Commentary: Colleges Embrace ‘Deficit Framing’ to Justify Students’ Unpreparedness

College students in the library

It is an open secret among college professors and university administrators that college students aren’t what they used to be.

They struggle with lengthy reading assignments and basic vocabulary. They don’t know rudimentary algebra. They can’t add or subtract fractions. They complain that deadlines, hard exams, and required attendance are impediments to their success.

Read More

Colleges Move to Arm Officers in Response to Inner-City Crime After Previous Calls to Defund the Police

Two inner-city colleges are arming their on-campus police officers in an effort to crack down on increased crime three years after activists called for departments across the country to be defunded.

George Washington University (GWU), located in Washington D.C., announced it will allow some officers to carry firearms while on duty after typically relying on other armed police departments, while Portland State University (PSU), located in, reversed a 2021 policy that restricted officer’s ability to arm themselves. The decisions come three years after activists across the country took to the streets in 2020 demanding policing reform, including calls to defund departments, which sources tell the Daily Caller News Foundation will better prepare officers to deal with emergency situations when they occur.

Read More

Ohio Enacts Universal Occupational License Recognition

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) on Sunday signed legislation allowing Ohioans who acquired occupational licenses in other states to utilize their credentials in the Buckeye State.

Eighteen states, including neighboring Pennsylvania, already recognize occupational licenses that their residents received elsewhere. For years, a coalition of free-market organizations, including the Columbus-based Buckeye Institute, have urged Ohio lawmakers to adopt the same policy to ease burdens on workers and make the state more economically competitive. 

Read More

Ohio Legislative Committee Approves Universal License Recognition Bill

Advocates for occupational licensing reform successfully urged an Ohio House panel on Tuesday to unanimously pass a Senate bill to recognize professional certifications awarded by other states.

Eighteen states, varied in their politics and geography, already recognize out-of-state licenses for most professions, including neighboring Pennsylvania. These universal-recognition laws all require the licensee to have current permission to work in his or her state and have no pending professional disciplinary matters or disqualifying criminal records. Licensees remain subject to any fees or testing required by their adopted states. 

Read More

Coalition Backs Universal License Recognition in Ohio

A coalition of free-market associations sent an open letter on Tuesday to Ohio’s state lawmakers encouraging them to enact universal occupational license recognition, meaning the Buckeye State would honor professional certifications issued in other states. 

Message signers included leaders of Americans for Prosperity-Ohio, the Buckeye Institute, the Goldwater Institute, the National Taxpayers Union and Americans for Tax Reform. The organizations observed that the state’s population is declining and that it will continue to do so if pro-market reforms aren’t made to attract new workers, including universal license recognition. Numerous states, including Arizona and North Carolina, generally accept credentials obtained elsewhere by people moving into those states. 

Read More

University of Minnesota Beats First Amendment Challenge to ‘Heckler’s Veto’ Against Ben Shapiro Event

Ben Shapiro speaking

Sixteen minutes after learning that a University of Minnesota student group booked conservative commentator Ben Shapiro to speak at its main campus in Minneapolis, then-president Eric Kaler declared, “I do not want this in the middle of campus.”

All he knew at that point, four months before the February 2018 event, was that Shapiro was “a right wing speaker and he made some appearances on other campuses.”

Citing security needs, the university ended up putting Shapiro in a venue on its St. Paul campus, far from student housing. Demand far exceeded capacity, and a regent accused the university of passing over a larger venue on the main campus that was easier to secure.

Read More

National Students for Justice in Palestine Conference at UMN Receives Major Backlash

The David Horowitz Freedom Center once again named the University of Minnesota on its list of “Top Ten Colleges that Promote Jew Hatred and Incite Terrorism” in its recent report. Following the release of this report, newspapers with this information were distributed around the University of Minnesota campus.

Read More

Ohio Bill Would ‘Emancipate’ Workers by Ending ‘State’s Occupational Licensing Regime’

Ohio may soon see major reforms to its occupational licensing laws that some believe “make it harder and more expensive to find work” in the state. Senate Bill 255, sponsored by State Sen. Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), cleared the Ohio Senate in July and has now been referred to committee in…

Read More