Good morning and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Tuesday, December 28th. I’m justin ray
What you can and can’t say is the focus of two controversies across two California colleges.
In one case, an institution was faced with a lawsuit after a student was dismissed for making comments insulting fellow students. In another case, university staff want administrators to strongly condemn a student’s social media posts.
Here’s what you should know about each situation:
A lawsuit over racist, sexist language
A former medical student at California Health Sciences University in Clovis is suing the institution, demanding a public apology and reinstatement.
The lawsuit includes the results of a university investigation into which Nicholas Sciaroni’s classmates were offended by his comments about people of color and immigrants.
The university found out, for example, that he used the phrase “the realest nicker since 2006” on his Instagram account. “Another student saw this and was offended,” wrote the university because of the resemblance to the N word. During a Zoom class session, the university reported that Sciaroni said “I will not bow as a white man” or similar words during an answer to an ethical hypothesis presented to a class.
Speaking to classmates, the university claimed that Sciaroni said he would “stop seeing the NFL because they hired too many black coaches versus white coaches or something like that”.
A letter from the university to Sciaroni attached to the lawsuit also highlights complaints about him allegedly making comments suggesting that women are inferior, “crazy” and that there are only two genders.
The lawsuit does not largely deny the university’s findings. Instead, it argues that the school wrongly fired him because the comments were protected speech.
Sciaroni’s lawsuit is aimed at four other things: a judgment declaring that Amendment 1 protects him; for the university to withdraw the complaint that led to his dismissal; free language training for university staff; and that the university pays its legal fees.
“Due to the privacy rights of students, we are unable to comment on this pending matter,” the University told the Times.
The Fresno Bee notes that Sciaroni has already argued over freedom of expression. In 2019, while studying at Fresno State University, he had a tense argument with a professor over the subject.
Faculty outraged at responding to student tweets
Earlier this month, more than 60 faculty members at USC signed an open letter calling on university officials to “publicly and explicitly reprimand” a student for comments made on social media, including a tweet in whom she said she wanted to “kill every mother — Zionists.”
The faculty urged school officials to reprimand Yasmeen Mashayekh, a 21-year-old civil engineering student, and “distance the USC from their hateful statements.”
“I don’t feel safe on campus,” said Palestinian Mashayekh in an interview with the Times. She said she informed the school of the targeted harassment she had faced for several months and said she was not satisfied with the USC’s response.
University leaders said that this summer, when the school first learned of the tweets, which have since been removed, they removed Mashayekh from her paid mentoring position at Viterbi School of Engineering.
In an interview, Provost Charles Zukoski said that due to privacy issues, he was limited in what he could specifically say about the case, but that there would be no retaliation for removing the student from the paid mentoring position, adding added that she was offered other opportunities on campus.
And now this is happening across California:
Note: Some of the websites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without a subscription.
Californians will usher in the new year with a landmark law that will change the way they dispose of their organic waste, especially leftover food and kitchen scraps. Senate Bill 1383 requires all residents and businesses to separate this “green” waste from other garbage, but the program will be rolled out gradually for households and businesses over the coming months, with actual start dates varying depending on where your home is located Shop. If organic waste is not separated from other waste, fines may be levied. But those charges are not supposed to start before 2024. Los Angeles Times
LA STORIES
“COVID stole my family’s heart. It shared it too. ‘ You will want to read this moving, personal story by Brittny Mejia from The Times. “My grandma was not vaccinated – not voluntarily – and I’m afraid it is a decision that will haunt my family and cause anger for years,” writes Mejia. Los Angeles times
Brittny Mejia with her late grandmother María Díaz in Díaz’s house in Highland Park.
(Brittny Mejia)
Our daily news podcast
If you’re a fan of this newsletter, you’ll love our daily podcast, The Times, hosted every weekday by columnist Gustavo Arellano along with reporters from our newsroom. Go beyond the headlines. Download and listen to our app, subscribe to Apple Podcasts and follow Spotify.
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
What to do with the governor’s mansion? A short walk from the State Capitol is a three-story Italian-style Victorian mansion. The 144-year-old house is the California governor’s mansion, the official residence of the state president. Governor Gavin Newson chose not to live there, as many of his predecessors did. California is struggling to figure out what to do next with the mansion, which was once a museum that hosted an average of 30,000 visitors a year. SF Chronicle
CRIME, COURTS AND POLICE
Two women were killed and a suspect was in custody at a family gathering over Christmas. Fresno County MPs say Austin Alvarez, 23, of Reedley, shot his grandmother and his father’s girlfriend to death. Alvarez was sent to Fresno County Jail on two murder charges and one attempted murder charge. The MPs have not identified any motive. “Everything that happens to a family at Christmas is particularly tragic. Especially when there are multiple murders over Christmas this is one of the worst scenarios, “said Lt. Brandon Pursell, Fresno County Sheriff. ABC 30
The video of the fatal Los Angeles police shootout that killed a suspect and a 14-year-old bystander in a shop in Burlington on Thursday shows the suspect beating a woman with a bicycle lock before a group of officers him finds and one with a rifle opened fire. “She’s bleeding! She’s bleeding! ”The policeman yells for the victim as she crawls out of a corridor with household items. The department had not announced the name of the firing officer by Monday. Los Angeles times
HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
An explosion of new coronavirus cases fueled by the fast-spreading variant of Omicron has sparked a surge in COVID-19 hospital admissions across California, prompting renewed warnings and warnings from health officials. In the week-long period ending Sunday, California reported an average of 11,914 new coronavirus cases per day – a 73% increase from two weeks ago, according to data compiled by The Times. 4,001 coronavirus-positive patients were hospitalized across the country on Sunday, an increase of nearly 14% in a week. Hospital admissions related to COVID-19 haven’t been this high since early October. Los Angeles times
The fast-spreading, highly contagious COVID virus mutation Omicron doesn’t just make you sick – it glues the plans of many companies that had hoped to reopen their offices for hybrid or full-time personality work in early 2022. The variant appears to be less fatal than Delta with less severe symptoms. But it turns out to be much more contagious. This results in companies delaying reopening plans and, in many cases, no new dates are offered. The Times examined return to work plans for Uber, Facebook, Wells Fargo, and more. Los Angeles times
Uber’s headquarters in San Francisco.
(Associated Press)
CALIFORNIAN CULTURE
“I have real problems even looking at this building”: On May 26, 2021, San Jose became the site of the Bay Area’s deadliest mass shooting. Nine employees were killed in a rampage at a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority train station. What has happened since then? “After politicians offer condolences and the media in the spotlight, spouses, parents and children face a slow bureaucracy ill-equipped to deal with tragedy on this scale. You will find little accountability as the investigation drags on. Witnesses are left with nightmares, ”writes transport reporter Eliyahu Kamisher. The Mercury News
Why is Kenny Washington not an American icon? Many people remember Jackie Robinson as a black athlete who became an American icon for breaking a color barrier in sport. People don’t remember Kenny Washington, the former UCLA football and baseball star, who broke the NFL color barrier with the Los Angeles Rams in 1946 – the year before Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. “This year marks the 75th anniversary of Washington’s landmark season, and it’s barely a footnote in the annals of sports history,” wrote Joshua Neuman of Slate. This story explains how he grew up in Los Angeles and became an outstanding athlete. slate
Free online games
Get our free daily crossword, sudoku, word search and arcade games in our new game center at latimes.com/games.
CALIFORNIA ALMANAC
Los Angeles: Cloudy 55 San Diego: Cloudy 55 San Francisco: Cloudy 47 San Jose: Cloudy 49 Fresno: Overcast 44 Sacramento: Cloudy 43. You are unwilling to see the camera pan down.
AND FINALLY
Today’s California memory is from Kristen Desmond:
My parents moved to Fremont in 1969. I like to remember the colors, smells and sounds of my childhood. Next to the town hall there were fields of brightly colored gladioli, framed in the background by majestic Mission Peak. When it rained (yes, it rained!) The cauliflower and broccoli fields filled the air with a musty smell. The Irvington cucumber factory smelled particularly good on warm days. And on hot summer nights, with the windows wide open, I fell asleep to the distant roar of the Badlands Raceway engines …
If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (Please limit your story to 100 words.)
Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments to [email protected].
Comments are closed.