university Archives | The Michigan Star

Virginia Universities Start Kicking Out Unvaccinated Students

September 5, 2021September 4, 2021 The Center Square

Some Virginia universities have started kicking out students who refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and other institutions may start following suit.

Virginia Tech disenrolled 134 students this week who did not receive the vaccine. Before that, the University of Virginia disenrolled 288 students, and William & Mary withdrew 42 students for the same reason. All three universities require students be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they receive a medical or religious exemption.

“Of the approximately 37,000 students enrolled at Virginia Tech, 134 students were not in compliance with the COVID-19 vaccination requirement, meaning that they did not submit vaccination documentation or receive a medical or religious exemption,” a statement on Virginia Tech’s website read. “These students have been disenrolled. The university does not know whether any of these students were not planning to return for reasons unrelated to the COVID-19 vaccine requirement.”

Indiana Attorney General Investigates University’s Ties to Chinese Communist Party

August 24, 2021August 23, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced that his office will investigate the and the Chinese Communist Party’s Confucius Institute at Valparaiso University.

“The investigation is aimed at identifying and getting to the bottom of the true intent of any relationships between Valparaiso University’s programming and the Chinese Communist Party,” a statement from Rokita’s office reads.

Valparaiso, a private Lutheran institution, received $1.1 million from the Chinese government between 2010-2019 and acknowledges the Rokita’s investigation on its Confucius Institute website.

University of North Carolina’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media Dean Resigns Post after Nikole Hannah-Jones Controversy

August 23, 2021August 22, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Susan King is stepping down as dean of the University of North Carolina’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

The university announced the decision yesterday.

The Hussman School faced backlash from progressives after it apparently backed off from a plan to give Hannah-Jones tenure for her work as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism.

University Refuses to Rehire Math Professor Who Criticized Slavery Reparations

August 2, 2021August 1, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Saint Joseph’s University will not renew its contract with math Professor Gregory Manco despite the fact that a three-month investigation into his Twitter history found he had not violated any campus policies.

Manco has been a non-tenured assistant professor of math at Saint Joseph’s since 2005 and also a volunteer assistant baseball coach, but tweets in February criticizing slavery reparations and racial bias training had prompted the probe even though he used an anonymous account.

He was put on administrative leave during the probe. Its outcome, announced in May, determined Manco could not be found guilty of violating any policies, citing “insufficient evidence.”

George Washington University’s Francis Scott Key Hall May Face Name Change

July 19, 2021July 18, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

University Yard, George Washington University

Among a list of building names George Washington University has collected for study and review is Francis Scott Key Hall.

Key is the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

But the private, Washington D.C.-based university has received a request to rename Francis Scott Key Hall and it will consider whether to scrap the moniker at some point in the future, according to its Name Change Request Registry.

University officials did not respond to repeated requests from The College Fix over the last week asking about the nature of the complaint or complaints against Francis Scott Key Hall and whether students or faculty asked for it to be reviewed.

Commentary: Tax All Foundations and Endowments Now

June 24, 2021June 23, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

If there were trillions of dollars socked away in convenient vehicles to avoid taxes and benefit the ultra-elite should we not tax them? Are they not fair game in a just system of taxation, where the little guy and the middle class have to pay up—or else?

The largest endowments, mainly universities indoctrinating students in social justice, wokeism, and class warfare, pay absolutely no taxes.

The big foundations, promoting radical left-wing activism, likewise pay no taxes.

‘I Will Not Be Canceled’: Conservative Regent Fights Back After Censure Vote from University of Michigan

June 2, 2021June 1, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Administrators censured a conservative University of Michigan regent after he made controversial comments about Democratic state leadership, despite similar comments from left-leaning students and faculty.

Ron Weiser — who became a regent in 2016 and is currently serving as chairman of the Michigan Republican Party — called Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Attorney General Dana Nessel “witches” and suggested that they be burned at the stake.

Weiser is the first regent to be censured in the university’s 200-year history.

As Biden Taps Elizabeth Warren Ally to Oversee Student Loans, Debate over Canceling Debt Looms Large

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

The Biden administration has chosen a close ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to oversee the nation’s expansive federal student loan program.

On Monday, Rich Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Obama administration, was announced as the new head of the Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid, which oversees over $1.7 trillion in loans to U.S. students.

In a statement following his appointment, Cordray said he sought to “create more pathways for students to graduate and get ahead, not be burdened by insurmountable debt.”

Another Professor Indicted for Receiving Secret Support from China

April 26, 2021April 25, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

A professor at Southern Illinois University received an indictment for concealing his support from the Chinese government.

According to a United States Department of Justice press release, Mingqing Xiao — who teaches mathematics at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale — “fraudulently obtained $151,099 in federal grant money from the National Science Foundation (NSF) by concealing support he was receiving from the Chinese government and a Chinese university.”

Accordingly, he was charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement. He faces the possibility of twenty-year sentences for each of the former, as well as a five-year sentence for the latter. All three charges are punishable by fines of up to $250,000 each.

UK Universities Could End up Paying Students Back for Services Not Provided During COVID

April 26, 2021April 25, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Universities in the United Kingdom have been instructed to pay students thousands of dollars because they had ‘”less valuable” experiences due to the universities’ COVID-19 actions.

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) is an independent body that reviews students’ complaints against higher education institutions. It does not have the power to regulate or punish the institutions, however.

OIA recently shared several complaints students have made about the impact coronavirus has had on their educational experiences.Universities in the United Kingdom have been instructed to pay students thousands of dollars because they had ‘”less valuable” experiences due to the universities’ COVID-19 actions.

OIA recently shared several complaints students have made about the impact coronavirus has had on their educational experiences.

Medical Journal Forces Out Editor Who Questioned ‘Structural Racism,’ Professors Rejoice

April 19, 2021April 18, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

A leading medical journal terminated an editor who questioned the existence of structural racism. His fellow medical professors expressed approval of the firing.

The American Medical Association wrote in a statement that it was “deeply disturbed” and “angered” by a recent Journal of the American Medical Association podcast that “questioned the existence of structural racism.” Though the organization claimed that “JAMA has editorial independence from AMA,” the statement added that “this tweet and podcast are inconsistent with the policies and views of AMA.”

Bill Aims to Offer Other Math-Based Options Instead of Algebra II for Michigan High Schoolers

April 11, 2021April 10, 2021 The Center Square

Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D–Flint, and state Rep. Julie M. Rogers, D–Kalamazoo, are sponsoring bills aimed to allow high schoolers earn their diploma without Algebra II.

Senate Bill 318 and House Bill 4595 were introduced Wednesday with bipartisan support.

Currently, Michigan students must complete Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and a math elective to graduate. Bill proponents argue these math requirements are often excessive for students who don’t plan to enter a field requiring advanced math and will instead need to understand interest, student loan payments, and how to complete taxes.

West Chester University Implements Mandatory Diversity Training for All Employees

March 23, 2021March 22, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

West Chester University in Pennsylvania has recently instituted mandatory diversity training for faculty and staff.

The required training would take place on the electronic platform EverFi, according to a memo sent to employees obtained by The College Fix.

Employees were notified that this program would serve to demonstrate the “mission, goals, values, and strategic plan” of the public university in ensuring an inclusive and welcoming work environment.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Student Government Votes to Double Ethnic Studies Graduation Requirement

March 15, 2021March 14, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Citing an increase in “bias” and “hate” on campus, the UW-Madison student government recently voted unanimously to double the ethnic studies requirement needed to graduate from three credits to six.

“UW-Madison is responsible for providing students with the knowledge to become more understanding and empathetic individuals,” Associated Students of Madison committee leaders said in a news release following the vote.

“Increasing the Ethnic Studies Requirement is a way to combat current systemic racism and encourage a dialogue around its history,” the group said.

Commentary: Why Our Universities Have Failed

December 1, 2020November 30, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

Where did Antifa youth rioting in the streets receive their intellectual and ethical bearings? Why are the First and Second Amendments no longer fully operative? How did the general population become nearly ignorant of their Constitution, history, and the hallmarks of their culture? Why do employers no longer equate a bachelor’s degree with competency in oral and written communications, basic computation, and reasoning? How in the 21st century did race and ethnicity come to define who we are rather than become incidental to our individual personas? In answering all these questions, we always seem to return to higher education – the font of much of our contemporary malaise.

New Senate Legislation Targets Foreign Theft of US Research

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

A new bill looks to grant the government additional oversight on foreign access to U.S. research and intellectual property.

The legislation comes as a response to recent incidents of high-security concern which concern China’s relationship with the US, including Chinese programs that seek to recruit American scientists, and the widespread failure of U.S. universities to report foreign funding.

Students Sue Harvard Citing ‘Subpar Online Learning Options’ During Coronavirus Pandemic

May 25, 2020May 24, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

On Wednesday, students sued Harvard University for not refunding tuition and fees after the coronavirus pandemic forced classes online.

This makes Harvard at least the fourth Ivy League school to be targeted for failing to reimburse educational costs, following Brown, Columbia, and Cornell. The school is facing a $5 million federal class-action lawsuit. Students chose to pursue legal action as a result of not having “received the benefit of in-person instruction or equivalent access to university facilities and services.”

Commentary: Rethinking University Dependence on Foreign Students

April 8, 2020April 7, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

Were all of the foreign students returning to America’s campuses in January vectors of infection for coronavirus? Especially the students from China? There’s no evidence yet to prove the point, although the odds are that at least some coronavirus infection came to the United States from foreign students.

If we’ve been spared a campus plague, it’s owing to the grace of God, and not to any actions by our colleges and universities.

George Mason University Professor Calls College a ‘Racket,’ Blasts Diversity Hires

January 13, 2020January 12, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

An economics professor at George Mason University is speaking out about the “racket” that he says is college, and blaming it on the “diversity people” who he says have flooded the university system with unnecessary and perpetually increasing expenses tied to a seemingly endless need for more and more diversity initiatives and faculty.

Sen. Rick Scott Demands Answers from Florida Universities on Chinese Influence

December 9, 2019December 8, 2019 Michigan Star Staff

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) recently sent a letter to the presidents of Florida public universities to warn about the threat that China poses to the United States and its higher education institutions.