This Sunday marks the beginning of UC Berkeley's "Free Speech Week," and the conservative line-up of speakers is straining campus tensions. We explore the history of Berkeley's relationship with free speech as well as how its administrators are responding to the current climate. We also check in on the status of the Affordable Care Act; discuss Cal State's retraction of remedial courses; and more.
Debating the economics of Graham-Cassidy, GOP’s (supposed) last-gasp push to repeal the ACA
Senate Republicans have just nine days left to try to pass a repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham teamed up for the bill now being considered. It would give the states block grants equal to the current federal funding for the ACA.
The pros and cons on AirTalk.
Guests:
Chris Pope, fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where his research focus includes the Affordable Care Act and Medicare and Medicaid; he wrote the recent National Review article, “Graham-Cassidy Is Better Than Just a Fix to Obamacare”
Sally C. Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, a nonprofit think tank focused on free-market solutions to policy problems
Igor Volsky, vice president at the think tank Center for American Progress (CAP); he is the former Health Care Policy editor for ThinkProgress; he is also the deputy director for CAP Action Fund and co-host of the Thinking CAP podcast
As Berkeley welcomes Free Speech Week, a look at role of the school throughout history of protest
Starting Sunday, University of California, Berkeley will accommodate Free Speech Week, a four-day event organized by the Berkeley Patriot, a conservative student publication.
The tentative line-up includes conservative figures such as Anne Coulter, Stephen Bannon, and Milo Yiannopoulos. This comes on the heels of a visit from conservative figure Ben Shapiro, who incited a wave of demonstration on campus.
An epicenter of the free speech movement, Berkeley has had a long history of protesting since the Vietnam-war era. Since Donald Trump’s election there have been a number of violent outbreaks on the school's campus and in its surrounding areas.
How will school administrators react to this upcoming Free Speech Week? What’s the role of Berkeley throughout history in terms of student protests? How do faculty members handle students who feel threatened? Host Larry Mantle sits down with Dan Mogulof, UC Berkeley Chancellor spokesman, Déborah Anne Blocker, associate professor of French, on the past and future of student activism at Berkeley.
Guests:
Robert Cohen, a professor of history and social studies at New York University; co-editor of “The Free Speech Movement: Reflections on Berkeley in the 1960s” (University of California Press, 2002)
Dan Mogulof, assistant vice chancellor and spokesman at UC Berkeley
Déborah Anne Blocker, associate professor of French; she signed the boycott letter and intends to teach her two small classes off campus
The 400-people homeless encampments along the Santa Ana River
The encampments along the Santa Ana River Trail in has become the focal point for the fight over homelessness in Orange County.
Some 400 homeless people have set up tents along a 2-mile stretch of the Santa Ana River near Angel Stadium, with perhaps hundreds more living along other sections.
Local businesses and residents have raised concerns about the encampments. Earlier this month, the city of Anaheim declared the site a public health and safety emergency. The Orange County Board of Supervisors had also voted to increase law enforcement oversight of the area.
The city of Fountain Valley is holding a town hall tonight to address the issue.
Guest:
Jill Replogle, KPCC’s Orange County reporter who’s been following the story; she tweets
Cal State faculty, administrators at odds over implementation of new general education and remedial course policies
Cal State faculty members are pushing back on administrators over two executive orders issued over the summer that would bring significant changes to the Cal States’ general education requirements, remedial classes and placement exams.
It’s part of a larger effort by the Cal State system to get its four year graduation rate to 40 percent by 2025, effectively doubling it.
The Academic Senate for the California State Universities (ASCSU) drafted a resolution saying that the orders were released hastily over the summer while most ASCSU faculty members weren’t on campus and that more time was needed for them to review, understand and talk over the policies with the Chancellor’s Office. The L.A. Times reports some faculty worried they wouldn’t have time to rework their courses and curriculum to fit the new standards. They asked that the changes not start until at least the fall of 2019.
In early August, Cal State Chancellor Timothy White issued an executive order that discontinues noncredit remedial courses currently required for many freshmen as well as math and English placement exams for incoming students, starting in the fall of 2018. Later that month, White issued a second executive order calling for several major changes to Cal State’s general education policy, maybe most notably by allowing students to satisfy their general math requirement by skipping intermediate algebra.
On AirTalk, Larry Mantle talks with an Academic Senate member and a Cal State administrator about how the two bodies can move forward with implementing the new standards.
Guests:
Christine “Chris” Miller, chair of the Academic Senate of the California State University and a professor of communication studies at Cal State-Sacramento
Christine Mallon, assistant vice chancellor for academic programs and faculty development at California State University and the dean for academic programs
That day when Kevin Durant’s secret Twitter account blew up in his face
Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant took to Twitter over the weekend to answer a fan’s criticism over his decision to leave the Oklahoma Thunder.
The problem – he forgot he was using a fake Twitter account he created to hide his identity.
Using the third person, Durant wrote in the tweet: “He didn’t like the organization or playing for Billy Donovan. His roster wasn’t that good. It was just him and Russ.”
Then he tweeted, “Imagine taking Russ off that team, see how bad they were. KD can’t win with those cats.”
Realizing his mistake, Durant quickly deleted those tweets, but not before someone had taken a screenshot of them.
Apparently, it’s actually rather common for athletes to use fake social media accounts to answer critics.
Joining Larry to discuss this story is KPCC’s very own A Martinez.
Guest:
A Martinez, host of KPCC’s Take Two; he tweets