LAUSD Facing "Severe" Signs Of Insolvency

The Los Angeles Unified School District was given 45 days to prove it can responsibly manage its own finances or risk losing significant control over its budget to outside fiscal overseers.

For the second-largest school district in the U.S., that is an extraordinary humiliation. It is also entirely deserved.

The Los Angeles County Office of Education has concluded that LAUSD shows "severe" signs of insolvency and could be US$ 231 million in the red, unable to make payroll, by November 2027. A fiscal expert is already working with the district.

If LAUSD fails to satisfy county officials, the next step could be a fiscal adviser with authority to block school board spending decisions. A state bailout could eventually strip the elected board of much of its power.

The warning signs were there for everyone to see.

In April, after tentative labor agreements were announced, I wrote that LAUSD was buying labor peace with money it did not have.

In June, before the school board formally approved those agreements, county officials warned they were too expensive. The board approved them anyway.

Less than a month later, the county's warning became a formal finding.

The contracts add roughly US$ 1.13 billion in costs this school year, climbing to US$ 1.44 billion in 2027-28. They include a 24 percent increase over three years for SEIU support staff, nearly 14percent over two years for teachers and almost 12 percent over two years for administrators.

At the same time, the district failed to carry out planned cuts. The board instead overruled its own chief financial officer and pulled US$ 175 million from a retiree health trust fund to make the budget work on paper.

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Palestinian-Flag-Carrying Graduate Defy Rules Almost Denied Diploma

Berkeley educators refused to hand a diploma to a graduate who held aloft the Palestinian flag unless he got rid of it.

It happened during the Spring graduation ceremony for the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley, when a student walked across the stage to get their diploma and flashed the flag.

In a video from the ceremony, the student walked up to the person holding their diploma and the professor refused to hand it over.

One of the announcers said, "I’m sorry, but we’re not allowed to have flags."

"Flags are prohibited. We’re not allowed to have flags."

In the footage from the celebration, it appeared the student was being instructed to get rid of the flag before the ceremony could resume and his diploma would be handed over.

The ceremony was halted for more than a minute as the student carrying the flag refused to put it away to get his diploma.

This happened in front of the entire audience made up of family members of graduates, faculty and fellow students.

As the audience got confused, the announcer apologized and said "I’m sorry it’s not our policy, it’s the university policy."

Eventually, the graduate walked over to someone in the audience and handed over the flag.

A spokesperson for the university issued a statement to the outlet that "Campus guidelines regarding commencement decorum, stating that demonstrations or political displays that disrupt the flow of the graduation ceremony are prohibited."

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Harvard President Stressed Students' Ignorance About Israel Conflict

The president of Harvard says he is "disappointed" by the Ivy League student body's ignorance and divide over the Israel-Palestinian conflict, as well as what he described as apathy toward understanding it.

"If you’re going to have strong views about an issue, I would hope that at a university you would have the curiosity to learn the facts," Harvard President Alan M. Garber said at an event in Manhattan, The Harvard Crimson reported.

The student newspaper reported that his remarks "mark a shift in emphasis for Garber, who has spent much of the past year warning about deteriorating conditions for free expression on campus." Garber previously said Harvard "went wrong" with faculty speaking out on political opinions in the classroom.

The Harvard Crimson reported that Garber said he believes the issue goes beyond faculty, calling some student attitudes "disturbing" and "ignorant."

He said he was particularly concerned that some students lack a full understanding of the issue and are unwilling to engage in debate.

"What I really felt was most disturbing as a Jewish president, but also somebody who cares personally a lot about the issues that were being discussed, is the level of ignorance among people on all sides of this issue," Garber said.

He added, "The lack of knowledge and this unwillingness to have open dialogue pain me even more."

Harvard has faced criticism following the university’s messaging regarding Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack on Israel. The Department of Justice in March filed a lawsuit against the school "for race and national origin discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students."

The lawsuit alleges that the university did not protect its Jewish and Israeli students by being "deliberately indifferent to a level of hostility on its campus so well-known across the nation that members of Congress were writing about it" and refusing "to enforce its campus rules against students who harass their Jewish and Israeli peers."

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Schools Brought Back "Pledge Of Allediance" After Lawsuit

A school district in Maine was complelled to change their policy after a lawsuit filed by a father-son duo a month ago claimed it did not allow high school students the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in classrooms.

The Portland Press Herald first reported last month that Christopher Hickey filed the suit on behalf of his 10th-grade son, Clayton, alleging the Falmouth School Department in southern Maine was violating a long-standing district policy and state statue, requiring that students recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily.

According to the lawsuit, the pledge was a regular occurrence in both the district's elementary and middle schools, while students in the high school did not participate in the ritual for two years.

Leadership for the school district told Fox News Digital that families are "encouraged" to come forward with questions and concerns about the district's policies, saying the Pledge of Allegiance is an option for students that can be recited at Falmouth High School.

"At Falmouth High School, students are welcome to say the Pledge of Allegiance if they choose," Falmouth Schools Superintendent Steve Nolan said in a statement recently. "Now that this matter has been brought to our attention, we have taken steps to provide an opportunity during the school day for students who wish to say the Pledge of Allegiance to do so during a designated time."

Statute §4010 states: "A school administrative unit shall allow every student enrolled in the school administrative unit the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at some point during a school day in which students are required to attend. A school administrative unit may not require a student to recite the Pledge of Allegiance."

The school's policy says that an American flag will be flown on school grounds on school days in addition to having it visible in every classroom.

"Furthermore, an opportunity must be provided, during the school days for which students are required to attend, for students and staff to recite the Pledge of Allegiance," the policy added.

Hickey's attorney, Jack Baldacci, wrote in a statement to the Press Herald that despite Nolan's wish to handle the matter without legal action, they do not think the change would have been made without filing the suit.

"The district had ample time to correct this longstanding omission on its own and failed to do so," Baldacci wrote. "We are glad the district is now complying, and we hope this marks the beginning of a renewed commitment to the robust civic education every student deserves."

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Schools To Remove Alleged Molester Cesar Chavez From Curriculum

The Texas Education Agency has recently directed all public schools in the state to revise lesson plans to remove mentions of Cesar Chavez after sexual abuse allegations surfaced against the labor leader.

In written guidance, the agency also ordered school districts to cancel "or otherwise redirect" events and activities planned for Cesar Chavez Day on 31 March, an extension of Gov. Greg Abbott’s state directive to not observe the optional state holiday.

Teachers and labor groups have been reckoning with the late civil rights leader’s legacy after a New York Times investigation revealed allegations that Chavez had sexually assaulted and abused women and girls. The activist had strong ties to Texas, where he supported striking farmworkers and led a rally at the state Capitol following a march from Rio Grande City to Austin in 1966.

The current state social studies curriculum requires students to learn about Chavez in multiple grades, including fifth grade and U.S. history. But the TEA said any teaching of Chavez would also conflict with a portion of the Texas Education Code that says a teacher cannot be compelled to discuss "a widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs."

"This letter serves as formal notice that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) will not consider failure to teach any student expectation focused on Chavez as out of compliance with statutory requirements," the guidance said.

The Texas State Board of Education is in the process of rewriting its K-12 social studies curriculum standards to emphasize a focus on Texas and U.S. history. The board is set to vote in June on the new standards, which TEA expects will remove explicit requirements to teach about Chavez.

The Austin school district last week announced it would celebrate labor leader Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers with Chavez, on the 31 March holiday. Huerta told the Times she had been sexually assaulted by Chavez but kept it a secret for 60 years out of fear of hurting the farmworker movement.

And in Houston, the school district renamed the holiday from Cesar Chavez to Farmworkers Day. It is also facing questions about whether to rename its César E. Chávez High School.

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School With Poor Record Employs Troubling Rap Method

An underperforming California school district is dishing out nearly US$ 300,000 to partner with a group to teach a rap-based curriculum to students, sparking criticisms among parents, the Justice Department said.

The Merced City School District, one of the state’s lower-performing school districts, has signed a US$ 270,000 contract with School Yard Rap, the New York Post reported.

The agreement includes a summer "Rap Camp" and an "African American Affinity Group," which has raised questions about whether the partnership complies with federal law.

Lessons include history lessons, songwriting, DJ-ing and performances.

"The School Yard Rap curriculum transforms history lessons into relatable characters presented through songs and storytelling- resulting in emotional connection," the School Yard Rap website states.

The school district told Fox News Digital that it "proudly supports the partnership" with School Yard Rap, which fosters "a unique approach to education by engaging students through music, media, interactive assemblies and much more."

The camps are advertised and open to all 3rd through 8th grade students across (the) Merced City School District, it said.

Established in 2016, School Yard Rap, which operates in 28 states, presents "a world where learning meets rhythm, exploring diverse cultures and subjects through interactive music-infused modules."

Merced has handed out US$ 610,000 worth of contracts to School Yard Rap, the Post reported. Fox News Digital has reached out to the school district and School Yard Rap.

The Justice Department told Fox News Digital that any race-based programming is "troubling."

"It is illegal for the government to offer benefits solely on the basis of race. We have not had the opportunity to investigate these allegations, but if true, they are troubling," Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told Fox News Digital.

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Colorado College Approved TPUSA Chapter Application

A retired professor had a classic meltdown in front of the camera and called conservatives "Nazis". Apparently, he had a negative reaction after a proposed Turning Point USA chapter was approved at a Colorado college.

David Kozak, a former professor of anthropology at Fort Lewis College, was caught on camera last 7 November yelling in reaction to the Associated Students of Fort Lewis College (ASFLC) voting to approve the TPUSA chapter in an emergency meeting. Their decision came after previously rejecting senior Jonah Flynn’s proposal to register the group with the university, which had sparked controversy across campus.

The ASFLC's decision to reverse its earlier rejection to deny the chapter apparently angered Kozak, who flipped off the person filming and called the TPUSA supporters "Nazis." He then said, "F--- the Nazis."

"Go on, fascists," Kozak said. "Go on, Nazi lovers."

"C’mon Nazis!," Kozak said repeatedly.

Kozak's confrontation occurred after a challenging few weeks for the TPUSA chapter at the liberal arts college, which is based in a left-leaning area that overwhelmingly supported Democrat Kamala Harris in the last election.

A Fort Lewis College spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Kozak had retired.

"Mr. Kozak retired from Fort Lewis College in 2022 and is no longer employed by the institution," the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "At Fort Lewis College, we remain committed to fostering an environment grounded in academic excellence, free expression, and civil discourse."

On 17 October, a petition launched by the Fort Lewis College community garnered only 400 signatures, arguing that TPUSA "has engaged in actions that directly harm our community."

Shortly after the chapter was denied, a counter-petition launched backing TPUSA, garnering over 1,000 signatures so far.

The student government ultimately reversed itself, approving the chapter on 7 November.

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Student Received Zero Points On Essay Using Bible Verses

One student from the University of Oklahoma is speaking out after she received a zero on an opinion-based essay in which she cited the Bible. The teaching assistant (TA), who identifies as transgender, called the essay "offensive."

"I was told to give my opinion on gender stereotypes and gender norms. So that's what I did," Samantha Fulnecky, who wrote the essay, said on "The Will Cain Show" last 2 December.

"I didn't think that was me needing to be brave or have courage," she added as reported by Fox News.

Fulnecky, a junior pre-med student, said she was asked to read an article on gender, mental health and gender stereotypes. According to Fulnecky, the assignment was meant to be opinion-based and respond to the article’s discussion of gender pressures among middle-schoolers.

In her essay, Fulnecky argued that her religious beliefs support traditional gender norms and that such norms should be reinforced rather than eliminated.

"I talked about the Bible and what God says about gender norms and about how there are two genders," Fulnecky said.

The paper was graded by graduate teaching assistant Mel Curth, who uses she/they pronouns. Curth argued that the zero had nothing to do with Fulnecky’s beliefs but with a lack of required evidence and connections to the article.

"Please note that I am not deducting points because you have certain beliefs," Curth wrote, "but instead I am deducting point [sic] for you posting a reaction paper that does not answer the questions for this assignment, contradicts itself, heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence in a scientific class, and is at times offensive."

The University of Oklahoma later posted a statement on X: "The University of Oklahoma takes seriously concerns involving First Amendment rights, certainly including religious freedoms."

"Upon receiving notice from the student on the grading of an assignment, the University immediately began a full review of the situation and has acted swiftly to address the matter," the statement said.

The university has placed Curth on administrative leave. Fulnecky says she learned of the suspension only through social media and questioned whether the same action would have been taken had her story not gone viral.

"I didn't know that they were going to take the situation seriously, and I don't know if that's because it blew up on social media and that's what caused them to act on it that way," she said.

"But when they were in contact with me, it didn't seem to me like they were [going to] do anything about it."

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Conservative Gettysburg College Posters Torn By Leftist Student

There is a video circulating online by a member of a conservative campus group at a private Pennsylvania college that clearly captured a student tearing down its promotional flyers.

The Young America's Foundation (YAF) chapter at Gettysburg College hosted conservative author and speaker Vince Ellison on 20 November. Days before the event, the group posted advertisements for the event around campus.

However, according to Gettysburg College YAF Chairman Tyler Seeman, students who oppose right-leaning ideals tore down the chapter's flyers — something Seeman says happens every semester when the campus group hosts an event — and one of them was caught on camera.

"Every semester, Gettysburg YAF has a campus lecture. So, we invite one of the speakers from YAF's speaker list to come to campus and discuss whatever their specialty is," Seeman told Fox News Digital.

In the video, a YAF member climbs a flight of stairs after seeing a student pulling the group's flyers off the wall, and races to confront the alleged perpetrator.

"You having fun?" the YAF member asks.

"Yeah," the student quickly replies.

"You know that's against college policy, right?" the YAF member asks.

"OK," the student says, before falling silent.

The YAF member then chastised the student for not making it out of the building before being caught red-handed.

"We've got more of those [flyers] in the stairwell, you wanna go get those too?" the YAF member asks.

"I don't know," the student replies.

The YAF member then escorts the alleged perpetrator out of the building.

"Every semester, students on campus tear our flyers down because we're the only conservative 501(c)(3) on campus that actually hosts campus lectures," Seeman said. "So, some students feel, I would presume, that our views and our speakers' statements are contrary or dangerous to their own perspectives and their own worldview."

Seeman characterized the school as "apathetic" toward the chapter's plight. He said that on one occasion, the school sent out an email to some students condemning the behavior of YAF's opponents, but on another occasion, school administrators declined a request to admonish bad actors.

Seeman shared a message to those on campus who oppose YAF's views.

"Instead of tearing down flyers, show up to our events and ask questions, because we want to have that dialogue," he said.

"At the end of the day, that's just going to get everyone in the room thinking about these issues, and we'd rather have as many people thinking about these issues and talking about these issues as possible, rather than just tearing down flyers and trying to silence other people's speech, because that's not constructive."

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Chicago Public Schools Continue To Promote "Woke" Materials

A top parents’ rights advocacy group is sounding the alarm on "woke" LGBT literature being implemented into the curriculum at Chicago Public Schools, one of the largest public school systems in the United States.

The report from Defending Education, released recently, alleges that Chicago Public Schools has been issuing "Pride guidances" to teachers that encourages them to host a "Pride Week," display "Pride flags," and distribute other materials supportive of LGBT agendas in schools.

Additionally, the group says that the guidance includes a goal of every district implementing a "Gender and Sexuality Alliance" club which they have already made significant progress on over the past couple of years.

Defending Education exclusively spoke to Fox News Digital about its concerns over the materials being disseminated to children.

"Chicago Public Schools’ ongoing obsession with wasting classroom time — and district resources — on everything except educating students on core subjects is absolutely appalling," Nicole Neily, founder and president of Defending Education, told Fox News Digital.

"Families expect that their children will learn basic skills like reading, writing, and math that will provide them a path to a better life, a social contract that CPS has clearly broken. District test scores demonstrate that Brandon Johnson and his CTU cronies are failing Chicago families."

One document obtained by Defending Education suggests that teachers are being reminded that state law prohibits them from opting out of "LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum" and stating that they are required to teach "LGBTQ+ History."

"Pride is more than just a month of celebrations and recognition of the LGBTQ+ community," one of the documents posted by Defending Education says. "It’s a protest and a fight for equality. It’s collaboration and support across other marginalized communities."

A FAQ section in one of the documents asks, "Can I put Pride flags and other LGBTQ+ affirming materials in my classroom?"

The answer from the school system reads, "Yes! We encourage you to do so!"

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Transgenderism Trend Is Losing Steam In U.S. Campuses

The trans trend and trans-identification among young people appears to be losing momentum. This was supported by recent data taken from college campuses that shows a sharp decline in the number of Gen Zers identifying as transgender over the past three years.

Eric Kaufmann, a professor of politics at the University of Buckingham, conducted his own analysis of a large survey of U.S. undergraduates — which included a question asking them to identify their gender.

Anything that isn't a man or woman is considered "gender non-conforming," the surveying organization shared with Fox News Digital.

In the 2025 survey of 68,000 students, only 3.6 percent of respondents identified as a gender other than male or female.

"By comparison, the figure was 5.2 percent in 2024 and 6.8 percent in both 2022 and 2023," Kaufmann wrote in his analysis, which was published on UnHerd.com.

"In other words, the share of trans-identified students has effectively halved in just two years."

The report also found that "non-conforming sexual identity" has sharply declined, according to Kaufmann. Those identifying as gay or lesbian remained "stable," although heterosexuality has risen 10 points since 2023.

Additionally, in 2024-2025, fewer college first-year students identified as "trans or queer" compared to seniors — which is the opposite of what occurred in the 2022-2023 year.

"This suggests that gender/sexual non-conformity will continue to fall," Kaufmann wrote in an X post sharing the data.

The annual survey — College Free Speech Rankings — is conducted by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The aim is to gather students' opinions on freedom of speech, along with demographic information like gender.

Kaufmann conducted his analyses using six years of demographic data from the survey, FIRE confirmed to Fox News Digital.

His independent report, "The Decline of Trans and Queer Identity among Young Americans," was published by the Centre of Heterodox Social Science and has not been peer-reviewed.

"Our survey looks at student attitudes for free expression and is conducted for that purpose," FIRE told Fox News Digital. "As a side effect of asking demographic questions of so many respondents, one can glean trends in demographics, as Professor Kaufmann has done here."

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Gen Z College Grads Are Flocking To Texas And Florida

Historically, recent college students have centered their post-grad lives on landing a job in big cities like New York City and Los Angeles that promise a lively lifestyle and often higher starting salaries (although the high cost of living quickly eats into that).

But two Republican-dominated states have emerged as new hotspots for Gen Z college grads: Texas and Florida, according to a study by JLL Research published this week. That’s largely thanks to a mass migration of publicly traded corporations’ headquarters since 2020, according to the research arm of global real-estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

"Finance firms relocating to Miami or Dallas since the pandemic began are having a meaningful impact on the distribution of job availabilities," Jacob Rowden, senior manager of U.S. office research at JLL, told Fortune. "Before the pandemic, Texas and Florida housed about 16.2 percent of financial services employment in the country, today that’s rapidly approaching 18 percent. That 2 percent shift reflects almost 2 million jobs, so it’s a robust and significant improvement in local labor markets."

Of the top 20 talent hubs for recent college grads, five are in either Florida or Texas. They include Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Miami/South Florida, and Orlando. Dallas-Forth Worth even surpassed Seattle—home to Fortune 500 companies like Amazon, Starbucks, and Nordstrom—claiming the No. 9 spot on JLL’s list.

Still, New York City claimed the No. 1 spot, followed by the San Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago. Some of that can be attributed to the concentration of university students nationally, according to JLL. While Texas and Florida boast the third- and fourth-highest concentrations of college students, the Sun belt houses 143,000 students, compared to 174,000 in Midwest states and more than 282,000 students on the East Coast, JLL reported.

Several cities in Florida and Texas have become major hiring hubs for recent grads, especially those who specialized in finance or technology. Dallas has become a significant financial hub, so a large share of business graduates in the Sun Belt end up there, Rowden said. It has even earned the nickname of "Y’all Street" as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and JPMorgan grow their presence in the region.

"It’s also a very diversified market in general and has a robust base of professional services companies, a growing technology sector, and is well-represented by other large organizations," he added. Some of the largest companies based in Dallas include AT&T, Southwest Airlines, Comerica, and Match Group. According to the JLL report, the median tech salary in Dallas is US$ 144,000; finance is US$ 91,000; accounting and consulting is US$ 86,000; and US$ 90,000 for those who work at law firms.

Just south of Dallas is Austin, which is becoming a significant secondary tech market, largely due to long-term investments from local universities in partnership with other local stakeholders, Rowden said. Some tech companies in Austin with a large presence include Dell, Apple, IBM, Google, Amazon, Meta, Tesla, and Oracle. Houston remains the most preeminent market for the oil-and-gas industry, Rowden said.

And in Florida, Orlando has grown as a market for aerospace companies like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Aerojet Rocketdyne. The city is also home to several major travel and leisure companies like Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Darden Restaurants, and Universal.

While there might be plenty of job opportunities in these two states, recent grads still make relatively less than "gateway markets" like New York City and San Francisco.

"For instance, a company shifting tech headcount from the Bay Area to Austin can procure talent for 15-20 percent lower salaries," Rowden said. "A company relocating finance headcount from the tri-state area to Dallas-Fort Worth would see about 10-15 percent savings."

But that hasn’t stopped new grads from moving there anyway.

"Seeing elevated talent migration to those areas, and now a growing pipeline of college graduates from university expansions, adds to the legitimacy and permanence of that momentum for office markets," Rowden said.

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Texas A&M Uni Fired A Prof For Promoting Her DEI Agenda In Class

A professor at Texas A&M University was fired and others were removed from their positions after a video surfaced in which a student confronted the instructor over her teaching of issues related to gender identity when it is not part of the curriculum.

The firing of Melissa McCoul, a senior lecturer in the English department with over a decade of teaching experience, came after Republican lawmakers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, called for her termination for selfishly promoting her personal agenda.

The incident prompted Glenn Hegar, the chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, to order an audit of courses at all 12 schools in the system.

"It is unacceptable for A&M System faculty to push a personal political agenda," Hegar said in a statement last 8 September. "We have been tasked with training the next generation of teachers and childcare professionals. That responsibility should prioritize protecting children not engaging in indoctrination."

In an email, McCoul referred all questions to her attorney, Amanda Reichek. Reichek said in a statement that McCoul has appealed her termination and "is exploring further legal action."

Texas A&M University President Mark A. Welsh III said in a statement last 9 September that he directed the campus provost to fire McCoul after learning the instructor had continued teaching content in a children’s literature course "that did not align with any reasonable expectation of standard curriculum for the course."

Welsh said the issue had been raised earlier this summer and he had "made it clear to our academic leadership that course content must match catalog descriptions for each and every one of our course sections." Welsh said he learned that this was not taking place.

"This isn’t about academic freedom; it’s about academic responsibility," Welsh said.

Welsh also ordered the removal of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the head of the English Department from their administrative positions.

The controversy began after Republican state Rep. Brian Harrison posted a video, audio recordings and other materials on a thread on the social media site X. Harrison called for the professor and Welsh to be fired for "DEI and LGBTQ indoctrination."

In one video, a female student and the professor can be heard arguing over gender identity being taught in a children’s literature class. The student and professor are not shown and it’s unclear when the video was taken.

"This also very much goes against not only myself but a lot of people’s religious beliefs. And so I am not going to participate in this because it's not legal and I don’t want to promote something that is against our president’s laws as well as against my religious beliefs," the student could be heard saying in the video.

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Computer Science Degree Is No Longer An "Entry Ticket" To Tech?

VIBE Coding CEO Anton Osika says he thinks people should stop seeing computer science degrees as a surefire way to land a career in tech.

"I wouldn't say it's worthless, but I do think the leverage has moved," Osika told Business Insider in an interview a few days ago.

Osika, 35, said that while getting a computer science degree "isn't useless," its value has shifted. "Curiosity, adaptability, and shipping high-quality products quickly can matter more than credentials," he added.

"For most people, a degree is no longer the entry ticket. You can build, ship, and even start companies without it," Osika said.

"The degree still has value if you want to go deep on systems, theory, or research. There's rigor there that tools won't replace. But the default path — 'I need a CS degree to be relevant in tech' — feels much less true today," he continued.

Osika said that in the past, the bottleneck to building in tech was the "technical know-how," which required "years of training to even get started." But now, people have the tools to "go from idea to working product without ever touching a formal CS education," he said.

Osika cofounded Lovable in 2023. Lovable is a vibe coding platform that allows people with limited programming knowledge to create software using AI.

Osika's startup has 45 employees, per PitchBook, and is hiring for 16 open positions on its careers page as of press time.

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Bama Rush Is Exploding Wildly

Bama Rush Week is happening right now at the University of Alabama, and this year’s potential new members, or PNMs as they are called, have taken over TikTok yet again as always.

The white girls that want to be a part of Greek life at the university have racked up thousands of followers and millions of views on TikTok. Each girl has created their own engaging style taking followers with them as they get closer to Bid Day, the day they officially find out which sorority they will be a part of.

The Bama Rush process even inspired a documentary titled "Bama Rush: Acceptance Is Everything" which premiered on the Max streaming service in May 2023.

So why is Bama Rush such a big deal each year?

Videos from UA's sorority rush week went viral on TikTok in 2021. The #bamarush and #alabamarush hashtags on TikTok have attracted millions of views during the past few years. Many followers online are calling this year's Bama Rush "Season 4". And fans can't seem to get enough of a Bama Rush staple: the coveted OOTD, which is an acronym for "outfit of the day." It's not uncommon for the ladies to showcase outfits wearing jewelry from Hermès , enewton and David Yurman, Golden Goose sneakers, Gold Hinge tennis skirts, Lululemon outfits, Amazon accessories, and more.

Many of these young ladies even become young entrepreneurs and influencers because of Bama Rush. One example of this is Kylan Darnell. Darnell, now a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, shot to fame after her Bama Rush Tok stardom in 2022.

"I woke up (the morning after posting my first rush TikTok) with my phone blowing up," Darnell previously told USA TODAY about her rush experience. "My mom was like, 'have you checked your TikTok?' I gained like 100,000 followers in a night. Brands started reaching out, I started getting brand deals and making a little bit of money. It was like an overnight thing. It was crazy."

The ladies participating in Bama Rush now will learn their fate on what's called Bid Day. The University of Alabama's annual sorority recruitment event was held last Sunday 18 August at Bryant-Denny Stadium, where the university's football team holds its games. That's when thousands of young women will find out which sorority has accepted their membership bid, according to reporting by Tuscaloosa News, a part of the USA TODAY Network.

There, they will be handed a manila envelope, opening them all at the same time. They will then rush excitedly, or "run home," to their new sorority houses. Here's a look at the events that lead up to Bid Day:

• Convocation
• Open House
• Philanthropy (Days 1-3)
• Sisterhood (Days 1-3)
• Preference Day

The remaining events are Sisterhood Day 3, which is Friday, 16 August, and Preference Day, which is Saturday, 17 August.

For Convocation, Open House, and Philanthropy Days 1-3, you will notice the ladies rocking a more casual attire. The Philanthrophy Day OOTDs all consist of everyone wearing the same UA Panhellenic shirt and pairing it with a cute bottom and jewelry to stand out.

But for Sisterhood Days 1-3 and Preference Day the ladies have to up the ante as a more formal attire is required. Then it's back to casual for Bid Day as they will run to their new forever homes to meet their sisters, ready to be adorned with shirts, hats, and other paraphernalia bearing the sorority's Greek letters.

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Leftist Professor Breaks Rank To Get "Wokeness" Out Of Schools

A liberal educator is calling for reforms in the social sciences that have been "captured" by extreme leftist agenda after joining a coalition of scholars from both sides of the political aisle dedicated to ending wokeness in higher education.

"The idea is that really, one would think that when we're talking about science, whether it's social science or medical science or anything like that, political opinion shouldn't matter. It shouldn't cloud the pursuit of truth," Wayne State University professor Jukka Savolainen told Fox News Digital.

"And we are doing this because we are convinced with good evidence that this mission has been, this plot has been lost over the years, over the decades, and we want to restore these traditional values of objective inquiry and truth."

Savolainen teaches criminal justice and "Sociology of Sport" at Wayne State University in Detroit.

While Florida was considering cutting sociology as a core general education requirement in 2023, Savolainen wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal arguing that he saw the discipline "morph from a scientific study of social reality into academic advocacy for left-wing causes."

His comments bucked the majority of his academic counterparts who were pushing to "Save Sociology." He added that there are other sociology professors who "silently" agree with him.

Now, Savolainen is the point person of the sociology community of the Heterodox Academy.

"Eric Kaufman is the director of the Institute for Heterodox Social Science, and heterodoxy, of course, means the opposite of orthodoxy, the opposite of groupthink. We are all joined in our displeasure with groupthink and monoculture in academia, and we are interested in viewpoint diversity and those types of things," he said.

Savolainen signed "The Buckingham Manifesto for a Post-Progressive Social Science" that was published by The Chronicle of Higher Education in July.

The manifesto, led by political science professor Eric Kaufmann, calls for a "post-progressive social science" to be "pursued in new universities and centers, among dissident scholars in the academic mainstream, in think tanks, or, best of all, in a future academe rededicated to open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and civil discourse."

Savolainen said that Kaufmann is seeking a coalition of people from all political backgrounds that care about the truth. He added that critics of the manifesto may consider all the signatories conservative because they do not subscribe to the "sort of left-wing social justice type of narrative."

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Chinese UK Students Pressured To Spy On Other Students

Chinese students at several universities in the U.K. are being compelled to spy on their classmates in an attempt to suppress the discussion of issues that are sensitive to the Chinese government, a new report suggests.

The UK-China Transparency (UKCT) think tank says its survey of academics in China studies also highlighted reports of Chinese government officials warning lecturers to avoid discussing certain topics in their classes.

It comes days after a new law came into force placing more responsibility on universities to uphold academic freedom and free speech.

The Chinese embassy in London called the report "groundless and absurd", adding that China respects freedom of speech in the UK and elsewhere.

The regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), says freedom of speech and academic freedom are "fundamental" to higher education.

The new legislation, which came into force last week, says universities should do more to actively promote academic freedom and freedom of speech, including in cases where institutions have agreements in place with other countries.

Universities could be fined millions if they fail to do so, the OfS has said.

However, the UKCT report says some universities are reluctant to address the issue of Chinese interference because of their financial reliance on Chinese student fees.

• Be ready to be shocked and offended at university, students told
• Students want free-speech clarity but universities fear catch-22

The report alleges that some Chinese academics involved in sensitive research had been denied visas by the Chinese government, while others said family members back in China had been harassed or threatened because of their work in the UK.

Those sensitive topics can range from science and tech to politics and humanities, the report says, such as alleged ethnic cleansing in China's Xinjiang region, the outbreak of Covid or the rise of Chinese technology companies.

Some academics reported intimidation by visiting scholars or other Chinese officials, as well as by staff at Confucius Institutes.

These are partnership organisations operating at several UK universities, which bring together institutions in the UK and China, as well as a Chinese government agency which provides funding.

They promote Chinese culture and language on UK campuses, but have been criticised over alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

OfS chief executive Susan Lapworth previously said she expected Confucius Institutes to be looked into under the new free speech laws, over concerns that they could present a threat to free speech on campuses.

The OfS already has powers to ensure free speech is upheld by universities, including against any threats from the influence of foreign states or institutions.

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Brown University Struck A Deal To Support Women's Sports

Brown University just made a deal with the administration of President Donald Trump to restore research grant funding to the school, in exchange for commitments on women's sports, antisemitism and admissions practices and a promise to donate US$ 50 million to workforce development programs.

The Rhode Island-based school is now the third Ivy League university to reach a deal with the administration, which has lashed out at a range of colleges. Columbia University agreed to pay the federal government a US$ 200 million settlement earlier this month, and the University of Pennsylvania reached a deal with the government over transgender athletes.

Brown announced the deal in a statement last 30 July and shared a copy of a nine-page agreement with the federal government. The Department of Education also confirmed in a statement that it had struck a deal with Brown.

Under the terms of the three-year deal released by Brown, the federal government agreed to restore frozen Health and Human Services grants to the school and close pending federal non-discrimination investigations into the university.

The school said Wednesday it has lost dozens of federal grants and hasn't been reimbursed for over US$ 50 million in expenses related to National Institutes of Health grants — and that total is growing by over US$ 3 million a week.

In exchange for the end to the grant freeze, Brown agreed to pay US$ 50 million to local workforce programs over the next decade. It also promised to provide female student-athletes with locker rooms "strictly separated on the basis of sex," define male and female for athletic purposes in a way that's consistent with President Trump's executive orders and not offer gender-affirming medical care to minors.

Brown also said it will not promote "unlawful DEI goals," would commission a campus survey that asks about — among other things — issues of antisemitism and give the government access to admissions and discrimination complaint data. The school promised not to offer racial preferences in admissions — though the Supreme Court previously barred affirmative action policies in 2023.

The agreement says Brown did not admit to wrongdoing and "expressly denies liability regarding the United States' allegations," and specifies that the government does not have the "authority to dictate Brown's curriculum or the content of academic speech."

In a message to the school community, Brown President Christina Paxson also says Brown will not promise to make any direct payments to the government. She described it as a voluntary agreement.

In her message, Paxson argued that many parts of agreement line up with commitments Brown had already made to "ensure compliance with federal laws prohibiting discrimination." She said the provisions on gender and sports are "consistent with NCAA requirements and Brown's current policies," and the government is already entitled to ask for demographic data. She also noted that the agreement doesn't define the term "unlawful DEI."

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Feds: California Has Violated Civil Rights Of Women

The U.S. Department of Education announced last 25 June that California and the California Interscholastic Federation violated the civil rights of female students on the basis of sex by allowing transgender athletes to compete in school sports according to their gender identity.

Having concluded its investigation, the President Donald Trump administration is calling on California to "voluntarily agree" to change what it determined are "unlawful practices" within 10 days or risk "imminent enforcement action."

"Although Governor Gavin Newsom admitted months ago it was 'deeply unfair' to allow men to compete in women’s sports, both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation continued as recently as a few weeks ago to allow men to steal female athletes’ well-deserved accolades and to subject them to the indignity of unfair and unsafe competitions,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement.

"The Trump Administration will relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls, and our findings today make clear that California has failed to adhere to its obligations under federal law. The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow."

California Department of Education spokesperson Liz Sanders said in a statement that the state education office "believes all students should have the opportunity to learn and play at school, and we have consistently applied existing law in support of students’ rights to do so."

It was not clear exactly how the state would respond to the findings or how much federal education funding is at stake.

"It wouldn’t be a day ending in 'Y' without the Trump Administration threatening to defund California," Izzy Gardon, a spokesman for Newsom, said in a statement. "Now Secretary McMahon is confusing government with her WrestleMania days — dramatic, fake, and completely divorced from reality. This won’t stick."

A spokesperson for California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in a statement that his office was reviewing the proposed resolution and closely monitoring Trump administration officials' actions. "Our office remains committed to defending California laws that protect the rights of all students to inclusive education environments and school athletic programs," the spokesperson said.

In an email, a spokesperson for CIF, an independent, non-profit group, said the organization "does not comment on legal matters."

Triston Ezidore, the Culver City Unified school board president, said the department's finding "does not protect women and girls — it harms them."

"Barring transgender students from participating in sports based on the president of the United States deciding who is 'woman enough' is both discriminatory and unjust. True protection for female athletes means fighting for fairness and inclusion, not using exclusionary definitions to marginalize vulnerable students," he said in an interview with The Times.

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UCLA Graduating Student Showed Off His ChatGPT Answers

For a few years now, artificial intelligence posed as both a threat and an opportunity in academia. There is a delicate balance that must be maintain to avoid abuse and improper behaviour.

But while most prefer to keep their AI schoolwork aids confidential, one student at the University of California, Los Angeles, brazenly boasted about employing the tech during his commencement ceremony.

The shocking moment was captured during UCLA’s livestream at the Pauley Pavilion earlier this month, but videos have since been reshared to Instagram and X, where they’ve amassed millions of views.

In the brief clip, which was displayed on the facility’s Jumbotron, Andre Mai, a computational and systems biology major, is seen holding up his laptop to show off walls of AI-generated text that he ostensibly used for his final exams.

The footage shows the undergrad proudly scrolling through the evidence of his so-called high-tech homework hacking as the rest of the graduating class of 2025 whoops and cheers in the background.

"Let’s gooooo!!!!!!" he mouths while hyping up the crowd.

The video didn’t sit nearly as well with online viewers, many of whom saw it as indicative of societal decline.

"We’re so cooked," lamented one disillusioned commenter under a repost on X, while another wrote, "Pandora’s Box has been opened."

"We’re still supposed to take college degrees seriously btw," scoffed a third.

"Our future doctors really gon have one AirPod in asking ChatGPT how to do open heart surgery," quipped one X wit.

"If ChatGPT is why you graduated, ChatGPT has already taken your job," theorized one poster, reiterating techsperts’ concerns that AI could render effectively render human employees obsolete.

These fears were also echoed on Reddit. "This is going to be the biggest problem," fretted one poster. "People just aren’t going to learn anything anymore, instead of a tool to help you learn people are just going to think it’s a magic answer box."

However, some defenders applauded Mai for seemingly gaming the system with one X fan writing, "Hot take ChatGPT and AI are tools that are going to be with us for good or bad for the foreseeable future."

"So proving that they can effectively use the tools he had to achieve what was required of him is not cheating," they added. "It proves he will be able to provide similar results in the real world."

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