PASSHE Institutions Merging

[EastStroud13]

Not at PASSHE schools. Administration by law must be viewpoint neutral. The political culture of each campus is purely independent on who enrolls.

I'm sorry, but if you believe that each administration is completely neutral, I have a bridge to sell you. Harrisburg isn't going to bother to be the enforcer, so effectively every PASSHE office is essentially on their own.

[Fightingscot82]

I'm sorry, but if you believe that each administration is completely neutral, I have a bridge to sell you. Harrisburg isn't going to bother to be the enforcer, so effectively every PASSHE office is essentially on their own.

Can you give me an example to understand your perspective?

[Ship69]

I knew that was going to be the answer when I asked it.

Oh? I actually didn't know which school she had attended until I looked it up.

[Ship69]

Maybe they get all the rural students while IUP and Slimey get students From urban areas.

Ship is located in one of the most consistently red areas of the state.

[iupgroundhog]

Can you give me an example to understand your perspective?

I don't recall all of the details but a year or 2 ago there was an egregious act of hate at IUP (didn't it happen at a BB game?) and the President took decisive and appropriate action which was supported by the IUP community, in general. The message was unambiguous. That's one. Those are the kinds of acts that strengthen the culture. But to a great extent, I think you would find differences at the university level, e.g. on-campus groups and activities that strengthen the culture. If those kinds of things are absent, a different culture can take hold.

[iupgroundhog]

However, this type of research needs to be scrutinized. Not saying it doesn't reflect reality. There are a lot of factors that go into this and if I had to guess which schools would come out with the worst ratings without seeing this study I think I would be correct.

Remember to not confuse correlation with causation, For example, these 4 campuses have lost some of the highest percentages of students, so could it be true that those remaining are skewed towards locals more? Could a factor be the nature of the greater community, including outside of the campus?

Furthermore, this is qualitative research which always comes with a caveat that the conclusions are not necessarily statistically projectable. This article states that the results are in opposition to a quantitative survey done in 2022 and claims that this is the real deal because "participants didn't just fill in blanks." That is clearly debatable.

How in-depth did the questioners probe? The specific incidents mentioned in the article are terrible but they are anecdotal.

[iupgroundhog]

I know discrimination and all that comes with it exists and exists on PASSHE campuses. I think everybody knows that.

I am probably one of the biggest appreciators of diversity you would ever meet. I remember the first time I googled 'woke' that everybody was talking about because I didn't know what it meant. I read the definition given and thought "Dang, I've been woke for like 40 years and I didn't even know it."

However, this report is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. PHRC serves an important role. As an employer, I have dealt with the PHRC and realize that their reason to exist is to find discrimination. Just something to think about. I think the conclusions in the report are mostly correct but there are some different angles to consider, too.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I don't recall all of the details but a year or 2 ago there was an egregious act of hate at IUP (didn't it happen at a BB game?) and the President took decisive and appropriate action which was supported by the IUP community, in general. The message was unambiguous. That's one. Those are the kinds of acts that strengthen the culture. But to a great extent, I think you would find differences at the university level, e.g. on-campus groups and activities that strengthen the culture. If those kinds of things are absent, a different culture can take hold.

Yes. Some preppy white girl ran her mouth on social media with a lot of racist comments. She was then spotted at the game. She was very lucky to leave the area in one piece.

She left IUP days later.

[EastStroud13]

Can you give me an example to understand your perspective?

For one, Farrell's desire to move to the WPIAL was partially motivated by racist incidents: https://www.sharonherald.com/news/fa...a25242514.html

Southern Columbia was the epicenter of an investigation around their title game against Westinghouse last year: https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/n...e-title-games/

Even just last month there was an incident at Altoona: https://www.altoonamirror.com/news/l...cial-incident/

The fact is, that these types of issues have plagued much of rural Pennsylvania for many years. Kids grow up in it, and then some of them bring it to college with them. It's on school administrations to act effectively and decisively in order to prevent these things from developing into a campus culture.

[EastStroud13]

However, this report is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. PHRC serves an important role. As an employer, I have dealt with the PHRC and realize that their reason to exist is to find discrimination. Just something to think about. I think the conclusions in the report are mostly correct but there are some different angles to consider, too.

This is a good point. A grain of salt is warranted (though, not as large a grain as is needed when it comes to campuses self-reporting).

[Fightingscot82]

I don't recall all of the details but a year or 2 ago there was an egregious act of hate at IUP (didn't it happen at a BB game?) and the President took decisive and appropriate action which was supported by the IUP community, in general. The message was unambiguous. That's one. Those are the kinds of acts that strengthen the culture. But to a great extent, I think you would find differences at the university level, e.g. on-campus groups and activities that strengthen the culture. If those kinds of things are absent, a different culture can take hold.

Yeah the student(s) who posted bigoted reactions to the IUP choir singing Lift Every Voice and Sing at the basketball game kicking off Black History Month. IUP has also had some student groups connected to right wing operatives. The ones who throw grenades on Twitter and seem to try to get invited to speak on campus only for the furor it causes from opposing viewpoints. This generation's Ann Coulter.

Administrators can condemn things like that, but no matter what political talk says, they can't make students or employees complete DEI training or block certain people from speaking on campus. Actually, all PASSHE campuses are free and open to all like a state park. They can't block anyone from doing legal stuff on campus unless they're a proven threat or they violate university usage policy. The KKK can hold an unannounced rally on Cheyney's campus and the school can't do crap until someone breaks a usage policy or the law. To some that forced viewpoint neutrality is taking a position. Its also the irony of the governor telling schools they have to punish antisemitism when hate speech has been consistently upheld as first amendment protected speech. Can you tell this is in my professional wheelhouse? LOL

I agree that the locations of (most) PASSHE schools make that difficult. At Slippery Rock, about 1 in 6 students are from Butler County, which has sprawling Cranberry, rusting Butler, and rural towns like Prospect and, well, Slippery Rock. They also pull lots of students from more diverse places where they go from being the ethnic (and cultural) majority to suddenly being not. SRU is not a very political campus, but a generally tolerant neutral college campus is going to seem far left to a rural farming town with a social media using mayor who plays around with right wing operatives. Drag Bingo for legal consenting adults might as well be an abortion fair. But you know that having lived in Lock Haven and Indiana. You go a few hundred yards from campus and you swear you're having a Deliverance dream.

[IUPNation]

Oh? I actually didn't know which school she had attended until I looked it up.

I just knew it was going to be the answer.

[IUPNation]

Ship is located in one of the most consistently red areas of the state.

Indiana County isn’t known for its progressive nature. I was fashionably preppy in the 80’sxsnd got more than my fair share of angry stares from the locals and students from all the Hootervilles across the commonwealth ….especially when I wore pink and green..which was total
prep!

The four years I lived in Indiana be the only four years of my life where I live somewhere that is that heavily conservative. Chester County was always majority Republican until Fat Nixon came along and turned it blue…

[GregD]

But you know that having lived in Lock Haven and Indiana. You go a few hundred yards from campus and you swear you're having a Deliverance dream.[/QUOTE]

Good to know you know everyone living there so you can characterize an entire area with your version of their reality.

[Fightingscot82]

University of Arizona has a $177 million deficit.

Jamestown Business College in Jamestown, NY is closing.