Another social justice initiative was underfoot at Arizona State University (ASU) — this time, at the College of Health Solutions (CHS). In a September email from CHS Dean Deborah Helitzer obtained by AZ Free News, CHS encouraged employees to sign a Black Lives Matter (BLM) pledge adapted from ASU’s University Technology Office. The email noted that those who signed the pledge would have their name “added to a list of those who affirm the pledge.”
As of press time, the pledge remained available on the CHS website:
We are dedicated to creating a safe space for all perspectives, valuing all contributions, which will become embedded in our evolving culture to realize the vision, mission and values of the College of Health Solutions and the mission and charter of Arizona State University.
We will engage in continuous education, seeking new ideas and taking actions that advance racial justice and will honestly share our thinking, especially acknowledging when we don’t know or understand. We will expand our own understanding and practices by empowering diverse ideas and voices.
We will increase the diversity of the administration, faculty, staff and student populations to reflect the communities we serve.
We will maximize leadership, development and advancement opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds, abilities and perspectives to be more equitable and to ensure opportunities are available to all.
We will strive to be inclusive and equitable as we engage in teaching, research and community outreach.
We will increase our knowledge and understanding of systemic racism in health and health care which ultimately impacts health outcomes in communities of color.
We are committed to nurturing, mentoring and supporting the development of people, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, color, language, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, education, religion, socio-economic status, qualified veteran status, age, skill sets, thinking styles and physical and mental ability.
I pledge to actively work towards dismantling racism, bigotry and hatred toward people of color in all its forms.
At the close of Helitzer’s email, she directed staff to the latest “story time” read-along link: “Curious George Rides a Bike.”
ASU formed CHS in 2012 to improve community health and lower health care costs. The CHS pledge was one of the latest efforts by their Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Council. The council aims to artificially diversify faculty, staff, students, and community partners; weave inclusivity into onboarding, training, and mentoring of all faculty and staff; and reform curriculum to center on inclusivity.
As part of those goals, CHS keeps an update on the latest student demographics: nearly 40 percent last year were classified as “underrepresented minority status,” with nearly 49 percent classified as “white.”
Additionally, the JEDI Council offered a commitment to support Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in response to the ongoing hate crimes against those races. They also published an indigenous land acknowledgement to identify the Native American tribes that once lived on the land where ASU’s campus now exists.
JEDI Council’s latest effort announced last Friday was “Kaleidoscope,” a newsletter on multiculturalism.
“We believe that the multitude of identities, lived experiences and backgrounds that make up the CHS faculty, students and staff is something to be celebrated. Much like a kaleidoscope, there is beauty to be found in the different configurations of our community. We will face challenges in the struggle for a just and healthy world, so it’s more important than ever that we find ways to unite and shake things up,” read the first newsletter.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Dawn Penich-Thacker, cofounder of the largest teachers’ union in Arizona, Save Our Schools (SOSAZ), said that parents were “drama queens” for demanding more curriculum transparency.
The Arizona legislature is considering several bills to expand K-12 curriculum transparency currently. One of the most all-encompassing bills, SB1211, would require schools to publish a list of all its curriculum as well as teacher training materials and activities, on its website. Penich-Thacker scoffed that the bills would be mandating practices that already take place.
Kids’ schools sent home the annual Sex Ed handout reminding us the curriculum is available to preview. Just like they do every year. Bc *everything* district public schools teach is *already* available to parents. Bills mandating what’s already happening are for & by drama queens
— Dr. Dawn Penich-Thacker😷 (@DoctorRhetorica) April 10, 2022
In a statement to the Arizona Daily Independent, State Senator Kelly Townsend (R-Mesa) expressed disappointment that teachers’ unions would oppose the legislation.
“God forbid that legislators codify policy to protect children from the grooming and pre-sexualization that has found its way into curriculum more than once,” said Townsend. “The job of the legislature is to protect the public, and if there were no violations then we would not have to act.”
During a committee hearing on the bill last month, two House Democrats argued that schools shouldn’t have to adhere to further transparency and scrutiny. Instead, State Representatives Judy Schwiebert (D-Phoenix) and Jennifer Longdon (D-Phoenix) opined that parents should switch schools. The pair cited Arizona’s school choice system as the solution for a school’s lack of transparency.
SOSAZ celebrated the delay of legislation like the curriculum transparency bills, which they called “education attack bills.”
Sometimes no news is good news. This week SOSAZ is not posting a new Weekly Education Report because, right now, all education attack bills are stalled. They could advance at any time, so stay tuned & be ready to act! pic.twitter.com/Ideg1z71kY
Another bill enforcing curriculum transparency, HB2161, was scheduled to be voted onby the State Senate on Monday, though no final vote took place. It empowers parents to sue school districts and officials for denying access to records or intervening in their right to raise, educate, and care for their children. The sponsor, State Representative Steve Kaiser (R-Phoenix), explained that the bill’s intent was to ensure that parents had a mode of relief if their rights were violated.
Opposition to the bill came largely from LGBTQ activists such as a transgender school board member, Paul Bixler, and a former teacher and Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Phoenix co-chair, Caryn Bird.
Happy Friday everyone!! We would like to recognize Liberty Elementary School Board Member Paul Bixler in honor of Transgender Awareness Week!!🏳️⚧️ Have an amazing weekend!🤍 pic.twitter.com/0bNXoho6gH
My name is Caryn Bird I am co-chair of the GLSEN Phoenix Board I support GLSEN Phoenix because I believe that ALL students deserve to feel safe to learn in school. Please support our work with our #GiveOUTday campaign today! https://t.co/BpARNtWnUYpic.twitter.com/thG6t5v2Di
Democrats also opposed the bill, with some arguing that parents needed to do better — not the schools. State Representative Daniel Hernandez (D-Tucson) argued in a January committee hearing that parents weren’t as involved in their child’s education as they ought to be.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
According to one Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) teacher, some elementary schoolers may have worn pink, teal, and white to honor International Transgender Day of Visibility last week.
Coordinating educator Sarah Chunnui, a “resource teacher” for fourth and fifth graders and special education teacher at Desert Harbor Elementary School, submitted an email obtained by AZ Free News to notify staff of the unofficial holiday on March 31. A PUSD spokesperson told AZ Free News in a statement that Chunnui’s email didn’t receive approval from the Desert Harbor Elementary School principal, Becky Berhow, prior to its sending. PUSD added that Chunnui’s email didn’t say explicitly that she coordinated with students, but didn’t dismiss speculation that Chunnui may have undertaken coordination efforts.
“Hello Fabulous Staff,” began the email. “I just wanted to let you know that you may see our students wearing more pink, teal, and white today. Today is a quickly growing annual event called ‘International Transgender Day of Visibility.’ Our President is expected to make some announcements today on new legislature [sic] to protect the rights of Trans [sic] students, any [sic] many of our students have taken a keen interest in these legislative movements.”
Chunnui closed the email by encouraging staff to affirm the children of their activism.
“How can you help? If you notice a student purposefully wearing the colors of the trans flag, a simple ‘I see you’ or ‘I support you’ can go a long way. Thank you fabulous staff!”
In the signature line, Chunnui ensured to include her pronouns: “she/her” and “they/them.” She also goes by “Mx,” a title invented by LGBTQ+ activists signifying a “gender-neutral” individual who doesn’t identify as any sex.
In a response email submitted to the Desert Harbor Elementary School community, Berhow clarified that only staff received the email — not parents. Berhow characterized the email as Chunnui’s “personal views.”
“Today you may see a screenshot on social media of an email that was recently sent by one of our staff members regarding personal views on International Transgender Day of Visibility. While the message may get increased attention in our community, it was important to me that you know that the email was only sent to our staff and not to students or parents,” wrote Berhow. “At Desert Harbor, we pride ourselves on using our limited resources to directly support teaching and learning. Please know that not all messages you see posted are a representation of our school or district.”
Berhow encouraged parents to communicate with her and reach out with any questions on any matter.
State Senator Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) told AZ Free News that this was another example of improper educator behavior.
“No level of sexuality or lifestyle should be pushed onto little children. I don’t care if they are pushing for heterosexuality. Leave our kids alone. Teach them math, reading, and science,” said Petersen. “These actions are completely inappropriate as someone who is in a position of trust with our children.”
Previously, Chunnui was a resource teacher for kindergarteners to second grade students at Rogers Ranch School in Laveen School District, where Minority Leader Reginald Bolding (D-Laveen) hails from. Chunnui joined Desert Harbor Elementary School in August 2019; she has been teaching for over 10 years.
AZ Free News reached out to Desert Harbor Elementary School and PUSD for comment.
In February, Chunnui hosted a read-aloud for Desert Harbor Elementary School, in which she read a book championed by left-wing activists as a destructor of gender norms: “Pink is For Boys.”
PUSD does have Gay-Straight Alliance, also known as Gender-Sexuality Alliance, (GSA) clubs at Sunrise Mountain High School, Ironwood High School, and Raymond S. Kellis High School. GSA clubs are the product of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a national organization focused on the sexuality of minors — specifically, promoting and normalizing LGBTQ+ lifestyles. The Phoenix chapter of GLSEN advised K-12 educators last December to incorporate “secret libraries” in their classrooms to advance LGBTQ+ ideology.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Most Americans would agree that taxes aren’t among the top ten things they love about this country — that is, unless you’re a corporation in Arizona looking ahead to SB1643. The bill offers corporations the option to cash out unused Research and Development (R&D) tax credits normally carried forward by taxpayers, totaling around $2 billion in 2019. SB1643 would allow corporations to cash them out at 60 cents on the dollar for “reinvestment” projects, with each corporation limited to $10 million a year or their amount of unused R&D credits, whichever is less. In order to implement this program, the state would appropriate over $50 million from its general fund. The bill would also increase the annual aggregate cap’s refundable portion of the R&D credit from $5 to $10 million. SB1643 passed in the State Senate several days after failing initially last month, and awaits final consideration in the House.
Valid reinvestment projects would include sustainability or water capital projects; building or updating research and development facilities; capital expenditure projects or workforce development projects with universities or career technical education districts, including tuition reimbursement, hiring employees for the institution of higher learning, and apprenticeships; and capital expenditure projects supported by matching funds from federal or national grant programs.
In practice, those reinvestment projects tend to encourage corporations to be fashioned in government and bureaucrat-friendly trappings. Sustainability efforts fall in line with initiatives fulfilling the climate justice portion of the Green New Deal: electric vehicle charging stations, windmills, public transit, solar panels, and greenhouse gas elimination on farms. The city of Phoenix has been the poster child for climate justice, implementing a “cool pavement” pilot program to mitigate urban heat, a phenomenon of higher temperatures in urbanized areas, as well as pledging to become 100 percent carbon-neutral by 2050, eliminating food deserts, and establishing 100 years of clean and reliable water supplies.
Workforce development initiatives would err on the side of social justice activism. One recent example would be defense technology giant Raytheon, whose workforce development initiative, “Stronger Together,” garnered international controversy for requiring employees to adopt critical race theory (CRT) beliefs through a training program. The program targeted white employees, listing white, straight, Christian men as the pinnacle of the “oppression hierarchy.” The company also segregated employees into race and identity groups.
Investigative journalist Christopher Rufo exposed Raytheon’s initiative last July. In an interview with Fox News, Rufo opined that the reason corporations like Raytheon push woke ideologies was to ensure that the government had less reasons to scrutinize them, allowing for an uninhibited flow of taxpayer dollars.
“Think of it as a protection racket similar to the Mafia, where you pay a small fee — in this case, you signal virtue, you hire the right consultants, you sign the right pledges to decolonize your bookshelf or to interrogate your unconscious bias — and then these companies hope to be left alone, that the social media mob, that the politicians in office, that the Biden Administration will keep that taxpayer money flowing because they’ve signaled the right beliefs,” said Rufo.
SCOOP: Raytheon, the nation's second-largest defense contractor, has launched a critical race theory program that encourages white employees to confront their "privilege," reject the principle of "equality," and "defund the police."
Let's review the internal documents.🧵
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) July 6, 2021
Raytheon has a headquarters in Tucson.
Banner Health, one of the state’s largest employers, clarifies that its workforce development and training course content is “culturally appropriate” and “trauma informed,” among other things. Those same keywords were present in Raytheon’s woke workforce development program.
Workforce development initiatives with universities under the tax credit program may look like the latest efforts out of Arizona State University (ASU) and its “New Economy Initiative,” which aims to increase the number of science, technology, and engineering workers and therefore attract more large technology companies. The state gave ASU $32.2 million over last year and this year, with an additional $21.2 forthcoming. ASU projected it would double these funds over the next decade, and create 40,000 new jobs by 2041.
As part of a statewide plan to attract high-tech industry, @ASU is building five science and technology centers. Here, we take an inside look at the Advanced Manufacturing Science and Technology Center. @ASUEngineeringhttps://t.co/mbXbx7Xciu
On Thursday, State Senate President Karen Fann (R-Prescott) revealed that Maricopa County election officials ordered postal workers to destroy live ballots that were undeliverable. Fann noted that those ballots were vulnerable because they weren’t destroyed immediately. Fann also insisted that there were over 700,000 ballots that didn’t have proper chain of custody documentation. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer dismissed Fann’s claim in a statement to AZ Free News, explaining that the ballots in question weren’t live ballots and that, upon being discovered as undeliverable, the barcode on each ballot in question is canceled and therefore unusable.
Maricopa County Election officials claimed they could account for every ballot delivered to the election departments. Fann refuted that claim. Instead, she claimed that there were ballots returned to the post office because they were undeliverable, and the election officials ordered them to be destroyed because they weren’t “needed.”
“Those ballots never went back to the election department, they never went back to run back,” said Fann. “Those were still live ballots that anybody could’ve tampered with until such time that the post office destroyed them. Why were we allowing that to happen?”
Fann said that there were investigations underway to determine the legality of allowing the postal office to destroy live ballots on their own time.
These remarks were conferred in an interview with “Conservative Circus,” where Fann asserted that Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s interim report of the 2020 election was only “scratching the surface,” and that more would come to light. Fann confirmed that Brnovich’s report discovered exactly what she expected they’d find. She ascribed Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and mainstream media’s negative, “apoplectic” reactions to the report, as described by host James T. Harris, as fear over full exposure of the mass cover-up of problems in the 2020 election.
“It’s still a cover-up. I don’t say that lightly,” said Fann. “We’re finally being validated that, yes, in fact there are problems with our elections system here in Maricopa County.”
AZ Free News reached out to Richer about Fann’s claims. Richer reiterated the county’s promise that they could account for every one of those undelivered ballots, and that none of the canceled ballots were voted on. He asserted that Fann was misconstruing a normal partnership between elections offices and post offices.
“Karen Fann is again distorting the truth to fit her narrative. Since 2015, Maricopa County has used an ‘Electronic Service Requested’ endorsement on election mail. We have a contract in place for the United States Postal Service to provide the Elections Department with an electronic file on each mail piece so the office can expedite address checks as required by law. Ballots returned through the Electronic Service Requested process are not ‘live ballots’ as Karen Fann stated. Each early ballot has a unique barcode that cannot be replicated. The barcode on each returned packet is canceled and the ballot can no longer be used to cast a vote,” responded Richer. “The fact is, the United States Postal Service is a government agency tasked with the safe handling of billions of pieces of mail, including the secure destruction of undeliverable election mail. This process is used by Elections Departments nationwide. Maricopa County has a record of every mail piece returned through this process as well as every ballot returned by voters. Our system shows that no attempt has ever been made to cast one of these canceled ballots.”
AZ State Senate President Karen Fann discusses AG Mark Brnovich's latest report on election integrity and also disc https://t.co/ed70TIZqP7
Brnovich’s report explained that his Election Integrity Unit (EIU) discovered instances of election fraud, but that their review is ongoing and therefore limited to further disclosures on that subject. The attorney general summarized that there were system-wide issues with early ballot handling and verification, calling the signature verification system “insufficient” against preventing fraud. One example noted that well over 206,600 early ballot affidavit signatures were verified in an average of 4.6 seconds per signature. Brnovich also revealed that about 20 percent of early ballots were improperly transported from drop locations to election headquarters.
“We have reached the conclusion that the 2020 election in Maricopa County revealed serious vulnerabilities that must be addressed and raises questions about the 2020 election in Arizona,” said Brnovich.
Fann lamented that several Republican colleagues joined Democrats to kill several election integrity bills this session. She said that the problems highlighted by Brnovich’s report were only several of the problems that would be found pending further investigations. Fann didn’t name the “one or two Republicans” that prevented key election reform legislation from passing, but our reporting indicates that she was likely referring to State Senators Paul Boyer (R-Glendale) or Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale).
“This is why it is so important we do not ease up on this,” said Fann. “We know where the problems are, so why aren’t we securing that so that the problems don’t happen again? That’s all there is to it.”
Fann called it “frustrating” that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors pushed back against any scrutiny of their elections. She also called out County Recorder Stephen Richer for falling short of his campaign promises, in which he pledged to right the wrongs of former recorder Adrian Fontes. Fann added that Richer’s public remarks about how their county ran the 2020 election perfectly contradicted an email she brought to the “Conservative Circus” interview, in which Richer said there were “plenty of instances of actual prosecuted and convicted election fraud violations.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
