Obama to unveil gun violence, school security measures

The president’s framework is based on recommendations from Vice President Joe Biden, who led a wide-ranging task force on gun violence.

President Barack Obama’s broad effort to reduce gun violence and boost school security will include proposed bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, as well as more than a dozen executive orders aimed at circumventing congressional opposition to stricter gun control.

The president also is calling for more anti-bullying efforts; more training for school personnel; and funding for more counselors and school resource officers.

Obama was expected to announce the measures Jan. 16 at a White House event that will bring together law enforcement officials, lawmakers, and children who wrote to him about gun violence following last month’s shooting of 20 young students and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.…Read More

Universities mull role of tenure in UAH shootings

UAH students reportedly filed complaints about Bishop.
UAH students reportedly filed complaints about Bishop.

Questions about how universities handle tenure decisions have arisen after Amy Bishop, a professor at the University of Alabama Huntsville campus, was accused of killing three colleagues from the university’s biology department earlier this month.

Bishop reportedly was denied tenure—a distinction that ensures job security in academia—and complained about the university’s decision for months before the shootings, colleagues said in interviews with the Associated Press (AP).

Higher-ed administrators say the tedious six-year tenure process can be fraught with anxiety, and if candidates expect to earn tenure and are denied by campus officials, reactions can be unpredictable.…Read More