Arizona Department of Education Superintendent Tom Horne advised K-12 schools to look to Arizona State University (ASU) and University of Arizona (UArizona) for how to respond to Gaza protesters.
In a press release issued on Monday following a long weekend of higher education protests against Israel in Arizona and nationwide, Horne praised ASU and UArizona leadership — specifically presidents Robert Robbins and Michael Crow — for their handling of the mass protests compared to other universities, which he characterized as antisemitic.
“Robert Robbins and Michael Crow deserve exceptional praise for standing up to antisemitism on their campuses. This stands in stark contrast to how many colleges, universities and ideological faculty members have kowtowed to disruptive pro-Hamas demonstrations,” said Horne. “It is also an excellent template for K-12 schools in Arizona to follow should any attempt be made by students to copy the type of protests that have shut down portions of college campuses and caused Jewish students to feel unsafe.”
Horne warned that history would repeat itself, should those in leadership not be proactive with handling protests. The superintendent cited several incidents of violence that broke out at other campuses nationwide, including rocks reportedly thrown at Jewish students at Columbia University and a pole with a Palestinian flag being stabbed into the eye of another Jewish student at Yale University.
“Our DNA is no different from the DNA of Germans in the 1930s, and Nazis started with young thugs attacking people on the street,” said Horne. “We need to be vigilant.”
Law enforcement for both campuses were swift to deter and move out protesters as they attempted to establish encampments.
Of the two institutions, UArizona had the calmer turnout in terms of protestors. At ASU, over 70 arrests were made, 15 of whom were students, after protesters set up an illegal encampment as part of their protest.
Dozens arrested overnight at ASU campus following encampment protest.
— Jack | OnSceneTV Phoenix (@NewsPhotog_Jack) April 27, 2024
UArizona protesters also set up an encampment on Monday, but later dispersed. After those protesters left, officials barricaded the campus mall to prevent further encampments.
Law enforcement had to drive out the protesters and relied on assistance from fraternity members to assist in cleanup.
However, by Tuesday protesters returned to encamp again elsewhere on campus.
A majority of the Gaza protests were concentrated along the upper east coast. The following higher education institutions have experienced Gaza protests over the last few weeks:
California: California State Polytechnic Institute, Stanford University, University of Southern California Los Angeles;
Colorado: Auraria Campus;
Connecticut: University of Connecticut, Yale University;
D.C.: George Washington University;
Delaware: University of Delaware;
Florida: Florida State University;
Georgia: Emory University, University of Georgia;
Illinois: Northwestern University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign;
Indiana: Indiana University Bloomington;
Massachusetts: Emerson College, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Tufts University;
Michigan: Michigan State University;
Minnesota: University of Minnesota;
Missouri: Washington University.
North Carolina: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;
New Jersey: Princeton University;
New Mexico: University of New Mexico Albuquerque;
New York: City College of New York, Columbia University, Cornell University, Fashion Institute of Technology, the New School, New York University, University of Rochester;
Pennsylvania: Swarthmore College, University of Pennsylvania;
Ohio: Ohio State University;
Rhode Island: Brown University;
South Carolina: University of South Carolina;
Texas: Rice University, University of Texas at Austin;
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On Tuesday, the University of Arizona (UArizona) announced a $2.5 million settlement with the family of slain Professor Thomas Meixner.
Former UArizona graduate student Murad Dervish fatally shot Meixner in October 2022. In a copy of the settlement obtained by AZ Free News, UArizona also agreed to establish and fund an endowed professorship in the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences (HAS) in Mexiner’s name.
UArizona also agreed to provide continued mental health treatment to HAS faculty, staff, and students directly and immediately affected by the shooting, as well as a tuition and fee waiver to certain HAS students directly and immediately affected by the shooting. For the latter provision, the university will apply the tuition and fee waiver prospectively and retroactively to the semester in which the events preceding the shooting began.
The Meixner family filed a notice of a claim against UArizona last March shortly after the disbanding of an independent faculty committee investigating the shooting. They originally sought $9 million from the university.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Meixner’s wife, Kathleen, said that they’re focused on preventing similar tragedies in the future. She ended on a note of support for the university that her husband knew and loved.
“So often in the aftermath of school shootings, we learn all the ways that they could and should have been prevented. That is exactly what happened here,” said Kathleen. “My family and I will continue meeting with the University of Arizona President, its Police Chief, and multiple other members of the University administration to make certain it upholds its commitment to make our community safer. Together, we will Bear Down, and find our way forward with courage and love for the Wildcat community which Tom cherished.”
In their original claim, the Meixner family accused the university of “repeatedly ignoring the clear and present danger” that Dervish posed by “openly advertis[ing] his intent to murder.” The family’s notice offered a summary of Dervish’s actions and escalations in threats for nearly a year leading up to the shooting, as well as details of a previous order of protection against Dervish from a previous university that UArizona failed to catch.
Meixner’s family alleged that Dervish’s intentions were so well known that Meixner’s last words were: “I knew you were going to do this!” Dervish violated the terms of his expulsion and ban from campus, as well as a no contact order, prior to the shooting.
“Dr. Meixner’s murder was not a random act of violence. The university knew Dervish planned to kill him and allowed it,” said the family. “Dervish’s homicidal intentions, capacities and history, as well as his utter disregard for the university’s unenforced sanctions, were so patently obvious that the University’s multiple failures to protect Dr. Meixner constitute an outrage.”
As reported previously, Dervish had a lengthy history of violence and crime. His criminal background included three prison stints and several instances of attempted murder: a pizza man at Penn State University and his own mother. He had also assaulted his father previously.
In a video of his interrogation following the shooting, Dervish expressed satisfaction over Meixner’s death. His trial date was pushed back to this May pending a doctor’s report on Dervish’s sanity.
“Well, at least I fulfilled my mission,” said Dervish.
In a press release issued Tuesday, UArizona alluded to the terms of the settlement’s non-monetary commitments to support the well-being of those affected by the shooting, as well as their agreement to have the Meixner family assist in future planning and implementation of safety and security measures.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The University of Arizona (UArizona) School of Music announced a new recording studio opportunity that excludes white and/or straight students.
In an email obtained by Libs of TikTok, UArizona School of Music administrator Marissa Garaygordobil informed students that BIPOC (black, indigenous, or people of color) students were welcome to audition for a free film scoring orchestra performance and recording opportunity in professional recording studios.
SCOOP: University of Arizona School of Music @UAZMusic, offered students an incredible opportunity to record with famous musicians and work in a professional music studio like Warner Bros or Sony.
This opportunity is only open for black students because they aim to “diversify… pic.twitter.com/w1s38sYWno
The opportunity came from the nonprofit Musicians at Play (MAP) Foundation and their annual RISE Diversity Project. Studio spaces were offered by Warner Brothers, Sony, and Fox for Feb. 17 and 18, 2024.
“RISE aims to diversify the world of film and studio recordings by assembling an orchestra of young, BIPOC musicians from all across Los Angeles to work side-by-side with professional studio musicians and perform and record in a world-class recording studio,” stated the project poster.
Although the poster itself doesn’t mention LGBTQ as a preferred qualifier for auditioning, one of the MAP Foundation organizers, John Acosta, announced on Facebook that the diversity program would also show preference to LGBTQ students.
“Musicians at Play (MAP)’s RISE 2024 Diversity Program for BIPOC/LGBTQ Music Students headed by Maestro Anthony Parnther, conductor from ages 14-27 is now open!! Free to join!! PLEASE SHARE FAR AND WIDE! DEADLINE 12/1/23,” wrote Acosta.
The opportunity also comes with four to six coaching sessions, as well as experience under Anthony Parnther, a California-based conductor who serves as the music director and conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra and music director of the Southeast Symphony. Parnther’s recent film and TV scoring work included “Oppenheimer,” “The Mandalorian” series, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” “Creed III,” “Star Wars: the Force Awakens,” and the “Paw Patrol” movie.
Parnther co-founded the RISE Diversity Project, alongside MAP founder and CEO April Williams. He noted that the opportunity was the only one of its kind in the world.
“I’m committed to seeing diversity in all areas of music where I have any influence – including on our scoring stages,” said Parnther.
The MAP Foundation receives funding and support from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the state of California Arts Council, Los Angeles County Arts & Culture, and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA).
That last entity, the City of Los Angeles DCA, partnered with the MAP Foundation to hold the diversity project. The city last reported giving the foundation just over $5,000 for the 2021-22 fiscal year for a separate project. The city didn’t mention the amount of funding, if any, given for the RISE Diversity Program.
The NEA has given the MAP Foundation $20,000 since 2021. The California Arts Council has given the MAP Foundation over $326,600 over the years.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The University of Arizona (UArizona) is now offering scholarships to illegal immigrants using the nonprofit arm of a leftist dark money network.
The university partnered with TheDream.US to provide the scholarships: an initiative of the New Venture Fund, an initiative by one of the biggest leftist dark money organizations in the nation, Arabella Advisors. That organization recently came under investigation for tax law aversion and illegal profiteering. UArizona President Robert Robbins said that the scholarships would provide opportunities for all Arizona youth regardless of their citizenship status.
“This new partnership with TheDream.US is a crucial step in our effort to make sure that all of Arizona’s youth have the opportunity to attend college and achieve their higher education goals,” said Robbins. “I am proud that the university, as Arizona’s land-grant institution, has entered this partnership, which allows us to serve more incoming students, including Arizona’s Dreamers.”
These scholarships — running up to $33,000 for tuition and fees — don’t require an illegal immigrant to have protections from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS), so long as they came to the U.S. before the age of 16 and before Nov. 1, 2018, and have graduated from high school.
A full scholarship would cover all but $200 of in-state, on-campus costs of attendance. Should the illegal immigrant live off campus, the scholarship would completely cover costs of attendance with around $10,000 left over.
Some applicants may also receive an additional stipend of up to $6,000 for books, supplies, and transportation.
Illegal immigrants became eligible for in-state tuition last year with the passage of Proposition 308, backed by at least $1.2 million from out-of-state dark money networks.
Last year, TheDream.US partnered with Northern Arizona University (NAU) to offer the same scholarship opportunity to illegal immigrants. Arizona State University (ASU), Phoenix College, and Grand Canyon University (GCU) also partner with TheDream.US.
TheDream.US founders are: Don Graham, chairman of Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post), former director of Facebook, and former member of the Pulitzer Prize Board; Carlos Guitierrez, chairman and CEO of Empath, former chairman and CEO of Kellogg’s, and former Secretary of Commerce for the Bush administration; and Henry R. Muñoz III, former finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee.
Several among the senior staff at TheDream.US were illegal immigrants themselves. Leading them is president and CEO Gaby Pacheco, an illegal immigrant who didn’t obtain her citizenship until June. As an activist, Pacheco helped inspire the DACA program as enacted via executive order by former President Barack Obama.
Last year, TheDream.US president was Candy Marshall, the former chief human resources officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Marshall now serves as the senior advisor to the organization.
Advisory board members include Lupe De La Cruz, Pepsi vice president of government affairs and corporate citizenship; Mei-Yen Ireland, senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Georgia Levenson Keohane, CEO of the Soros Economic Development Fund; and Andrew Rosen, chairman and CEO of Kaplan.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The University of Arizona (UArizona) will not reveal the identity of the student who threatened to shoot up the James E. College of Law campus over “transphobes” this past spring semester.
Police records reflect that the threats were made in the days leading up to April 10th, prompting concerns that lasted throughout the month and moved the law school to hold its last week of classes and finals remotely.
UArizona told AZ Free News that they redacted the student’s name from official records due to privacy and confidentiality issues.
According to records first obtained by 13 News, the University of Arizona Police Department (UAPD) reported finding “threatening messages referencing killing people at UA campus” on the student’s phone. They found a search history that included questions around shooting accuracy, mass shootings, the Michigan State shooting, and Tucson shooting ranges. In an Instagram post included within police records, the student said they would rather kill a transphobe than be killed.
“All the gay people I know in the US are afraid for their life every day,” read the post. “I pack a loaded 9mm around with me because I’d rather kill a transphobe than get killed. But even then, I’d still probably die in a gunfight.”
Also according to police records, a friend reported to police that the student expressed an intent to shoot people. A friend also reported that the student would carry a gun onto campus property, despite knowing that it violated university policy.
“[The student] was talking oddly and that within the odd speech, [the student] stated, ‘I’m gonna shoot people’ as well as ‘they’re gonna come to shoot me’ and ‘I’m gonna shoot them before they shoot me,’” said the report. “[The student] has a gun and takes it to the university even though [the student] knows [they’re] not supposed to but uses it for protection in case [they’re] attacked.”
These threats emerged just weeks after the Christian elementary school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee. The shooter — 28-year-old Aiden Hale, formerly known as Audrey Hale — was a woman who identified as a transgender man and a former student of the school. Three children and three adults were murdered by Hale before police stopped her.
Police records reflected that the UArizona student was hospitalized for mental health issues on April 10. Yet, on April 28, UAPD was notified that the student’s NetID WiFi was used in an attempted log-in on a campus computer. The student was not on campus. The interim public safety officer said the student was “in care” and not on campus at the time of the log-in.
In May, the student was reportedly entered into a federal database to prevent the future purchase of a firearm.
At the time of the threats and in a statement last week, the university repeatedly declared that the student posed no threat to campus. Interim Chief Safety Officer Steve Patterson said as much in a statement last Friday on the incident.
“UAPD has categorized the matter as a mental health-related case rather than a criminal matter,” said Patterson. “The investigation by the University of Arizona Police Department found that friends identified a student in crisis off-campus in April and sought care for their friend. While the student was in supervised care — and therefore posed no threat to the campus community — the student’s friends turned in a loaded handgun to the Tucson Police Department and informed them that the student had made verbal threats, although later statements indicated that the threat was less clear.”
Yet, Patterson advised students to remain vigilant on campus.
“The April incident is an important reminder that all of us must remain vigilant in the face of threatening or concerning behavior,” said Patterson.
According to the report, the student was banned from campus and university activities.
The University of Arizona Police Department (UAPD) maintains a public list of banned individuals. Their policy maintains that these exclusionary orders are issued for a minimum of six months and potentially up to one year from the date of the offense. According to that list, there are 90 individuals who were banned within the potential same time frame as the student who issued the shooting threat.
At least one of the individuals within that time frame on the Exclusionary Orders list identifies as a transgender individual. It also appears that one of those individuals could have the ability to log in remotely to a campus computer — as it appears the student did on April 28 — having been an information technology services employee for the university until around May.
Questions concerning the ability of UArizona students to “remain vigilant” of an unidentified, banned student remain unanswered. UArizona referredAZPM to the redacted police report and Patterson’s statement when asked. The university also wouldn’t confirm whether the student is included in the UAPD exclusionary orders list.
The entire list of those banned within the same potential time frame as the student who made the shooting threat are listed below:
Timothy Hallman, exclusion through Oct. 11, 2023
Lawrence Littlefield, exclusion through Oct. 12, 2023
Eric Gates, exclusion through Oct. 13, 2023
Joseph Mackinder, exclusion through Oct. 19, 2023
Jeffery Garland, exclusion through Oct. 19, 2023
Jorge Howard, exclusion through Oct. 20, 2023
Kyle Narreau, exclusion through Oct. 25, 2023
Christopher Bravo, exclusion through Oct. 28, 2023
Jacob Ficek, exclusion through Oct. 29, 2023
Daniel Frescura, exclusion through Nov. 2, 2023
Bob Bernal, exclusion through Nov. 3, 2023
Jack Music, exclusion through Nov. 3, 2023
Eva Arevalo, exclusion through Nov. 3, 2023
Jerry Johnson, exclusion through Nov. 3, 2023
Jordan Daniel, exclusion through Nov. 9, 2023
Peter Fass, exclusion through Nov. 10, 2023
David Petersen, exclusion through Nov. 14, 2023
Ronald Andrews, exclusion through Nov. 15, 2023
Luis Leveta, exclusion through Nov. 16, 2023
Randy Elam, exclusion through Nov. 17, 2023
Kieth Davis, exclusion through Nov. 17, 2023
Chester Carroll, exclusion through Nov. 17, 2023
Joshua Neuser, exclusion through Nov. 17, 2023
Benjamin Burch, exclusion through Nov. 18, 2023
Kimberly Meadows, exclusion through Nov. 22, 2023
Wallace Leight, exclusion through Nov. 23, 2023
Victor De Anda, exclusion through Nov. 26, 2023
Roderick Davis, exclusion through Nov. 27, 2023
James Aguilar, exclusion through Nov. 29, 2023
Jarrod Fligg, exclusion through Dec. 1, 2023
Chana Fligg, exclusion through Dec. 1, 2023
Jamal Shannon, exclusion through Dec. 1, 2023
Carlos Castillo, exclusion through Dec. 3, 2023
Lucas Griffith, exclusion through Dec. 3, 2023
Adrian Davis, exclusion through Dec. 5, 2023
Gregory Nelson, exclusion through Dec. 5, 2023
Victor Zevallos, exclusion through Dec. 12, 2023
Matthew Verheyen, exclusion through Dec. 18, 2023
Wayne Martino, exclusion through Dec. 21, 2023
Mariah Ruiz, exclusion through Dec. 22, 2023
Aaron Collelmo, exclusion through Dec. 22, 2023
Sandra Steinmetz, exclusion through Dec. 30, 2023
Brittney Garcia, exclusion through Dec. 30, 2023
Selahattin Toprak, exclusion through Dec. 30, 2023
Steven Helming, exclusion through Jan. 2, 2024
David Meracle, exclusion through Jan. 4, 2024
Curtis Linner, exclusion through Jan. 5, 2024
Zachary Kindell, exclusion through Jan. 5, 2024
Christian Diaz De Leon, exclusion through Jan. 7, 2024
Dustin M. Klett, exclusion through Jan. 13, 2024
Cody Hill, exclusion through Jan. 13, 2024
Gregory Schmitt, exclusion through Jan. 15, 2024
Robert Ramsey, exclusion through Jan. 15, 2024
Steven Asmar, exclusion through Jan. 17, 2024
Michael Todd, exclusion through Jan. 18, 2024
William Turnbow, exclusion through Jan. 20, 2024
Russell Higgins, exclusion through Jan. 26, 2024
Leona Arreola, exclusion through Jan. 26, 2024
Elijah Salzwedel, exclusion through Jan. 26, 2024
Derek Kirven, exclusion through Feb. 4, 2024
Jeffrey Jorgenson, exclusion through Feb. 4, 2024
Paul Curran, exclusion through Feb. 8, 2024
Jorge Ruiz, exclusion through Feb. 8, 2024
Joseph Hardin, exclusion through Feb. 9, 2024
Johnathan Keeney, exclusion through Feb. 9, 2024
Chad Harvey, exclusion through Feb. 9, 2024
Arik Ruybe, exclusion through Feb. 13, 2024
Anthony Fuentes, exclusion through Feb. 13, 2024
Isaac Gracia, exclusion through Feb. 13, 2024
Jordan Young, exclusion through Feb. 14, 2024
Raymond Ramirez, exclusion through Feb. 14, 2024
John Lawicki, exclusion through Feb. 16, 2024
Tristen Dejolie, exclusion through Feb. 17, 2024
Richard Bowlby, exclusion through Feb. 18, 2024
Roman Arriero, exclusion through Feb. 21, 2024
Aric Ballard, exclusion through Feb. 22, 2024
Jason Blaylock, exclusion through Feb. 24, 2024
Ryan Kuhns, exclusion through Feb. 24, 2024
Andrea Young, exclusion through Feb. 25, 2024
Michael Burks, exclusion through Feb. 26, 2024
Leonard Johnson, exclusion through Feb. 29, 2024
Michael Clampitt, exclusion through Feb. 29, 2024
Kevin Huma, exclusion through March 3, 2024
Shannon Baker, exclusion through March 4, 2024
Enrique Lopez, exclusion through March 7, 2024
Kenton Landau, exclusion through March 21, 2024
Herbert Forreset, exclusion through March 30, 2024
Gabriel Sethi, exclusion through March 31, 2024
Jamie Chacon, exclusion through April 7, 2024
Leo Tift, exclusion through April 27, 2024
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
