—Voice of OC
An Orange County Democratic Party leader’s sharing of a Facebook post praising Vietnamese Communist leader Ho Chi Minh has sent Little Saigon into uproar and drawn staunch objections from local politicians both on the left and right....
It’s only the latest incident where public statements revolving around the Vietnam War and ideas about communism have sent this area of Orange County ... into a political frenzy.
The resharing of a Facebook post by Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) vice chair Jeff LeTourneau — praising the dead communist leader as someone who “liberated an entire poor, colonized nation from 2 of the most powerful military forces in the world” — was deleted off Facebook 90 minutes after he reposted it Monday.
But by then, his post had already been screenshotted and shared on social media, with local Republicans and Democrats reacting.
“Many Vietnamese Americans have direct relatives who gave their lives fighting for freedom and democracy against Ho Chi Minh,” said Republican state Assembly candidate Janet Nguyen in a Monday Facebook post.
Nguyen, who wasn’t available to speak with Voice of OC, in the same post then challenged her Democratic opponent for the 72nd State Assembly District seat, Deidre Nguyen, “to reject the Orange County Democratic Party’s endorsement and money if this is what they stand for.”
Indeed, Deidre Nguyen was among a group of local Democrats like Congressman Harley Rouda and county Democratic Party Chair Ada Briceño who appeared at Westminster’s Freedom Park, a Vietnam War memorial, to denounce LeTourneau’s remarks in a Tuesday news conference.
. . .
“Let me be very clear … We condemn any communist propaganda and any communist sympathizers .. as Democrats, we fight for every human right, for democracy in Vietnam,” Deidre Nguyen said.
Ho Chi Minh, who died around six years before the Fall of Saigon in 1975 that marked victory for his north Vietnamese party in the Vietnam War, has come to symbolize despotism for the thousands of south Vietnamese who fled the country fearing reprisal after the war. Saigon was later renamed after him.
LeTourneau over the phone Tuesday said his resharing of the remarks were [sic] meant to appreciate how Ho Chi Minh “was able to get his country free from colonialism and military occupation” despite his stature and lack of wealth.
“To me it meant this: ‘Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do great things because you don’t have an office or money or power … don’t let anyone tell you you can’t be a leader — leaders come in all shapes and sizes,’” he added.
Still, LaTourneau issued an apology statement on Tuesday, saying “These memories of atrocities and pain come fresh to mind, and I want to let the Vietnamese community (know) that I’m not insensitive to their pain. I pledge to learn and be better. As an LGBTQ+ activist of over forty years, I recognize the power that words have on people.”….
Preliminary injunction cites impact of testing on students with disabilities.
—Inside Higher Ed
A California judge on Monday issued a preliminary injunction barring University of California campuses from considering SAT or ACT scores in admissions or financial aid decisions.
While the ruling is not permanent, the judge indicated that the plaintiffs bringing the suit -- a coalition of organizations serving low-income and minority Californians -- are likely to prevail.
The ruling is the latest development in the battle over standardized tests in admissions, and it appears to represent a significant victory for critics of testing. That is because the ruling came after the University of California Board of Regents voted, in May, to approve a five-year plan to phase out the use of the SAT and ACT. In the first two years of that plan, the university system was to be test optional, meaning applicants could continue to submit scores, but they didn't have to. Now the university system must be test blind, meaning that no student can submit a test score.
"While they decry the asserted, racially discriminatory and classist impact of the tests, their primary argument is that the current 'test optional' at most of the UC campuses denies … applicants with disabilities meaningful access to the additional admissions opportunities that test-submitters will enjoy, in large part because they will not have taken these tests and will not be able to take them with appropriate accommodations during the COVID-19 pandemic," wrote Judge Brad Seligman….
✅Community College Shuts Off Remote Work
Most classes are still remote at Hagerstown Community College, but staff and faculty have had VPN access revoked and must now return to campus to work.
—Inside Higher Ed
Students at Hagerstown Community College in Maryland will be attending class online this fall, except for labs and hands-on disciplines. Many colleges are doing the same as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ebb and flow across the nation.
But faculty and staff members at Hagerstown are being required to report to campus, despite safety concerns. The college's president says this is meant to protect the technological security of Hagerstown, but the move demonstrates tensions that can play out on college campuses where administrators want to see employees in offices instead of on Zoom. It also creates a tricky situation under employment law, according to one legal expert….
—CHE
….Wastewater testing, or surveillance, may prove to be an important tool in detecting and stopping coronavirus outbreaks — at a time when campuses need all the help they can get. So far, the national return-to-campus-during-a-pandemic experiment has yielded sobering results, with campuses like the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and Illinois State University topping 1,000 cases of Covid-19 and other colleges quickly moving instruction online as cases skyrocket. As more students return to more colleges, sewage testing may be a welcome bright spot….
✅How 3 Colleges Are Using Student ‘Ambassadors’ to Enforce Social Distancing
—CHE
As many colleges and universities welcome students back to campus for the fall, some have seen big outbreaks of Covid-19. While several have blamed the outbreaks on students who violate social-distancing guidelines, others have deployed students to help enforce the rules.
The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, for example, has hired teams of student “public-health ambassadors” to enforce Covid-19 regulations among their classmates. “If we’re going to be successful in preventing them [outbreaks] from happening, it has to be peers working with peers,” said Laura Blake Jones, the university’s dean of students.
Ambassadors work in teams of two to three people, including both students and staff members, on four-hour shifts. They walk around the most populous areas of campus and remind students to wear masks and socially distance….
✅Today's county Covid numbers. 317 new cases; 19 deaths; 1007 total deaths.
