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We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident….
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What’s Good for the Goose….
The logical next shoe has dropped in the fight over college admissions. A civil rights organization has sued Harvard University, alleging that its practice of giving preference to legacy applicants and applicants whose parents are big donors discriminates against applicants of color. The complaint even quotes the recent Supreme Court majority opinion: “A benefit provided to some applicants but not to others necessarily advantages the former group at the expense of the latter.”
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Culture Wars about College Admissions Tend to Ignore Guaranteed Entry from Virginia Community Colleges
by James C. Sherlock
Much angst has accompanied the Supreme Court’s decision banning overt racial preferences in admissions to colleges as violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
The conversations in the comments to Jim Bacon’s article on admissions were as split philosophically/politically as is anything else these days.
I will not rehash them.
But many of the comments seemed based on an unwritten assumption that a kid is blocked from higher education if not admitted into a four-year college out of high school.
That, if true, would indeed be a cruel fate. And headline-seeking race hustlers who tell such kids they have been permanently disadvantaged would have a point.
But such a tale is objectively and observably not true. Anyone who tells a kid that is lying, and lying unforgivably.
There are 250,000 Virginia students who prove the story false. (more…)
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Whites Under-Represented in UVa’s Entering Classes
by James A. Bacon
As the debate unfolds about how to apply the U.S. Supreme Court ruling restricting the use of race as a factor in college admissions, it would be helpful for the discussion to be rooted in reality. At the University of Virginia, any dialogue should be based upon the recognition that admissions policies have transformed the racial/ethnic profile of the undergraduate student body over the past 10 years.
According to enrollment data published by the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV), the racial/ethnic make-up of students entering UVa for the first time (as first-year students or community college transfers) has changed significantly between the fall of 2013-14 and the fall of 2022-23:
Remarkably, the percentage of undergraduate White students has declined from 59.3% of the entering class at UVa to 46.9% over a single decade. Non-Hispanic Whites are now a minority. (more…)
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A New “Landscape” for UVa Admissions
Credit: Bing Image creator. College landscape in the style of William Constable. by Walter Smith
With the recent U.S. Supreme Court restricting “affirmative action” in college and university admissions, an all-consuming question in Charlottesville is how the University of Virginia might change its policies and guidelines for admitting students.
While prohibiting the use of race as a decisive factor in admissions, Supreme Court Justice John Roberts allowed for holistic reviews that took into account race as part of an applicant’s sum-of-life experiences. Harvard University announced it intends to drive a truck through that loophole. Likewise, UVa President Jim Ryan and Provost Ian Baucom, who last week proclaimed their intent to ignore the ruling as much as possible, have not only lined up a truck but are revving up the engine.
The admissions process at UVa is opaque. The administration has refused, repeatedly, to provide me data concerning students admitted for the fall of 2023 or to answer my deep-dive questions for admissions in 2022, regarding which the Admissions Office was very cooperative… until it wasn’t. In particular, the Office has not been forthcoming about its use of a tool, “Landscape,” developed by the College Board, the same people who administer the SAT exams. (more…)
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Bacon News of the Week
When my daughter Sara Bacon was in high school, she had a good friend named Katie Macon. I always thought they’d make a great law firm — Macon Bacon & Associates, or some such. Never did I imagine that Macon Bacon would be the name of a college baseball team, much less that it would be assailed as politically incorrect.
But such is the utterly insane and humorless world that we live in. Playing upon the national mania for cured pig meat, a Macon, Ga.-based baseball team calling itself Macon Bacon has a bacon strip named Kevin as a mascot and sells menu items like “6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon, Bacon Wrapped Bacon, Steak Cut Bacon, Bacon Cheeseburger, Bacon Dog, Bacon Loaded Cheese Fries, Bacon Loaded Mac N Cheese, and Bacon Chips.”
Now killjoys with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine have denounced the team, reports the New York Post: “Macon Bacon’s glorification of bacon, a processed meat that raises the risk of colorectal cancer and other diseases, sends the wrong message to fans.” The physicians recommended plant-based imitations of meat as a substitute.
Macon Bacon President Brandon Raphael basically told the physicians group to take their zucchini and eggplants and shove them where the sun don’t shine. The fans love the team’s name, he said. “The Macon Bacon will be sizzling forever and will not consider a name change. Ever.”
Yessss! –JAB
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Setting the Stage for the Great Race-in-Admissions Debate
Should admissions be color blind? by James A. Bacon
People have been asking me what I think about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting colleges and universities from using race as a specific basis for admitting students. I’m not a legal scholar, so I won’t offer any opinions on the legal or constitutional merits of the decision. I speak as a citizen.
My sense is that the Court has made a huge step forward in the generations-long campaign to build a color-blind society. If you share the ideal that a man should be judged by the content of his character, not the color of his skin, you will applaud the ruling regardless of its legalities. And if you believe that the condition of Blacks and Hispanics can be elevated in American society only through preferential treatment of their race and ethnicity, you will see it as a blow in furtherance of White supremacy.
The immediate impact will be to generate waves of punditry on how colleges and universities should implement the ruling — or evade it. Prevailing commentary seems to hold that most university administrators will “take a hard look” at their admissions policies, then tweak them to accomplish what they want — higher percentages of Blacks and Hispanics — without triggering lawsuits.
That certainly seems to be the case at the University of Virginia, where President Jim Ryan and Provost Ian Baucom have said in a statement to the university community that they will follow the law but also “continue to do everything within our legal authority to recruit and admit a class of students who are diverse across every possible dimension and to make every student feel welcome and included here at UVA.” (more…)
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A Simple Statement of Fact about the Public Schools
by James C. Sherlock
I know. Schools. Again.
But Virginia’s schools have been shown to be getting worse faster than those of other states.
Perhaps we should do something.
Read the National Assessment Board’s press release from June 21st. One paragraph drew my attention:
The LTT assessments in reading and math measure fundamental skills among nationally representative, age-based cohorts and have been administered since 1971 and 1973, respectively.
Students were generally making progress until 2012, when scores started declining.
Scores took a sharp downturn during the pandemic. Today, the average score for 13-year-olds on the LTT reading assessment is about where it was in 1971.
Despite the large decline in math, the average score in 2023 remains higher than in 1973.
Declining since 2012 nationwide.
Virginia’s have been declining since 2017. In a hurry.
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Governor, GOP Not Selling Their Tax Reforms
Time’s A-Wasting. by Steve Haner
The following paragraph was written five months ago. It is reproduced now with some emphasis added.
The 2023 Virginia General Assembly tax debate is just another revival of an old political show. Last year it ended well for new Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) and for those hoping to pay less in state taxes. This year is not guaranteed to see the same outcome, not unless there is a late push to engage public attention as the House and Senate seek compromise.
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WaPo Eats Crow, Students’ Journalism Award Stands
Credit: Bing Image Creator. Journalist eating crow. by James A. Bacon
It is sweet indeed to read the latest Washington Post article about the Virginia Military Institute: after calling into question a top journalism award bestowed upon The Cadet independent student newspaper, media reporter Paul Farhi found himself gulping down a serious helping of crow in a follow-up story headlined, “VMI student paper award upheld after plagiarism, conflict-of-interest probe.”
The series of Cadet articles, which were critical of the VMI administration’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives, won the Virginia Press Association’s top community service award — the first for a student newspaper in Virginia. Rather than praising the young journalists for their accomplishment, Farhi criticized them. He contended that the series of articles contained plagiarism and that the Cadet had failed to disclose a conflict of interest to judges.
But Conrad M. Shumadine, a retired Norfolk attorney hired to determine if there were grounds for canceling the award, wrote that the honor was made “in accordance with applicable rules and regulations and is not subject to an after-the-fact challenge…. An award should be a celebratory event not an invitation to disparagement.” (Read his report.) (more…)
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Check Out Which New Virginia Laws Go Into Effect July 1st
by The Republican Standard staff
The Virginia General Assembly passed several small bills due to the split between the Republican-led House of Delegates and the Democratic-controlled Virginia State Senate. Yet the areas where they did find co-operation could matter to many Virginians as we head into Fourth of July weekend.
Enhanced Penalties for Fentanyl Manufacturing or Distribution
Reeves SB1188 Senate 35-5 House 50-42
Provides that any person who knowingly and intentionally manufactures or knowingly and intentionally distributes a weapon of terrorism when such person knows that such weapon of terrorism is, or contains, any mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl is guilty of a Class 4 felony.Universal Occupational License Recognition
McDougle SB1213 Senate 40-0 House 99-0
Establishes criteria for an individual licensed, certified, or having work experience in another state to apply to a regulatory board within the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and be issued an occupational license or government certification if certain conditions are met.Police Chiefs May Enact Local Curfews during Disturbances
Norment SB1455 Senate 27-12 House 53-45
Enables the chief law-enforcement officer of a locality to enact a curfew under certain circumstances during a civil disturbance.Making Sure Every District has a Legislator
Suetterlein SB944 Senate 39-0 House 99-0
Requires special elections to fill a vacancy in the membership of the General Assembly be held within 30 days of the vacancy if the vacancy occurs or will occur between December 10 and March 10 which coincides with time right before and during the General Assembly session. (more…)
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Virginia: Look West To See What’s Coming
by Kerry Dougherty
Reason #5,692 not to vote for ANY Democrats running for the General Assembly this fall:
We all know that Virginia’s leftists in Richmond yearn for our lovely commonwealth to be more like California. When last they controlled the state legislature these nuts directly tethered our energy policies to that “progressive” utopia.
It won’t stop there, so let’s see what else is on its way from the West Coast.
Looky here! It’s Assembly Bill 665, working its way through the legislature. When this passes — and it’s just wacky enough to win approval — it would essentially emancipate some 12-year-olds, allowing them to seek mental health care without their parents’ approval. (more…)
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Electricity Bill Caps for Poor Start in November
by Steve HanerBeginning next winter, low- income customers of Dominion Energy Virginia or Appalachian Power Company will be eligible to have their monthly bills capped under a new state financial assistance program.
The income cut off to qualify for Virginia’s new Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) assisting low income households with their electric bills is the same as the threshold for the long-standing Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). So LIHEAP beneficiaries will likely be the first enrolled in the new program later in 2023. (more…)
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Old Law Coming Back to Bite Virginia?
Voting booths in Portsmouth. Photo credit: Virginian-Pilot by Dick Hall-Sizemore
On behalf of three Virginia residents, the Virginia ACLU, along with a large D.C. law firm, has filed suit in federal court challenging the provision of Virginia’s constitution that disenfranchises anyone convicted of a felony, providing that their voting rights can be restored only by the governor.
Such a legal challenge is not necessarily new, but the basis for this one is novel and fascinating The plaintiffs claim that the provision of the Virginia constitution is illegal because it violates the provisions of the federal law that allowed for the Commonwealth’s readmission to the Union after the Civil War. That law included this provision, similar to that included for laws applicable to other member states of the Confederacy:
That the State of Virginia is admitted to representation in Congress as one of the States of the Union upon the following fundamental conditions: First, that the Constitution of Virginia shall never be so amended or changed as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the United States of the right to vote who are entitled to vote by the Constitution herein recognized, except as a punishment for such crimes as are now felonies at common law, whereof they shall have been duly convicted under laws equally applicable to all the inhabitants of said State. [Emphasis added.] (more…)
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Patriotism in Virginia
by Robin Beres
In less than a week, Virginians, like Americans everywhere, will celebrate Independence Day. This year, despite high inflation, high gas prices, a sharply divided electorate, and rising crime rates, there seems to be a growing consensus that we celebrate this occasion with all the gusto we can muster.
Despite the holiday falling on a Tuesday, from Winchester to Norfolk to Abingdon, plans are afoot for a glorious Fourth, complete with fireworks, parades, and hot dogs. Mount Vernon is celebrating the naturalization of hundreds of new American citizens. Colonial Williamsburg is offering free admission to its historic area and art museums on July 4. Virginia Beach is hosting free concerts on 17th Street, 24th Street, and 31st Street. Just about every small town and village is having a parade. With 27 military installations around the state, expect to see lots of marching troops and military static displays.
Audience members hold their hands over their hearts while the U.S. Air Force Band plays the national anthem at Williamsburg, Va., July 4, 2012. Thankfully, Virginia has so far managed to avoid the oppressive heat dome that sits over much of the United States. But even if the temps do soar above the 90-degree mark, it probably wouldn’t deter many Virginians from celebrating our Independence Day. It’s what we do — and studies show we do it with more pride than any other state in the union. (more…)
