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San Jose Mercury News
Higher education reporter for the San Jose Mercury-News
PROFILE
Katy Murphy
Guest
FROM Katy Murphy
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
What does it mean to be a Republican, and a Republican in California? President Trump’s willingness to disparage members of his own party has put the media focus on the GOP’s infighting , while the party’s agenda founders. And in California, State Assembly Republicans ousted their leader, Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley, over his decision to help Democrats extend the state’s cap-and-trade program.
The Mixer
Single payer. But who pays? California lawmakers took the first step in approving a single-payer health care plan.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Will Stanford’s hard alcohol ban make students safer? Stanford University notified students via a surprising back-to-school email Monday , that hard liquor will no longer be allowed at undergrad parties on campus. The new policy comes after the Brock Turner sexual assault case made international news earlier this year. Both Turner and the victim were intoxicated when he assaulted her by a dumpster on campus. Administrators say they want to change the culture of alcohol at the school and eliminate risk; but critics say the new policy could make things worse by pushing drinking behind closed dorm room doors.
To the Point
Sexual Assault at Stanford: Does the Punishment Fit the Crime? The crime was brutal: sexual assault of an unconscious woman who didn't find out what happened until reading a newspaper report days after the fact. But there were witnesses -- and plenty of evidence to convict a star Stanford athlete whose explanation lacked credibility. Brock Turner claimed that she consented after they both drank too much at a party. Prosecutors asked for six years, but Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to six months in jail — not even the recommended minimum. Popular outrage has raised many questions including, should the judge be recalled? Would an athlete of color have been treated so leniently?
Which Way, L.A.?
Cal State University Faculty Group Authorizes Strike California's 23 State University campuses constitute America's largest system of higher education. Today the Faculty Association announced the results of a strike authorization vote. Ninety-four percent agreed that it could be time for a walkout.
Which Way, L.A.?
Changing the Way a Campus Sexual Assault Is Defined? Governor Brown has until the end of this month to sign or veto a new bill passed unanimously in the Senate and in the Assembly by a vote of 52 to 16. It would require all public and private colleges that take state funding for student aid to change their standards for sexual assault on campus. Briefly stated, it means going from “no means no” to “yes means yes.”
Recommended
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.