VOLUME 8 ISSUE 1
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2023
Salute!
U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTO BY CPL. TANNER BERNAT
U.S. Marines with Headquarters Battery, 10th Marine Regiment, conduct the Presidents’ Day 21-gun salute at W.P.T. Hill Field on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The ceremony is held annually, where 105mm cannons are discharged 21 times at five-second intervals. See North Carolina’s veteran population by county A4-5
the
Murray speech at Chapel Hill highlights purpose of universities
BRIEF this week
Charlotte City Council nearly balks at buying ammunition for police Charlotte The Charlotte City Council was forced to re-vote on a routine measure authorizing the purchase of ammunition for Charlotte Mecklenburg police on Monday night, WSOC-TV reported. During the initial vote, only 4 of the 11 councilmembers raised their hands to approve the purchase. Tariq Bokhari, one of the council’s two Republicans, chided his colleagues asking, “are we really doing this?” Upon a second vote, the item passed 6-1 with Braxton Winston, a longtime anti-law enforcement activist, voting against the routine purchase. Bokhari tweeted “wild times” after the vote. NSJ STAFF
Biden admin rule would ban 50% of gas stoves Washington, D.C. A new Biden administration rule on cooking appliances would effectively ban half of all gas stoves on the U.S. market from being sold, according to an Energy Department projection first reported by the Washington Free Beacon. In an analysis published in February, President Joe Biden’s Energy Department acknowledged that roughly half of all gas stoves on the U.S. market today would not meet its proposed cooking appliance efficiency regulations. The Energy Department’s admission comes roughly one month after U.S. Consumer Product Safety commissioner Richard Trumka Jr., a Biden appointee, said a gas stove ban was “on the table.” “This is a hidden hazard,” Trumka Jr. said. After Trumka’s comments prompted a political firestorm, both the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the White House walked back the threat, with Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre assuring Americans “the president does not support banning gas stoves.” The Energy Department’s new rule and subsequent analysis, however, contradict that statement, the Free Beacon reported. NSJ STAFF
By Matt Mercer North State Journal
Over a dozen K-12 calendar flexibility bills filed in the House Questions loom as they head to the Senate By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Over a dozen bills have been filed in the North Carolina House of Representatives related to giving K-12 school districts more calendar flexibility but they may not be getting a look in the Senate. House Bill 86 offers statewide calendar flexibility while 13 others filed appear to only address certain counties. The current calendar law in place requires a minimum of 185 days or 1,025 hours of instruction. The law, first enacted in 2004 under Democratic leader-
ship, also dictates a school year start date of no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26. Under that law, the end date for the school year is no later than the Friday closest to June 11. The statewide bill would move the start of school to no earlier than Aug. 10 and the end date of June 11 would remain the same. In an interview with North State Journal, Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) said he doesn’t see a need to change the law. “I don’t think there’s a need to change it,” Berger said. “If I thought there was a chance that changing it would improve outcomes as far as kids are concerned as far as school is concerned. I would certainly considSee EDUCATION, page A2
CHAPEL HILL — On a stormy Thursday night in Chapel Hill, renowned English author and journalist Douglas Murray spoke to a crowd of students and alumni in an auditorium on the vast campus. Hosted by the UNC Alumni Free Speech Alliance, and two conservative student organizations, Murray expounded on his views of the radical Left’s threat to Western values and the need for freedom of thought in colleges nationwide. In his nearly 45-minute speech before taking questions from the students in the audience, Murray took on two acutely sensitive issues at UNC Chapel Hill: Nikole Hannah-Jones and the toppling of statues. He opened by discussing what he called the disappearance of the “public intellectual” and how the West, notably the United States, has a serious problem with debate and discourse. “A culture that allows extraordinary claims go uncontested is a culture deeply in trouble,” Murray said. He continued by saying that traditionally, people with strong ideas would defend them in public – taking on those who disagreed with them. Instead, said Murray, we now have “public figures” in an ecosystem that allows them to talk only
with those who already agree with them. Murray also pointed to two more examples of the behavior, writers Robin D’Angelo and Ibram X. Kendi. He said in swaths of their work, they deliberately misuse source materials to fit into a predetermined narrative. Murray said this was part of the threat with erasing history, specifically the toppling of statues. This was a pattern, said Murray, of “erasing the past and standing in their place.” Murray also took issue with the 1619 Project, calling it filled with repeated assertions which cannot be proven and can’t be defended in public. He added that it was the students in the room who must deal with the current problems of those who refuse to defend ideas. “The only way you get to the truth is to get all ideas out,” said Murray. He quoted the 19th century philosopher John Stuart Mill, adding, “the person who is wrong must be heard and the worst that can happen is you know your argument better.” By refusing to engage in the exchange of ideas, Murray said, Western society has made themselves vulnerable to bad ideas. Earlier in the day Thursday, the See MURRAY, page A8
Truitt discusses bill increasing penalties for teacher misconduct and licensure impact Revoking an educator license is not necessarily a quick or easy process By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — In an interview with North State Journal, North Carolina State Superintendent Catherine Truitt discussed a bill filed to increase penalties for teacher sexual misconduct with students, the reporting requirements in the measure, as well as the related impact on a teacher’s license. House Bill 142, the “Protect Our Students Act,” was filed on Feb. 16
by Reps. John Torbett (R-Gaston), Kristin Baker (R-Cabarrus), Jake Johnson (R-Polk), and Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort). The bill would alter the penalty for committing a sexual activity with a student from a Class I to a Class G felony. A Class I felony has a sentence of three to 12 months whereas a Class G felony can be an eight to 31 months prison sentence. The penalty for taking indecent liberties with a student also is raised from a Class I to a Class G felony. Additionally, if a school official fails to report a teacher engaged in misconduct to the State Board of Education they can be charged with a Class I felony. A bill making some technical
changes was introduced and received a favorable report from the House K-12 Education Committee on Feb. 21, at which time Truitt spoke to the committee about the measure. During her remarks before the committee, Truitt said that there had been 124 instances of sexual misconduct involving students resulting in teacher license suspensions and revocations between Jan. 1, 2016, through Oct. 11, 2022. “On average, this is 20 suspensions, revocations, or surrenders a year that are related to sexual misconduct involving students,” See TEACHERS, page A2
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