19,000 college students meet to praise God

Only the Catholic news outlets are covering this story--19,000 college students attend a religious conference. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration and the Pope himself try to fight Traditionals who want Latin Mass and American values. "An even greater number of participants is expected on Wednesday evening, when Catholics from the St. Louis area are invited to join conference attendees for a massive session of Eucharistic adoration. Last year, more than 1,800 local St. Louisans joined in adoration and more than 500 priests heard more than 3,000 confessions in two hours. FOCUS spokesperson Kate Milligan said they hope to surpass 24,000 attendees for this year’s adoration session."

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256423/massive-attendance-enthusiasm-at-fellowship-of-catholic-university-students-conference?

The colleges' role in the student loan crisis

"Here is how the education industrial complex works.

 The universities spent $130 million lobbying to get this loan forgiveness done. The university needs money to pay for the vast overhead created by all the costs of the DEI staffs and the high operating overhead of all the amenities they now offer. 

So, they raise tuition, and then convince students to take out loans to cover the tuition which is really to cover their inflated operating budget. The student wants to attend, so they borrow, not understanding the economics of what they are doing. 

The government makes the loan with no assessment of ability to repay, or if the course of study is one that will provide a job paying enough to cover repayment. The school gets its operating costs covered by getting the students to borrow the needed working capital to operate the school. They then can put donations from rich guys who want their kid admitted, into their huge endowment which is just a giant investment portfolio. 

So now the university has gotten the student and the government to cover their operating costs, with zero liability to the university for the borrowed funds. It is magic. It is a total scam.

Meantime they have courses like gender studies, or others that have nil value to the student or employers when they graduate. So now the kid has no way to earn enough to pay the loan that financed the university operating budget. That is the reality of student loans. Universities are a corrupt cabal now destroying a whole generation with nonsense courses, and no free thought allowed. This will harm the nation for many years. This is one more example of why we are fighting the Amy Wax war. Between teachers’ unions and university corruption and ideology, we are in real trouble educationally."

(The Ross Rant, 8/27/22)

Comments on Amy Wax mentioned above: "On Dec. 20, Wax in an interview with Glenn Loury, a professor at Brown University, said that since “most” Asian Americans support the Democratic Party, “the United States is better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration.”

After backlash to those remarks, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s Dean Ted Ruger announced on Jan. 14 that he had initiated a faculty review process that could result in sanctions imposed on Wax." (Daily Princetonian, Jan. 27, 2022)

There are protected classes at Ohio State

Although Ohio State University claims “The university recruits and selects the most qualified individuals for open positions” when you read who is “protected” by the policies of affirmative action and equal opportunity, you see that isn’t true.

“Ohio State does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, military status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or protected veteran status, or any other bases under the law, in its education program or activity, which includes employment.

In addition, the university complies with Executive Order 2019-05D, which prohibits any Ohio State employee from discriminating against any other employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin (ancestry), military status (past, present or future), disability, age (40 years or older), status as a parent during pregnancy and immediately after the birth of a child, status as a parent of a young child, status as a foster parent, genetic information, or sexual orientation, as those terms are defined in Ohio law, federal law, and previous Executive Orders, in making any of the following employment-related decisions:

a. Hiring b. Layoff c. Termination d. Transfer e. Promotion f. Demotion g. Rate of Compensation h. Eligibility for In-Service Training Programs

Then we get into a long list of definitions which includes:

Discrimination (disparate treatment and disparate impact) occurs when an adverse action is taken under university authority against a university community member in an educational program or activity and the action is based upon one’s s protected class status. Disparate treatment occurs when one suffers less favorable treatment than others because of their protected class status. Disparate impact occurs when a university policy or practice, although neutral on its face, adversely impacts persons in a protected class.

There is no recourse under university rules if a healthy, white male is not selected for the job even if he is the most qualified, or if he is on the job and experiencing harassment, bullying, unequal assignments, hate speech, unwanted sexual advancements, cyber threats, political discrimination, etc. He’s not protected. But a transfemale lesbian with Asian heritage could file for discrimination for exactly the same workplace experiences.  Actually, the rules are not for the workplace—they include off campus and virtual spaces.

And yes, the pregnancy policy uses the words, “status as a parent during pregnancy” rather than “pregnant woman,” because we all know that in the 21st century men can be mothers too.

This hiring/enrollment policy is not new, but it is regularly revised (I’m quoting from a draft revision) to keep up with evolving identity politics and social injustices.  When I was responsible for hiring a paraprofessional assistant back in the early 1990s, I was first required to interview candidates which common sense would disqualify in the “real” world of business.  I remember the ex-convict who wanted a grounds keeping, outdoor job, but had worked as a student staff in one of the libraries 20 years before so he was sent by personnel and I had to interview him.  Or a candidate who was in a wheelchair and would not be able to shelve books higher than her head or get her wheelchair through the of book shelves aisles.

Affirmative Action, Equal Employment Opportunity and Non-Discrimination/Harassment policy (osu.edu)

More reeducation camps available at Ohio State University.

The Medical College at OSU  "discovered" systemic racism after the George Floyd death in a Democrat, top to bottom run city-- Minneapolis. Since then the new regulations, programs and appointees to IED jobs at OSU have been a-poppin'. The federal government has pumped about $300 million into OSU in just 8 months, far exceeding the whole of 2019. (OSU Health Beat, Sept. 9) Supposedly the extra is to fight Covid19, but I suspect it will find its way into all manner of socioeconomic programs to fight disparities, racism, homophobia, etc.

"We’ve developed some educational opportunities, available in two tracks: 1) Anti-Racism and 2) Equity and Inclusion. The opportunities are offered to reflect our commitment to thwart racism and embrace the differences that make us excel. We encourage you to explore these resources, including the 21-Day Anti-Racism Challenge, the listing of educational opportunities and Conversations that Matter."

Here's a run down of some of the other offerings. It's a shame that special training in working with the deaf, disabilities, and victims of torture had such a poor turn out.

https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/-/media/files/wexnermedical/about-us/diversity/fy20-summary-report-of-training-completions2.pdf?

The predictable New Old Left of the 21st century

Today's New Old Left has merged with the New Left of the 1960s--Jerry Rubin, Jane Fonda, and Bill Ayers, Obama's old neighborhood buddy, who helped launch his presidency. The New Old Left uses the methods of Mao and Stalin, yet instead of organizing coal miners, they want to destroy the coal industry. They've got a long list of forbidden words, whereas the New Left liked to shout out obscene words to shock.

"No wonder the New Old Left shares the worst traits of both inheritances: protestors shout profanities and yell in classrooms and lecture halls, but their shouts are boring and predictable. With all the boilerplate directives of “white privilege”, “intersectionality” and “institutional racism,” Antifa protestors sound like hippies as they shout out New Left obscenities, but they also put on black riot gear and masks, and resemble the old well-organized communist street mobs of the 1930s."

Victor Davis Hanson, “The Rise of the New Old Left.” https://www.hoover.org/research/rise-new-old-left?

What are liberals doing to college students?

Some of us, usually Republicans or Conservatives, think it's a bad idea to have such a high percent of our college faculty  liberal/Democrat/progressive. They are turning out graduates with $70,000 debt much of it from the government, who leave with social science degrees and poor earning potential, who can't afford to get married, or to buy a home, or to have children. Then with envy in their hearts they listen to socialists and vote for Democrats. Is this the Democrats' secret plan to bring down the country?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8427-2005Mar28.html  (2005)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/11/the-dramatic-shift-among-college-professors-thats-hurting-students-education/?utm_term=.60388b5d2ab4  (2016)

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/02/27/research-confirms-professors-lean-left-questions-assumptions-about-what-means (2017) defensive

http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/05/07/nearly-40-percent-top-liberal-arts-colleges-have-no-republican-professors (2018)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/most-u-s-college-students-afraid-to-disagree-with-professors-1540588198 (2018, James Freeman)

https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/article/college-students-love-socialism-dont-have-clue-what-it-means

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/01/10/students-more-liberal-but-its-not-because-their-professors-james-piereson-naomi-riley-column/1012622001/ (opposite viewpoint)

My summer of 1958, part 1

If you had said to me, “Remember the time you lived at the farm and the well was dry?” I would have responded, “I remember the farm, but don’t recall a problem with the water.”

That’s why it’s nice to have a diary, that retro pen and paper version of a blog, which stands for [world wide] web log. While searching for another notebook, I unpacked a box and found my diary from 1958, a stenographer’s notebook with green tint pages and perfect handwriting in real ink, telling about my days with my grandparents on their farm between Franklin Grove and Ashton, Illinois.  I was there from June 1 to July 12, 1958, and indeed, the water problems were a focus of the first few weeks. I’d totally forgotten that part about pumping water, using a bucket, and driving to my parents’ home to take a bath.

To back up a bit, you need to understand my mother.  Just the sweetest and dearest soul, and always had a solution to anyone’s problem, especially anyone in her family. After my freshman year at Manchester College I wasn’t happy, and wanted to transfer, but I also needed a job for the summer.  My Oakwood dorm friends had all secured something interesting or exciting, and I was faced with going back to Mt. Morris and perhaps working at the drug store where I worked in high school, if it had reopened by then (had been a fire), or fill in at the town library (yawn) where I’d also worked in high school.

The steno pad’s first 10 pages were filled with notes comparing Manchester with Murray--the history, religion connections, majors, costs (Manchester’s tuition and fees were higher, but room and board lower—and all laughable by today’s standards, ca. $1,000/year).  Also in the steno pad were notes about the University of Chicago in a fine arts curriculum and vocational guidance with a minor in Spanish. Expenses were higher—about $1,755, but student jobs looked plentiful.  And then notes about the University of Illinois, what would transfer, a major in Spanish and a minor in Russian.  The notes end there, but I did transfer to Illinois and just by coincidence, that’s where my boyfriend was.

So back to Mother.  I got a little sidetracked.  She knew I was unhappy and that I didn’t have a job;  she knew her parents who were 82 and 84 (b. 1876 and 1874) shouldn’t be alone in their big old farm house in very poor condition. Although Mother and her siblings Muriel and Leslie, and the neighbors checked in often, it wasn’t the same as someone in residence. Neither one of them would consider moving, although they did spend their winters in an apartment in Orlando, Florida. Somehow, Mother convinced me I’d be doing her a favor if I worked as a housekeeper for Grandma, and she also convinced Grandma that Norma needed a summer job. Perfect.  She was a master at this! My grandparents didn’t really want me there (weren’t convinced they needed any help) and I couldn’t have imagined a less inviting or a more lonely place to be (I had spent the summer of 1957 in California at a church mission in Fresno and a year at college with many friends), but my mother appealed to my “missionary” spirit which was still rather strong in those days. I was the 50’s version of the SJW—social justice warrior.

I arrived at the farm about 4:15 on June 1, 1958.  My brother drove me there and helped unload all my clothes. . . .Stay tuned for the next installment of the Summer of 1958 down on the farm.

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Keeping college students ignorant

This could be the problem. Less than 1/3 of the top universities in the U.S. require a course in American history for a history major. Not. One.

 

• That means, not only do our future leaders from our elite universities not know about the Spanish, French, Dutch and Portuguese explorers and settlers; they don't know that less than 400,000 African slaves came to the former British colonies and that about 18 million went to the islands and South America.

• They don't know about the NW Ordinance of 1787, signed before the Constitution that outlawed slavery in new states and guaranteed religious freedom; they aren't taught about the horrific expense in blood and treasure of the Civil War; they don't know why we have a relationship with Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, former colonies of Spain.

• They don't know the contribution of churches to the big 3 of the 19th century--abolition, temperance and women's rights; they don't know that whites and blacks marched together in the civil rights movement and it was Republicans that led the way for 100 years before LBJ got in the act.
• They don't know the incredible improvements in public health that our parents and grandparents paid for--they've never seen an iron lung or a person's face destroyed by small pox. Their babies don't die of measles.

• They don't know how the federal government has lied to native Americans still to this day and yet offer them cradle to grave assistance to keep them poor; they don't know why the Great Depression in the U.S. extended for a decade due to government programs instituted by FDR; they don't know how or when the military and schools were racially integrated or about the great bi-partisan efforts.
• They don't know that the U.S. government at the highest levels actually was infiltrated by Communist spies and sympathizers and it wasn't just about who could make movies. They probably don't know which came first Viet Nam or Korea or who we were fighting.

Yes, it's a shame that today's millennials learn history with social media lies or from late night comedy shows. They at least should know as much as the new immigrants do when they raise their hands to become citizens.

http://www.goacta.org/images/download/no_u.s._history.pdf

 "Of the 23 programs that do list a requirement for United States history, 11 allow courses so narrow in scope—such as “History of Sexualities” or “History of the FBI”—that it takes a leap of the imagination to see these as an adequate fulfillment of an undergraduate history requirement."

"Some strange topics can take the place of United States history. Of the schools that do not require a single course in U.S. history, majors have free-range to choose from niche courses such as “Soccer and History in Latin America: Making the Beautiful Game” (Williams College), “Modern Addiction: Cigarette Smoking in the 20th Century” (Swarthmore College), “Lawn Boy Meets Valley Girl” (Bowdoin College), and “Witchcraft and Possession” (University of Pennsylvania)."

And students and their parents go into debt for this drivel?

"Our colleges and universities, whether in the name of “inclusion” or globalism or a debased hope that they will attract more students by eliminating requirements, have created a vicious circle of historical illiteracy and the civic illiteracy that accompanies it."

I didn't major in history--I was a foreign language major, but I did have 2 or 3 courses in American history plus one in political science. This survey is just shocking, and certain explains how we've become so divided in the U.S.

Back to the drawing board

About 8 years ago I was in a writing group with an adorable, really precocious kid about 11. Years go by and we friend each other on Facebook and more years go by and it turns out he's now in college and an active protester at his university saying the same dumb things we all did at that age. I don't know if he's a "snowflake," yet but he's definitely listing to the left.  He shared a poster of demands on his Facebook page. I had to correct the spelling of two words, one of which was "proffesors." Couldn't resist.