by Corinne Murdock | Jul 19, 2023 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
On Tuesday, a joint committee of the Arizona legislature launched an investigation into allegations of censorship at Arizona State University (ASU). Lawmakers issued a 60-day deadline to conduct the investigation.
The directive arose from the Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Committee on Freedom of Expression at Arizona’s Public Universities hearing concerning the T.W. Lewis Center, shuttered this year after the revocation of $400,000 in annual funding from its namesake, Tom Lewis, who cited “left-wing hostility and activism” as his reason for defunding the program.
Lewis’ contention arose from the efforts of 37 Barrett Honors College faculty members, who launched a coordinated campaign to prevent an event featuring prominent conservative speakers Dennis Prager and Charlie Kirk. Prager testified at Tuesday’s hearing; he also published an opinion piece on the event ahead of the hearing.
State Sens. Anthony Kern, co-chair (R-LD27), Frank Carroll (R-LD28), Sally Ann Gonzales (D-LD20), Christine Marsh (D-LD04), and J.D. Mesnard (R-LD13) served on the committee, as did State Reps. Quang Nguyen (R-LD01), Lorena Austin (D-LD09), Analise Ortiz (D-LD24), Beverly Pingerelli (R-LD28), and Austin Smith (R-LD29). Kern and Nguyen served as co-chairs.
“This is to get to the bottom of a state-funded university that is not meeting its obligation to freedom of expression and freedom of speech,” said Kern.
The center relied on an annual budget of around $1 million; ASU representatives explained that the center would live on through the classes taught, though the actual center itself and the executive director at its helm, Ann Atkinson, would be gone.
ASU Vice President of Legal Affairs Kim Demarchi explained that Lewis’ funding provided for career development and education. Demarchi testified that ASU considered what programs it could continue without Lewis’ funding, and declared that they could only sustain the faculty without Lewis’ funding. Demarchi also shared that the Barrett Honors faculty weren’t punished in any way for the letter or allegations of intimidation.
“It is possible it [their letter] has a chilling effect,” said Demarchi.
However, Demarchi clarified that a professor would have to explicitly threaten a student’s grade in order to be in violation of university policy.
Atkinson went public with the closure of the Lewis Center last month. (See the response from ASU). She told AZ Free News that the university turned down alternative funding sources that would make up for the loss of Lewis’ funding necessary to keep the Lewis Center running.
Nguyen opened up the hearing by recounting his survival of Vietnam’s communist regime as a child, and comparing that regime’s hostility to free speech to the actions of Barrett Honors College faculty.
“My understanding is that there is an effort to prevent conservative voices from being heard,” said Nguyen. “I crossed 12,000 miles to look for freedom, to seek freedom.”
Nguyen expressed disappointment that none of the 37 faculty members that signed onto the letter showed up to testify in the hearing. He said if he accused someone, he would show up to testify.
Democratic members of the committee contended that the event occurred and therefore censorship hadn’t taken place. Kern said the occurrence of the event doesn’t resolve whether freedom of speech was truly permitted, citing the closure of the Lewis Center.
ASU Executive Vice Provost Pat Kenney emphasized the importance of freedom of expression as critical to a free nation. Nguyen asked whether Kenney read the Barrett letter, and agreed to it. Kenney said the letter was freedom of expression. He claimed the letter didn’t seek cancellation of the event.
“When faculty speak out on their own like that, they’re covered on the same topic we’re here about, which is free speech,” said Kenney.
ASU representatives claimed near the beginning of the hearing that Lewis and ASU President Michael Crow had discussed the withdrawal of funding. However, toward the end of the hearing Kern announced that he’d received information from a Lewis representative that the pair hadn’t discussed the funding, and accused ASU representatives of lying.
Ortiz called the anonymous complaints from students hypotheticals because no formal complaints were lodged. She also claimed that the hearing was merely an attempt to delegitimize public and higher education. Marsh claimed that lawmakers shouldn’t consider the claims of student fears of retaliation because the students should’ve gone to ASU directly.
Nguyen asked whether ASU would defend guest speakers, such as himself, if ASU faculty were to lodge claims of white nationalism. Kenney said that, in a personal capacity, ASU faculty were free to make their claims, but not if they spoke out on ASU’s behalf.
Atkinson contested with the characterization that the Barrett faculty spoke out in their personal capacity. She pointed out that Barrett faculty signed the letter in their capacity as ASU faculty, emailed her using their ASU emails, and sent communications to students about opposing the event using ASU technology.
Ortiz announced receipt of a letter from the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) on the outcome of the requested investigation into the incident, the results of which Kern and the rest of the committee appeared to not have been made aware, determining that no free speech violations took place at ASU.
Marsh speculated that the professors didn’t show up because they faced death threats, citing media attention and conservative speaker Charlie Kirk’s Professor Watchlist. Kern said that would be a “lame excuse.” He also pointed out that the professors launched a national campaign and initialized bringing themselves into a bigger spotlight.
“You’re making excuses where we don’t know that’s the case,” said Kern.
Atkinson said that she could provide “dozens, if not hundreds” of students that could testify to experiencing faculty intimidation. She also claimed that Williams told her to avoid booking speakers that were political.
“We allow the speaker but you have to take the consequences,” said Atkinson, reportedly quoting Williams.
Atkinson testified that TV screen ads were removed and flyers were torn down following the Barrett Honors faculty letter. She also said she shared the information for the person responsible on June 13, yet it appears ASU took no action. ASU said they weren’t aware of any advertising for the event pulled.
Additionally, Atkinson testified that Williams pressured her to postpone the event “indefinitely.” She noted that Williams interpreted ASU’s policy of not promoting political campaigns as not allowing political speech at all.
“We were in an environment telling us that this was ‘hate speech,’” said Atkinson.
Atkinson said she was directed by leadership ahead of the event to issue a preliminary warning that the event contained potentially dangerous speech.
Gonzales told Atkinson that hate speech doesn’t qualify as constitutionally protected speech. However, the rules attorney corrected her that the Supreme Court ruled hate speech as protected.
ASU professor Owen Anderson also testified. He said that he’s previously had to get the free speech rights organization Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIR) involved twice due to faculty attempts to suppress free speech. Anderson also said that faculty have attempted to restrict speech by adding anti-racism and DEI to policy on class content and annual reviews of professors.
“Insults abound, but rational dialogue is rare. What we need are administrators that call these faculty to higher conduct,” said Anderson.
In closing, Kern said he doesn’t trust ASU, the University of Arizona, or ABOR. He argued that ABOR hadn’t issued a real investigation and called their report “typical government fluff [and] garbage.” Kern also called for the firing of Barrett Honors College Dean Tara Williams.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Jul 18, 2023 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Three of the Arizona State University (ASU) professors behind a campaign to oppose an event featuring conservative speakers argue that only inclusive persons belong on university campuses.
In an opinion piece published in the Arizona Republic, the three professors argue that those who reject inclusive ideals were the real threat to debate and therefore should be barred from participating in democratic exchange. The trio — Barrett Honors College professors Jenny Brian, Michael Ostling, and Alex Young — noted that they weren’t opposed to all conservative speakers, referencing a 2018 event featuring conservative legal scholar Robert George.
Earlier this year, the three professors signed onto a letter petitioning Barrett Honors College leadership to oppose an event featuring conservative personalities Dennis Prager, Charlie Kirk, and Robert Kiyosaki. The trio insisted that their original letter wasn’t an attempt to cancel the event, but merely a means of expressing consternation. AZ Free News learned that on-campus marketing of the controversial event was removed following the complaint letter. 37 of 47 Barrett faculty members signed onto the letter.
“By platforming and legitimating their extreme anti-intellectual and anti-democratic views, Barrett will not be furthering the cause of democratic exchange at ASU, but undermining it in ways that could further marginalize the most vulnerable members of our community,” read the letter. “Our collective efforts to promote Barrett as a home for inclusive excellence demand we distance ourselves from the hate that these provocateurs hope to legitimate by attaching themselves to Barrett’s name.”
In terms of reported attempts to recruit students to boycott the event, the three professors denied the charges. The trio added that they held an alternative “teach in” event preceding the T.W. Lewis Center event: “Defending the Public University.”
The three professors also denied responsibility for the dissolution of the T.W. Lewis Center and dismissal of its executive director, Ann Atkinson.
“As Barrett faculty, we see a brighter future for public higher education. We will continue to fight for a university ‘measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes,’” stated the trio. “The ‘antagonistic cooperation’ of democratic exchange in Arizona’s public universities deserves to be defended against those who reject the inclusive ideals that make it possible.”
The letter was met with immediate response from a vocal critic of the Barrett Honors faculty opposed to the T.W. Lewis Center event: ASU humanities professor Owen Anderson. He criticized the three professors’ opinion piece as a poor display of logic and reason.
“[W]hat was their argument? They never gave one (not one that got above informal fallacies),” wrote Anderson. “No professor would give a good grade to a paper like this from a student. How can a professor who thinks this way teach others?”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Jul 18, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Last Tuesday, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced that she signed the state onto the U.S. Climate Alliance: a Democrat-led initiative advancing the progressive energy reforms within the Paris Agreement and the Green New Deal.
Hobbs characterized the alliance — a project of the private nonprofit United Nations Foundation — as bipartisan. The only state in the alliance with a Republican governor is Vermont.
According to their 2021 tax filing, the United Nations Foundation pulled in $86.7 million according to ProPublica, with over $281 million the previous year. It spent nearly $23.1 million on climate initiatives in that 2021 filing, and around $25.2 million in the 2020 filling.
The alliance was founded in 2017 by the governors of California, New York, and Washington after the Trump administration withdrew from the Paris Agreement. California raised the initial funds to kickstart the alliance.
The current executive committee, elected in May, consists of all Democrats: Govs. Gavin Newsom (California), Janet Mills (Maine), Michelle Lujan Grisham (New Mexico), Kathy Hochul (New York), and Jay Inslee (Washington).
Other Democrat-led states in the alliance are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
The territories of Guam and Puerto Rico are also in the alliance.
Express goals of the alliance concern fulfillment of the U.S. pledge to the Paris Agreement and proposals outlined by the Green New Deal. The alliance was behind recent joint efforts with the White House to decarbonize government buildings and purchase of low-carbon, American-made construction materials. In February, the alliance convened in Washington, D.C. to deliver 21 specific federal climate actions to accomplish a “net-zero future” — aka, zero carbon.
A zero carbon future includes replacement of coal, gas, and oil-based power sources with total electrification. The World Economic Forum (WEF), a globalist activist organization, defined a net zero carbon future as including decarbonized buildings, wind and solar energy reliance, and electric vehicles.
Collectively, alliance goals include reducing collective greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 26-28 percent by 2025, 50-52 percent by 2030, and 100 percent by 2050; centering equity, environmental justice, and a “just economic transition” in all initiatives; and building a globalist accountability network between states and “the global community.”
California leads on all fronts except one: statewide building performance standards for efficiency. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary form of GHG. The secondary GHGs are methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and the industrial gasses: hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).
Alliance staff hail from a variety of high-profile progressive backgrounds within state or federal government, or climate advocacy organizations.
Casey Katims, the executive director, formerly worked as the deputy associate administrator for intergovernmental relations at the EPA, director of federal and inter-state affairs for Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, senior legislative assistant for Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, and executive assistant for Inslee when he was a congressman.
Taryn Finnessey, managing director, formerly worked as the senior climate change specialist for Colorado and water policy analyst for Western Resource Advocates.
Andrew Sand, the policy director and formerly the senior policy advisor, formerly worked as the deputy director, assistant director, legislative liaison, and policy advisor for the Colorado Energy Office; chaired the Colorado New Energy Improvement District’s board of directors; served as chief of staff for former Colorado Sen. Gail Schwartz.
Marwa Kamel, senior policy advisor, also works as a freelance climate consultant; she formerly worked as a policy advisor to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and a consultant for the World Bank.
Mark Teschauer, senior policy advisor, formerly worked as a senior consultant for the WSP environmental consulting firm and program manager for the American Public Transportation Association.
Kareem Hammoud, senior policy analyst, formerly worked sporadically as a Yale University teaching fellow and research assistant, contractor with the Rocky Mountain Institute, and analyst for Parnassus Investments.
Kristin Igusky, programs and analysis director, formerly worked as an associate for the World Resources Institute and climate change analyst for SAIC.
Evan Westrup, communications director and founder of Sempervirent Strategies consulting firm, formerly worked as a fellow for the German Marshall Fund, press secretary and communications director for former California Gov. Jerry Brown, and deputy press secretary for the California Department of Justice. Last year it was reported that Westrup’s consulting firm would receive $10,000 a month from a committee formed by his former boss, Brown, using the millions in leftover campaign funds. Westrup formed the firm nine months after Brown termed out, according to his LinkedIn profile; the California secretary of state’s office reflects an LLC registration for his firm occurring in January 2021.
Nikki Burnett, senior communications associate, formerly worked as a communications officer for C40 Cities, communications fellow for the Pacific Council on International Policy, and associate with CLS Strategies. That last company is known for its manipulation and influence of foreign politics using a coordinated network of fake social media profiles and pages.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Jul 16, 2023 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) is allowing males into girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms, overlooking evidence of females harmed by policies allowing gender identity to dictate bathroom usage. Legal counsel for the members advised a need to align with the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX, based on recent legal rulings in the Ninth Circuit.
Board members Melissa Ewing, David Sandoval, and Bill Sorensen supported allowing students to use the bathrooms or locker rooms based on their gender identity. Board members Heather Rooks and Rebecca Hill opposed it.
The Biden administration announced in 2021 that it intended to expand Title IX sex-based protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The Education Department proposed the change to the policy last year; in May, the Biden administration announced that it would publish the final Title IX rule in October.
The rule change received over 390,000 public comments.
The Biden administration’s updated version of Title IX would not only allow gender identity to determine locker room and bathroom access — it would also impact sports team admissions.
In an April meeting, PUSD member Ewing claimed that no problem existed against preventing boys from entering girls’ spaces because no similar crimes have been reported in PUSD schools. Ewing further claimed that national data doesn’t support the belief that female-identifying males present a danger in private female spaces.
“If you look at our incident reports, and the narrative about assaults in the bathroom, it has not come as the result of a transgender-identified student. There is not a single incident that has happened,” said Ewing. “And if you look at the nationwide data, that does not show it as well. As board members, we need to be making sure that we are making data-driven decisions.”
Last month, Ewing shared a legal opinion from an LGBTQ+ advocacy site which argued that the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that discrimination based on sexual orientation violates Title IX protections.
Although Ewing claimed no bathroom assault cases exist due to transgender individuals, there were several high-profile cases over the last few years. Their existence was brought up in a viral video pulled from a recent meeting.
Ben Larrabee, project manager for conservative activist organization Turning Point USA, cited multiple cases in which males identifying as females were alleged to have flashed, sexually assaulted, or raped girls or women after entering female bathrooms or locker rooms.
This included the two teenaged girls sexually assaulted by the same gender-fluid teenage boy at two different schools in Loudoun County, Virginia; the sexual assault of a five-year-old girl by a gender-fluid boy in Decatur, Georgia; and the assault of a teenage girl by a teenage boy identifying as a female.
“Before you say that these are anecdotal evidence, just note that in a survey of trans inmates in federal prisons, half were convicted of sexual assault and 90 percent were convicted of violent crimes: well above the general prison population,” said Larrabee.
Larrabee noted that the perpetrators in the study he cited had all received some form of transgender care or gender identity accommodations.
“You do not affirm that people with anorexia can be healthy in any way, you do not affirm that somebody with schizophrenia is hearing voices, and you do not affirm that somebody in a manic episode is having great ideas,” said Larrabee. “When you leave someone to languish in their false mental state — i.e. men who think they’re women — they will inevitably lash out and harm themselves and those around them. Hurt people hurt other people.”
Board members Rooks and Hill attempted to enact a policy preventing males from entering female bathrooms and locker rooms in April. Ewing, Sandoval, and Sorensen blocked that policy.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Jul 15, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the upcoming year, which outlines the annual budgets and expenditures for the Department of Defense, has a historic number of amendments — 23 of which were filed by Arizona’s representatives.
Over 1,500 amendments have been filed onto the NDAA, H.R. 2670. Congress anticipates final passage on Friday. However, the House Freedom Caucus has expressed opposition to it. The caucus consists of 45 members, of which four are Republican Reps. Andy Biggs, Eli Crane, Debbie Lesko, and Paul Gosar. Biggs, Crane, and Gosar filed 14 of the amendments.
The caucus expressed opposition to the NDAA over the military’s progressive policies and stances on abortion; China-Taiwan relations; critical race theory; climate change; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); LGBTQ+ issues; and the Russo-Ukrainian war.
The following are amendments filed by Arizona’s congressmen (all amendments and the bill text are available here):
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05)
Amendment 365 (Version 1): require the Department of Defense to perform an audit. If not, the DOD’s discretionary budget authority would be reduced by .5 percent. Cosponsors: Reps. Crane, Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09), Michael Burgess (R-TX-26), and Mary Miller (R-IL-15).
Amendment 367 (Version 1): urge the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship and the need to continue offering security assistance and related support. Cosponsors: Crane, Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24), and Miller.
Amendment 369 (Version 1): terminate the designation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally.
Amendment 371 (Version 1): prohibit the use of funds for any project or activity related to NATO until the Secretary of Defense certifies to the congressional defense committees that each NATO member country spent two percent of their respective GDP on defense expenditures. Cosponsors: Crane and Miller.
Amendment 373 (Version 2): require the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and United States Agency for International Development to give Congress a report on agreements made with the Taliban.
Amendment 375 (Version 1): exempt defense-related activities from the Endangered Species Act.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06)
Amendment 816 (Version 1): insert text of H.R. 2393, the Combating Cartels on Social Media Act of 2023 to the bill. This bill requires DHS to report and implement a strategy to combat the use of social media by transnational criminal organizations to recruit individuals in the United States to support illicit activities at the border. Cosponsors: Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) and Burgess.
Amendment 948 (Version 1): direct United States Geological Survey to provide for the inclusion of Copper on its’ critical minerals list. Cosponsor: Bob Good (R-VA-05)
Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ-02)
Amendment 995 (Version 1): condemn Lieutenant General DeAnna Burt for politicizing the military’s stance on domestic policies during the DOD LGBTQ+ Pride Event and emphasize the importance of the military remaining apolitical to maintain its readiness and effectiveness. Cosponsors: Biggs, Gosar, Miller, and Lauren Boebert (R-CO-03).
Amendment 1000 (Version 1): prohibit the DOD from making participation in training or support for certain race-based concepts a requirement for hiring, promotion, or retention of individuals. Also ensures that employees and service members cannot be compelled to declare belief in or participate in training that promotes such concepts as a condition of favorable personnel actions. Cosponsors: Biggs, Gosar, Good, Miller, and Boebert.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-09)
Amendment 441 (Version 1): authorize employees at the Yuma Proving Grounds to use nonelectric vehicles in the performance of their duties. Cosponsor: Biggs.
Amendment 598 (Version 1): require the Secretary of Defense to expeditiously disclose to the public all records relating to the war in Afghanistan. Cosponsors: Biggs, Boebert, Byron Donalds (R-FL-19), Randy Weber (R-TX-14), and Andy Ogles (R-TN-05).
Amendment 672 (Version 1): authorize the Army and Corp of Engineers to complete, reinforce, and maintain the wall on the southern border. Cosponsors: Crane, Biggs, Boebert, Donalds, Weber, Ogles, and Ken Buck (R-CO-04).
Amendment 711 (Version 1): grant Congress exclusive power to declare a national emergency. Cosponsors: Crane, Boebert, Weber, and Ogles.
Amendment 739 (Version 1): designate phosphate, copper, and uranium as minerals critical to national security.
Amendment 1415 (Version 1): declare Congress’ responsibility to provide compensation for all individuals that developed radiation-induced cancer from past nuclear weapons testing. Cosponsor: Crane.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07)
Amendment 861 (Version 1): strike language that exempts Air Force activities from any requirements under the Marine Mammal Protection Act that would protect the critically endangered Rice’s Whale.
Amendment 898 (Version 1): extend the protections necessary for the continued use by the Air Force of the Barry M. Goldwater Range in Arizona. Cosponsor: Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03).
Amendment 1378 (Version 2): prohibit the amounts authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available by this act be used to establish or maintain any relationship between the Department of Defense and the Government of Ecuador, including any office or agent of such government, in order to provide, authorize, or assist in any way in the transfer of weapons, military equipment, crowd control supplies, or any other supplies, to such government or to coordinate joint exercises with the military and police forces of such government until certain criteria is met.
Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04)
Amendment 465 (Version 1): expand a program to compensate “downwinders” in Arizona and Nevada exposed to and affected by DOD-led atmospheric nuclear testing from 1945 to 1962.
Amendment 1400 (Version 1): direct the State Department to create a strategy for subnational cooperation between local law enforcement, civil society, and government to combat fentanyl trafficking holistically. Also directs the State and Treasury to review how to best expand financial access to countries in the Caribbean.
Amendment 1424 (Version 2): direct the Secretary of the Veterans Affairs (VA) to regularly ensure the accuracy of the VA Accreditation Search database, to submit an annual report on the accreditation process for agents/attorneys/representatives, and to create a trademarked insignia for accredited agents/attorneys/representatives to use.
Amendment 1425 (Version 1): prohibit the use of federal funds for the maintenance of civilian vehicular assets (yachts, jets, cars, etc.) seized in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarchs and officials.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
