Southwest
Texas university argues college admissions policies are 'unjust,' touts new 'meritocratic admissions' policy
The University of Austin in Texas (UATX) believes college admissions are “unjust,” so the school is going to do something about it.
“What we’ve done is create the most meritocratic admissions policy in the country,” UATX Dean Ben Crocker told Fox News Digital. He continued, “We do not want high school seniors to be performing in their essays unpacking a vast list of shallow co-curriculars and extracurriculars.”
UATX announced on Monday that students who score over a 1460 on the SAT, over a 33 on the ACT or over a 105 on the Classic Learning Test (CLT) are automatically admitted to the university, “pending basic eligibility and an integrity check.”
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY ‘SUNSETS’ OFFICES AMID ONGOING REVIEW OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION WORK
The University of Austin (UATX) announced on Monday that students who score over a 1460 on the SAT, over a 33 on the ACT or over a 105 on the Classic Learning Test (CLT) will be automatically admitted to the university.
The UATX explained further that students who perform below that threshold will be evaluated on test scores along with Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) exam results, and “three verifiable achievements that are each described in a single sentence.”
The university is currently unaccredited. It was founded in 2021 by a group of academics and notable figures, including former New York Times journalist Bari Weiss, after they raised concerns about the decline of free speech across college campuses.
While its inaugural students are not eligible for federal financial aid, the university has had significant support from private donors, including billionaire Bill Ackman and activist Harlan Crow, allowing it to offer free tuition to its first cohort.
“We just want to know, are you intelligent? Are you brilliant? And are you committed to building a great university with us? Our criteria is very simple. We’re not interested in whether you’re the right gender, the right race, the right ethnicity, it is merit first for us,” Crocker said.
AG BONDI DISMISSES DEI LAWSUITS BROUGHT AGAINST POLICE, FIRE DEPARTMENTS UNDER BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
UATX Dean Ben Crocker told Fox News Digital that the university is pushing the most meritocratic admissions policy in the country.
Crocker also cited the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action, rejecting the use of race as a factor in college admissions as a violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
“Chief Justice Roberts, in his majority opinion, said, if we’re going to eliminate racial discrimination, then we have to eliminate all of it. He said all of it. But what we’ve seen since that decision was handed down is that our elite universities have not,” Crocker added.
In the wake of the SCOTUS ruling on affirmative action as well as President Donald Trump’s crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), many universities abandoned DEI programs.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action rejected the use of race as a factor in college admissions as a violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. (iStock)
Furthermore, some universities reinstated requirements for undergraduate applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores after dropping the testing requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some universities had previously claimed that standardized tests raised concerns about inequality in higher education.
“We’re trying to instigate a revolution in American higher education,” Crocker told Fox News Digital.
“It’s an American revolution in the sense that we see it as a return to the way things ought to be. We’re not trying to radically reinvent everything, but we are trying to take what’s best about education in the United States: meritocracy, excellence, the sense that you need to build something for the good of the country.”
Read the full article from Here
A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
-
A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
If you live or want to live in Los Angeles, the city controller has released a new dashboard highlighting some of the city’s most notorious problem rental properties, a tool designed to help renters avoid future headaches.
“This project comes at a time when tenants are reporting harassment and illegal evictions violating the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, but very few of the complaints end up leading to strong enforcement or real accountability,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a media release Thursday.
The new Top 100 Problem Rental Properties dashboard includes a searchable database of all residential addresses with reported housing violation cases within the city of Los Angeles, a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most violations and an interactive map.
“There has never before been an uncomplicated way for anyone to look up years’ worth of violations by address,” Mejia said in the release.
Data for the dashboard was compiled from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the L.A. County Assessor’s Office, according to the controller’s office.
The release also identified the top three addresses with the highest number of reported housing violations:
1. 636 1/2 North Hill Place, Chinatown
192 housing violation cases
2. 11700 West Wilshire Boulevard, Sawtelle
166 housing violation cases
3. 6650 West Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills
113 housing violation cases
“Our new dashboard is an easy‑to‑understand public tool that we hope will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm, as well as put pressure on both landlords and the City to act,” Mejia said. “Everyone deserves safe, stable and dignified housing.”
-
San Francisco, CA9 minutes agoSF pet store owners prepare to fight as city plots ban on sale of live animals
-
Dallas, TX15 minutes agoFC Dallas vs San Jose Earthquakes: Lineup notes 📝
-
Miami, FL21 minutes agoMiami Dolphins Discussion: Media Perception Edition
-
Boston, MA27 minutes agoMass General Brigham Sports Medicine provides free preseason physicals for Boston Public Schools – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
-
Denver, CO33 minutes agoForget Denver, Retire To An Underrated Utah City Near Gorgeous Canyons Instead (And It’s Affordable) – Islands
-
Seattle, WA39 minutes agoSounders vs. Galaxy, livestream: Kickoff, lineups, updates
-
San Diego, CA45 minutes agoSan Diego – Cincinnati live | Marca
-
Milwaukee, WI51 minutes agoMother, son graduating from UWM together – but Panther pride doesn’t stop there