A leftist protester was sentenced to five years in prison after he attempted to disrupt a 2023 event featuring Daily Wire host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-michael-knowles-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Knowles</a> at the University of Pittsburgh by setting off multiple homemade smoke bombs and launching a firework explosive into a crowd of police officers, seriously injuring one.  
Brian DiPippa, 37, and his wife Krystal DiPippa, 42, were both <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/pittsburgh-couple-sentenced-obstructing-law-enforcement-during-campus-protest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced</a> over their convictions of obstructing law enforcement <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/two-protesters-from-michael-knowles-pitt-debate-on-transgenderism-indicted" target="_blank" rel="noopener">after they attempted</a> to disrupt a debate on transgenderism that Knowles was having at the University of Pittsburgh in April 2023. Brian was given five years in prison and Krystal was given three years of probation while they were both ordered to pay $1,400 to the university and $47,284 to the injured officer. 
“The DiPippas conspired to injure law enforcement officers and cause chaos at a college campus protest,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas Olshan. “They attacked brave men and women who were trying to maintain order and protect the attendees. Today’s sentencings — and particularly the years of incarceration imposed on Brian DiPippa — should serve as a deterrent for anyone who would consider engaging in such outrageous and dangerous conduct in the future.”
One officer was seriously injured during the attack as she deflected the firework as it headed toward her face and fell backward. Her legs were burnt, she needed back surgery for a fusion and a cadaver disc, and she had hearing loss, TRIBLIVE <a href="https://community.triblive.com/news/3705840" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. 
“Brian DiPippa is a homegrown terrorist who had every intention of hurting someone that day,” she said in court on Monday. “I will never be the same.”
Knowles <a href="https://x.com/michaeljknowles/status/1876666924513525792" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> to the news by thanking the prosecutors and law enforcement for their work, but criticized U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan for the sentencing. 
“Many thanks to the law enforcement officers and prosecutors who forced these left-wing terrorists to face at least some consequences for their actions,” he said. “The judge was far too lenient, but it’s something.”
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On his Tuesday <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1646-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast</a>, Knowles praised the federal officer who “pursued the case” and worked to bring justice over the attack. He added that the judge “basically” let the couple “off the hook.” 
FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek said he hoped the sentencing would deter future similar attacks. 
“These sentencings send a clear message that the FBI and our partners will use all available tools to bring to justice those who seek to injure, maim, or attack law enforcement officers,” he said. “The FBI and our Joint Terrorism Task Force partners across the country stand committed to our mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution.”

Knowles protesters

Protester Who Shot Firework Explosive At Police During Michael Knowles Event Sentenced

Courts

domestic terrorism

Michael Knowles

Transgender

University of Pittsburgh

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/steve-daines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Daines</a> (R-Montana) praised the federal investigation into the University of Pittsburgh after the school was accused of illegally harvesting fetal tissue from aborted babies for experimentation. 
It was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-investigation-opened-into-pitt-over-fetal-tissue-experiments-emails-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed last month</a> through emails obtained by a public records request from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) and Judicial Watch that the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general had been looking into Pitt over fetal tissue experiments funded in part by the National Institute of Health, first reported on by CMP in 2019. These experiments included scalping 5-month-old fetuses in order to stitch their scalps and back skin onto lab rats and transporting fetal kidneys to other researchers.
“After years of calling for an investigation into the barbaric research practices happening at the University of Pittsburgh, I’m glad to see the inspector general finally take this seriously. Exploiting the body parts of aborted children is not only repulsive but it has been proven ineffective in producing clinical treatments. It must be stopped,” Daines, founder of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, told The Daily Wire. 
Daines has previously pushed for an investigation into Pitt and government funding of the fetal tissue experiments, signing onto a September 2021 <a href="https://www.daines.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/University%20of%20Pittsburgh%20Letter1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> urging HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and then-NIH Director Francis Collins to look into the program. 
“Exploiting the body parts of aborted children for research purposes is repulsive and should stop, regardless of the outcome hoped for by researchers. Research using abortive fetal tissue is unethical, wrong, and has also been proven ineffective. Despite being used in clinical research since the 1920s, fetal tissue has not produced a single clinical treatment,” the letter from congressional Republicans said. 
The emails released last month show confirmation of an HHS investigation into Pitt over the issue since at least October 2021, one month after the letter from congressional Republicans. The status of the investigation is unclear, but the HHS Office of Inspector General previously told The Daily Wire that it could “neither confirm nor deny the existence of any investigation, should there be any.”
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Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), one of the signers of the September 2021 letter to Becerra, has said that he has been given no answers on the issue either, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=343088547705269" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> that HHS pointed him to an investigation done by a law firm hired by Pitt to look at the fetal tissue program. 
Pitt has denied any wrong doing, saying that it did not break any federal laws with its programs.
“As we have stated in the past: Fetal tissue research plays a critical role in advancing life-saving discoveries. We remain committed to maintaining robust internal controls and to extending our record of compliance at the state and federal levels, and we take these responsibilities seriously,” a Pitt spokesman <a href="https://www.utimes.pitt.edu/news/report-fetal-tissue">said</a> in January 2022. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-investigation-opened-into-pitt-over-fetal-tissue-experiments-emails-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED: Federal Investigation Opened Into Pitt Over Fetal Tissue Experiments, Emails Show</a>

Senators Meet For Their Weekly Policy Luncheons

Senator Praises Federal Investigation Into ‘Barbaric’ Experiments At University Of Pittsburgh

Abortion

Center for Medical Progress

Francis Collins

Inspector general

Politics

Steve Daines

Xavier Becerra

The inspector general for the Department of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/health-and-human-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Health and Human Services</a> (HHS) opened up an investigation into the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/university-of-pittsburgh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Pittsburgh</a> after it was accused of illegally harvesting fetal tissue from aborted babies for experimentation, according to newly released emails. 
The documents were obtained as part of a public records request from Judicial Watch and the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), the organization that released footage in 2015 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-journalists-who-exposed-planned-parenthoods-baby-body-parts-trade-found-guilty?utm_campaign=dw_newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=housefile&amp;utm_content=non_insiders&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-80WqjFl8ts5THjH_X0GnN5taykN-kZmaZzJvVcIYKJHqzrWikAaeg5NTSzUUZHabcQGKdDhdPLX7vbBL26nFT8jL5tXg&amp;_hsmi=79496569" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showing</a> Planned Parenthood executives discussing the sale of body parts from aborted babies. The <a href="https://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/JW-v-HHS-Univ-Pitt-docs-03045.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new emails</a> show university officials confirming in November 2021 that they had been subpoenaed by the HHS Office of Inspector General agent.
“The University of Pittsburgh has been a center for some of the most barbaric experiments, government funded experiments, on the body parts of late-term aborted babies,” CMP President David Daleiden told The Daily Wire. “We now have the first confirmation with these FOIA documents that this is all subject of a formal federal law enforcement investigation of the OIG [Office of Inspector General].”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨BREAKING: Newly released FOIA documents confirm the existence of a federal law enforcement investigation of an NIH-funded program at the University of Pittsburgh that harvested fetal kidneys from late-term abortions performed by Planned Parenthood doctors. <a href="https://twitter.com/PPFA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PPFA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PittTweet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PittTweet</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NIH?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NIH</a>… <a href="https://t.co/g3QgiZNDYt">pic.twitter.com/g3QgiZNDYt</a>
&mdash; Center for Medical Progress (@CtrMedProgress) <a href="https://twitter.com/CtrMedProgress/status/1734665688214905157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In 2019, the CMP first reported on the gruesome experiments conducted at Pitt. These experiments <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/university-facilitated-gruesome-taxpayer-funded-experiments-with-aborted-fetuses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">included</a> scalping five-month-old fetuses in order to stitch their scalps and back skin onto lab rats and transporting fetal kidneys to other researchers.
According to the emails, Pitt’s Senior Vice Chancellor for Research Dr. Rob Rutenba acknowledged the existence of a federal probe into the school in response to an email from NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research Dr. Michael Lauer requesting information on the fetal tissue projects at the university. 
“With regard to your request for documentation/information, please be aware that we received a subpoena from HHS OIG requesting similar documentation on October 28, 2021,” Rutenba wrote on Friday, November 2021. “We are happy to provide the requested information to both you and the HHS OIG, however, [redacted] instructed us not to provide the documentation you have requested information until he has had the opportunity to speak with you.”
The status of the HHS OIG investigation is not known. “We don’t know the results of the OIG investigation yet. We don’t know if the OIG has further referred that investigation to the FBI or the Department of Justice. The University of Pittsburgh has been completely in damage control mode,” Daleiden said. 
Agents with the HHS OIG have the ability to make arrests, conduct surveillance, serve search warrants, and seize evidence. The HHS OIG office told The Daily Wire that they could “neither confirm nor deny the existence of any investigation, should there be any.”
The scrutiny on Pitt focuses on its GenitoUrinary Development Molecular Anatomy Project (GUDMAP) program, which is believed to have run from 2016-2021. Daleiden describes the program as “an NIH-sponsored program for harvesting and distributing late-term aborted fetal kidneys and other body parts to other NIH-funded projects across the country.” 
In response to the reports and allegations of illegal activities, Pitt hired an “outside law firm” to look at its fetal tissue experiment program. The report from the firm claimed that Pitt was in compliance with state and federal law and the university has denied any wrongdoing.
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“As we have stated in the past: Fetal tissue research plays a critical role in advancing life-saving discoveries. We remain committed to maintaining robust internal controls and to extending our record of compliance at the state and federal levels, and we take these responsibilities seriously,” a Pitt spokesman <a href="https://www.utimes.pitt.edu/news/report-fetal-tissue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in January 2022. 
Republicans have <a href="https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/lankford-bicameral-members-want-immediate-check-on-claims-of-fetal-tissue-research-at-university-of-pittsburgh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continued</a> to push for a review of Pitt’s activities and have demanded an audit from the HHS inspector general. 
“I think that the fact that a federal law enforcement agency like OIG thought that the information and allegations about the grant application were serious enough to open an investigation shows that the issue of fetal trafficking and selling aborted baby parts is not going away for the abortion industry,” Daleiden said. 
The University of Pittsburgh did not immediately return a request for comment.

US-POLITICS-GOVERNMENT-HEALTH

Federal Investigation Opened Into Pitt Over Fetal Tissue Experiments, Emails Show

Department of Health and Human Services

Education

Judicial Watch

Planned Parenthood

U.S.

Daily Wire host Michael Knowles faced off Tuesday night against libertarian journalist Brad Polumbo at the University of Pittsburgh in a debate about the proper extent of the state’s power to regulate transgenderism.
Polumbo was a last-minute substitute — Knowles&#8217; previously scheduled opponent, Deirdre McCloskey, a professor of economics at the University of Illinois-Chicago who identifies as transgender, <a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=21940" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped out</a> of the debate roughly a week before it was set to occur. Polumbo volunteered to replace McCloskey, and the topic was changed from a general discussion on “Transgenderism and Womanhood” to a more policy-oriented debate to better reflect the differences between the speakers.
The planned event faced considerable backlash — a petition with over 11,000 signatures was submitted to the university demanding that the event be canceled, and Knowles was interrupted by chants of &#8220;trans rights are human rights&#8221; during his opening remarks.
Outside the lecture hall, a <a href="https://pittnews.com/article/180848/news/police-say-public-safety-emergency-at-ohara-resolved-after-protest-of-michael-knowles-event/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">device</a> described by police as a “combination of a firework and a smoke bomb” was detonated on Pitt’s campus around 7:30 p.m. local time, when the debate was scheduled to begin. No injuries were reported, and although police declared a &#8220;public safety emergency,&#8221; within a few hours they had determined that whoever set off the explosive did not pose an “ongoing threat.” The incident did not interrupt the debate.
Knowles and Polumbo did find some common ground — both men oppose gender surgeries on minors, albeit for slightly different reasons. Polumbo argued that while he supports social transition for children experiencing gender dysphoria, people under the age of 18 were “too young&#8221; to take on the &#8220;life-altering possibilities” brought on by hormone therapies and invasive surgeries. 
Polumbo also pointed out that before childhood transition was normalized, the onset of puberty often alleviated gender dysphoria as gender-confused kids overwhelmingly became comfortable with their sex, often growing up to be gay adults.
Knowles, however, favors restrictions on such practices even for adults and argues that there can be no coherent middle ground on this position.
“It would seem to me that what transgenderism is proposing is an anthropology — it’s an idea about what human nature is,” Knowles said. “So, if it is true, then it is true for children … if it’s true then it would seem to be very cruel to prevent a child from transitioning, especially before puberty.” 

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The logic of the position, Knowles argued, was that by preventing the natural process of puberty from stimulating the development of secondary sex characteristics, the gender dysphoric child could much more easily &#8220;pass&#8221; as the opposite sex at a glance.
“If transgenderism is true, then I think we have to trans the kids,” Knowles said. “It so happens that transgenderism is not true … just as I think it would be wrong to lead children who are behaving in an irrational way down this path, I think it would be quite wrong to do that to adults as well.”
Knowles pointed out that Polumbo agreed that patients suffering from anorexia could be force-fed in order to save their lives, and asked what the limiting principle was in protecting people from the consequences of mental illness.
“[The transgender position] is a consistent position and it’s consistently wrong,” Knowles. “If we’re going to be right here, we have to be consistently right.”
Polumbo argued that relying on the coercive power of the state was not appropriate to regulate the behavior of mature and consenting adults.
“Michael keeps saying that ‘transgenderism is false, and if it is false, it should be banned,’” Polumbo said. “I don’t believe government should be in the business of banning false ideas.” 

Polumbo also argued that empowering the government to adjudicate ideological disputes is short-sighted for traditional conservatives such as Knowles, because “the average federal bureaucrat has the politics of Elizabeth Warren … the truth is, we have a bloated bureaucracy that does not represent the American people.”
“In the United States, we are the government,” Knowles said. “Even with all the corruption, we are the government, and if we surrender our capacity for reason and moral conscience, if we really say that we can’t know the difference between true and false and right and wrong, then we are surrendering self-government.”
WATCH: 

<iframe loading="lazy" title="Should Transgenderism be Regulated by Law?" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iziX8fVV4gg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;

“Candace” Hosted By Candace Owens

‘Should Transgenderism Be Regulated By Law?’: Michael Knowles Debates Trans Issues At Pitt

Social Issues

The Daily Wire

Deirdre McCloskey, a trans-identifying professor, no longer wants to debate Daily Wire host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/michael-knowles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Knowles</a>, dropping out of an event that was scheduled for next Tuesday at the University of Pittsburgh.
Knowles was set to appear with the University of Illinois Chicago professor at Pitt to debate “transgenderism and womanhood.” McCloskey, a man who identifies as a woman, said he did not want to give Knowles a platform to share his beliefs because he is “utterly uninterested in finding the truth” and only &#8220;interested in stirring up hatred and violence towards people who do not fit his extremely conservative Catholic beliefs,&#8221; according to two sources.
The planned event drew criticism last month after transgender activists <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leftist-students-melt-down-over-upcoming-michael-knowles-appearance-at-pitt-university-says-event-toxic-hurtful" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed</a> for Pitt to cancel Knowles’ appearance on campus and then <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/protesters-threaten-to-shut-down-michael-knowles-transgenderism-debate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> to shut down the event themselves. The university released a statement on Knowles, calling his appearance “toxic and hurtful for many people,” but Pitt doubled down on allowing student organizations to host speakers of their choosing.
Knowles responded to McCloskey’s decision to pull out of the debate, pointing to a tweet from the professor last month where he called Knowles a “fascist” and an “anti-Jesus Catholic,” but reiterated his willingness to debate the conservative commentator.
“A thousand people have signed a petition against Michael Knowles &#8216;debating’ me on transgender matters on April 18 at Pittsburgh. They should be ashamed,” McCloskey <a href="https://twitter.com/DeirdreMcClosk/status/1634660304465321990?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on March 11. “True, Knowles is an anti-Jesus Catholic, a fascist advocating state power over ideas. But we live in a free country.”
As recently as March 30, McCloskey said he was confident about debating Knowles. “I don’t have to prepare for this debate,” he <a href="https://pittnews.com/article/180187/news/deirdre-mccloskey-discusses-upcoming-debate-with-michael-knowles-criticizes-petition-to-cancel-event/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Pitt News, a student-run newspaper. &#8220;My life is a preparation for it.&#8221;
Knowles revealed on Tuesday, however, that the professor backed out.
“I&#8217;ve just learned that Prof. McCloskey has dropped out of our debate scheduled for next week,” Knowles responded. “For weeks, he&#8217;s baselessly smeared me as a ‘fascist’ but nonetheless insisted upon the importance of debating ideas rather than running from them. Apparently he&#8217;s changed his mind.”
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I&#39;ve just learned that Prof. McCloskey has dropped out of our debate scheduled for next week. For weeks, he&#39;s baselessly smeared me as a &quot;fascist&quot; but nonetheless insisted upon the importance of debating ideas rather than running from them. Apparently he&#39;s changed his mind. 🧵 <a href="https://t.co/pKJaLECR26">https://t.co/pKJaLECR26</a>
&mdash; Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) <a href="https://twitter.com/michaeljknowles/status/1645832971507716096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Knowles suspected that McClosky learned it would be tough to win a debate against someone who brings arguments based on truth and love after discovering that Knowles isn’t the hateful bigot the media often portrays him to be.
“Perhaps he has learned that I&#8217;m not the loose cannon that the liberal media have dishonestly portrayed,&#8221; Knowles added. &#8220;Perhaps he&#8217;s learned that my opposition to transgenderism derives, not from hatred, but from love of the truth, in this case regarding epistemology and anthropology. Despite reiterating his willingness to debate, Professor McCloskey seems to have understood that his arguments would not have survived scrutiny, so he chose to concede rather than lose in front of CSPAN’s cameras.”
The Daily Wire host was disappointed with the outcome, but said he would take McCloskey’s drop-out as a victory, arguing that the professor’s decision reveals the deeper truth about the indefensibility of transgenderism.
“I’m happy to take a victory by default,&#8221; Knowles said. &#8220;But it’s telling that even a distinguished scholar with three Harvard degrees and half a dozen honorary doctorates cannot defend transgenderism. Of course: the ideology is indefensible.”

Trans Prof Runs From Debate With Michael Knowles Days Before Event

Trans-Identifying Professor Runs From Debate With Michael Knowles One Week Before Event, Says Host Stirs Up 'Hatred,' 'Violence'

An anthropology researcher at the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/university-of-pittsburgh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Pittsburgh</a> was incredulous after champion female collegiate swimmer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/riley-gaines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Riley Gaines</a> pinned him on a basic question about the biological <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">differences</a> between men and women, which prompted raucous laughter from students.
Gaines, a recent University of Kentucky graduate who tied for fifth place with transgender-identifying swimmer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lia-thomas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lia Thomas</a> at the NCAA Championship last year, recently delivered a talk at the University of Pittsburgh about men in women’s sports to a room packed with students. Gabby Yearwood, a senior <a href="http://www.anthropology.pitt.edu/people/gabby-m-h-yearwood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lecturer</a> at the school’s anthropology department, <a href="https://twitter.com/VinceCoglianese/status/1641428470155603968" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rejected</a> the notion that researchers can use skeletal evidence to determine a deceased person’s sex.
“If you were to dig up two humans 100 years from now, both a man and a woman, would you be able to tell the difference strictly off of bones?” Gaines asked. “No,” Yearwood began to respond, prompting laughter from the audience as he asked why he was receiving mockery since he was purportedly “the expert in the room.” A frustrated Yearwood then challenged the attendees about their credentials in anthropology and exclaimed “I have a PhD!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Riley_Gaines_</a>⁩ to anthropologist: &quot;If you were to dig up… 2 humans… 100 years from now, both man and woman, could you tell the difference, strictly off of bones?&quot;
&quot;No.&quot;
*CHAOS*
&quot;I&#39;m not sure why I&#39;m being laughed at if I&#39;m the expert in the room. &#8230; I have a PhD!&quot; <a href="https://t.co/YYW76ISevI">pic.twitter.com/YYW76ISevI</a>
&mdash; Vince Coglianese (@VinceCoglianese) <a href="https://twitter.com/VinceCoglianese/status/1641428470155603968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Leftist activists in the anthropology field have recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/woke-scholars-call-for-anthropologists-to-stop-classifying-human-remains-by-gender-and-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exhorted</a> their colleagues to no longer classify human remains as male or female, as well as ignore evidence related to racial ancestry, over concerns that researchers may thereby render “assumptions” about the deceased individuals’ professed gender identities.
Gaines told The Daily Wire about her exchange with Yearwood that she was purposefully “setting him up” because she had learned that skeletal remains are a primary piece of evidence that anthropologists consider when determining an individual’s sex.
“Every single rational person knows the answer: men have narrower hips, their skulls are different, they have an extra rib, their femurs are longer, their jaws are different,” Gaines noted. “When he said ‘No,’ it just highlighted that even someone with a PhD was willing to lie to virtue signal or to put off this perception that sex is a social construct, which we know is not the case.”
Gaines earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky last year in human health sciences and health law. “I took all of the biology courses, I took all of the chemistry courses, all of the organic chemistry courses,” she continued. “But truthfully, all you need is a fifth-grade biology education to understand that men and women are different.”
Gaines now <a href="https://www.iwf.org/people/riley-gaines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">works</a> with the Independent Women’s Forum to raise awareness about the risks that the erosion of female spaces by radical gender theorists poses to women.
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“As a whole, we want to put off this farce that we’re inclusive, kind, accepting, loving, and tolerant, but in reality, to deny the truth of what a man and a woman is, and to allow men to infiltrate women’s spaces and our sports that were once sex-protected, that is not kind,” she added. “That’s actually exclusive: it’s excluding the very female athletes, and the very females in general, that these sex-protected spaces and categories were created to protect.”
Students who attended the University of Pittsburgh event were broadly supportive of Gaines, who credited the Pittsburgh Police Department with ensuring her talk could proceed with minimal disruption from protesters. “There were definitely some people there who were in opposition to me being there,” she said. “But the reception was great, and I think it was very well-received, and a lot of people’s eyes were opened to how horrible this is to women.”

NCAA SWIMMING: MAR 18 Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships

‘I Have A PhD!’: Professor Laughed Out Of Room After Getting Pinned On Gender Ideology Question By Swim Champ Riley Gaines

Professor Gets Pinned On Gender Ideology Question By Female Swimmer, Laughed Out Of The Room

College

LGBTQ

Riley Gaines

Student-activists at the University of Pittsburgh are outraged that Daily Wire host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michael-knowles-doubles-down-on-trans-cpac-comments-that-set-internet-ablaze" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Knowles</a> is scheduled to appear on campus and take part in a debate on transgenderism next month. 
The students called on the school officials to protect &#8220;LGBTQIA+ individuals&#8221; on campus from “language” that “directly threatens violence against trans individuals.” The Student Government Board also released a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CpwE0BSs6ZU/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> condemning Knowles’ planned appearance, along with other conservative events, as “transphobic hate.” 
Dylan Mitchell, president of the College Republicans at Pitt, the group hosting Knowles on April 18, told The Daily Wire that he is concerned the university will give in to leftist pressure and cancel the event. 
“It&#8217;s incredibly disappointing to see so many students at the University of Pittsburgh who are so averse to the concept of free speech. As college conservatives, we know there will always be backlash to our beliefs because we go against the tide of the majority, but that&#8217;s why it&#8217;s so important that we stand up for ourselves and refuse to back down,” Mitchell said. 
Knowles was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wh-spokesperson-karine-jean-pierre-repeats-false-claim-michael-knowles-called-for-eradication-of-transgender-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener">harshly criticized</a> after multiple news outlets falsely reported that he called to eradicate transgender people during a recent speech, leading some people to accuse Knowles of calling for “genocide.” The Daily Beast edited its original headline, which claimed Knowles called for the “transgender community” to be eradicated, to reflect that the podcast host called for eradicating “transgenderism,” not people who identify as transgender. Rolling Stone made a similar update.
Despite Knowles clarifying that he was not calling for harm to be done to transgender people, a student at Pitt started a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/hold-the-university-of-pittsburgh-accountable-in-protecting-lgbtqia-individuals?redirect=false">petition</a> last week, telling the university that allowing people like Knowles to speak on campus is “unacceptable and against the values of this University.” 
Former college swimmer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/swim-champ-riley-gaines-drops-shocking-claims-about-lia-thomas-on-crain-co" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Riley Gaines</a> and Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips, who are speaking to the Turning Point USA chapter at Pitt in the coming weeks, were also mentioned in the petition, which referred to them as “transphobes.” The petition has received more than 9,000 signatures.
So far, Pitt has not canceled any event hosted by the campus Republicans or Turning Point USA. The university released a <a href="https://www.communications.pitt.edu/services/media-relations/latest-news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> last week reaffirming the rights of campus groups to host “provocative” speakers. The administration’s statement, however, agreed with leftist students that “these events are toxic and hurtful for many people in our University community” and doubled down on its “unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.”
“Some members of our community have expressed concerns about Michael Knowles’ viewpoints, including Knowles’ recent statements about transgender people,” the statement said. “The University affirms its deep commitment to and support of all Pitt community members including our trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming community members.”
The Pitt College Republicans are standing their ground and still plan on hosting Knowles despite the backlash.
“We are not afraid,” Mitchell said. “We will stand up and represent those who are afraid of the backlash, and we&#8217;ll continue to stand up until conservatism is accepted on campus and nobody has to fear sharing their beliefs. Petition or not, we will certainly not be canceling this event, and we will be hosting more conservative voices in the future.”

Leftist Students Melt Down Over Upcoming Michael Knowles Appearance At Pitt; University Says Event ‘Toxic,’ ‘Hurtful’

Leftist Students Melt Down Over Upcoming Michael Knowles Appearance At Pitt; University Says Event 'Toxic,' 'Hurtful'

College Republicans

Free Speech

Protesters are threatening to show up and shut down The Daily Wire podcast host Michael Knowles&#8217; upcoming debate on transgenderism.
Knowles is set to debate transgenderism and womanhood with Deirdre McCloskey, a well-known trans-identifying economics professor. The event is <a href="https://isi.org/events/debate-on-transgenderism-womanhood/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hosted</a> by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and will be held at the University of Pittsburgh on the evening of April 18.
On Tuesday, Twitter user &#8220;Norman&#8221; encouraged his nearly 33,000 followers to show up to the event and shut down the debate between Knowles and McCloskey.
&#8220;The university of pittsburgh is hosting this man on campus! it would be a shame if absolutely everyone showed up, disrupted and shut it down at 7:30pm on April 18th at the William Pitt Union,&#8221; Norman <a href="https://twitter.com/emonormie/status/1633172822590648323" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>.
Norman was responding to a viral video of Knowles speaking at CPAC this past weekend. In his remarks, Knowles said that &#8220;transgenderism must be eradicated.&#8221; His comment was misquoted by several left-leaning news outlets who claimed Knowles had called for transgender people themselves to be eradicated.
&#8220;Show up!!! shut it DOWN!! email pitt!!!&#8221; Norman added in another tweet, along with screenshots of the debate event page showing the date and time.
&#8220;ALSO it would be really a shame if you spammed their even[t] registration with fake names/info,&#8221; Norman added in another tweet that included a link to the registration page.
Protesters heeded the call and spammed the registration page to the Knowles debate with fake names until it sold out. Many of the names used were crass, including &#8220;Suck My Girlc**k,&#8221; &#8220;Moe Lester,&#8221; &#8220;Anna Bortion,&#8221; and &#8220;Gof*** Yerself&#8221; from &#8220;ANTIFA University.&#8221;
Twitter users commented on the original tweet about throwing eggs at Knowles, taking a road trip to the university to protest the debate, and taking the day off work. One Twitter user who appears to use &#8220;they&#8221; pronouns encouraged protesters to follow the university&#8217;s rules about protesting peacefully, to which another Twitter user responded, &#8220;no.&#8221;
Knowles remarked that the protesters seem to be afraid of hearing what he has to say.
&#8220;My debate opponent is a distinguished professor with three degrees from Harvard, countless scholarly publications, and six honorary doctorates,&#8221; Knowles told The Daily Wire. &#8220;And still the transgenderists appear hellbent on keeping me from articulating the argument against transgender ideology. It&#8217;s almost as if they&#8217;re afraid I&#8217;ll win the debate.&#8221;
ISI declined to comment on the social media efforts to shut down the debate.
The University of Pittsburgh has not yet made a statement about the pressure from protesters to refuse to host the event on campus.
McCloskey is a Harvard-trained economics professor who has taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago since 2000. McCloskey began identifying as female at the age of 53 in 1995. Now, the professor self-describes as a “literary, quantitative, postmodern, free-market, progressive-Episcopalian, ex-Marxist, Midwestern woman from Boston who was once a man. Not ‘conservative’! I’m a Christian classical liberal.”
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Last year, LGBT activists <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-activists-a-no-show-at-matt-walsh-event-after-plan-leaked" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> to show up and shut down a speech by Daily Wire host Matt Walsh at Texas A&amp;M University.
After their elaborate plan to infiltrate and protest Walsh&#8217;s remarks was leaked, the protesters were largely a no-show. The plan involved activists wearing “business-casual” and “cisgender and heterosexual-passing” to blend in with Walsh’s supporters and smuggling in flags as well as speakers to amplify chanting. Also included were detailed instructions on where to sit and when to start chanting and walking out, raising one fist in the air.
At the event, only one individual purportedly from the group that planned to protest Walsh’s speech made an appearance. He shared that he actually agreed with much of what Walsh said.

Protesters Threaten To Shut Down Michael Knowles Transgenderism Debate

Gender

Gender Identity

An academic report commissioned by the United States Marines urged Marines to stop calling their drill instructors “sir” and “ma’am” to avoid “misgendering” the instructors.
The 739-page report from the University of Pittsburgh — which was <a href="https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2022/10/24/what-new-injury-performance-data-tells-us-about-marine-boot-camp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">catalyzed</a> by a new congressional mandate —<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11564943/US-Marine-Corps-urged-stop-calling-instructors-sir-maam-gender-inclusive.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">featured</a> PhD biologists Bradley C. Nindl and Mita Lovalekar heading a team of 22 academics telling Marines they should address their instructors by their last names.
“Replace gendered identifiers (e.g., ‘sir,’ ‘ma’am’) in the primary salutation or response to drill instructors with gendered neutral language such as ‘drill instructor,’ ‘senior drill instructor,’ ‘senior,’ ‘DI,’ or ‘SDI,’&#8221; the report states.
“Employing gender-neutral identifiers eliminates the possibility of misgendering drill instructors, which can unintentionally offend or cause discord,” the report continues. “By teaching recruits to use gender-neutral identifiers for their drill instructors, Services underscore the importance of respecting authoritative figures regardless of gender.”
The recommends suggest a de-emphasizing of gender throughout the military.
“The Army, Navy, and Coast Guard effectively de-emphasize gender in an integrated environment,” the report asserts. “Instead of saying ‘ma’am’ or ‘sir,’ recruits in these Services refer to their drill instructors using their ranks or roles followed by their last names. Gendered identifiers prime recruits to think about or visually search for a drill instructor’s gender first, before their rank or role.”
“That’s going to take some effort,” Col. Howard Hall, chief of staff for Marine Corps Training and Education Command, told Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. “Honestly, that’s not a quick fix. What are inculcating in our young recruits that will or will not be reinforced when they graduate and enter the fleet Marine force? So again, we want to avoid any quick-fix solutions that introduce perturbations down the line.”
The study from the University of Pittsburgh also examined a 13-week boot camp training cycle of a gender-integrated company at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, and a male-only recruit company at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. The study <a href="https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2022/10/24/what-new-injury-performance-data-tells-us-about-marine-boot-camp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that roughly twice the number of women suffered injuries as men.
“As the Marine Corps considers options for optimizing gender integration, recruit performance and injury data from this study suggest an opportunity to revise the training structure to be more scientifically and physiologically sound to enhance performance, reduce injury, and improve retention during the training process,” the study suggested.
The Marine Corps was mandated by the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act to <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/09/01/heres-marine-corps-plan-end-gender-segregation-boot-camp.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stop separating</a> trainees by gender at Marine Corps Recruit Depots.

SKOREA-US-MILITARY-EXERCISE

Marines Receive Woke Report Which Says To Stop Calling Drill Instructors ‘Sir,’ ‘Ma’am’

Marines Commission Woke Report Which Says To Stop Calling Drill Instructors ‘Sir,’ ‘Ma’am’

Marines

Military

The University of Pittsburgh obtained tissue from aborted fetuses for gruesome taxpayer-funded experiments, according to government documents and research papers.
The school received grants from the National Institutes of Health to fund experiments using aborted fetal tissue that involved scalping five-month-old fetuses in order to stitch their scalps and back skin onto lab rats and transporting fetal kidneys to other researchers.
As part of aborting second-trimester pregnancies, labor was induced and livers were harvested from “intact” abdomens. “Because we obtained the tissue from intact abdomens and removed the livers surgically under cGMP conditions, the tissue could be obtained in a sterile manner,&#8221; researchers <a href="https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/lt.22322">wrote</a>. They said “our protocol required no alteration of the routine treatment.”
Jarring <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-71548-z">photos</a> from a scientific paper on the fetal scalp experiments show the fetal scalp skin grafted onto lab rats and growing human hair. The idea behind the experiments was to &#8220;develop a humanized mouse model&#8221; in order to provide a platform for studying human skin infections.
&#8220;Human skin tissues were obtained from the scalp and dorsum of donors and were used in developing human skin engraftments with and without hair in the mouse model, respectively,&#8221; read the report on the experiment, which was published in scientific journal Nature. &#8220;Full-thickness human fetal skin was processed via removal of excess fat tissues attached to the subcutaneous layer of the skin, then engrafted over the rib cage, where the mouse skin was previously excised.&#8221;
The school also proposed acting as a &#8220;Tissue Hub and Tissue Gathering&#8221; site for the GenitoUrinary Development Molecular Anatomy Project, a <a href="https://www.gudmap.org/about/#objectives">group</a> of labs focused on researching the kidney and urinary tract.
&#8220;In this calendar year, we have disbursed over 300 fresh samples collected from 77 cases,&#8221; the university wrote in a 2016 NIH grant <a href="https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9177967">application</a>. &#8220;The collections can be significantly ramped up as material could have been accrued from as many as 725 cases last year.&#8221; It was awarded $600,000 that year, according to NIH records, which placed the grant under the category “Human Fetal Tissue.” Similar grants were awarded in 2017 and 2018, according to the records.
The application said the university’s Health Sciences Tissue Bank has &#8220;a long standing history of collecting, maintaining and disbursing quality samples to research scientists, both in house and outside the University of Pittsburgh.&#8221;
One <a href="https://link.springer.com/protocol/10.1007%2F978-1-4939-6506-9_20">paper</a> on university-funded experiments, by Italian researchers with funds from the University of Pittsburgh, said researchers took tissue from fetuses up to gestational week 22. Premature babies born at 21 weeks have <a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/miracle-baby-born-21-weeks-heads-home-hospital-74848084">survived</a>.
Another academic paper <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/sci/2019/7916275/">published</a> in 2019 by Pitt researchers said, “The human fetal livers of 17 to 20 weeks of gestational age were obtained as anatomical gifts provided by the Allegheny Reproductive Health Center, Pittsburgh, PA.”
The Center for Medical Progress (CMP), an anti-abortion group, highlighted an incestuous relationship between Planned Parenthood and the university in a video Monday.
The Ryan Residency Program at the university <a href="https://www.obgyn.pitt.edu/block/ryan-residency-program">provides</a> residents with “hands-on clinical experience” at the nearby Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania, including improving their procedural skills for surgical abortions.
The local Planned Parenthood affiliate is also an “outreach/<a href="https://www.obgyn.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/Alumni_Photos/OB-GYN-RS%20Annual%20Report%20FY20.pdf">contracted</a> care” site for the university.
Several current Planned Parenthood officials are also on staff at the university.
Beatrice Chen is Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania’s <a href="https://reproductivebridgescoalition.com/members/">medical director</a> as well as an associate professor at the university and the program director of the school’s Fellowship in Complex Family Planning. She also sits as a <a href="https://www.hrpo.pitt.edu/contacts-staff/vice-chairs">vice chair</a> on the Institutional Review Board at the university, which weighs ethical concerns about human tissue experiments. 
Sharon Achilles is Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania’s <a href="https://www.obgyn.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/2017-2018%20FINAL%20AR.pdf">laboratory director</a> and a member of Planned Parenthood’s national medical committee. She is also an associate <a href="https://www.obgyn.pitt.edu/people/sharon-achilles-md-phd">professor</a> at the university and the director of the school’s Center for Family Planning Research.
CMP released undercover video in which a person the group said was Dr. Audrey Lance, a doctor with Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania and University of Pittsburgh <a href="https://catalog.upp.pitt.edu/content.php?catoid=189&amp;navoid=17819">assistant professor</a>, said, “there’s a tissue bank at Pitt that we offer patients to donate to.” CMP contended that “we” referred to Planned Parenthood and that it could amount to an illegal quid pro quo arrangement.
The university said Daleiden has been “repeatedly discredited” and denied obtaining fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood in a statement shared with The Daily Wire.
“This video is false,” the school said. “The University does not obtain fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood, does not use any of its state appropriation to fund fetal tissue research and follows all laws and regulations governing fetal tissue research.”
In 2015, CMP released footage of Planned Parenthood executives discussing compensation for human fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/19/politics/planned-parenthood-videos">said</a> the money discussed in those videos was reimbursement for costs, not a purchase price, but said it would stop accepting money. In 2017, Daleiden and another CMP employee were charged with 15 felonies in California for filming individuals without their consent and criminal conspiracy to invade privacy.
Under federal <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/289g-2">law</a>, it is illegal to purchase fetal tissue from abortions but legal to reimburse tissue providers for the costs associated with preserving and transferring the tissue. 
Pennsylvania law governing compensation for the transfer of fetal tissue is even more strict than federal law. 
“No remuneration, compensation or other consideration may be paid to any person or organization in connection with the procurement of fetal tissue or organs,” the Pennsylvania <a href="https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-18-pacsa-crimes-and-offenses/pa-csa-sect-18-3216.html">law</a> reads.
Daleiden testified Tuesday on &#8220;fetal experimentation&#8221; before the Pennsylvania House Committee on Health.
He outlined areas of concern from a legal and regulatory standpoint and urged the committee to investigate them, one being the intertwined relationship between the university and Planned Parenthood. Another is the protocol for fetal liver harvesting, which could involve infants being delivered alive and then killed illegally, he said. A third concern is whether illegal partial-birth abortions were performed in order to obtain intact fetal skulls for the scalp-grafting experiments, Daleiden said.
Dr. Kathi Aultman, a retired certified OB/GYN and former abortionist who has since come out against abortion, also testified and explained how an infant could be delivered intact during an abortion in order to better obtain fetal tissue.
&#8220;If the abortionist over-dilates the cervix prior to the abortion, it is possible for the fetus to be accidentally delivered intact. Since the fetus has not been dismembered, it is also possible for the fetus to be born alive,&#8221; Aultman said.
Daleiden also said there is the question of whether valid and non-coercive consent was obtained from women receiving the abortions that provide fetal tissue for the experiments.
&#8220;The human trafficking of aborted infants and their body parts goes to the core of who we are as Americans and as human beings,&#8221; Daleiden told The Daily Wire.
In 2019, then-president Donald Trump halted fetal-tissue research by government scientists and imposed restrictions on researchers applying for NIH grants for such research. Last month, the Biden administration reversed those restrictions.
Last year, individuals associated with the University of Pittsburgh <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/university-of-pittsburgh/summary?id=D000030685">donated</a> hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrat politicians, including more than $328,000 to President Biden, whose home state is Pennsylvania. In 2016, the school also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H2fRmISVWA">welcomed</a> Biden to speak at an event to combat sexual assault.

Fetal ultrasound

University Facilitated Gruesome, Taxpayer-Funded Experiments With Aborted Fetuses

The University of Pittsburgh has reconfigured its grading policy to allow students to receive a passing grade for incomplete or missing assignments. 
According to an <a href="https://officeoftheprovost.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/j/E93FB1519E71E2682540EF23F30FEDED/B6280FBA7550F32E0367819F23434F99">announcement</a> from the university’s Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, professors will now be able to give students a passing “G” grade for assignments that are incomplete before the end of the semester. 
“G” grades were temporary placeholders for incomplete or missing assignments, when an assignment was not turned in the “G” grade became a “no grade” or “NG.” Now, professors can alter the “G” grading system and give a student a letter grade for an assignment that was never turned in. 
“This new process will allow a ‘fallback grade’ to be recorded in cases where a student has done enough to achieve a passing grade in a course but would like more time to finish some well-defined final assignments,” said Vice Provost Joseph McCarthy. “As with all G grades, you will need to work out those details with your instructor.” 
According to <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17375">Campus Reform</a>, during a University Senate’s Faculty Affairs committee meeting, McCarthy confirmed that “fall back grades” — the term for giving students letter grades for incomplete work — can be used in the interim. 
“In fact, the only thing that we are changing is allowing faculty to have the option of note — at the time that they award the G grade — the grade to which an expired G grade should revert,” McCarthy said. “If a faculty member were to note a ‘fallback grade’ then expired G grades will revert to the identified fallback grade instead.”
The university initially offered pass/fail grading options to students in the fall semester to aid with the stress of the global pandemic, though it transitioned back to regular grading as the pandemic began to wane. 
According to <a href="https://pittnews.com/article/164650/news/pitt-clarifies-new-g-grade-policy-professors-and-students-voice-mixed-feelings/">Pitt News</a>, some professors at the university are proponents of the new grading system and believe that the stress of the pandemic is ongoing for students. Ilia Murtazashvili, an associate professor from the Graduate School for Public and International Affairs, said that students are still unable to perform at normal standards. 
“You need to recognize that what constitutes ‘A’ work in the pandemic is different from what constitutes ‘A’ work in normal times,” Murtazashvili <a href="https://pittnews.com/article/164650/news/pitt-clarifies-new-g-grade-policy-professors-and-students-voice-mixed-feelings/">said</a>. “People should be able to get an ‘A,’ even if they’ve been at 50 percent ability to do their work or less the past year.”
Grading structures are shifting in light of the coronavirus pandemic as well as the push for “equity” in both higher education and the K-12 education system. According to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/virginia-public-schools-end-advanced-diplomas-equity">Fox News</a>, the Virginia Department of Education is considering ending advanced diplomas state-wide in the name of equity. 
The shift in rigorous grading to more equitable grading in American education has been critiqued by many who view China as a growing threat. New York Post columnist Miranda Devine opined that the push for equity and “critical race theory” will leave American children behind their Chinese counterparts. 
“While 15-year-olds in China blitz their peers in the West in math, reading, and science, we are warping the minds of our children by indoctrinating them,” Devine <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/04/25/us-kids-get-bad-marx-china-students-excel-devine/">wrote</a>. “It is a recipe for social upheaval and mental illness, not success.”

University Of Pittsburgh Allows Professors To Give Students Passing Grades For Missing Assignments

Last Summer, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine professor Norman Wang warned his colleagues that the school’s racial and ethnic admissions policies were illegal and published a white paper arguing such preferences hurt the very students they aim to help.
Shortly after, UPMC removed Wang as director of the school’s fellowship program in clinical cardiac electrophysiology, The College Fix <a href="https://www.thecollegefix.com/pitt-retaliated-against-medical-professor-for-warning-its-race-preferences-were-illegal-lawsuit/">reported</a>. The school also “barred him from interacting with medical students.”
On July 31, 2020, Wang met with the chief of Pitt’s cardiology division, Samir Saba, and professor Kathryn Berlacher. In that meeting, Wang told them that the way they handle racial and ethnic admissions was likely illegal. A few days later, a white paper written by Wang was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The paper argued that affirmative action policies hurt black and Hispanic students that were supposed to be helped by the policies. He also argued affirmative action hurt “the medical academy” as a whole.
Saba and Berlacher criticized the article, and UPMC <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.119.014602">sent</a> JAHA’s editor-in-chief a letter claiming “the article contains many misconceptions and misquotes and that together those inaccuracies, misstatements, and selective misreading of source materials void the paper of its scientific validity.” JAHA decided to retract the article based on the information provided by UPMC.
As the Fix reported, Wang was removed from his directorship shortly after the meeting and the paper’s retraction. “Saba, Berlarcher, Department of Medicine Chair Mark Gladwin and unknown others ‘resolved and agreed to impose adverse employment consequences’ against him,” the outlet reported.
Wang filed a lawsuit against UPMC, JAHA, and others, arguing his First Amendment rights were violated when he was retaliated against. The Center for Individual Rights President Terry Pell told the Fix in an email that many of the university officials who took action against Wang were “under the color of state authority and thereby subject to the First Amendment.”
In one email, Gladwin, a white man, claimed Wang’s paper and warnings “threaten to undermine recruitment and retention of our most qualified trainees, and undermine the confidence and morale of our faculty.” He added that patients were “more likely to agree to life-saving interventions” if their doctors looked like them.
In addition to Wang’s lawsuit, the Department of Education also opened an investigation into UPMC over the professor’s punishments. As the Fix reported, the Department of Education warned “the university that it was tacitly admitting to practicing ‘systemic discrimination based on race’ in violation of the Civil Rights Act.”
The investigation began in October but may face challenges under the Biden administration, which has vowed to undo much of what the Trump administration accomplished. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education sent <a href="https://www.thefire.org/fire-letter-to-the-university-of-pittsburgh-january-12-2021/">a letter</a> to the University of Pittsburgh earlier this month warning the school that it had violated “its obligation to uphold the First Amendment rights of its professors,” and adding that the school should rescind Wang’s “punishment.”

Affirmative Action

Medical Professor Warned Colleagues That School’s Racial Preferences Were Illegal And He Was Removed From Directorship. Now He’s Suing.

First Amendment

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