On Monday, the University of Arizona (UArizona) chief of police stepped down in apparent relation to the professor slaying last year. UArizona President Robert Robbins issued the announcement.
Now-former University of Arizona Police Department (UAPD) Chief Paula Balafas has grappled with a sect of the university community advocating for stronger safety protocols on campus following the murder of Professor Thomas Meixner.
Balafas criticized a report from an independent committee formed by faculty members, the General Faculty Committee on University Safety For All Informed Faculty, stating that the university leaders were “stronger than their critics.”
The committee’s 30-page interim report, issued in January, claimed that UArizona was endangered by a “glaring institutional failure” concerning disregard for employee and student safety concerns.
Meixner was shot fatally by a former UArizona graduate student.
The independent faculty committee disbanded in March, expressing fears of retaliation from university officials. Around that time, the university released its own external safety report. The report by the PAX Group detailed three systemic issues: understanding and managing threats, providing a consistent and compassionate response, and the decentralization of communications.
The PAX Group reported finding a steady increase in violent crime and criminal activity beginning in 2018, with a peak in violent activity last year. The group further noted that UArizona measures handling crime were comparable to those employed by Arizona State University (ASU), despite ASU having 15,000 more students. Yet last year, UArizona suffered nearly 20 more incidents of aggravated assault and violent crime combined than ASU.
“Although the campus is relatively safe, the data on violent crime and related activity is heading in the wrong direction; so, as a community, the University of Arizona must address this,” stated the report.
In all, the report issued 33 recommendations to improve campus safety.
Robbins announced at the time of the external report’s issuance that Steve Patterson, a 25-year FBI veteran, would take over as the interim chief safety officer. Patterson was scheduled to begin on Monday. Robbins also announced the creation of a Campus Safety Advisory Commission made up of university and community members to advise Patterson, and the inclusion of the PAX Group in crafting a campus-wide master facility safety plan.
Replacing Balafas in the interim will be Oro Valley Police Department commander Chris Olson. He formerly served as a UAPD officer.
Balafas joined UArizona just over a year ago, in February 2022. UArizona noted that she represented the first female chief of police in university history. Balafas explained in an interview shortly after her hire, and several months before Meixner’s death, that she was drawn to UArizona’s focus on a progressive approach to policing.
“[T]he way the job description for UAPD had been presented was that they were looking for someone who is really good at building community within the police department but also outside of the police department, someone who is open to change who’d been in a progressive environment,” said Balafas.
Balafas also advocated for the implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusivity training. She lamented that officers weren’t as welcome in certain areas on campus, namely multicultural centers.
Balafas wasn’t the only faculty member to depart. Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Liesl Folks also stepped down, though she won’t depart until the end of this semester.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Days after a powerful Arizona government watchdog group scored a major victory in the City of Phoenix, it is turning its attention to a neighboring city over the same issue.
On Monday, John Thorpe, a Staff Attorney with the Goldwater Institute, sent a letter to Tempe Mayor Corey Woods and councilmembers, expressing serious concerns about the proposed ordinance “Relating to the Payment of Prevailing Wages on City Construction Contracts” to be considered at the Council’s upcoming meeting on May 4.
Thorpe noted his understanding that “the proposed ordinance imposes, among other measures, prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements on all contractors who participate in public works projects for the City for contracts exceeding $250,000.”
Much like the letter the Goldwater Institute previously transmitted to the City of Phoenix, Thorpe warned, “if the City adopts this ordinance and regulates matters that are expressly pre-empted by state law, it will expose the City to a high risk of litigation, as well as costs and attorneys’ fees for parties who successfully challenge the unlawful ordinance.” He also highlighted the troubling nature of the Council’s consideration of this proposal “with less than one week’s notice and little chance for input from those most affected.”
The Goldwater Institute was again representing the Arizona Builders Alliance and the Associated Minority Contractors of Arizona.
The letter to Tempe’s municipal leaders follows the repeal of the prevailing wage ordinance from the City of Phoenix last month after a change of two councilmembers. The vote flipped from 5-4 (approval of prevailing wage) to 6-3 (opposition of prevailing wage). Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego voted to repeal the ordinance, writing, “Workers deserve a living wage – and we can deliver that through a robust, public process that doesn’t put the city in legal and financial jeopardy. That’s why I voted with a majority of Council to direct city staff to find legally viable ways to increase wages on city projects.”
On behalf of the Goldwater Institute, Thorpe cheered on the reversal from the City of Phoenix, stating, “Yesterday’s repeal….is a reminder that Goldwater will never stop fighting to hold government accountable and to defend Americans’ economic freedom from burdensome, counterproductive regulations.”
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is still considering a 1487 complaint from Democrat Senator Catherine Miranda, who submitted the request on April 17 to “clarify the apparent conflict between two statutes and consequently determine whether Phoenix has the authority to enact prevailing wage at the municipal level.” Though Tempe isn’t the focus of the inquiry to the state’s chief law enforcement officer, her final disposition could give valuable direction and information if more cities and towns attempt to pass versions of the prevailing wage ordinance.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) parents and educators say they’d rather have stricter punishments for students who issue verbal threats, not students who fight.
This preference was outlined in a recent survey conducted by TUSD. The district issued the survey to gather parental input on code of conduct revisions.
About 80 percent of parents expressed support for long-term suspensions (11-30 days), longer term suspensions (11-180 days), or expulsions (over 180 days) for students who issue verbal threats. That broke down to 53 percent for long-term suspension, and 27 percent for longer term suspension or expulsion.
However, only 20 percent of parents expressed support for stricter punishments in the case of physical altercations. That broke down to 13 percent for long-term suspension, and five percent for longer term suspension or expulsion.
Likewise, 78 percent of school staff expressed support for long-term suspensions, long-term suspensions, or expulsions for verbal threats. That broke down to 55 percent believing in long term suspension, with 23 percent believing in longer term suspension or expulsion.
Yet, 25 percent of staff said they would issue stricter punishments in the case of physical altercations. 20 percent would award long-term suspension, and only five percent would issue either a longer term suspension or expulsion.
Only 10 percent of parents believed that verbal threats warranted short-term suspension. Six percent of parents believed it warranted in-school suspension; seven percent of parents believed it warranted an in-school contract or plan.
Comparatively, 63 percent of parents believed that physical altercations warranted short-term suspension. 14 percent believed it warranted in-school suspension, and five percent believed it warranted an in-school contract or plan.
Survey respondents, identified as stakeholders, asserted that elementary, middle, and high schools should have separate codes of conduct. There were nearly 6,300 stakeholders: over 800 students, over 2,800 staff, and over 2,600 parents.
Of note, students reported that classes about drug use weren’t actually helping students who used drugs. Students also reported that there shouldn’t be a dress code in the new code of conduct, and if there were to be one, it shouldn’t be “gender-biased.”
According to the survey results, commonalities among student, staff, and parent stakeholders included the determinations that both fights and drug use should incur short-term suspensions, not lengthier suspensions or expulsions. The stakeholders added that students should have the option of an in-school- or out-of-school suspension, or a combination of the two.
The majority of stakeholders also concurred that dress codes should remain at a lower tier for code of conduct violations, and that students shouldn’t be suspended for truancy.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A west valley school district governing board declined to take proactive measures against males or females using bathrooms of the opposite sex, and many parents are outraged.
Last week, the Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) Governing Board voted to reject a “motion to direct administration to prepare the first draft of a facility use policy for PUSD student bathrooms and locker rooms.” That motion was offered by board member Rebecca Hill and seconded by Heather Rooks. Board members David Sandoval, Bill Sorensen, and Melissa Ewing voted to sink the motion.
According to PUSD, “the District does not currently have a Governing Board policy regarding bathroom or locker room use, and the purpose of this agenda item was to determine whether or not the Governing Board should adopt a formal policy that limits the use of bathrooms and locker rooms based on biological sex.”
Rebecca Hill, the PUSD member who brought the motion, told her colleagues and the attendees in the crowded meeting space that during her tenure on the Peoria Unified School Board, “there has never been an issue more important to me than the one at hand tonight.” She appealed to the other board members, saying, “as leaders of this district, it is incumbent upon us to implement a policy that upholds common decency and respects the right to privacy that both our girls and boys are entitled to when using campus restrooms, locker rooms and any other private facility at our schools.”
Hill informed the audience she was of the understanding that there were multiple instances at Liberty High School in Peoria, where a young man has been allowed to enter the girls’ bathrooms based on his claim that he identifies as a female. She argued, “the fact that the district has allowed these actions to continue unabated without establishing an accommodation or implementing appropriate consequences is both irresponsible and unfathomable.”
Heather Rooks, Hill’s ally in this issue before the board, agreed with her colleague, stating that she had been dealing with this for months and hearing from parents and girls in the district. Rooks charged that parents were not made aware of the situations of boys in girls’ restrooms, adding, “Every parent in our district has a right to know what we are doing with their kids each day.” She also spoke in defense of the girls who had raised concerns over these alleged instances of boys in their restrooms, making the case that it is not wrong of girls to feel uncomfortable or to use their natural instincts when seeing biological males in women’s restrooms.
A West Valley lawmaker, State Senator Anthony Kern, attended the meeting and shared his thoughts on Twitter following the board’s lack of action to initiate the policy, writing, “Three Democrats on the Peoria Unified board meeting last night voted down protecting girls from predators in girls’ bathrooms.” He included the hashtags “Vote the Democrats Out” and “Home School” as his solutions to this decision from the board.
Three Democrats on the @PeoriaUnified11 board meeting last night voted down protecting girls from predators in girls' bathrooms; voted in favor of ZERO School Resource Officers (Police); and 23 additional marxist social workers for the schools. #VoteTheDemocratsOut#HomeSchoolpic.twitter.com/HMLwNjzPF6
Republican Tom Horne, Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, was closely following this contentious meeting and subsequent outcome, telling AZ Free News his “prediction is that many parents will not want their daughters to attend a school where biological males can come into the girls’ restrooms.” He said he had “received many texts and emails from parents who say their daughters were very upset when this happened.”
After seeing her motion end up on the losing side, Rebecca Hill wasn’t willing to accept defeat on behalf of the girls in her district who may have been – and still may be – faced with encounters with biological males in their restrooms and locker rooms. Hill stated, “I would advise parents to use their vouchers elsewhere. I don’t endorse PUSD anymore. I can’t. I would advise that parents take the ability at this time to take their vouchers, which have been given to them, and use them in private schools, use them on online, home school your kid. Choose the curriculum. Choose what happens with their livelihood, with what is going to happen with them in the future. Public education isn’t going in the right direction. This is not what I want to see for our district.”
Hill’s comments referred to the universal Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA), which were expanded by the Arizona Legislature in 2022 and signed into law by then-Governor Doug Ducey. The program is run under the watchful eyes of Horne at the Arizona Department of Education, and it is rapidly increasing in popularity among Arizonans. In an email communication this past Friday, an ESA Account Holder Liaison wrote that there were now 53,704 Arizona students in this program. That number will continue to grow in the weeks ahead as more parents hear about this program and the opportunities to choose the educational direction for their children.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Arizonans used to a proactive Attorney General defending the state’s laws have had to readjust their expectations due to the political transfer of power in January.
During the first two years of the Biden Administration, Arizona was at the forefront of many of the political and legal battles sweeping the nation, in large part due to then-Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s defense of federalism and state laws. The Brnovich-led Arizona Attorney General’s Office took a leading and proactive role in dozens of lawsuits to push back against the federal government’s overreach and to enforce the laws the state legislature passed.
This changed once the new Attorney General Kris Mayes assumed the reins of the state’s top law enforcement agency. Mayes, a Democrat, has quickly abandoned some of the lawsuits initiated or joined by her predecessor or her office has slowed action on other cases.
The abrupt change in litigation policy from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office has forced the Republican-led Arizona Legislature into a central role when it comes to defending the Grand Canyon State’s laws and values. Both the State Senate and House have worked in tandem to assume the guardianship of key cases that have lost adequate representation since January.
On Thursday, the Arizona House of Representatives Majority Communications issued a release to update the public on “successful intervention(s) in cases to defend state laws and fight against federal overreach.” The announcement highlighted that “Members of the Arizona House of Representatives of the 56th Legislature have been in office less than four months but have already achieved major court victories, under Speaker Toma’s leadership and united with the State Senate.”
✅FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE✅
Arizona House of Representatives Celebrates Successful Intervention in Cases to Defend State Laws and Fight Against Federal Overreach.
— Arizona House Republicans (@AZHouseGOP) April 27, 2023
The House Majority celebrated four victories: Mi Familia Vota v. Fontes et al. – an Election Integrity case; 56th Legislature et al. v. Biden et al. – an intervention to protect“Arizona’s Sovereign Authority Against Federal Overreach”; Kentch et al. v. Mayes – anElection Contest case; Isaacson v. Mayes – a “Defense of Law Protecting Unborn Children with Disabilities.”
For the benefit of readers, the press release provided detailed commentary on each of the cases to allow for a greater understanding and appreciation of the Legislature’s efforts:
Mi Familia Vota v. Fontes et al.: “On April 26,a federal court granted Speaker Toma’s and President Petersen’s motion to intervene to defend Arizona laws that require proof of citizenship and proof of residence in the state when registering to vote and require the county recorder to review the voter rolls. When Speaker Toma and President Petersen realized the state’s interests would not be adequately protected in this case, they immediately sought intervention.”
56th Legislature et al. v. Biden et al.: “On April 25, the Legislature and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce filed an emergency application with the United States Supreme Court challenging President Biden’s executive order that unconstitutionally infringes on Arizonans’ medical freedoms by forcing federal contractors to receive the experimental COVID-19 vaccine or risk losing their jobs. The Legislature successfully intervened in the 9th Circuit after Arizona Attorney General Mayes stated she would not fully defend the injunction of Biden’s vaccine mandate that her predecessor secured to protect all Arizonans.”
Kentch et al. v. Mayes: “On April 11, the Mohave County Superior Court granted Speaker Toma’s and President Petersen’s motion to submit an amicus brief. This brief encourages the court to fully consider Abe Hamadeh’s motion for new trial, scheduled for oral argument on May 16, consistent with Arizona laws governing election contests.”
Isaacson v. Mayes: “On March 8, a federal court granted Speaker Toma’s and President Petersen’s motion to intervene to defend a law that prohibits abortions based solely on a child’s genetic abnormality after Arizona Attorney General Mayes stated she would not defend the law.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC) convinced a cop to take a social justice approach in his career, based on their online programming.
UAGC featured this police officer, Michael Ander, in an article praising his commitment to social justice. As UAGC noted, Ander was unfamiliar with the concept of social justice until he began taking university classes. UAGC initially described social justice as equality and fairness for all in their article, but then described equity-oriented implementation.
Equity proposes disparate treatment in order to achieve purportedly equal outcomes, unlike equality which proposes equal treatment that may result in unequal outcomes. Ander echoed that difference when defining social justice.
“Social justice seeks to understand the why,” said Ander. “Why people don’t have the same opportunities and why some people need more humanity than others.”
— UAGC – The University of Arizona Global Campus (@UAZGlobalCampus) April 28, 2023
As Britannica notes, “social justice” is comparative to an equity-oriented concept known as “distributive justice” — “the fair and equitable distribution of social, political, and economic benefits and burdens.”
Ander initially left community college in 2011 when he was accepted in the police academy. It wasn’t until recent years that he returned to finish his degree — not out of an unprompted desire to do so, but rather because he couldn’t advance any further in his career field without one. In order to rise above sergeant to become a lieutenant, Ander was required to obtain a bachelor’s degree.
UAGC gave Ander a full-ride scholarship in partnership with his former community college, Rio Salado College.
Ander received an online degree in UAGC’s Social and Criminal Justice program. As part of the program, students review the application of select social justice principles — equality, solidarity, and human rights — as well as apply knowledge of cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness to social and criminal justice.
One of the program chairs, Shari Schwartz, has tweeted in support of social justice policies such as gun control, Black Lives Matter, ending the death penalty, and allowing gender transitions for minors.
Narcissism at its worst: her daughter was suicidal for three years and it was inconvenient for her. Listen to her talk about herself and derogate her own daughter. https://t.co/K8uaCAaCH4
Worth watching. @RepTonyGonzales position on women’s reproductive rights irritates me but he supports gun control. Got censured by @GOP for it. @DanaBashCNN asked pointed questions and unlike many politicians, he answered directly. https://t.co/GK8jRDEpQ0
UAGC focuses heavily on expanding social justice perspectives. The university frequently hosts diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) events.
Forbes interviewed the UAGC chair of Forbes School of Business & Technology, Misty Resendez, about how social justice ideologies such as DEI are necessary components of education and leadership.
“My goal, my aspiration is to help educate leaders so they don’t fall to that dark side of leadership and to be aware, right, to help develop that self-awareness, that purpose-driven value leadership,” said Resendez.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
