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Seriously? Florida university student penalized for using word 'man' in his essay

Rebecca Downs
The College Fix
Mon, 01 May 2017 17:06 UTC
notepad
© Shutterstock
At the University of Florida, a student was recently penalized for writing "man" instead of "humankind" in a class paper.

History major Martin Poirier wrote "Water is a thing prior to man" on a paper for a history class called "History of Water."

"Thoughtful paper, although the writing-mechanics errors are killing you," Professor Jack Davis wrote at the bottom of the paper. He gave the student a B minus, according to a copy of the essay published in the student news outlet the Daily Nerv.

Davis circled "man" and referenced his Writing Mechanics Exercise #20, which draws a distinction between "mankind" and "humankind."

Davis defended the penalization in an email to The College Fix. He explained that the "exercise and inclusion of 'humankind' are consistent with the Chicago Manual of Style, the style and the usage guide followed in the discipline of history."

Comment: More from Daily Nerv:
Poirier added that this was not a one-time occurrence. He emphasized that "Dr. Davis requires us to use only gender neutral expressions" and that this was not the first, or the only form of bias he has encountered on campus. He told The Daily Nerv:
"I have plenty of more examples of bias in other courses, many much more severe."
According to the grammar rules the professor enforces, the use of the word "humankind" is the only grammatically correct version of the word. Although "mankind" and "humankind" bear identical definitions in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, points were ultimately deducted in Poirier's essay for his use of the offshoot, "man."


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People 2

1 in 8 California school children have at least one undocumented parent

Louis Freedburg
Los Angeles Daily News
Sun, 30 Apr 2017 05:29 UTC
rally dreamer students california
© Jane Meredity AdamsStudents at Oakland Technical High School rally on behalf of “dreamer” students.
Posing significant challenges for educators, about 1 in 8 students in California schools has at least one parent who is undocumented, according to a new brief from the Education Trust-West.

Undocumented children as well as U.S. citizen children with undocumented relatives have experienced heightened anxieties for several years as a result of deportation policies begun under President George W. Bush and tightened ones under President Barack Obama.

But according to school officials, those anxieties have reached new heights since Donald Trump's inauguration, with possible consequences on their ability to focus on school work, the willingness of parents to attend school events, or even to bring their children to school.

Education Trust-West, an advocacy organization in Oakland, estimates that 750,000 students in California's preK-12 schools have an undocumented parent, out of a total enrollment of 6.2 million. Some of these students may be undocumented themselves, but the vast majority of K-12 children with undocumented parents are U.S. citizens.
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Heart - Black

Another inmate dies of dehydration - family suing Utah county and jail staff for neglect

Jack Burns
Free Thought Project
Mon, 01 May 2017 16:46 UTC
Madison Jenson death dehydration
Madison Jenson
Madison Jensen's death could be used as an indictment on America's love affair with opioids or one of badge abuse or both. At any rate, another inmate has died while in the care of the Duchesne County Jail.

Jensen, 21, had been battling with an opioid addiction before ending up in jail. Her opiate addiction had turned to a heroin addiction, and her behavior had zapped her family of any remaining energy or patience they'd previously held. They called the police.

It's understandable, really, that her family would want to get her some help. It's even appreciable that they'd call law-enforcement authorities. Maybe she was a danger to herself or others.

However, at any rate, she was taken to jail, a result of her addiction. Police even warned Jared Jenson jail wasn't a good alternative to drug treatment. Maybe even the advising officer knew the jail would immediately deprive her of her medicines, even her anti-depressant. But the warning wasn't heeded, and while in jail, she began to experience withdrawals of both drugs, and lost weight as a result, a lot of weight.
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Megaphone

May Day 2017: Tear gas, Molotov cocktails in central Paris in clashes between police & protesters


RT
Mon, 01 May 2017 18:51 UTC
French CRS riot police protect themselves from flames during clashes
© REUTERSFrench CRS riot police protect themselves from flames during clashes
Clashes have erupted in central Paris between police and demonstrators during May Day protests in the French capital. Protesters pelted Molotov cocktails as police responded with tear gas. Several of the officers caught fire and could be seen engulfed in flames.

The violence was reportedly caused by a group of radical protesters, most of who covered their faces with black masks. The group was separate from peaceful demonstrators.

At least four police officers have been injured in the clashes, AFP reported. At least one officer suffered serious burns.


Molotov cocktails have been thrown, police said on Twitter.


Protesters have been throwing smoke grenades at police, who tried to push the crowds backwards down the road, live Ruptly footage from the scene shows.
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Life Preserver

Baltimore's Mayor asking for FBI help with crime and rising murder rate, others question approach


CBS Baltimore
Fri, 28 Apr 2017 11:32 UTC
Mayor Pugh
Baltimore's mayor is asking for help from the FBI as the city struggles to contain a soaring murder rate. But will bringing in the feds stop the killings?

Catherine Pugh pulled no punches earlier this week when she said the violence is out of control.

"I'm calling on all the assistance we can possibly get because I can't imagine going into our summer months with our crime rate where it is today, what that's going to look like by the end of the summer," Mayor Pugh said. "... Murder is out of control."

Some people are skeptical that the FBI will be able to help matters.

Comment: If her past record is an indication, Mayor Pugh would seem to leaning more towards more Orwellian police state approaches than those proven to be more effective:

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Airplane

Dozens seriously injured as Moscow-Bangkok plane thrown 100-200 meters up and down from 'clear sky turbulence'


RT
Mon, 01 May 2017 12:09 UTC
clear sky turbulance
© Artyom Anikeev / Global Look Press
Turbulence "out of nowhere," as passengers put it, injured up to 27 people - mostly Russians - on a Boeing 777 plane en route from Moscow to Bangkok, just 40 minutes before the aircraft landed.

"All of the injured have been taken to a local hospital. They mostly have bruises and fractures," the Russian Embassy in Thailand reported, putting the number of those injured at 27.

The reason so many people were injured was that they weren't wearing safety belts, despite the usual warnings, officials say. The plane apparently suddenly hit so-called 'clear sky turbulence' and the crew had no chance to warn the passengers beforehand.

Comment: Incidences of freak turbulence have been increasing and it's likely that atmospheric changes due to dust loading from increased cometary and volcanic activity may be the culprit.

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Arrow Down

Latvian Mayor Fined for Speaking Russian

RI Staff
Russia Insider
Fri, 28 Apr 2017 16:03 UTC
Nil Ushakov
The mayor of Riga, Nil Ushakov, held an informal meeting with high schoolers where he gave a short speech (in Latvian) and then took questions. Some of the teenagers asked their questions in Russian. Not being a douchebag the mayor answered in Russian.

Now Latvia wants 50 euros from him.

Last year Latvia similarly demanded 140 euros from Ushakov for making a Facebook post in Russian.

Where in the US politicians court the Latino vote by speaking Spanish even if they barely know it, in Latvia officials are barred from addressing their Russian-speaking constituents in their native tongue.
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Pistol

Cop shoots into car of innocent kids, kills unarmed 15yo boy

Matt Agorist
Free Thought Project
Mon, 01 May 2017 15:30 UTC
Jordan Edwards
Jordan Edwards
A family is devastated and a community is in shock after a model student and athlete has been killed by a Balch Springs police officer. While police refuse to identify the boy, family and friends have identified him as 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. According to the family's attorney, he was unarmed and had committed no crime when he was killed.

According to police, they were responding to a party at which underage drinking was allegedly taking place. There were reports of intoxicated teenagers moving along the 12300 block of Baron Drive around 11 p.m. Saturday night.

Police claim responding officers heard gunfire while looking for the alleged intoxicated teens. When they saw a car in which Edwards was a passenger, one officer opened fire as the vehicle backed up.
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Wedding Rings

Indian minister arms 700 new brides with wooden bats to use against drunk & abusive husbands


RT
Mon, 01 May 2017 15:13 UTC
Indian women bat
© Latest Trending Videos / YouTube
An Indian state minister has armed some 700 brides with wooden bats to be used in self-defense should their husbands ever raise a hand on them. "Police won't intervene," reads the reassuring inscription, encouraging use against alcohol-dependent spouses.

The foot-long wooden bats were presented as gifts at a mass marriage ceremony on Saturday by Gopal Bhargava, a minister in the state of Madhya Pradesh, who instructed some 700 brides to use them on husbands if they turn alcoholic or exhibit harassing behavior.
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Health

War has taken childhood from Syrian children


RT
Mon, 01 May 2017 14:23 UTC
Syria boy destroyed houses
© AFPA young Syrian boy poses for a picture between destroyed houses in the northern Syrian town of Azaz
Besides the insane destruction and endless violence, the war in Syria has inflicted widespread psychological damage on Syrians, leaving scars in the form of 'toxic stress' and post-war trauma that have led to a full-scale national mental health crisis.

Syrian children casually talk about bombs and bullets. Five-year-old Lima told RT that she doesn't feel afraid "because I got used to it."

After over six years of war, many of the children here were born in the midst of the intensive fighting and have never known a different life, Syrians say.

"They have become immune to the war. They hear the sound of aircraft and they will tell you it's an aircraft; they hear the sound of a missile, they will tell you it's a missile," a local woman named Iman told RT.

"They are getting used to it. It isn't like at the beginning when they were very afraid - now they are not," a local father, Rafik Abudan, said.
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