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

Fuentes' legacy

Arellano: Trump’s war on election integrity follows a racist playbook used in 1980s Orange County 

—LA Times 

     This is our old pal Gustavo Arellano's column at the Times. No doubt this piece is about OC GOP chief Tom Fuentes and Anaheim’s Curt Pringle and their gambit of hiring poll guards to intimidate Latino voters, aka voter suppression. Check it out. 

     Fuentes—and OC—is where Trump gets some of his worst ideas.

     (From the summer of 2000 until his death in 2012, Tom Fuentes served on the SOCCCD Board of Trustees. He was the worst thing ever to happen to the district.)

Sana Ana, 1988

IVC's Chris McDonald running for local office

[SEE UPDATE]

So I was driving around the hills up on Portola yesterday and I spotted these political signs along the road for somebody named "Chris McDonald." He's running for Lake Forest City Council. 

I asked myself: "Could that Chris McDonald be MY Chris McDonald, i.e., the VP of Instruction at Irvine Valley College?"

—Nah.

I kind of forgot about the whole thing until just before today's Academic Senate Meeting at 2:00. So I Googled "Chris McDonald Lake Forest" or some such thing and up popped this:

Whoa! It's IVC's Chris McDonald all right! And he's running for Lake Forest City Council!

Jolene in her youth

You'll recall that we covered some Lake Forest politics a few years ago when Lake Forest resident and SOCCCD Trustee Tom Fuentes died and then his widow, Jolene, came sniffing around to take over his seat. That didn't go too well. (See Whatever happened to Jolene Fuentes?, July 11, 2014)

So she ended up running for dogcatcher or something over in that goofy town (I think it was a seat on the planning commission or some such—somewhere where rich folks want things bad and find ways of getting them; that's sure what Tom was all about). I recall receiving the distinct impression that Jolene and her pals were about to introduce Tom Fuentes levels of corruption to the sleepy little town of Lake Forest. Too bad.

Jolene is still on the planning commission. I checked.

But Chris has nothing to do with any of that. 

I looked up Chris's Facebook page, where he announces: 

‘Hi, I'm Chris McDonald. I’m an educator, academic administrator, and I’m a proud resident of Portola Hills. I am stepping up as a candidate for the Lake Forest City Council because I believe I can make a difference for Portola Hills, Foothill Ranch, and our surrounding neighborhoods. We need a strong voice to represent our community in District 1 and I believe that I can be that voice.” (Aug 24) 

I believe that those who are entrusted in service of the community must be accessible to their constituents. Improving communication and increasing community engagement is key to our long-term success and that involves respect for individuals and their experiences. City leadership involves partnership with residents, and I believe that council members must represent the voice of the community. I believe patience is a prerequisite for the job because bringing closure to an issue may take more time when you collect and include feedback from the community. With that said, when I make a decision for the benefit of the community that is not in someone’s favor, I will make myself available for open and transparent dialogue about how the decision was made. (Sep 22)

Well, OK!

Here are a couple of things that pop up on his campaign website. Looks pretty professional, I guess:

McDonald's chief opposition appears to be a serious right-winger, who has the support of the County GOP, pro-lifers, and the likes of Don Wagner. See. McDonald has impressive support of his own.

UPDATE:

This appears to be the final tally. Chris lost by 22 votes.

Re Lake Forest's Jolene Fuentes, see also 

"Unseemly" May meeting of the SOCCCD BOT: board will appoint Fuentes' replacement!  

Monday, May 21, 2012  

Maybe it’s Jolene  

Wednesday, May 30, 2012 

Special "trustee replacement" board meeting, live and direct! (CONTROVERSY, WRIGHT GETS NOD)   

Monday, June 25, 2012

Predictably, Mickadeit attacks the BOT  

Monday, June 25, 2012  

More misplaced righteous indignation (on behalf of Jolene Fuentes)  

July 1 2012 

The OC GOP machine lines up behind Tom Fuentes’ widow in Lake Forest,
December 23, 2013

Whatever happened to Jolene Fuentes? (By hook or by crook: the real Fuentean legacy)
July 11, 2014

10-1: The Insufferable Hubris of the Well-Credentialed PLUS Drudge ♥️ Trump no longer AND Newsom nixes high school Ethnic Studies requirement PLUS prof fired for mentioning others' use of N-word

✅Professor Fired for Using N-Word in Class

—Inside Higher Ed 

     Central Michigan University fired Tim Boudreau, a tenured professor and chair of the journalism department, for creating a hostile environment by using the N-word in class, MLive reported. 

     Boudreau “created a hostile learning environment through his reckless use of the n-word (and other racial and homophobic slurs) in his instruction,” said a report investigating the professor. “There was no defensible reason for [Boudreau’s] choice to use uncensored racial slurs. CMU will not permit such hostility to go unchecked and, as such, the employer finds separation of employment to be the appropriate sanction.” 

     An alumna filed a complaint. She said Boudreau used the N-word in describing the firing of a former basketball coach -- for using the N-word....

[Again, Boudreau didn't "use" the N-word; rather, he "mentioned" it, which is something entirely different and is entirely defensible. Political correctness—or something very like it—run amok. Example: "'Cunt' is a highly toxic word." That remark is not using the C-word, it's mentioning it; it is saying, essentially, that it is a word most of us should avoid using. That's what Boudreau did with the N-word, apparently, quoting a coach who controversially used that word in class many years ago. (Boudreau's course was about the 1st Amendment and its meaning. He was raising the question of whether the coach's remark was protected speech.) This kind of "use" (i.e., mentioning) is in no sense objectionable, at least among mature and intelligent adults. What is objectionable is that Boudreau was fired over such perfectly reasonable commentary. Outrageous! —RB See here.]

✅The Insufferable Hubris of the Well-Credentialed 

A four-year university degree has become necessary for dignified work. Michael Sandel says that’s a huge mistake. 

—CHE 

     ...Sandel: Meritocracy is an attractive, even inspiring ideal, but it has a dark side: It generates hubris among the winners and humiliation among the losers. I suppose you could say this is a reading of the moral psychology of our political moment. 

     The meritocratic hubris of elites is the conviction by those who land on top that their success is their own doing, that they have risen through a fair competition, that they therefore deserve the material benefits that the market showers upon their talents. Meritocratic hubris is the tendency of the successful to inhale too deeply of their success, to forget the luck and good fortune that helped them on their way. It goes along with the tendency to look down on those less fortunate, and less credentialed, than themselves. That gives rise to the sense of humiliation and resentment of those who are left out…. 

✅‘Mighty whiteboard of truth’: The weapon Rep. Katie Porter used to school a pharma exec — and plenty others 

—WashPo

✅Asian Americans still being targeted in Covid-related hate incidents 

—OC Reg 

✅How Trump Voters View His Position on Pre-existing Conditions 

He has pursued policies to weaken insurance protections, but that’s not reflected in polling of Republicans. 

—NYT 

     ...“I think people should be able to have insurance even if they have pre-existing conditions,” said Ms. Locke, 59, who works in Jacksonville, Fla., as a children’s museum director. She recalls jumping from one plan to another before Obamacare, when her husband’s heart condition threatened to cut them off from coverage. She plans to cast her vote for President Trump in November, and expects he’ll do a good job on the issue, despite a policy record that is at odds with that premise…. 

✅Drudge Report, a Trump Ally in 2016, Stops Boosting Him for 2020 

A rift between the president and the online news pioneer Matt Drudge is playing out in pithy headlines and needling tweets as the campaign heats up. 

—NYT 

✅California moves toward policing changes, but activists hoped for far more -- California will ban certain police choke holds and establish independent investigations for some law enforcement shootings under legislation Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Wednesday — the remnants of what activists once hoped would be a far more ambitious overhaul of policing practices. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ Nico Savidge in the San Jose Mercury$ Don Thompson Associated Press Alexander Nieves Politico-- 10/1/20 

✅Ethnic studies requirement for California high school graduation is vetoed by Newsom -- Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have required all high school students in California to take an ethnic studies course to graduate — a move he said was driven by concerns that the draft curriculum was biased. Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/1/20 

Tom Fuentes & St. Ronald

✅Trump call for poll watchers evokes chilling memories of Orange County, 1988 -- When debate moderator Chris Wallace asked President Donald Trump last night whether he would urge his supporters “not to engage in any civil unrest” while ballots are being counted and to “not declare victory until the election has been independently certified,” the president responded with a very different appeal to his base. Ben Christopher CalMatters -- 10/1/20 

✅Mental health ‘tsunami’ looms: Can California prevent a surge in suicides? -- Humboldt County, tucked into the redwoods on the state’s far North Coast, also has a much higher suicide rate than most of California. The pandemic has fueled new concerns. Jocelyn Wiener CalMatters -- 10/1/20 

✅Police in L.A. and across California disproportionately cite Black people for minor infractions, study finds -- Police in Los Angeles and other major cities across California issue citations to Black residents for minor infractions such as loitering, drinking in public and sleeping on the street at far higher rates than white residents, according to a new study by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/1/20 

✅Belligerent Trump debate performance stokes fears among Republicans about November -- The aftermath of the first presidential debate between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden triggered a reckoning among Republicans on Wednesday about the incumbent’s incendiary remarks on white supremacy and his baseless claims of electoral fraud, with GOP officials privately expressing alarm about the fallout with key voters as the president’s allies argued that he electrified his core supporters. Robert Costa and Matt Viser in the Washington Post$ -- 10/1/20 

✅Coronavirus economy: California is years away from jobs recovery, report says -- The California job market, which was at an all-time best level only last February, appears to be years away from a return to the lofty heights it enjoyed before the coronavirus unleashed wide-ranging economic woes, an unsettling forecast released Wednesday shows. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ Margot Roosevelt in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/30/20

9-30: An especially stressful time for Dreamers; SoCal held back; it's all about young people

✅OC’s Reopening Restrictions Continue After Labor Day Coronavirus Case Bump 

—Voice of OC 

     A host of businesses and churches across Orange County won’t be able to let more people indoors this week because local coronavirus infections went up. 

✅Orange County remains on state’s red tier for coronavirus restrictions because of bump in case rates 

—OC Reg 

✅Debate Prompts Shock, Despair and, in China, Glee 

—NYT 

     The chaos of the event has left allies and rivals alike questioning the state of American democracy and the country’s place on the global stage. 

✅As colleges reopened, many more young people got covid-19, CDC reports 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that cases had risen nationally among people 18 to 22 years old between Aug. 2 and Sept. 5. 

—WashPo 

✅New Push for a Shift in Promotion and Tenure 

Should innovation and entrepreneurial achievement be considered as part of teaching, research and service? 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     Academics from 67 universities nationally have unanimously voted to approve a set of recommendations for recognizing innovation and entrepreneurial achievements among the criteria for higher education faculty promotion and tenure. 

     The proposal is not to add a fourth prong to the traditional three of teaching, research and service. Rather, it is to place innovation and entrepreneurship within the three prongs. 

     In addition, the proposal aims to be noncontroversial by saying that colleges and universities could let faculty members decide whether to be evaluated on that basis. But judging from the reaction of the American Association of University Professors, which was not consulted on the proposal, there is a controversy....

Good Lord!

✅An Especially Stressful Time for Dreamers 

Survey of undocumented college students finds high level of anxiety around finances and the students' legal status. 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     …“The survey from TheDream.US found that 70 percent of respondents are “more” (32 percent) or “much more” (38 percent) anxious about their legal status since the start of the pandemic. More than half -- 55 percent -- see their legal status as a “very” or “extremely” significant barrier to achieving their long-term goals, compared to 44 percent in the previous year’s version of the survey.” …. 

✅CDC Cites Rise in Young Adults With COVID-19 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     The number of young adults with COVID-19 rose by 55 percent from early August to early September, as most colleges were bringing students back to their campuses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report published Tuesday. 

✅Coronavirus outbreak at Cal State Long Beach grows to 17 cases -- Officials first announced Saturday, Sept. 26, that five cases had been identified and that all on-campus students would be quarantined. The university also announced that all in-person instruction will be paused for two weeks while officials perform contact tracing. Hayley Munguia in the Orange County Register -- 9/30/20 

✅With most California college campuses virtual this year, a select few are in-person -- Most California university and college courses are virtual this fall, but a small number are still happening in-person, in ways that are different from anything normal. Ashley A. Smith EdSource -- 9/30/20 

✅California’s community colleges address student-faculty diversity gap -- California’s 116 community colleges should prioritize increasing diversity in their faculty to create a more inclusive and equitable learning environment, leaders from across the community college system said Tuesday. Michael Burke EdSource -- 9/30/20 

✅Coronavirus infections among school-age kids rose in the summer, CDC says -- Keen to send the nation’s kids back to reopened schools, President Trump has called children “virtually immune,” “essentially immune” and “almost immune” to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. But a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention underscores how wrong those assertions are. Melissa Healy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/29/20 

✅Poll shows Californians give Newsom high marks on COVID-19, low marks on addressing homelessness -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic helped put him in such good graces with California voters that his approval rating is among the highest of any governor in the past 50 years at the same point in their first term, according to a new poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/29/20

9-29: likely a Third COVID-19 surge is coming; the GOP ♥️ QAnon; Cal to make its own insulin?; students clam up about politics

✅A Perception Problem About Free Speech 

A new report finds a majority of students feel they can't express their opinions on campus, especially when they are in the ideological minority and even if they believe their college fosters a climate that supports free speech. 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     Sixty percent of students have at one point felt they couldn’t express an opinion on campus because they feared how other students, professors or college administrators would respond, according to a survey report published Tuesday by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, or FIRE, a campus civil liberties watchdog group, and RealClearEducation, an online news service. The survey of 19,969 undergraduate students from 55 colleges and universities was administered from April to May by College Pulse, a research company…. 

✅More than Half of College Students Self-Censor When Race and Other Tough Topics Come Up, Survey Finds 

—CHE 

✅OC Police Watchdog Announces Planned Probe into San Clemente Deputy Shooting of Homeless Black Man 

—Voice of OC 

     The deputy shooting death of Kurt Reinhold will be investigated by the Office of Independent Review. The Orange County Sheriff's Dept. and District Attorney's office will conduct their own probes. 

✅As OC Gears Up for More Reopenings, State Officials Warn Coronavirus is Starting to Spread More 

—Voice of OC 

     Orange County could move as early as tomorrow into the third tier of the state’s coronavirus guidelines, which means more businesses could reopen and some restrictions limiting the number of people indoors could be lifted. 

     Meanwhile, state officials are warning that a potential second wave looms. Gov. Gavin Newsom said there’s signs the virus is beginning to spread faster after it showed a decrease statewide. 

      “If we’re not cautious, we’re not vigilant, we’re not wearing our masks … these numbers can start to tick back up,” Newsom said at a Monday news conference…. 

✅The California Republican Party endorsed three candidates who say QAnon theories should be heard -- For years, the falsehoods of the QAnon movement lived on the fringes of the internet. It was a collection of conspiracy theories aimed at exposing a supposed deep-state cabal of pedophiles. Lara Korte in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/29/20 

✅New law paves way for California to make its own insulin, generic drugs in effort to lower costs -- California could make its own insulin and other prescription drugs in an effort to lower costs under a bill Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he signed into law Monday. Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/29/20 

✅Is A Third COVID-19 Surge Coming? Experts Say It’s Likely, Unless Behaviors Change -- After spring and summer brought persistent surges in COVID-19 cases, California’s rates appear to be on the decline for the fall. But as businesses reopen with modifications, some children go back to school and the weather slowly cools, health experts have a uniform message: It’s not over. Sammy Caiola Capital Public Radio Adam Beam Associated Press -- 9/29/20 

✅As some push for faster COVID-19 reopenings, Newsom warns of a possible second wave -- By practically every metric, California is steadily beating back the coronavirus pandemic. But officials are watching data that could suggest a second surge of the virus is on the way, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday. Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/29/20 

✅‘Zoom Out’ protests against distance learning planned this week -- The protest calls for families to inform schools of their participation in the “Zoom Out,” request homework for students and log off distance learning online platforms, said Syndie Ly, an organizer with Reopen California Schools and a parent of four boys in the Tustin Unified School District. Dan Albano in the Orange County Register -- 9/29/20 

✅Colleges: Financial Toll of Coronavirus Worse Than Anticipated 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     The coronavirus pandemic has taken an even deeper financial toll on colleges and universities than expected, said associations representing two- and four-year institutions. In a letter to House of Representatives leaders, the groups nearly tripled the amount of help they say is needed from Congress in another aid package, to at least $120 billion. 

✅More Doctoral Programs Suspend Admissions. That Could Have Lasting Effects on Graduate Education. 

—CHE 

Many departments are opting to focus funding on current students rather than bringing in a new cohort next fall.