SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

MORE PROGRESS – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   With growing concerns about due process on college campuses, a civil-liberties group is rolling out a new program intended to help students advocate for each other in campus judicial proceedings.  The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education plans to start 10 campus organizations this fall under the banner “FIRE Student Defenders,” FIRE Student Network Director Molly Nocheck told The College Fix in a phone interview.  Student Defenders is similar to a 41-year-old nonprofit at Ohio University, Students Defending Students, that defends students accused of disciplinary offenses, where Nocheck served as director as an OU student.  Nocheck told The Fix she drew inspiration from that experience and modeled much of FIRE’s new program after SDS, which drew national notoriety after it sued the administration for blocking its cheeky T-shirts “We get you off for free.” (The university settled and changed its speech-code policy.)  SDS uses volunteer student advisers who go with accused students to “procedural interviews, administrative hearings, and university hearing boards,” and tell their peers about their rights as students.  Terrific idea.  One more step in the fight for student rights.  The left hates this because the left has become anti-democracy. 

SOCKO! – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:  Evergreen State College may soon face a $3.8-million lawsuit in connection with its handling of the the 2017 “Day of Absence” protests against biology professor Bret Weinstein.  Students at the Olympia, Washington institution who wanted a day without white people on Evergreen State College’s campus in May went wild over Mr. Weinstein’s refusal to take part. The fracas that followed resulted in a $3.8-million tort claim filed July 5, with details provided exclusively to the education watchdog Campus Reform on Tuesday.  “[Evergreen] failed to set and enforce necessary boundaries in the workplace on campus, selectively has chosen not to enforce its student Code of Conduct, and sent the unmistakable message that the school will tolerate (and even endorse) egregious violations (and even crimes) purportedly to advance racial social goals, diminishing the collegiate experience for all, and fostering a racially hostile work and retaliatory environment for faculty and staff,” Mr. Weinstein’s attorney said in a statement provided to Campus Reform.  Great.  There have to be more lawsuits like this.  Most important, they have to go through to a jury trial, so all the ugly facts come out.  Colleges love to settle these things early so no facts come out.  Evergreen State is possibly the most left-wing major college in the country.  It's main quad is actually called Red Square.  You may be sure that Evergreen will do some fast judge shopping in ultra-liberal Washington state to try to get the whole case dismissed.  You may also be sure that it's highly unlikely that Weinstein will ever teach in a college again.  The left does not forgive.

CREATIVE THINKING – FROM CBS LOCAL:  Typically the selling points for airlines are prices, routes and comfort. But Southwest Airlines is trying to seize on an opportunity provided by the universe, as it’s selling seats based on what should be an excellent view of the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21.  The total solar eclipse will create a few minutes of complete darkness as the moon will block the sun entirely across a specific line of the country, running from Portland, Oregon to Atlanta, Georgia. Southwest has begun advertising on their social media accounts.  Why not?  That's good thinking. 

July 26, 2017