Hundreds of professors across the University of California system are pleading with school regents to restore standardized admission tests, warning that students are arriving so underprepared that instructors are being forced to reteach middle-school mathematics.
The two-page letter, signed by more than 1,100 math and science professors, argues that students are entering college without the proper groundwork and training needed to succeed in rigorous STEM courses, according to the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/university-california-sat-requirement-reinstate-c3e32712?mod=hp_lead_pos10">Wall Street Journal.</a>
“We now observe preparation gaps so severe that instructors must reteach middle-school mathematics while simultaneously teaching the material students need for sciences, engineering, economics, and other quantitatively demanding fields,” the letter states. “UC has finite resources and can help only so many students.”
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The letter also noted that nearly one-third of students in a first-semester calculus course at UC Berkeley “displayed severe preparation deficits,” according to the Journal.
Faculty members pointed to several “warning signs,” including increased time spent teaching prerequisite material, a lack of readiness for advanced coursework, and &#8220;growing pressure to dilute quantitative rigor.&#8221;
“Left unaddressed, these trends will lead to declining graduation rates, longer time to degree, and reduced completion of STEM majors, with consequences for California’s highly skilled STEM workforce,” the letter warns.
The University of California, along with many other universities, axed its SAT and ACT requirement in 2020, joining a broader movement among colleges and universities away from standardized admissions testing. 
Supporters of the change argued that standardized tests were poor predictors of college success. The move also coincided with widespread disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic. 
But UC, in particular, went further than many institutions. In 2021, it adopted a &#8220;<a href="https://dailybruin.com/2020/11/06/uc-to-use-test-blind-admissions-for-fall-2021-following-court-decision">test blind</a>&#8221; admissions policy, meaning SAT and ACT scores would not be considered at all during the admissions process.
Following the letter from faculty, UC Academic Senate Chair Ahmet Palazoglu said the university is examining its policies and requirements, according to the Journal.

Close up. mid-section of young Asian woman reading book and making notes at home, concentrates on her studies. Further education concept

The Anti-SAT Experiment Isn’t Going As Planned

California

Education

University of California

Since the October 7, 2023, massacre perpetrated on Israeli citizens by Hamas, with the subsequent response by Israel to declare war and enter the Gaza Strip to defeat Hamas, overt anti-Semitic sentiment has erupted on college campuses across America. Citing reports of “widespread antisemitic harassment,” the U.S. Department of Education is now <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-educations-office-civil-rights-sends-letters-60-universities-under-investigation-antisemitic-discrimination-and-harassment">actively investigating</a> 60 institutions of higher learning.
Unfortunately, anti-Semitism is also playing out in K-12 education, particularly in a number of Northern California school districts like Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD), Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD), and Menlo Park City School District (MPCSD). These and other districts are embroiled in controversy over California’s Ethnic Studies curriculum mandate.
Many Californians are aware that in October 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB101" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Assembly Bill 101 (AB101)</a> into law, requiring all students graduating from high school in the 2029-2030 school year to take at least one semester of ethnic studies. The intent, per the state’s <a href="https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum</a>, is to encourage cultural understanding of the struggles of equality, equity, justice, racism, ethnicity, and bigotry that have been prevalent throughout the history of America.
What is less known is that California first considered a draft Ethnic Studies curriculum co-authored by Community Responsive Education (CRE) founder and director Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, which was rejected by the State Board of Education as being offensive to the Jewish community. Consequently, upon signing AB101, Newsom <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/AB-101-Signing-Message-PDF.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote a letter</a> to the State Assembly that noted the bill “expresses the Legislature&#8217;s intent that courses should not include portions of the initial draft curriculum that had been rejected by the Instructional Quality Commission due to concerns related to bias, bigotry, and discrimination.”
The distinct anti-Jewish bias in the previous draft curriculum led Jewish community leaders, as well as the California legislature’s Jewish caucus, to lobby for removal of the offensive material. But that didn’t stop Tintiangco-Cubales, with other like-minded educators, from marketing the rejected curriculum, which they have labeled the <a href="https://www.liberatedethnicstudies.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum</a> or simply “Liberated.”
Given that AB101 allows school districts to either adopt the revised model Ethnic Studies curriculum or develop their own, PVUSD initially elected to bring on Tintiangco-Cubales and CRE as the sole contractor to develop a custom curriculum. As feared by the Pajaro Valley Jewish community, the PVUSD ethnic studies curriculum has been infused with “Liberated” anti-Semitic language in English, History, and Art classes, as well as one standalone ethnic studies class mandated by California.
In a recent <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhernholm/2024/05/02/new-paradigm-or-political-agenda-ethnic-studies-vs-liberated-es/?sh=29c3732a52aa">article</a> examining the “Liberated” ethnic studies curriculum, Sarah Hernholm noted how the curriculum characterizes Zionism as a settler colonial movement. Such a description deprives the Jewish people of their historical ties to the land of Israel, dating back to around <a href="https://www.history-of-israel.org/history/time_line.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1000 B.C.</a>, as well as their right to self-determination as a people. The “Liberated” curriculum also <a href="https://ceasefiretoday.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">links to a site</a> calling for a ceasefire in Gaza which describes the root causes of violence in Gaza as the “Israeli military occupation and apartheid.”
Concerned Jewish organizations have written letters to PVUSD expressing their opposition to the “Liberated” curriculum. The Simon Wiesenthal Center asked PVUSD to not renew its contract with CRE due to its blatant anti-Semitism. Local Santa Cruz County rabbis asked the same, and further asked PVUSD to develop a curriculum that will unite, not divide, the PVUSD community. And from the very beginning, the California Legislative Jewish Caucus has argued that this curriculum promotes anti-Semitism by denigrating Jewish identity and singling out Israel for condemnation.
The Pajaro Valley Jewish community members I spoke with made it clear they support ethnic studies but oppose anti-Semitism and what they assess as an erasure of the American Jewish experience in the curriculum. After hearing testimony from the community in September 2023, the PVUSD board decided not to renew the contract with CRE and stuck to their decision, despite pressure from vocal activists who support CRE. 
Yet while the controversial curriculum remains, board members and members of the community have been publicly attacked as white supremacists, racists, and genocide supporters by ethnic studies teachers, students, anti-Israel activists outside PVUSD, and University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) professors who have waded into the PVUSD controversy.
Jewish community members fear that adoption of this ethnic studies curriculum is a portent of things to come nationally. <a href="https://campusdirectory.ucsc.edu/cd_detail?uid=cjhong" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Christine Hong</a>, Department Chair of the openly <a href="https://calendar.ucsc.edu/event/education-department-colloquium-do-palestinian-lives-matter-in-teacher-education-centering-an-anti-zionist-commitment-in-early-childhood-teacher-educationhttps:/calendar.ucsc.edu/event/education-department-colloquium-do-palestinian-lives-matter-in-teacher-education-centering-an-anti-zionist-commitment-in-early-childhood-teacher-education" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anti-Zionist</a> Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES) at UCSC (who was subject to a recent <a href="https://ia600402.us.archive.org/9/items/2-final-hjaa-report.-the-soil-beneath-the-encampments/OCR%20UC%20resolution%20letter%2012-20-2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federal investigation</a> into charges of faculty anti-Semitism), has led the charge of UCSC faculty, appearing many times at PVUSD board meetings and insisting that Tintiangco-Cubales and CRE provide PVUSD what she deems as the only acceptable ethnic studies curriculum.
Alarmingly, Dr. Hong has also been actively involved in a working group seeking to develop the California high school ethnic studies <a href="https://edsource.org/2022/uc-considers-imposing-criteria-for-californias-high-school-ethnic-studies-classes/670186" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requirement for admission</a> into the UC school system. This would have national implications – if the curriculum is accepted for admission to UC schools, the requirement could then be imposed on all other states as well.
California has exported bad policies to other states in the past — on energy, gig workers, and firearms, to name a few. It now seems to be flirting not only with inflicting on its own students a divisive approach to teaching ethnic studies but exporting its radical teaching nationwide. Hopefully the U.S. Department of Education will take note of what’s going on at the K-12 level in California before it too becomes a national problem.
* * *
Walter Myers III is a Senior Fellow at the Seattle-based Discovery Institute and an adjunct faculty member at Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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HIgh School Graduation

How A New ‘Ethnic Studies’ Curriculum Promotes Anti-Semitism In California

How A New 'Ethnic Studies' Curriculum Promotes Anti-Semitism In California

Anti-Semitism

Ethnic Studies

Israel

Opinion

Palo Alto

Public Schools

Silicon Valley

There are “overwhelming facts, evidence, and testimony&#8221; proving that the University of California allowed a hostile environment on its campuses and failed to protect their employees from anti-Semitic tropes and attacks, senior Justice Department officials told The Daily Wire.
The Justice Department launched an investigation into the University of California system on Wednesday, following extensive reports about pervasive anti-Semitism on its campuses following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which spurred protests and conflict on campuses around the country.
“This Department of Justice will always defend Jewish Americans, protect civil rights, and leverage our resources to eradicate institutional Antisemitism in our nation’s universities,” Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-justice-department-launches-investigation-university-california-under-title-vii-civil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a statement</a> announcing the investigation.
Leo Terrell, the senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights, who is leading the Justice Department Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, told The Daily Wire that he expects the investigation to compile extensive evidence and testimony that will present “a viable winning case.”
Terrell said that the investigation is part of executing President Donald Trump’s executive order to rid America’s campuses of anti-Semitism.
“Trump and Bondi have made this a number one priority, and I&#8217;m proud and privileged to lead the task force to make sure that we root out anti-Semitism in every aspect of student life,” Terrell told The Daily Wire.
The investigation relies upon both submitted complaints and reporting, including The Daily Wire’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ucla-student-government-office-refused-to-hire-jews-report-alleges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> about the student government at the University of California, Los Angeles, allegedly discriminating against Jews and Zionists in hiring practices.
“This is going to lead to a lot more digging into the university to go behind the scenes, lift up the curtain to figure out what else is going on, including potentially emails among university administration where they&#8217;re flagging this issue and nothing&#8217;s going out,” Justice Department Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle, who is helping lead the investigation, told The Daily Wire.
“We don&#8217;t know what we&#8217;re going to find, but we&#8217;re going to look at everything.”
The investigation seeks to determine if the University of California system violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Under Title VII, the Justice Department has the authority to investigate employers where it has reason to believe that a “pattern to practice” of employment discrimination exists.
“This is alleging that the staff, employees, faculty, professors, and people on the payroll are being subjected to a pattern and practice of harassment, unsafe work conditions, hostile work environment, because the university has refused to take action against blatant anti-Semitic behavior,&#8221; Mizelle said.
The University of California system may be guilty of discriminating against Jews and Israelis based on their race, religion, and national origin, according to Mizelle.
“This is one of these instances where you have actually three separate bases of discrimination that it appears that the university has not taken appropriate action to combat,” Mizelle said.
Mizelle and Terrell said they hope to complete the investigation within 30 days, depending on how complicated their findings are. The duo plans to lead a team that will conduct deep dives into troves of emails and documents as well as interview witnesses, including students.
Once the investigation is complete, Bondi will determine if there is enough evidence to pursue a lawsuit to seek injunctive relief, which would include a court requiring the university to cease discriminatory behavior.
While the University of California system has 10 campuses that will be investigated, the Justice Department plans to pay close attention to UCLA and University of California, Berkeley, where many of the troubling reports about anti-Semitism have stemmed.
In December, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ucla-student-government-office-refused-to-hire-jews-report-alleges">reported</a> on a complaint filed regarding the Cultural Affairs Commissioner of UCLA’s Undergraduate Students Association Council, directing her staff to discriminate against Zionists when reviewing job applications.
A screenshot of a group message from the commissioner shows her alerting her staff when Zionists applied for a job, directing them to “please do your research when you look at applicants.”
A document from the group cited in the complaint categorizes Zionism alongside hateful ideologies, stating that any staff member can be removed from their position if they’re found to exhibit “antiBlackness, colorism, racism, white supremacy, zionism, xenophobia, transphobia, sexism, misogyny, ableism, or any/all other hateful bigoted ideologies.”
Terrell, who graduated from UCLA School of Law in 1990, said the DOJ has received numerous reports and complaints accusing the University of California system of creating a “severe and pervasive form of hostility and work environment.”
“That&#8217;s what we&#8217;re going to follow up on,” he said. “That&#8217;s the whole purpose of the notice to investigate.”
“I think there was such a delay in the response of the officials at UCLA as an example of the failure to take corrective action or immediate action or even to protect the students and the workforce at these universities and institutions,” Terrell added.
UCLA has been one of the most prominent schools thrown in the spotlight since the anti-Israel campus protests erupted, with a federal judge in August <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/court-issues-injunction-barring-ucla-from-helping-anti-semitic-agitators-target-jews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issuing an injunction</a> to stop the school from permitting and aiding anti-Semitic agitators who blocked Jews from the campus.
Regarding UC Berkeley, Mizelle and Terrell pointed to numerous reports of anti-Semitism, including Jewish students being <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-uc-berkeley-jewish-students-forced-to-evacuate-after-mob-storms-event-with-idf-soldier" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forced to evacuate</a> an event featuring Israeli Defense Forces special forces soldier Ran Bar-Yoshafat after a mob of protesters stormed the building.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-sign-executive-order-to-deport-anti-semitic-foreign-students-and-protesters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump established</a> the task force in January. The order marshals all federal resources to combat anti-Semitism and demands the deportation of foreign anti-Semitic demonstrators who violate American laws, including students on visas.
“There&#8217;s a new sheriff in town with Attorney General Pam Bondi and there&#8217;s a new sheriff in town with President Donald J. Trump,” Mizelle said. “They have made it very clear from the moment that Donald Trump was sworn in from the moment that she was sworn in as attorney general, they will not tolerate this.”
He added that the administration is dedicating “extensive resources” towards the effort to combat anti-Semitism.
“It is because of their leadership in this area that we do believe we&#8217;re going to be successful in rooting out anti-Semitic behavior from our colleges,” Mizelle said.
On Tuesday, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/114104167452161158">announced</a> on Truth Social that all federal funding for schools and universities would be stopped if they allowed “illegal protest.”
“Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came,” Trump said. “American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!”
Terrell and Mizelle said any person who feels as if they were discriminated against should <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-justice-department-launches-investigation-university-california-under-title-vii-civil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">file a complaint</a> with the Justice Department&#8217;s Civil Rights Division.

UC Berkeley

EXCLUSIVE: DOJ Has ‘Overwhelming Evidence’ Of Anti-Semitism In University Of California System

Department of Justice

Pam Bondi

UCLA

A college professor from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of California</a>, Davis, openly threatened Jewish journalists and their children in a recent social media post.
Jemma Decristo, whose bio on X calls for a &#8220;free&#8221; Palestine, posted the following message on October 10 — just days after Hamas terrorists went door-to-door in Israeli neighborhoods, raping, torturing, and executing civilians whether they be man, woman, or child.
&#8220;one group of ppl we have easy access to in the US is all these zionist journalists who spread propaganda &amp; misiniformation [sic],&#8221; Decristo posted. &#8220;they have houses w addresses, kids in school. they can fear their bosses, but they should fear us more.&#8221;
Decristo punctuated the post with several emojis: a knife, an axe, and three drops of blood.
The UC Davis assistant professor of American studies — and undergraduate faculty advisor — has since made the X account private — but not before Heritage Foundation research fellow Jason Bedrick captured a screenshot of the post.
&#8220;Hey @ucdavis, do you think it’s appropriate that one of your faculty advisors, @jemmaisOKeh, is publicly threatening to murder Jews at their homes and their children at their schools?&#8221; he asked.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/ucdavis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ucdavis</a>, do you think it’s appropriate that one of your faculty advisors, @jemmaisOKeh, is publicly threatening to murder Jews at their homes and their children at their schools? <a href="https://t.co/xAx97LHYbr">pic.twitter.com/xAx97LHYbr</a>
&mdash; Jason Bedrick 🇺🇸🎗️🇮🇱 (@JasonBedrick) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonBedrick/status/1715036789730431299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Bedrick later updated his post to note that UC Davis had reportedly removed Decristo&#8217;s faculty page from the school&#8217;s website — &#8220;but still hasn’t publicly acknowledged that one of their professors was threatening to murder Jews.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Looks like <a href="https://twitter.com/ucdavis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ucdavis</a> took down DeCristo’s faculty page, but still hasn’t publicly acknowledged that one of their professors was threatening to murder Jews. <a href="https://t.co/EP4uYayIUd">pic.twitter.com/EP4uYayIUd</a>
&mdash; Jason Bedrick 🇺🇸🎗️🇮🇱 (@JasonBedrick) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonBedrick/status/1715050668837482680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
When asked for comment about Decristo and whether the comments were being addressed, a spokesperson for UC Davis replied with what radio host <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonrantz/status/1715014169655906527" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jason Rantz</a> referred to as a &#8220;boilerplate&#8221; statement condemning &#8220;discrimination and violence&#8221; in all forms.
&#8220;We reject all forms of violence and discrimination, as they are antithetical to the values of our university. We strive to foster a climate of equity and justice built on mutual understanding and respect for all members of the community,&#8221; The California Globe quoted.

Higher Learning

‘They Should Fear Us’: UC Davis Professor Threatens Jewish Journalists And Their Children

UC Davis Professor Threatens Jewish Journalists And Their Children

Hamas

Jews

A University of California, Berkeley professor is warning law firms not to hire some of his students, who he says are &#8220;anti-Semitic.&#8221;
Steven Davidoff Solomon, who teaches corporate law at the University of California, Berkeley, made the accusation against his students in a Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/dont-hire-my-anti-semitic-law-students-protests-colleges-universities-jews-palestine-6ad86ad5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">op-ed</a> titled, &#8220;Don’t Hire My Anti-Semitic Law Students.&#8221;
“My students are largely engaged and well-prepared, and I regularly recommend them to legal employers,” Solomon wrote. “But if you don’t want to hire people who advocate hate and practice discrimination, don’t hire some of my students.&#8221;
Solomon&#8217;s op-ed comes after the terrorist group Hamas launched deadly attacks on Israel earlier this month that killed more than 1,400 people, including children. Israel is now waging a massive counteroffensive, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-palestinians-death-toll-ground-offensive-expected/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launching</a> airstrikes in Hamas-controlled territory and preparing for a ground offensive.
Last year, nine UC Berkeley student groups adopted a rule banning pro-Israel speakers from events, <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/09/30/uc-berkeley-blasted-for-creating-jewish-free-zones-with-pro-israel-speaker-ban/">according</a> to the New York Post. The bylaw was written by the Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine and states that the groups &#8220;will not invite speakers that have expressed interest and continue to hold views, host, sponsor or promote events in support of Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel and the occupation of Palestine.”
The Students for Justice in Palestine <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/10/16/uc-berkeley-law-professor-urges-firms-to-not-hire-his-antisemitic-students/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the rule is aimed at protecting “the safety and welfare of Palestinian students.”
Solomon accused the student groups of failing to include Jewish law students in the conversation when they circulated the rule.
“It was rightly criticized for creating ‘Jew-free’ zones,” Solomon wrote.
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“The student conduct at Berkeley is part of the broader attitude against Jews on university campuses that made last week’s massacre possible,” the law professor wrote. “It is shameful and has been tolerated for too long.”
Solomon called on law firms who are considering hiring his students to “treat these law students like the adults they are” during the hiring process.
“If a student endorses hate, dehumanization or anti-Semitism, don’t hire him. When students face consequences for their actions, they straighten up,” he wrote.
Students at other schools who expressed anti-Israel sentiments have been criticized by potential employers as well. At least 10 CEOs and other executives <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/major-ceos-back-call-not-to-hire-pro-hamas-harvard-students" target="_blank" rel="noopener">backed</a> a call last week not to hire Harvard University students who signed on to a letter blaming Israel for Hamas&#8217; deadly attacks.
Also last week, a law firm <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/11/us/nyu-law-harvard-hamas-israel.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rescinded</a> its job offer to a New York University law student who made what the firms said were “inflammatory comments” about Hamas’ attack.

A UC Berkeley Law School graduate’s tassel sparkles during the commencement ceremony at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, Calif. on Saturday, May 10, 2014. Attorneys David Boies and Ted Olson, who successfully argued the case against Prop. 8 and was overtur

UC Berkeley Law Professor Tells Firms Not To Hire His ‘Anti-Semitic’ Students

UC Berkeley Law Professor Tells Firms Not To Hire His 'Anti-Semitic' Students

Berkeley, California

Lawyer

Palestinians

University of California Berkeley

Police arrested a 21-year-old college student in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a> on Wednesday, bringing a weeklong hunt for a suspected serial stabber to an end.
Fear gripped the town of Davis, home to the University of California, Davis, after two people were killed and another injured in a series of stabbings. The Davis Police Department <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CityofDavisPoliceDepartment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the arrest of a college sophomore in connection with the spate of attacks on Thursday afternoon. The department said 15 tips were called into the police that aided in the arrest.
“This is remarkable,” Police Chief Darren Pytel said in a statement. “Our community should be proud of everyone who stepped up. I do believe they, and all the law enforcement personnel, especially the members of the Davis Police Department, who were involved in this investigation along the way, may have saved more lives.”
Police made the arrest after tipsters reported a wandering around Sycamore Park that matched the description of the suspect. Police located the man close by.
“Located on his person was a large fixed blade knife. Officers and detectives quickly determined that [the suspect] was a ‘person of interest’ in the recent attacks and transported him to the Police Department for further questioning after he consented to their request,” the department said. The suspect “was interviewed at length and officers collected significant evidence from his person including the clothes he was wearing which appeared to be identical to the clothing description provided after the 3rd attack.”
The first fatal stabbing was reported on April 27. Police making a wellness check in the Davis’ Central Park found David Henry Breaux, a 50-year-old homeless man, sitting hunched on a bench with “very significant” stab wounds, Pytel told reporters at the time, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/person-detained-connection-fatal-stabbings-uc-davis-campus-police-say-rcna82499" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC News</a>.
On April 29, 20-year-old college student Karim Abou Najm was attacked in Sycamore Park. He later died of his injuries. On Monday, a 64-year-old homeless woman was stabbed through her tent. After surgery, she is in stable condition.
Davis Mayor Will Arnold previously <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-police-investigating-possible-serial-killer-near-uc-davis-campus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> of the three victims that they were attacked with “brutal violence.”
“Their family and loved ones will never be the same. Our entire community will never quite be the same. Our sense of security and normalcy has been fractured. Our sense of identity is being challenged. However, our sense of unity has never been stronger,” Arnold said.

UC Davis

Weeklong Manhunt For Serial Stabber Ends In Arrest Of College Student

Crime

U.S.

Violent Crime

Two people were arrested and one police officer was injured Tuesday night after a mix of protesters and black-clad rioters clashed with authorities and damaged property at the University of California, Davis, in protest of a Turning Point USA event featuring <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/charlie-kirk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charlie Kirk</a>.
Kirk, who founded the nationwide conservative organization of 250,000 student members, spoke to approximately 500 attendees at the left-leaning university about American values.
However, before the audience could access the venue, about 100 protesters and some rioters blocked the main entrance and pathway, UC Davis officials said.
&#8220;Outside the UCUC, about 100 protesters gathered and for brief times blocked the main event entrance and the pathway to the entrance,&#8221; the school told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/elon-musk-respond-protesters-smash-windows-hurl-eggs-charlie-kirk-event-college-campus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>. &#8220;One officer sustained an injury when he was jumped on from behind and pushed to the ground, and two people were arrested and taken to Yolo County Jail for allegedly painting graffiti on an exterior wall of the University Credit Union Center, or UCUC, where the event was held.&#8221;
Videos posted to social media show some rioters kicking in glass windows at the venue, while other <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11862789/Elon-Musk-slams-Antifa-goons-violent-protest-Charlie-Kirk-invited-talk-UC-Davis.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> show the group throwing eggs and other objects. Officials also noted that crowd members were pepper spraying attendees trying to enter the building.
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🚨BREAKING: Antifa is attempting to overrun the venue hosting Charlie Kirk at UC Davis. They have begun violently smashing through the windows in an attempt to shut down the voice of those they oppose <a href="https://t.co/2EXQprQAZJ">pic.twitter.com/2EXQprQAZJ</a>
&mdash; Turning Point USA (@TPUSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPUSA/status/1635823755548319750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
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UC Davis: at approx 18:05 the mob of far-left radical conspiracy theorists surrounded the main entrance of the event screaming at event attendees and preventing them from attending the event. At one point they call me out by name. <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@charliekirk11</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/TPUSA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TPUSA</a> @FrontlinesShow <a href="https://t.co/7hSGtIb0nw">pic.twitter.com/7hSGtIb0nw</a>
&mdash; Kalen D’Almeida (@fromkalen) <a href="https://twitter.com/fromkalen/status/1635854682714423297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Aside from these pepper spray reports, no major physical injuries were reported and no one requested treatment for injuries,&#8221; UC Davis officials <a href="https://www.kcra.com/article/2-arrested-building-vandalized-uc-davis-event-conservative-activist/43326784" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Kirk later referred to the rioters, who reportedly broke ten glass window panes, as &#8220;terrorists&#8221; to the audience.
&#8220;We&#8217;re not going to put up with force of trying to shut down people you don&#8217;t like &#8230; and tonight is a statement to them that they&#8217;re the losers,&#8221; Kirk said.
https://twitter.com/RebsBrannon/status/1635834270974623745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1635834270974623745%7Ctwgr%5E16cb2e1722f1a72885baff57b6fba2339c9ac09e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tpusa.com%2Flive%2Fantifa-rioters-break-through-windows-at-charlie-kirks-uc-davis-event-carried-out-by-officers
UC Davis officials told Fox News that the unidentified person taken into custody by authorities was not affiliated with the university.
Most agitators held signs supporting the “LGBTQIA2S+” community, covering their identity with umbrellas.
UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May shared a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz3k-FnPpJM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> on YouTube in which he referred to the Turning Point USA founder as &#8220;a well-documented proponent of misinformation and hate and who has advocated for violence against transgender individuals.&#8221;
May said that while he &#8220;abhors the inflammatory speech&#8221; of Kirk, the university did not invite or sponsor him to speak on the campus.
He said the university abides by the policy that allows registered student organizations, such as Turning Point USA, to reserve campus facilities to host speakers of their choice, &#8220;even if the speaker&#8217;s intended speech is loathsome and hurtful to me and to others in our campus community.&#8221;
&#8220;As a campus that is committed to our principles of community,&#8221; May said. “UC Davis stands with our transgender and non-binary Aggies in opposition to the hateful and divisive messaging.&#8221;
The rhetoric from the university&#8217;s chancellor echoed similar sentiments from an op-ed with the California-based news outlet Sacramento Bee, which called for UC Davis to cancel the event and falsely accused Kirk of advocating for the &#8220;lynching&#8221; of transgender-identifying people.
&#8220;Charlie Kirk has called for the lynching of trans people, a comment that should warrant the cancelation of his speaking engagement at UC Davis,&#8221; the outlet said in a since-deleted tweet.
Kirk denied the inflammatory headline and article and threatened to sue the outlet, which removed the article from its site and reposted it, referring to Kirk as a &#8220;far-right&#8221; leader.
&#8220;Sacbee reporter has deleted previous tweet parroting the ‘lynching trans’ lie,&#8221; Kirk said in a tweet. &#8220;I hope no one was hurt over a complete fabrication of something I NEVER said but was nevertheless originally spread by a trans activist and liar.&#8221;
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Sacbee reporter has deleted previous tweet parroting the “lynching trans” lie. I hope no one was hurt over a complete fabrication of something I NEVER said but was nevertheless originally spread by a trans activist and liar <a href="https://twitter.com/ErinInTheMorn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ErinInTheMorn</a> <a href="https://t.co/NO0icuC2xj">https://t.co/NO0icuC2xj</a>
&mdash; Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1635857072775647233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro At Power Of The People Event

Two Arrested, One Officer Injured As Protesters Damage Property Ahead Of Charlie Kirk Event At California University

 Two Arrested, One Officer Injured As Protesters Damage California University Property Ahead Of Charlie Kirk Event

Antifa

Charlie Kirk

General

Leftists

Turning Point USA

Last week, Columbia University became the first Ivy League school to permanently scrap its standardized test requirement, allowing hopeful applicants to skip the dreaded SAT and ACT.
The move makes the prestigious New York City school the latest in a string of elite institutions to move away from the tests as the argument that standardized testing harms minority students picks up steam. Previously, a low SAT or ACT score meant automatic elimination at many top-tier schools.
In a March 1 <a href="https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/columbia-test-optional" target="_blank" rel="noopener">release,</a> Columbia University wrote that &#8220;students are dynamic, multi-faceted individuals who cannot be defined by any single factor.&#8221; The admissions process respects the &#8220;varied backgrounds, voices and experiences&#8221; of students in order to determine whether a student will thrive at the school, Columbia said. Students may still submit test scores, but those who do not will not be at a disadvantage.
During the pandemic, many universities — including Harvard and Princeton — jumped at the chance to indefinitely suspend their standardized test admission requirements while in-person testing was on hold. Now, some like Columbia don&#8217;t want to go back.
In 2020, the entire 10-school University of California system <a href="https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/university-california-board-regents-unanimously-approved-changes-standardized-testing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> to permanently get rid of standardized tests. The move came after a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/us/sat-act-uc-lawsuit.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> from students claiming the tests are racist and biased against disabled students. New York University, Cornell College, George Washington University, and University of Chicago have also joined the ranks of those that <a href="https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/colleges-that-dont-require-sat-or-act/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allow</a> students to skip the tests.
This fall, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2022/11/15/more-than-80-of-four-year-colleges-wont-require-standardized--tests-for-fall-2023-admissions/?sh=760c3bd17fb9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than 80%</a> of undergraduate colleges will not require ACT or SAT scores from students, according to one estimate.
The SAT and ACT are also not the only standardized tests schools are ditching over &#8220;equity&#8221; concerns. Dozens of law schools have <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/lsat-optional-law-school-admissions-hit-snag-with-aba-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrapped</a> their LSAT test requirement. Advocates are even <a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/2019/09/its-time-to-abolish-the-mcat.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushing</a> for medical schools to stop requiring the MCAT, alarming critics who worry that schools could end up graduating less qualified doctors, putting patients at risk.
The argument that standardized tests are inherently racist has given rise to eyebrow-raising explanations for why minority students on the whole <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/09/24/minority-and-first-generation-sat-scores-fall-behind" target="_blank" rel="noopener">do worse</a> on these tests. Black students perform poorly on standardized tests because they fear incorrect answers will confirm negative stereotypes about their race — they perform badly because they&#8217;re afraid of performing badly, essentially — a 2011 Stanford University study <a href="https://www.bet.com/article/cuz1xn/why-do-black-students-perform-poorly-on-standardized-tests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a>.
A more plausible explanation is that minority students <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/03/sat-scores-drop-and-racial-gaps-remain-large" target="_blank" rel="noopener">often come</a> from low-income backgrounds and neighborhoods where students may not have support systems or quality schools helping them prepare well for the test.
Now, a new deadline has turned up the pressure on schools to get rid of standardized tests.
The Supreme Court is preparing to rule against affirmative action this summer. This means universities will have to find new ways to keep their student body diverse, like eliminating standardized testing.
The high court is widely expected to rule in June that affirmative action is unconstitutional and racist in a pair of cases involving Harvard and the University of North Carolina. A group called Students for Fair Admissions <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/scotus-hinting-it-might-throw-out-affirmative-action-used-in-college-admissions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a> the schools, accusing them of unfairly factoring race into their admissions process. The group pointed to the high test scores of Asian-American and white applicants who were rejected.
Universities, including selective ones, are scrambling to find ways to replace affirmative action.
Cornell has <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/12/pollack-establishes-task-force-undergraduate-admissions#:~:text=Cornell%20joined%20other%20institutions%20in%20filing%20amicus%20briefs,the%20admissions%20offices%20supporting%20each%20college%20and%20school." target="_blank" rel="noopener">established</a> a task force to figure out how to recruit diverse classes if the Supreme Court nixes affirmative action. The University of California system board of regents banned affirmative action back in 1995, so UC <a href="https://edsource.org/2020/dropping-affirmative-action-had-huge-impact-on-californias-public-universities/642437" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adopted</a> roundabout ways of trying to identify minority students such as poor neighborhoods and family income. Some schools may now follow in UC&#8217;s footsteps.
Hans Bader, a longtime civil rights lawyer who worked in the federal Office for Civil Rights, said schools are trying to &#8220;reduce reliance on merit-based criteria&#8221; ahead of the ruling.
&#8220;They hope that by doing so, the number of admitted black applicants will increase as a result,&#8221; Bader told The Daily Wire. &#8220;They hope that will offset the result of the Supreme Court&#8217;s ruling, which could make it much harder for them to give an overt racial preference to black applicants in admissions, and thus could reduce the number of admitted black applicants significantly.&#8221;
&#8220;Their students will be dumber as a result,&#8221; Bader predicted.

SAT College Exams To Undergo Major Changes

Universities Scrap SAT, Scramble To Stay Diverse Ahead Of Affirmative Action Ruling

Affirmative Action

Harvard

Princeton University

Supreme Court

A program that grants monthly payments to black “pregnant people” will soon expand across the state of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a>.
The <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/san-francisco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco</a> Department of Public Health partnered with Expecting Justice, a program from the University of California San Francisco, last summer to provide the “pregnant people” with $1,000 per month for one full year in the hopes of reducing purported racial health <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/systemic-racism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disparities</a> stemming from childbirth. The program, which has aided as many as 150 residents of San Francisco, will expand next year to Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, and Riverside counties, where recipients can expect monthly stipends between $600 and $1,000.
“The Abundant Birth Project has proven to be successful in San Francisco and brings an innovative, equitable approach to addressing disproportionate health impacts largely among Black families, which is why I committed to investing $1.5 million over the next two years to grow the program in our City and neighboring counties,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed remarked in a <a href="https://sf.gov/news/program-providing-basic-income-black-pregnant-women-expands-help-mothers-across-state" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “This guaranteed income program helps ease some of the financial burdens that all too often keep mothers from being able to prioritize their own health and ultimately impact the health of their babies and family.”
Expanding the program through a $5 million grant from the California Department of Social Services will enable benefits for 425 more “pregnant people,” a term favored by Expecting Justice Director Zea Malawa. “For so long, Black women have been excluded from the resources needed to have safe and healthy pregnancies,” the University of California San Francisco visiting professor remarked. “This funding will provide pregnant people with economic stability during this critical phase in their lives while allowing public health institutions to test a novel and promising public health intervention.”
The San Francisco Department of Public Health claimed that black women are twice as likely as white women to have a preterm birth and experience “the highest infant and maternal mortality rates among any population” partially because of wealth and income disparities. The city <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/san-francisco-launches-program-to-pay-trans-residents-1200-a-month-for-18-months" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> a similar initiative that will provide $1,200 monthly checks for 18 months to 55 transgender residents in an effort to fight “poverty our most impacted community members face.”
The maternal health program comes after judges <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-knew-its-racial-preferences-for-covid-relief-were-unconstitutional-went-ahead-anyway" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nixed</a> a Department of Agriculture policy last year that excluded white farmers from receiving debt relief. Judge William Griesbach of Wisconsin ruled that the Biden officials’ decision to use “race-based criteria in the administration of the program violates their right to equal protection under the law.” A task force <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/newsoms-reparations-task-force-kicks-around-giving-223000-to-black-californians" target="_blank" rel="noopener">created</a> by Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is now weighing a program that would grant each black resident as much as $223,000 as reparations for the country’s “painful legacy of racial injustice.”
Beyond the initiative meant to improve maternal health outcomes, the University of California San Francisco hosts multiple programs meant to train future abortionists, according to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-uc-san-franciscos-massive-abortion-training-network" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The Daily Wire published last year. The school’s Fellowship in Family Planning, for instance, provides a two-year intensive complete with health insurance, loan repayment assistance, and a stipend so that participants can access “the opportunity to develop high-level research and clinical skills in contraception and abortion.” The program is offered at many of the nation’s most elite postsecondary institutions, including four of the eight Ivy League colleges.
The University of California San Francisco also made headlines last year after a pro-life group obtained <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uc-san-francisco-harvests-preborn-baby-genitalia-gonads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research logs</a> proving that researchers had harvested reproductive organs from preborn children for various experiments, according to Live Action.

38E3B8B9-2A60-4954-81F7-F3DA0B91FFB3_1_201_a

California Expands Program Giving Black ‘Pregnant People’ Up To $1,000 Per Month

San Francisco Program Giving $1,000 To Pregnant Black Women Will Expand Across California

Gavin Newsom

London Breed

San Francisco

Social Issues

Systemic Racism

Academic workers at the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/university-of-california-berkeley">University of California</a> are going on strike over pay and benefits disagreements. 
Around 48,000 UC teaching assistants, postdoctoral employees, graders and researchers are unhappy with their current salary status and benefits. They are looking to secure minimum salary increases and more, noting that they do not make enough money to reside in the state of California — where taxes and the cost of living continue to make it difficult for workers in various sectors to continue operating. 
“At every turn, the university has sought to act unlawfully at the bargaining table, which is preventing us from reaching an agreement,” Neal Sweeney, the president of UAW Local 5810 said. The union represents over 11,000 UC postdoctoral employees and academic researchers.
The UAW also said the strike at the University of California is the biggest academic walkout in higher education in the history of the country, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/11/14/university-california-strike-academic-workers-union/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. 
“We’re the ones who perform the majority of the teaching, and we’re the ones who perform the majority of the research,” Rafael Jaime, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/us/university-of-california-strike-pay.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. Jaime is president of U.A.W. Local 2865, which represents around 19,000 workers.
“We’re the backbone of the university,” he said, per The New York Times, “and I have a hard time seeing how operations are going to be maintained with us on the picket line.”
Jaime said he doesn’t make enough money to live in a Westwood apartment near the school, so he lives downtown and splits the cost with two roommates.
The cost of living in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a>, is 49% more than the national average, according to <a href="https://www.payscale.com/cost-of-living-calculator/California-Los-Angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Payscale</a>. Housing is 129% more, while utilities and groceries are 7% and 13% higher, respectively. 
“UC’s primary goal in these negotiations is multiyear agreements that recognize these employees’ important and highly valued contributions to UC’s teaching and research mission with fair pay, quality health and family-friendly benefits, and a supportive and respectful work environment,” the university system <a href="https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/UAW" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on its website regarding the strike and discussions with the United Auto Workers. 
“UC believes its offers are generous, responsive to union priorities, and recognize the many valuable contributions of these employees,” it added, saying its “proposals include pay increases, expanded paid leaves, increased family support and child care benefits” for several positions.
The strike could negatively impact students as they get ready to take their final exams. 
The UAW is requesting $54,000 salary per year for all graduate employees, $70,000 per year for postdoctoral employees, a 14% salary hike for academic researchers and “[a]nnual cost of living adjustments and experience-based increases,” according to a <a href="https://www.fairucnow.org/cola/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> regarding the strike. The union has also asked for its members to receive reimbursements for childcare, longer paid parental leave, and public transit cards.

E3A2CD32-6C83-4621-BFC6-39D2A1F2C7DC_1_201_a

University of California Academic Workers Strike, Citing High Cost Of Living

University of California Academic Union Workers Strike Over Wages And More, Citing High Cost Of Living

Economy

Los Angeles

strike

The following is an exclusive excerpt from the new book <a href="https://www.regnery.com/9781684513857/the-new-abnormal/">The New Abnormal: The Rise of the Biomedical Security State</a>, by Aaron Kheriaty, M.D. (Regnery Publishing, November 1, 2022).
Shortly after I published the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/university-vaccine-mandates-violate-medical-ethics-11623689220">Wall Street Journal piece</a> arguing that university vaccine mandates were unethical, the University of California, my employer, promulgated its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/university-of-california-system-expects-to-cut-in-person-classes-for-fall-term">vaccine mandate</a>. I decided then it was time to put a stake in the ground: I filed lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the university’s vaccine mandate on behalf of COVID-recovered individuals. It was already clear from many robust studies that natural immunity following infection was superior to vaccine-mediated immunity in terms of efficacy and duration of immunity.
At the time I was an unlikely candidate to challenge the prevailing vaccination policies. I was deeply embedded in the academic medical establishment, where I had spent my entire career. In my capacity as a psychiatric consultant on the medical wards and in the emergency department, I had suited up in PPE (personal protective equipment) to see hundreds of hospitalized COVID patients, witnessing the worst that this illness can do. Nobody needed to explain to me how bad this virus could be for some individuals, especially the elderly with co-occurring medical conditions who were at significant risk of bad outcomes when infected.
I contracted the virus in July 2020, and despite my efforts to self-isolate, passed it to my wife and five children. Living and breathing COVID for a year, I eagerly awaited a safe and effective vaccine for those that were still not immune to this virus. I happily served on the Orange County COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, and I <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-16/californias-covid-19-vaccine-expansion-relies-on-honor-system-you-have-to-try-to-trust">advocated</a> in the Los Angeles Times that the elderly and sick be prioritized for vaccination, and that the poor, disabled, and underserved be given ready access to vaccines.
I had worked every day for over a year to develop and advance the university’s and state’s pandemic mitigation measures. But as the prevailing COVID policies unfolded, I became increasingly concerned, and eventually disillusioned. Our one-size-fits-all coercive mandates failed to take account of individualized risks and benefits, particularly age-stratified risks, which are central to the practice of good medicine. We ignored foundational principles of public health, like transparency and the health of the entire population. With little resistance we abandoned foundational ethical principles.
Among the most glaring failures of our response to COVID was the refusal to acknowledge the natural immunity of COVID-recovered patients in our mitigation strategies, herd-immunity estimates, and vaccine-rollout plans. The CDC estimated that by May 2021, more than 120 million Americans (36 percent) had been infected with COVID. Following the delta-variant wave later that year, many epidemiologists estimated the number was close to half of all Americans. By the end of omicron wave in early 2022, that number was north of 70 percent. The good news — almost never mentioned — was that those with previous infection had more durable and longer lasting immunity than the vaccinated. Yet the focus remained exclusively on vaccines.
As I argued in a <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2021/07/05/how-college-covid-vaccine-mandates-put-students-in-danger/">coauthored article</a>, medical exemptions for most vaccine mandates were too narrowly tailored, constraining physician’s discretionary judgment and seriously compromising individualized patient care. Most mandates only allowed medical exemptions for conditions included on the CDC’s list of contraindications to the vaccines — a list that was never meant to be comprehensive. CDC recommendations should never have been taken as sound medical advice applicable to every patient.
Further exacerbating this problem, on August 17, 2021, all licensed physicians in California received a notification from the state medical board with the heading “Inappropriate Exemptions May Subject Physicians to Discipline.” Physicians were informed that any doctor granting an inappropriate mask exemption or other COVID-related exemptions “may be subjecting their license to disciplinary action.” In what was perhaps a deliberate omission, the “standard of care” criteria for vaccine exemptions was never defined by the medical board. In my eighteen years as a licensed physician, I had never previously received any such notice, nor had my colleagues.
The effect was chilling: since physicians naturally interpreted “other exemptions” to include vaccines, it became de facto impossible to find a doctor in California willing to write a medical exemption, even if the patient had a legitimate contraindication to the COVID vaccines. One of my patients was told by his rheumatologist he should not get the COVID vaccine, since he was at low risk from COVID and in this physician’s judgment his autoimmune condition elevated his risks of vaccine adverse effects. This patient, who was subjected to a vaccine mandate at work, immediately asked this same physician for a medical exemption. The doctor replied, “I’m sorry, I cannot write you an exemption because I’m afraid I might lose my license.” I heard many stories of similar egregious violations of medical ethics under these repressive mandates and the enforcement regime that bolstered them.
As the vaccines rolled out in 2021, I spoke to many students, faculty, residents, staff, and patients who were aware of these basic immunological facts and were asking legitimate questions about vaccine mandates. Many correctly saw no medical or public health justification for subjecting themselves to the risks of the novel vaccines when they already had superior natural immunity. Others had moral concerns but did not qualify for a religious exemption, because religion was not central to their conscience-based objections.
They felt intimidated, disempowered, and vulnerable in the face of immense pressure to go along. Many physicians and nurses were afraid to speak up in the climate of coercion. Public health officials ignored inconvenient scientific findings, suppressed reasonable questions, and bullied into silence any skeptical physicians or scientists. Institutions promulgating mandates stigmatized and punished those who refused to comply. I had never seen anything like this in medicine.
Why did I file a lawsuit in federal court against my own employer? I had nothing to gain personally by this and a lot to lose professionally. I decided I could not stand by and watch the ethical disaster unfold around me without attempting to do something. In my position as Director of Medical Ethics at UCI, I had a duty to represent those whose voices were silenced and to insist upon the right of informed consent and informed refusal.
In the end, my decision to challenge these mandates came down to this question: How could I continue to call myself a medical ethicist if I failed to do what I was convinced was morally right under pressure? Projecting ahead to the required medical ethics course I taught to first and second-year medical students at the beginning of each year, I could not imagine lecturing on informed consent, moral courage, and our duty to protect patients from harm if I had failed to oppose these unjust and unscientific mandates. I simply would not have woken up each day with a clear conscience.
The university did not take kindly to my legal challenge, as you might imagine. Administrators allowed no grass to grow under their feet before responding to this dissident within the ranks. I had petitioned the court for a preliminary injunction to put the vaccine mandate on hold while the case was litigated in court. The judge declined this request, and the following day the university placed me on “investigatory leave” for alleged noncompliance with the vaccine mandate. Instead of waiting for the federal court to decide my case, the university immediately banned me from working on campus or working from home.
I was given no opportunity to contact my patients, students, residents, or colleagues and let them know I would suddenly disappear. An email from one of the deans, sent after I had left the office for the day, informed me that I could not return to campus the following day. 
As I drove away from campus for the last time that day, I glanced at the sign on the corner near the hospital. The sign, which had been up for months, read in large block letters, HEROES WORK HERE.
Aaron Kheriaty, M.D. is a psychiatrist, and the director of the program in Bioethics and American Democracy at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC, and the director of the Health and Human Flourishing program at the Zephyr Institute in Palo Alto, California. This excerpt was derived from his forthcoming book <a href="https://www.regnery.com/9781684513857/the-new-abnormal/">The New Abnormal: The Rise of the Biomedical Security State</a> (Regnery Publishing, November 1, 2022).
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

US-POLITICS-CLINTON

This Doctor Witnessed The Worst Of COVID And Still Refused The Jab. So UC Irvine Fired Him.

UC Irvine Fires Director of Medical Ethics Over Vaccine Mandate

Books

COVID

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Tens of thousands of fish <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/21000-fish-die-catastrophic-failure-university-california-davis-facili-rcna42831" target="_blank" rel="noopener">perished</a> at a <a href="https://thefishsite.com/articles/21-000-fish-die-in-catastrophic-incident-at-uc-davis-aquaculture-lab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">facility</a> at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/university-of-california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of California, Davis</a>, according to authorities with the school. 
Officials announced the “catastrophic failure” on Thursday, releasing a <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/statement-uc-davis-grieves-loss-fish" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on the situation which took place at the UC Davis Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture (CABA). They said 21,000 fish died in what appears to have been a tragedy caused by exposure to chlorine, “to which fish are especially sensitive.”
The statement explained that they are “[i]nvestigating where our process failed,” telling regulatory and funding groups about the situation, taking care of the fish that lived, looking into practices in other similar spaces, and starting “an independent external review,” as well as other action items. 
One type of research that was being carried out at the Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture included investigating “bioenergetics and environmental stressors on fish species, which included green and white sturgeon, as well as endangered Chinook salmon.”
The school pointed out that there are lots of other spaces that were not affected by the catastrophe where UC Davis carries out research. They are, however, looking into other facilities that might be at risk for a similar chlorine disaster. 
“We know that many researchers, regulatory agencies, Native American tribes and other partners trust us to care for their aquatic species,” the statement noted. “We will work hard to earn that trust by conducting a thorough review of our facilities, holding ourselves accountable for what happened, and taking steps to prevent it from happening ever again.” 
“We share the grief of the faculty, staff and students who worked to care for, study and conserve these animals. The people who conduct and support the research at this facility are conservationists, ecologists and veterinarians whose life work is devoted to understanding and supporting these species,&#8221; it continued. “We recognize that this loss is particularly devastating to our community. We commit to understanding what happened and making changes to the facility so that we can ensure that this does not happen again.”
The Daily Wire asked UC Davis News &amp; Media Relations contact Andy Fell if there are plans to restart the research after more fish are restored to the facility. 
“Yes, at the moment we are focused on determining the exact cause and making sure it can’t reoccur,” Fell answered over email. 
The CABA <a href="https://caba.ucdavis.edu/about-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> noted that the facility “was established to provide leadership, focus, and support to University of California Davis researchers in addressing problems associated with California’s cultured and wild aquatic biological resources.”
The center and its aquatic research spaces also “provide the basic infrastructure” for College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences departments, and other departments across the college, to carry out research and affiliated programs. 
The University of California recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/university-of-california-admits-record-in-state-students-cuts-back-on-international-and-out-of-state-admissions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admitted</a> a record number of in-state students after facing pressure to cut down on the amount of international and out-of-state students in the university. Last year, the school <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-11-18/uc-slams-door-on-sat-and-all-standardized-admissions-tests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threw</a> out any required standardized testing for admission after temporarily ending the SAT and ACT the year prior over alleged biased outcomes.

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21,000 Fish Die At UC Davis Research Facility

21,000 Fish Die At UC Davis Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture Research Facility 

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