Arresting Students Who Protest Is Usually a Bad Thing; Scientists Study a Nasty New Bird Flu–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: April 22, 2024

Indy Digest: April 22, 2024

Some very disconcerting things are happening on the campuses of some of our nation’s most renowned colleges.

CNN reports:

The turmoil at Columbia University ramped up Monday as simmering tensions on campus halted in-person classes and officials scrambled to ease security fears.

The Ivy League school has become the epicenter of unrest on U.S. college campuses, turmoil that spread to New York University as well as Yale University, where dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested Monday.

Security concerns are so significant that Columbia officials decided to make all classes virtual on Monday just as Passover begins. In a clear sign of the spiraling crisis, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced the extraordinary step in a statement posted shortly after 1 a.m. ET, citing a desire to “deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps.” …

Even the president weighed in.

“I condemn the antisemitic protests,” Biden said when asked about the situation at Columbia.

I applaud the president for going out on a limb to condemn antisemitism. (#sarcasm)

Here’s the thing: With perhaps a few small exceptions, these protests have not been antisemitic. David Rothkopf, a foreign-policy commentator and former Clinton administration official said eloquently on Twitter/X: “I’m a Jew-loving Jew. Anti-Semitism is never OK. Here’s what is not anti-Semitism: Peaceful protest, criticism of the Israeli government, calling for an independent Palestine, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, using the term apartheid to describe Israel, questioning Zionism. Also not anti-Semitism: Condemnation of the serial war crimes and human rights violations in Gaza and the West Bank, demands for organizations to divest from states that commit war crimes and violate human rights, demands that the US stop providing weapons used in war crimes and human rights violations. As offensive as phrases like ‘the river to the sea’ may seem, they are no more offensive than the reality of an Israel seeking to exert their political control from ‘the river to the sea’ and negate the legitimate claims of Palestinians.”

I highly recommend reading Rothkopf’s entire thread on the subject. Later, he writes: “Any educational institution that does not have a vigorous debate around the points cited above and counter-arguments to them is failing … in its educational mission. These are critical questions of political science, international affairs, morality, and philosophy.”

Of course, this being the United States in 2024, the chaos surrounding these protests has attracted people who are, in fact, antisemitic. As a result, some people, especially Jewish students, justifiably feel unsafe.

College students should be allowed to peacefully protest—and university administrators who decided to crack down on these peaceful protests should be ashamed of themselves, as they’ve made matters much, much worse.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• If you or someone you love is affected by Parkinson’s disease, take note that Eisenhower Health is hosting a Wellness Expo tomorrow, Thursday, April 23, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences on Eisenhower’s main campus in Rancho Mirage. From an event flier: “Join us for presentations from ACV Parkinson’s Support Group, PD In Motion, SongShine, Speak Out!, and LSVT Big and Loud, and hear from Eisenhower Health’s Neurology and Movement Disorder Specialist team, Dr. Neal Hermanowicz and Dr. John D. Legge.” For more information, call Alzheimers Coachella Valley at 760-776-3100.

• Concerned scientists are examining H5N1, a newer bird-flu strain that’s starting to infect more and more mammals. The New York Times says: “There has been no stopping H5N1. Avian flu viruses tend to be picky about their hosts, typically sticking to one kind of wild bird. But this one has rapidly infiltrated an astonishingly wide array of birds and animals, from squirrels and skunks to bottlenose dolphins, polar bears and, most recently, dairy cows. ‘In my flu career, we have not seen a virus that expands its host range quite like this,’ said Troy Sutton, a virologist who studies avian and human influenza viruses at Penn State University. The blow to sea mammals, and to dairy and poultry industries, is worrying enough. But a bigger concern, experts said, is what these developments portend: The virus is adapting to mammals, edging closer to spreading among people. A human pandemic is by no means inevitable. So far at least, the changes in the virus do not signal that H5N1 can cause a pandemic, Dr. Sutton said.” Eek.

• We’ve mentioned the fact that illegitimate “Botox” businesses are making people sick … and now California is on the list of states where people have been affected. Time magazine says: “Public health officials are warning about the dangers of counterfeit Botox products, which have been circulating and causing individuals to fall ill in several U.S. states. As of Friday, April 18, 22 people across California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, have reported adverse reactions to a counterfeit version of Botox (botulinum toxin). All of the individuals are female, ranging in age from 25 to 59. … All but one of the individuals received the treatment for cosmetic purposes, and all victims reported receiving these injections from unlicensed or untrained individuals or in non-healthcare settings.“

• The U.S. Supreme Court today heard arguments on a case that could, more or less, make it illegal for homeless people to sleep on the streets. Our partners at Calmatters report: In a case that could drastically alter how cities in California and beyond deal with homeless encampments, U.S. Supreme Court justices today weighed whether to allow broader punishment for people camping in public spaces. … If the justices side with Grants Pass (Ore.), they could roll back limits that for years have curtailed cities’ ability to clear encampments and punish campers. Two prior Ninth Circuit appellate rulings determined that penalizing an unhoused person for camping in public, if they have nowhere else to sleep, violates the Constitution’s 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court’s opinion is expected in late June. However the justices come down, it will affect cities throughout the country. But nowhere will it be felt as acutely as in California, where nearly half of the country’s entire unsheltered homeless population lives.”

• Also from Calmatters: A utility-rate change could lead to higher electric bills for some people here in the Coachella Valley: “On May 9, the California Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to vote on whether to let the state’s largest power providers slap most customers with a new fixed charge. … Also, according to the proposed rule, the utilities will be required to lower the rate we all pay for each unit of power we consume. On average, electric bills won’t go up or down, but most households aren’t exactly average. Under the proposed change, people who use less electricity will pay a bit more as a result of the fee, while those who rack up large power bills will save thanks to the lower usage rates. … ‘Those who consume more electricity, such as a single-family home with (a) pool, will receive a discount at the expense of a low electricity user, such as an apartment renter,’ wrote Jacqui Irwin, an Assemblymember from Thousand Oaks, along with 21 of her fellow Democratic colleagues last fall.” The issue is actually rather complicated; I highly recommend giving the piece a read.

• And finally … while I appreciate their role in our ecosystem and have respect for them from afar, snakes freak me the @4%& out. So, yeah, this Associated Press story made me a bit uncomfortable: “A ancient giant snake in India might have been longer than a school bus and weighed a ton, researchers reported. … Fossils found near a coal mine revealed a snake that stretched an estimated 36 feet (11 meters) to 50 feet (15 meters). It’s comparable to the largest known snake at about 42 feet (13 meters) that once lived in what is now Colombia. The largest living snake today is Asia’s reticulated python at 33 feet (10 meters). The newly discovered behemoth lived 47 million years ago in western India’s swampy evergreen forests. It could have weighed up to 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms), researchers said in the journal Scientific Reports.” Ugh …

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