12-Year-Old Canadian Boy Behind ASU Mass Shooting Threat, Police Say

The menacing online poster who threatened to shoot up Arizona State University with an assault rifle Monday is a 12-year-old boy in Canada, law enforcement officials announced today. The boy has “apologized for his actions and the disruption they caused,” according to an ASU police statement. He has been contacted…

Arizona Immigration Activist Hired to Work for Bernie Sanders Campaign

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has hired a high-profile Arizona immigration activist to assist his campaign with outreach to Latinos, an increasingly important voting bloc. Erika Anidola, a 28-year-old undocumented immigrant from Mexico, will join the Sanders campaign as a Latino outreach strategist for the southwest states. She starts work…

ASU Campaigns to Honor Flawed Hero Walter Cronkite with Postage Stamp

Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication is lobbying to get its namesake’s face on a postage stamp. Christopher Callahan, the school’s dean, started organizing a letter-writing campaign after the U.S. Postal Service announced last week that it is considering a proposal, submitted by the Society…

ASU Sexual Assault Reports Rise, Signaling Improved Awareness

The number of sexual assaults reported at Arizona State University nearly doubled from 2013 to 2014, according to the university’s annual security report. That may sound ominous, but, according to advocates for victims, it’s actually good news. ASU police investigated 35 cases of rape or forcible fondling in 2014, compared…

ASU Students Lobby to Allow Guns on Campus

Rallying under a cry for “no more victims,” a group of Arizona State University students has launched a campaign to pressure the school to repeal its on-campus weapons ban. ASU Students for Self-Defense assembled for its first meeting less than 24 hours before a heavily armed man opened fire on…

Phoenix Officially Demands Return of Funds From Plagiarizing ASU Professor

The city of Phoenix sent an official demand to a disgraced Arizona State University professor today for the money it paid for police-training material the city alleges actually was an “egregious” copying job. Phoenix’s move is yet another blow to the now-stained reputation of Matthew Whitaker, a history professor and…

Why Aren’t Arizona Fourth-Graders Learning to Read?

Seventy-two percent of Arizona fourth-graders can’t read proficiently, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, nearly 10 percent less than the national average. Mastering reading by fourth grade is critical because at that age children begin reading to learn other subjects, such as social studies, science,…

Professor Ersula Ore Not Suing ASU Over Arrest

Ersula Ore, the Arizona State University assistant professor whose controversial, videotaped arrest last year was perceived widely as possible police brutality, has missed her deadline to sue the university. Ore submitted a $2 million notice of claim to her employer back in January that accused officials — including Stewart Ferrin,…

ASU Cuts On-Campus Psychiatric Care

Maddy’s psychiatric care provider at Arizona State University had just increased the dosage of the anti-depressant she was taking and it wasn’t going well. She felt like a “zombie,” she said, and was struggling to keep pace with her busy schedule taking 16 credits and working two jobs. “I really…

ASU Professor Matthew Whitaker Withdraws Phoenix Police Training Contract

Arizona State University Professor Matthew Whitaker has withdrawn his company’s six-digit, diversity-training contract from the Phoenix Police Department following his demotion for plagiarism. The Phoenix City Council approved the $268,000 contract with Whitaker’s company, Whitaker Group, LLC, in a 4-0 vote on May 13. Officials said at the time that…

ASU Professor Matthew Whitaker Should Lose Police Contract, Councilman Says

Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio wants a diversity-training program for police canceled following news that the professor in charge of the program, Matthew Whitaker, has been demoted for plagiarism. As New Times reported on Friday, Arizona State University officials demoted Whitaker to associate professor and made him co-director of the…

ASU Professor Matthew Whitaker Demoted Over Apparent Plagiarism

Popular Arizona State University professor Matthew Whitaker has been demoted in the aftermath of his second plagiarism scandal, just weeks after he won a $268,000 no-bid contract to teach Phoenix police about “cultural consciousness.” In a recent email to ASU faculty, Interim University Provost Mark Searle states that “significant issues”…