a platform, they are simply concerned about their image. The cuts to audience size and security fees are token measure, an attempt to appease students while still allowing Shapiro to come and speak. As students and community members of BU, we stand opposed to the proliferation of hate-speech and we are opposed to the University granting a platform to the disgusting and backwards ideology promoted by Shapiro and his ilk. This is not simply ‘Shapiro exercising a right to free speech’, but constitute discriminatory hate-speech against whole sections of the population.”

As YAF points out, among the comments from those who have signed the petition are students citing their need to “feel safe on my own campus” and declaring their belief that “hate speech should not be free speech.”

As The Daily Wire reported, Boston University has cut by half the potential audience for the upcoming YAF-hosted Shapiro event and initially demanded an exorbitant security fee from the conservative student group. Boston University Young Americans for Freedom (BU YAF) told The Daily Wire two weeks ago that Boston University’s Assistant Dean of Students, John Battaglino, informed them that they must move the scheduled event to a location that can accommodate only about half the audience allowed by the preferred location. The university also initially asked the student organization to pay over $12,000 in security fees.

In a report on the university’s actions, YAF spokesman Spencer Brown provided some key takeaways from a 30-point list of “considerations, costs, and conditions” Battaglino sent to BU-YAF concerning the Shapiro event. “Among the stipulations presented in the list is the requirement that the event be relocated from a 1,500-person venue to one that only seats 700, the limitation of potential participants to members of the BU community who reserve tickets — rather than the event being free and open to the public, as originally proposed — and security fees totaling $12,720 the university expects YAF to cover,” The Daily Wire reported. “The conservative student organization notes that in the university’s explanation for the exorbitant security charges, administrators cite the need to ‘provide security for protestors,’ but notably do not cite the need to protect YAF or Shapiro.”

The letter from Brown included specifics about the massive security fee for the event, including paying 40 university police officers, 4 officers to direct traffic, 16 contracted security officers, and 2 explosive ordinance disposal K9 units.

After YAF and The Daily Wire reported on the letter from Battaglino, the university informed YAF that it would waive the security fee.

In response to Boston University’s suspect treatment of the conservative event, Shapiro told The Daily Wire that this is another example of campus administrators caving to Antifa’s “heckler’s veto.”

“As per the usual arrangement, it appears that conservatives are to be penalized for the not-even-yet-threatened misbehavior of intolerant Leftists,” Shapiro said. “The heckler’s veto is alive and well.”

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The Educational Dysfunction We're Paying For

The most-often assigned college summer reading topics dealt with racism in America.

According to a 2017 Pew Trust analysis, the U.S. Government “provided nearly $80 billion, excluding loans, to pursue higher education” to assist our college-bound students. The federal government provided over $27 billion to seven million low-income qualifiers in Pell Grants alone in the 2018-2019 school year, according to NerdWallet.com. Compared to other nations, the U.S. ranks #2 in per pupil spending in higher education spending, says a Forbes September 2018 review showing the U.S. average is over $27,000 per pupil.

Put simply, Americans pay a lot of money for their children to receive an education that will supposedly equip them for their future professions and careers.

So, when you see that the top theme assigned for summer reading by colleges during the summer of 2018 was racism and slavery, based on a study of 475 universities and colleges conducted by the National Association of Scholars, there are a few dots connected in seeing the failure of too many higher-education endeavors and the exploding prevalence of college-aged kids who are disgruntled and dysfunctional. What were the second and third most-often assigned topics for summer study? A couple of other subjects that stem from the race-tinged agenda of the educrats of academia: police and crime along with immigration, respectively. Almost 60% of the assigned books for reading in the lists offered stemmed from nonwhite people groups.

What’s wrong with diversity? Nothing. What’s wrong with the obsession and fixation on the differences that divide us with the sledgehammer of a growing population of activists hidden in the world of education constantly beating the wedge of race-baiting between our population? Everything.

The determination of some to literally split our nation into populations of colors, a growing list of gender categories, class warfare and any other factor that can possibly be used in the strategy of identify politics is truly staggering — and unhealthy. It’s time that we get value and actual education for our kids’ tuition, not indoctrination.

Americans, on the whole, are not racists. No, racism is not completely extinct in America, yet the prevailing thought being reinforced on higher-ed campuses, as well as throughout most of the politics of the Left, points to some raging pandemic of racism. The current culture is being treated as some cult of fearmongering to keep the combustible engine of politics ignited. Instead, America is witnessing the inferno of destruction of the Democrat Party. Race and the industry of race-baiting appears to be almost all that remains as tools on the Left.

Instead of choosing selections of reading that value the heroics of family, the dignity of personal achievement and excellence, or attempting to understand that everything from poverty to the increase of mental illness is tied to broken homes, these “institutions of higher learning” offered tomes with storylines sure to instill the social-justice narrative — must reading for the next generation of Black Lives Matters or antifa activists — highlighting the dreadful oppression of America that certainly is a rotten nation because some believe it’s great and offers the best way of life based on authentic Liberty. Let’s look at the five most frequently assigned readings in 2018, as noted in the study, Beach Books 2018-2019:

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson — “a pedestrian memoir that argues that America’s criminal justice system is fundamentally corrupted by racism” with open recruitment of readers to become activists aiming to free criminals from jail.

Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capo Crucet — a novel tied to the international Elian Gonzalez story with the main character in her “first year at a white, wealthy Rawlings College” where her Cuban heritage is a focal point of the story.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot — a nonfiction biography about a poor southern African-American woman whose cancer cells were used as the basis for cervical cancer research with the focus on medical ethics “specifically in relation to race and class,” so says the Sparknotes from the assignment that goes on to advocate for universal healthcare.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates — penned as a letter to the author’s son, the writing explains to his son “the racist violence that has been woven into American culture” and was inspired by a meeting with former President Barack Obama.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas — a novel about a teenage girl, according to Sparknotes, that “grapples with racism, police brutality and activism.”

Americans are paying for this garbage to be taught as truth and reality with little or no room for challenge, criticism, or debate. Instead of our young adults being offered readings of inspiration, challenge, and empowerment to excel on campus, too many of our college students are being force-fed activism with censorship as the only response if there’s disagreement. Yeah, we’re paying for this … and not just with money.

SOURCE 






Australia’s temporary graduate visa attracts international students, but many find it hard to get work in their field

The number of international students who stay in Australia after graduating on the temporary graduate visa – often referred to as the 485 visa – is growing fast. There were nearly 92,000 temporary graduate visa holders in Australia as of June, 2019. That’s up from from around 71,000 in June 2018 – a 29% increase.

The 485 visa was introduced in 2008 and updated in 2013, taking on recommendations from the 2011 Knight Review, which recognised post-study work rights for international students as crucial for Australia to remain competitive in the education export market.

Under the visa, international recent graduates of a degree or qualification from an Australian institution can stay in Australia for two to four years, depending on the qualification. The government points to the visa as providing an opportunity for international students to remain in Australia for a limited period of time and gain international work experience.

In our recent study, we examined the effects of the 485 visa policy on international students in Australia and on the labour market.

Out of the visa holders we surveyed, 76% said access to the visa was an important factor in their decision to study in Australia. And the majority of past (89%) and current (79%) 485 visa holders in Australia participated in the labour force. (Past holders of the visa refer to either those who have returned to their country or remained in Australia but moved on to another visa).

But many graduates did not work full-time, and they did not necessarily work in their field of study. A considerable number of graduates were employed in retail, hospitality or as cleaners.

The numbers

We collected data through an online survey from 1,156 international graduates, some of whom are in Australia and others back in their home countries. We also conducted in-depth interviews with students and other key stakeholders such as employers.

Our analysis included that of government figures and policy.

The top five citizenship countries of 485 visa holders in Australia (India, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Vietnam) have also been the top five source countries of international enrolments in Masters by coursework (China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Vietnam) programs since 2013.

Up to 56% of current visa holders either worked outside their field of study (35%) or were unemployed (21%), which puts these groups at risk of financial stress and vulnerability.

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