10-6: Unmasking an academic troll; Warren goes after those rotten for-profit universities; OC GOP is into money laundering; the GOP crowd says, "don't worry; be happy" (choke! snort!)

Sean Young, Blade Runner (1982)

✅Unmasking a Troll
University of New Hampshire suspends professor amid investigation into whether he trolled people online, pretending to be “The Science Femme, Woman in STEM.”
—Inside Higher Ed
     A white, male assistant professor of chemistry at the University of New Hampshire is on administrative leave after apparently posing as a female, immigrant scientist of color on Twitter to criticize feminists, trans people, Black Lives Matter supporters and others.

✅‘From Equity Talk to Equity Walk’
Rhetoric alone about equity, diversity and inclusion won't get the job done in higher education, say the authors of a new book.
—Inside Higher Ed
     Everyone in higher education has had the experience of hearing a college leader expound about the values of diversity or equity, or condemn a racist incident on campus. The statements are often eloquent and moving. The follow-up? Not so much.
     This is the subject of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (Wiley).

✅Warren Calls for Owners of For-Profits to Be Held Financially Responsible 

—Inside Higher Ed 
     The advocacy group Student Defense and Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren called on the Education Department on Monday to make the owners of for-profit schools financially liable for the financial losses of students if they are defrauded by the institutions.

✅Colleges, Organizations Launch National Voter Education Week
—Inside Higher Ed
     About 500 voter education and advocacy groups, colleges and universities, and student organizations nationwide have partnered to launch the first National Voter Education Week from Oct. 5 to 9, which includes free, nonpartisan online programming to educate new voters and particularly students.

✅How One Prominent Journal Went Very Wrong
The threats, rumors, and infighting traumatized staff members and alienated contributors. They blame its editor.
—CHE

Coronavirus outbreak

✅State Launches Money Laundering Investigation into Andrew Do and OC Republican Party
—Voice of OC
     State authorities have launched a money laundering investigation into Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, focusing on whether he secretly – and potentially illegally – steered over $22,000 last month to his own campaign through the Orange County Republican Party.

✅‘It’s a political season’: Newsom cautions Californians against Trump’s downplaying of COVID-19 -- As President Donald Trump downplays the health effects of COVID-19 and tells the nation not to be afraid of the fatal disease, Gov. Gavin Newsom is countering with a stern message of caution to Californians. Maggie Angst in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/6/20

✅The CDC says the coronavirus can spread through tiny airborne particles after all -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged Monday that the coronavirus can spread through microscopic respiratory particles known as aerosols that float in the air for minutes or even hours before being inhaled. Richard Read in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/6/20

✅Working for Trump: Tweet-firings, subpoenas and now coronavirus -- The president’s staffers get fired and insulted by tweet. They get blamed for the president’s own failures. They get screamed at in the Oval Office. Scores of them have ended up subpoenaed, fined or even sentenced to prison. Now, the president’s staff has been dragooned into a coronavirus outbreak in which the stakes could be deadly. Nancy Cook and Meridith McGraw Politico -- 10/6/20

✅Newsom’s Supreme Court pick would be state’s first openly gay justice, and first Black man in 3 decades -- If confirmed, Jenkins, a deeply experienced jurist, who was born and raised in the Bay Area, would also be only the third Black man to serve as a justice in the state court’s history — and the first in 29 years. Byrhonda Lyons CalMatters Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Maggie Angst in the San Jose Mercury$ Carla Marinucci Politico Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ Adam Beam Associated Press -- 10/6/20

✅Republicans still dismiss calls for alarm over virus as turmoil grows
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who tested positive last week, said in an interview that there is “a level of unjustifiable hysteria” about a virus that has killed nearly 210,000 Americans.
—WashPo

✅Virginia governor develops mild covid-19 symptoms, scorns Trump for downplaying disease
—WashPo

✅‘Epidemiologists just wanna vomit’: Doctors disturbed after Trump removes his mask at the White House
Following a weekend of mounting horror among medical professionals and commentators fretting over Trump’s handling of his own infection, his actions Monday left them worried and frustrated yet again.
—WashPo

✅Democrats losing the battle over voter suppression?
Voting rights advocates warn that suppression efforts in the final weeks of the election threaten the voting blocks Democrats need most.
—Politico

10-5: "Don't be afraid of Covid," tweets dopey Trump; Long Beach cops fly Trump flag; U of M peer-reviews rap album

Carrie Snodgress: Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)

✅Students at Risk Without Obamacare 

Whether the Supreme Court will invalidate the Affordable Care Act is unclear, but the prospect of the law's end is causing worry. 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     … “It’s almost unimaginable, the idea of students losing coverage in the middle of a pandemic,” said Erin Hemlin, director of health policy for the millennial advocacy group Young Invincibles…. 

✅University Seeks State AG's Advice on Professor's Facebook Post 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     … A week earlier, the university said that Nathan Jun, associate professor of philosophy, was practicing his right to free speech when he wrote on Facebook that "I want the entire world to burn until the last cop is strangled with the intestines of the last capitalist, who is strangled in turn with the intestines of the last politician." Jun has said the remark was about police brutality but was not advocating actual violence, and that it was inspired by a quote attributed to 18th-century French philosopher Denis Diderot: "Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest."…. 

✅A College President Infected 

After a controversial event in the White House Rose Garden, Notre Dame's president has COVID-19. Some students and faculty members are not happy with him. 

—Inside Higher Ed 

Scholarly rap

     The Reverend John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, has tested positive for COVID-19. Though it is still unclear where or when Father Jenkins was infected, much attention has been paid to the ceremony nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. 

     Since the event took place Sept. 26 in the White House Rose Garden, several attendees, including Father Jenkins, President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Senators Thom Tillis and Mike Lee, and former Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway, have tested positive for COVID-19. Pictures and videos of the event have shown the roughly 150 attendees sitting close to one another, hugging and not wearing masks. Father Jenkins was in attendance with several Notre Dame faculty and administrators. Barrett is an alumna of Notre Dame Law School and taught there from 2002 until being nominated to the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017....

✅Scholarly Rap 

University of Michigan Press releases first peer-reviewed rap album from an academic publisher. 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     …Many institutions have long offered courses in hip-hop, and some list full programs of study. Yet until the University of Michigan Press published A. D. Carson’s new i used to love to dream, no academic press had published a peer-reviewed hip-hop album…. 

"The horror"

✅Long Beach city flag replaced with Trump political flag at police headquarters -- A City of Long Beach flag was reportedly stolen from a secure construction area outside police headquarters and replaced with a campaign flag for President Trump. Monte Morin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/5/20 

✅Top UCSF doctor slams Trump’s motorcade trip near hospital as ‘massively irresponsible’ -- Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF, is a political junkie accustomed to evasion by elected officials. What Wachter cannot get accustomed to is evasion from physicians in white coats. Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/5/20 

✅Trump to be discharged despite mysteries around his health 

"Don’t be afraid of Covid," Trump tweeted of the virus that has infected more than 7.4 million Americans and killed nearly 210,000. 

—Politico

✅Chris Wallace slams Trump’s family for refusing masks at debate 

—WashPo

✅Positive tests for senators raise doubts about fast-track confirmation of Trump’s Supreme Court choice -- From the start, Senate Republican leaders have known their ambitious timeline to get Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett confirmed before Election Day offered little room for error. Seung Min Kim in the Washington Post$ -- 10/5/20

10-4: the "stupid" approach to the pandemic

✅Biden looks to seal election after Trump's week from hell -- In a role reversal, the president who mocked his rival for being weak and hiding “in his basement” is stuck in isolation under doctors’ supervision while Biden jets off to states like Michigan on Friday and Florida on Monday, with the battleground map all to himself. Marc Caputo Politico -- 10/4/20 

✅What if Trump Can’t Run? Many Steps Are Clear, but Some Are Not -- Other situations become far more complicated and are wrapped in a cloud of legal disagreement over what to do if a president cannot exercise his duties but refuses to give them up, or wins election but cannot serve, or in a case in which the president and the vice president are incapacitated. Nicholas Fandos and Nick Corasaniti in the New York Times$ -- 10/4/20 

✅Covid-19 Live Updates: Trump’s Physician Briefs on His Condition, Says the President Has Taken Steroid Treatment 

The president released a video saying that he was “starting to feel good,” but conflicting statements by his doctors and aides created confusion. 

—NYT 

✅Some Republicans say party will pay price for ‘stupid’ approach to pandemic 

—WashPo

Trump health watch: "very concerned"

Fat, old, male and stupid.

 ✅Trump’s blood oxygen level Friday left us ‘real concerned,’ chief of staff says 
—WashPo
     Trump’s health has shown “unbelievable improvement” since Friday morning, when his blood oxygen level “dropped rapidly” and left staff seriously concerned, [White House Chief of Staff Mark] Meadows said Saturday night on Fox News. Echoing a Saturday evening letter from Trump’s physician, Meadows expressed optimism on Fox News but said the president is “not out of the woods.” He reiterated the importance of the coming days, saying, “the next 48 hours … with the history of this virus, we know can be tough.”
     Earlier in the day, Meadows told reporters that “the president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning, and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care."
     Speaking to Fox News’s Jeanine Pirro, Meadows shared more about staff’s fears Friday morning. He said that was “when I know a number of us, the doctor and I, were very concerned” about the president’s health. Trump had a fever and plummeting oxygen levels, Meadows said. But he said the president was soon “up and walking around” even as experts recommended that he go to a hospital out of caution.
     A senior administration official confirmed that Trump was given oxygen at the White House on Friday before going to Walter Reed....

 ✅Experts pointed to the president’s treatments as a sign that his condition may not be as good as his doctors said.

—NYT

 ✅White House triggers questions and confusion about Trump’s coronavirus case 

While Trump’s physician painted a rosy portrait on camera, the White House indicated “very concerning” signs over the prior day and said “the next 48 hours will be critical.” 

—Politico

10-3: Trump tardy on polar bears; Father Serra brutal on natives; Huntington Beach harebrained on Covid; weather hot on everybody

✅OC Residents Must Rely on Parents to Report Coronavirus School Cases, County Keeps Cases Secret 

—Voice of OC

     Reporting coronavirus cases in Orange County schools has fallen to parents after the county’s Health Care Agency has decided to keep cases a secret as waves of classrooms are reopening their doors. It didn’t take long for some cases to pop up after classrooms reopened. Cases of the virus have popped up on Irvine campuses less than a week after some school districts reopened classrooms, despite concerns from some teachers and parents on going back. 

✅Capistrano Unified considering changing name of Junipero Serra High School 

—OC Reg 

     Capistrano Unified School District leaders are considering changing the name of one of the district’s oldest campuses, its continuation school, Junipero Serra High School. Serra, an 18th century Spanish priest, founded many of California’s Catholic missions, but as a Sept. 23 report to the school board said, descendants of the Mission Indians consider Serra and the institutions he guided to be “brutal and patriarchal” and “responsible for the suppression of native culture.” 

✅Students return to classes at UCI, but campus is virtually empty 

—OC Reg 

✅In Huntington Beach, mask debate continued, despite Trump’s COVID hospitalization -- This Orange County city became a national symbol of the fight against wearing masks earlier this year and was the scene of several protests by Trump supporters demanding that Gov. Gavin Newsom reopen the economy. Anh Do in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/3/20 

✅The coronavirus waiting game: It can take days for symptoms to appear, longer for severe illness -- It can take time for COVID-19 symptoms to worsen following exposure to the coronavirus. While most people only experience mild or no symptoms at all, it can take roughly a week or so before severe illness strikes for those who do end up experiencing life-threatening symptoms. Rong-Gong Lin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/2/20  

✅What happens now that Gov. Newsom vetoed high school ethnic studies requirement? -- Ethnic studies supporters expressed disappointment after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have required high schoolers to take the course, while work mandated by law to develop a model curriculum for it continues apace — as does the controversy around it. Nina Agrawal in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/2/20

✅Trump’s infection is part of an ominous national trend as cases increase in 33 states, hospitalizations rise Infectious-disease experts had hoped transmission could be driven to low levels before cold weather arrived. That hasn’t happened. 

—WashPo 

✅China had mocked Trump for not taking the pandemic seriously. Now it’s very personal. 

China is riveted by news of President Trump’s positive coronavirus test, even as senior officials remain reserved in their public comments. 

—WashPo 

 

✅Long-delayed Trump administration study finds that climate change threatens polar bears 

     After stalling it for months, U.S. Geological Survey Director James Reilly released a study Friday that highlights polar bears’ vulnerability to climate change, saying he wanted to be "satisfied" with its underlying science before making it public. 

—WashPo 

✅RNC: Chair McDaniel tested positive for Covid-19 

The party chief “has been at her home in Michigan since last Saturday,” a spokesperson said. 

—Politico 

10-2: no refund! Minorities stopped by cops more often. More Krug!

✅Minorities in California stopped far more often for minor infractions than whites, report concludes -- Studies for many years have shown that minorities in California are more likely than whites to be stopped and arrested by police. A new report shows particularly wide disparities in police stops for “non-traffic infractions,” like sitting on the sidewalk, loitering in public or jaywalking, all punishable by hundreds of dollars in fines and fees. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/2/20 

✅As University of California campuses reopen, UC San Diego deploys aggressive strategy to contain Covid-19 -- With several University of California campuses welcoming back students this week for the start of the fall quarter, UC San Diego is employing the most aggressive, multi-pronged strategy to reopen. Michael Burke EdSource -- 10/2/20 

✅Jewish groups angered by California high school ethnic studies curriculum lobbied for veto -- Jewish groups angered by their exclusion from a proposed ethnic studies curriculum for California high school students credited their lobbying effort in large part for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s veto of a bill requiring the course for graduation. Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/2/20 

✅President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis poses political challenges for the trailing incumbent -- News that President Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus presents a formidable new obstacle for a reelection campaign already struggling to overcome the drag of the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant crippling of much of the U.S. economy. James Rainey, Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ Jonathan Martin, Maggie Haberman and Matt Stevens in the New York Times$ -- 10/2/20

✅Colleges Learn How to Suppress Coronavirus: Extensive Testing 

While many campuses are struggling with major outbreaks, some schools have successfully contained the virus. 

—NYT 

✅Huge Study of Coronavirus Cases in India Offers Some Surprises to Scientists 

The rate of death went down in patients over 65. Researchers also found that children of all ages became infected and spread the virus to others. 

—NYT 

✅Conservative operatives charged with felonies in connection with robocalls seeking to mislead voters 

Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman are infamous for inventing outlandish conspiracy theories. If convicted, they face up to 12 years in prison. 

—WashPo 

✅COVID-19 Roundup: Judge Rejects Refund for Remote Learning 

Federal court says Northeastern need not reimburse tuition for last spring's virtual shift; on-campus "fall break" or quarantine? 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     Within weeks after colleges around the country closed their campuses and shifted to remote learning as COVID-19 descended last spring, students and lawyers sprang into action, filing lawsuits seeking reimbursements of tuition and fees on top of the housing and dining refunds that many institutions granted. They argued that the virtual learning they were getting was inadequate given what they had paid, even as college and university leaders said their institutions had done their best to pivot in a crisis and allow students to continue their educations. 

✅Why Was It So Easy for Jessica Krug to Fool Everyone? 

—CHE 

✅3 Universities Face U.S. Inquiries Into Free-Speech Controversies 

—CHE

SOCCCD: the Trustee races

The good old days

I swiped this graphic from my pals over on the Orange Juice Blog.
They've swiped plenty of mine!

     Today, I'm critiquing candidates' stated "priorities," which can be found here.

     AREA 1.

     Raghu Mathur's old pal Helen Locke says she wants to eliminate "nonessential courses."  

     Golly, I didn't know we had any of those.

     She also wants to move the district somewhere else to make more room for classes. That's desirable (to move it to the middle: say, El Toro Rd.), but the board has considered that idea and has decided it's too pricey. —Pay attention, lady.

     Carolyn Inmon, an old hand at community college politics, says she wants to "prioritize limited resources to keep dollars in the classroom." Sure. Plus she wants to "support the needs of lifelong learners." That's a perfectly decent hobby horse, I suppose.

     Mr. Waid wants to "streamline systems" to save money: all three campuses should use the same ones, he says. Plus he wants to "integrate career guidance into each semester of a student's plan." Sounds like he's not up on the "Guided Pathways" initiative. Clueless.

     Kaushal has submitted nada, it seems, so to hell with him.

     AREA 3.

     I guess old Babs was just too bright a star for anyone to challenge. 

     AREA 6.

     Two of Ryan Dack's priorities concern worries about Covid-19 safety, which is blatantly unRepublican and thus refreshing. Also, he wants to "expand SOCCCD's college affordability commitment to ensure no student is kept from an education due to financial burdens." Sounds pretty good. Let's do that.

     Meanwhile, incumbent James Wright offers standard blather plus this odd priority: "Address my values as a fiscal conservative and solving pandemic problems." I'm sorry, but that doesn't make much sense, addresswise. Besides, I have never yet known him to fail to refer to Saddleback College as though it were the entire district. We exist up here, dude! Get a frickin' clue.

     AREA 7.

     Exhibiting yet more cluelessness, Mr. Gawne wants to "complete the Advanced Technology Park in Tustin." As near as I can tell, after all these years, nobody knows what completing it would even be. He offers some blather about "improving certificate programs." Do they need improving? How so?

     He also wants to "Focus on meeting future challenges to the higher education business model due to changing demographics and fiscal realities." OK, that's seriously bullshitty bullshit.

     Mr. Entezampour submitted nothing, prioritywise, which is distinctly unpromising.

     Mr. Tim Jemal, the incumbent, offers some sharp and focused priorities. There's his usual focus on "business partnerships," but ones that "lead to jobs...." —A nice touch. He wants to "Ensure Saddleback College & Irvine Valley College Remain the top Colleges in the State." Sounds good. Love how he blows off ATEP. I guess he's been there. There's no coffee.

     He falters a bit, however, with his 3rd priority: "Balanced Budgets, Precious use of Tax Dollars, Transparency and No New Taxes." Precious use of tax dollars? That's confused. And the "no new taxes" line is just pandering to knuckledraggers. Still, I'll give 'im a B+. I've always liked him. I'm hopin' he isn't one of the dolts who kept giving Glenn Roquemore a contract, despite endless indications that Rocky was (and is) a blithering idiot and shit-weasel.

See also:

• SOCCCD trustee candidates, August 18
• Mathur crony Helen Locke running for Lang’s [vacated] trustee seat, August 15