Ranking Of Colleges With The Most Drug Arrests Per Capita Counts Several SUNY Campuses

A new analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education shows several campuses in the State University of New York system have some of the nation's highest rates of on-campus drug arrests.



The "Drugs On Campus" report by Project Know, a website that provides information about getting help for drug addictions, analyzed drug and alcohol arrests and disciplinary actions on campuses in 2013, the most recent data available. Project Know limited its analysis to colleges with at least 5,000 students.



SUNY New Paltz had the No. 1 per capita rate of students with drug arrests on campus -- 13.9 per 1,000 students, or 105 on-campus drug arrests in 2013. The school was No. 107 in 2012, with 24 on-campus drug arrests.



"The safety of our students is top priority," New Paltz spokeswoman Melissa Kaczmarek said in a statement. "As such, we are not surprised by this data, as it is well-known that New Paltz has restrictive policies with respect to drug use/possession."



Kaczmarek added that the school has a low rate of recidivism "thanks to community policing, strict enforcement and intervention/prevention education. There is never a drug citation on campus without a concomitant judicial action where it is made clear that offenders are putting their education at risk."



The university did not respond to a question about why there were so many more arrests in 2013 than in 2012.







Eight of the top 50 schools with the highest rate of drug arrests per capita fall in the 64-campus SUNY system.



School officials say part of the reason that there are so many on-campus arrests may be that each university campus has an actual police force.



“On each of these campuses, for example, we are fortunate to have University Police forces exclusively patrolling the campus, while many other public and private institutions rely solely on local law enforcement agencies," SUNY Police Commissioner Bruce McBride said. "Having a dedicated, community-oriented police department located right on campus likely results in our officers discovering or being called to incidents of recreational drug use more frequently."



McBride said the SUNY numbers may not be "a true reflection of the amount of drug use happening on our campuses in comparison to others nationwide."



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Stupidity and Value-Added Models

My 8th graders were discussing a documentary film on the representation of Latinos in the media when our conversation veered to the topic of standardized testing. I don't remember how it came up exactly, but if you're a teacher or student in a Chicago school, testing is always lurking close by.



"The MAP test doesn't even test us on what we're actually learning in class," one student protested. After a couple others voiced critiques of their own, I told them that their scores on the MAP--a computer-based test known more formally as Measures of Academic Progress--would nonetheless be used to grade their teachers as part of Chicago Public Schools' new "value-added" system of evaluation.



"But wait, what if you don't teach reading or math?" a student asked, aware that the MAP only assesses those two subjects.



"Then they base your evaluation on the average reading scores of the entire school," I said. "That's how I'll be evaluated." Around the room, faces twisted in confusion.



"But you don't even teach reading or math!" someone said. And then several, almost in unison: "That's stupid!" Leave it to young people to see through the insanity of current education policy in a matter of minutes.



My 8th graders' spot-on analysis that day reminded me of Herb Kohl's prescient 2003 book, Stupidity and Tears: Teaching and Learning in Troubled Times. The stupidity in Kohl's title referred to education policies that were then just kicking into high gear--policies that valued compliance over creativity, sapped the joy from classrooms, and had "the consequence of perpetuating ignorance, keeping poor, defiant, marginalized youth 'in their place.'" The tears were the byproduct of such policies: those of teachers following ridiculous mandates against their better judgment, or of students subjected to the constraints of a scripted, seemingly irrelevant curriculum.



A decade later, things have only gotten stupider, and the widespread embrace of value-added models (VAM) for purposes of teacher evaluation is one of the most obvious pieces of evidence. The complex statistical calculations used in value-added formulas are supposed to isolate a teacher's impact on her students' growth--as measured, of course, by gains on standardized test scores. But there's no convincing research to show that value-added models have done anything to help teachers improve or kids learn, and growing evidence shows them to be wildly inaccurate and erratic.



An April 2014 statement on VAMs by the American Statistical Association noted that they "typically measure correlation, not causation," and that effects "attributed to a teacher may actually be caused by other factors that are not captured in the model." The ASA added, "VAM scores themselves have large standard errors, even when calculated using several years of data. These large standard errors make rankings [of teachers] unstable, even under the best scenarios for modeling."



Anecdotal evidence tells much the same story. Maribeth Whitehouse, a Bronx special education teacher who scored in the 99th percentile--better than nearly all other teachers in New York City--on the 2012 value-added Teacher Data Reports, told the New York Times' Michael Winerip that the data were "nonsense," and wrote a letter with other high-scoring teachers in protest of their use.



Chicago Public Schools started using VAM as part of its teacher evaluation system in 2012-13--my first year back in the classroom after twelve years as a teacher educator. I was fortunate to join a team of talented and experienced 7th and 8th grade teachers, each of whom, in my view, did remarkable work with our kids. I tried hard that year to pull my share of the load--getting to know my students, developing challenging curriculum, and doing my best to plan lessons that were engaging and meaningful. Of course, I sometimes fell short of those aims, but looking back at the end of the year, I didn't question my focus or my effort.



But when VAM ratings were released the next fall, they painted a different picture. My value-added metric was a -0.79. At the time, I didn't know exactly what that meant, but I knew the negative sign in front of the number wasn't good.



My colleagues' ratings weren't much better. In fact, our entire team--with a combined 85 years of experience in Chicago classrooms and former students who had gone on to become lawyers, medical doctors, social workers, and community activists--had negative value-added scores. What that meant was that, according to the VAM calculations, each of us had made a negative difference in our students' growth compared to what an "average" teacher might have achieved. Our students learned less because they had us as teachers.



Even if you know it's all a bunch of number-crunching craziness, even as you realize that the margin of error is almost the same size as your value-added rating, it's still demoralizing. And the assumptions that accompany VAM are maddening: That good teaching can be neatly and precisely quantified. That the depth and breadth of a teacher's work can be captured by student test scores. That cultural connections between a teacher and student are irrelevant. That a mathematical formula, no matter how complex, can grasp the impact of poverty or inadequate housing or exposure to gun violence on the educational life of a child.



The day after we received our value-added ratings, I arrived at school nearly an hour early. One of my colleagues, Cudberto Esparza, was already in his classroom, as he is every morning without fail, ready to provide extra tutoring for students who need it. Sometimes one or two kids show up; others days it's six or seven. Each of them will gladly tell you how much value Mr. Esparza adds to their lives. And they won't need any convoluted calculations to do it.



Adapted with permission of Teachers College Press from the forthcoming book, Worth Striking For: Why Education Policy is Every Teacher's Concern (Lessons from Chicago), by Isabel Nuñez, Gregory Michie, and Pamela Konkol. Copyright © 2015 by Teachers College, Columbia University. All rights reserved.



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Does Mike Huckabee Really Believe Serving Gays Is Like Forcing Jews to Sell 'Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp'?

Just a week ago, Mormon church leaders held a scam of a press conference in which they claimed to support anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, whom they agreed had been discriminated against for centuries. This was at first a shocker, because only seven years ago they urged church members to promote that very discrimination. They implored them to help stop gay marriage in another state, California, raising millions of dollars and sending missionaries door to door in California, telling people to vote for hate and pass Prop 8. And the leaders weren't now offering an apology for that recent horrendous action.



As it turned out, their new brand of tolerance had one caveat: Though they would support an anti-discrimination law for LGBT people, they reserved the right to discriminate based on their religious beliefs. Claiming religious freedoms are under attack, they asked for exemptions to any law proposed in Utah that would protect LGBT people and in the same breath lashed out against forcing pharmacists to sell birth control if they have a moral opposition to it.



The entire press conference was a stunt, a way for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to be seen as being tolerant in a fast-changing world while not changing its position at all. And potential GOP presidential candidates have been doing the same thing as they struggle to feed the GOP base. In 2012, over 50 percent of GOP primary voters were evangelical Christians and despite the perennial reports of the religious right's demise, there's no reason to believe that will be much different in 2016.



What has changed is that much of the country has marriage equality and the Supreme Court will likely throw out all bans on same-sex marriage come June. Jeb Bush was the first to roll out the new rhetoric about how people should "respect the law" but that people should respect, "those of us who believe marriage is a sacrament and want to safeguard religious liberty." Louisiana GOP Governor Bobby Jindal, along with Texas Senator Ted Cruz, have stuck to the old script, simply calling for a federal marriage amendment, allowing states to ban same-sex marriage. This is a non-starter but at least they're being specific. Bush may have bought himself some time, but he's going to have to eventually explain what he means by safeguarding "religious liberty."



Mike Huckabee on Sunday spelled it out a bit more (though it's still quite unclear), outlining the parameters of how this debate may take place among GOP potential presidential contenders. Speaking on CNN, he compared homosexuality to drinking, swearing or liking "classical music and ballet and opera." As he explained it, these are all "lifestyles" and choices -- the long-time anti-gay lie on homosexuality -- and said that he has many friends who do or like those things, but they're not his "cup of tea." Protecting religious liberties thus means that Christians should not have to accept, or cater to, people whose choices are an affront to their faith.



And that's when Huckabee defined a bit more just what safeguarding religious liberties means -- and how Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ran Paul, Marco Rubio and others will have to address it. Amid the stories of bakers and florists turning away gay customers seeking services for their weddings, and for-profit wedding chapels refusing to marry gays, Huckabee, though he wasn't very clear, seemed to be likening laws protecting gays in these businesses to forcing Jews to "serve bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli."



If that is the case, it was ludicrous on every level, since bakers in states that protect gays against discrimination in public accommodations are not being told they must sell a specific product: They are being told they can't pick and choose to whom they sell it. The more apt comparison would be the Jewish deli that refuses to sell lox to non-Jews. That would be discrimination, and is against the law. Bakers are free to decide they don't want to sell wedding cakes at all, too, but in states that protect LGBT people, it's against the law to say we only sell these cakes to these people and not to gays.



That discrimination, however, is what religious right activists will be calling for presidential candidates to support under the guise of "religious liberty." They want consciences clauses so that town, county and city clerks can opt out of marrying gays, as they want pharmacists to able to opt-out of birth control and florists to have the right to say no to a lesbian couple. Candidates can be vague, like Bush, or confusing and ridiculous, like Huckabee, for only so long. Soon enough they'll have to explain exactly what they mean.



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Are Heeled Snow Boots Worth Adding To Your Winter Wardrobe? We Put 5 Pairs To The Test

Storm Heads Toward Northeast After Blanketing Midwest

BOSTON (AP) — A winter storm is bringing its fury to the Northeast on Monday, causing the cancellation of flights, classes and major court cases a day after it dumped up to a foot-and-a-half of snow on the Chicago area and blanketed much of the Plains and Midwest.



The weather system moved slowly eastward overnight through the Ohio Valley into Pennsylvania and western New York state. Then it went into New England, where residents had celebrated the New England Patriots' Super Bowl victory days after digging out from a massive storm that brought from 1 to 3 feet of snow to some areas.



Here's the outlook:



___



THE STORM



The snow storm, which had brought 17.5 inches of snow to O'Hare International Airport by early Monday, was expected to deepen off the southern New England coast, bringing accumulations of 9 to 16 inches to Boston and nearly as much to Hartford, Providence, southern New Hampshire and Vermont.



"For New Englanders, we're used to this during the winter," said Matt Doody of the National Weather Service. But he cautioned that both the morning and evening commutes would be messy.



Snowfall totals in New York state were to vary from 6 to 10 inches in Buffalo and Binghamton and 8 to 14 inches in Albany. A winter storm warning is out for more than 20 counties, with up to 16 inches forecast for the eastern Catskill Mountains, and northern and central Taconics. Many Long Island schools have delayed opening or are closed due to a forecast of snow and freezing rain. The storm is expected to dump between 3 to 5 inches of snow north of Long Island Expressway and slightly less to the south.



The Philadelphia area received about an inch of snow before the precipitation changed over to rain. Forecasters expected about 3 to 5 inches to fall in the Lehigh Valley and 5 to 11 inches in northern Pennsylvania.



Northeast Ohio, including Cleveland, could get 4 to 9 inches and Toledo and the northwest part of the state were headed for 3 to 7 inches.



___



TRAVEL AND OUTAGES



More than 2,300 flights were canceled Monday with about a seventh of them at Boston's Logan Airport. On Sunday, more than 2,000 flights were canceled in the Midwest, the vast majority of which were in or out of Chicago's two airports.



Public officials throughout New England announced parking bans ahead of the storm so crews could keep the roads clear.



Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said state government is planning a regular work day on Monday but he encouraged commuters to take public transportation.



Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said the state Department of Transportation had 2,250 trucks, 235 rental trucks and 200 additional trucks on stand-by along with 5,400 equipment operators ready to clear roads.



In New Jersey, non-essential state employees have been told to report as part of a delayed opening, while essential employees were to follow regular schedules.



Amtrak planned to operate a normal schedule but with some modifications. It said it would have extra crews available to remove downed trees or make infrastructure repairs.



In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said residents should be ready for a snowy and icy commute. The city may get 2 to 4 inches of snow and ice is possible.



The Illinois Department of Transportation dispatched 350 trucks to clear and salt Chicago-area roadways ahead of Monday's morning rush hour, and the city said late Sunday that it was sending out 150 more pieces of heavy equipment for road work.



___



DELAYS, CANCELLATIONS AND OUTAGES



The snowstorm is delaying two of the nation's biggest court cases — the murder trial of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez and jury selection in the federal death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Proceedings were expected to resume Tuesday.



Across the country, hundreds of public schools canceled classes due to the danger of children traveling. Many parochial schools and colleges did the same.



The weather led to power outages, including roughly 10,000 ComEd customers in Illinois on Sunday evening. That number had been cut to 5,500 by midnight CST and was down to 2,500 statewide early Monday.



___



SUPER BOWL TRAVEL



Officials say Super Bowl travel is expected to help make Monday the busiest day ever at Phoenix's main airport, but snowstorms elsewhere could cause delays.



Sky Harbor International Airport said Sunday night that because of winter weather on the East Coast, flights to Boston and New York might be delayed Monday morning.



In the wake of Sunday's big game, airport spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez says Monday is expected to be the busiest day ever at Sky Harbor.



The Transportation Security Administration says about 80,000 passengers are expected to depart, twice the normal amount for an average day.



___



DEATHS, INJURIES



Ohio officials said a Toledo police officer died while shoveling snow in his driveway Sunday and the city's 70-year-old mayor was hospitalized after an accident while he was out checking road conditions.



The officer, who was not named, died of an apparent heart attack. City and medical officials say Mayor D. Michael Collins was hospitalized after he had a heart attack and his SUV crashed into a pole.



In Nebraska, a truck driver and a 62-year-old woman were killed in separate traffic accidents on snowy roads. In Wisconsin, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said a 64-year-old man with a history of cardiac problems was found dead Sunday in his garage after shoveling snow.



___



Associated Press writers Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa; Jeff Baenen in Minneapolis; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; Verena Dobnik in New York; and David N. Goodman in Detroit contributed to this report.



___



Tareen reported from Chicago.





Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.





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The Easiest Winter Hacks For Getting Through A Long, Cold Season

If you're lucky enough to live in a climate that's warm year-round, stop reading. The rest of us bundle up and hope for the best.



In Denver, a city used to snowy weather, a reporter for ABC 7 News put a few winter lifehacks to the test (but not without some local news affiliate banter first). You might know the tip for using cooking oil spray to keep snow from sticking to a shovel, but you might not know the secret use for old socks that'll save your windshield. Watch the video above to see them all.



We've also rounded up a few hacks that'll take some of the sting out of winter. Here they are:



Park facing east.



You'll generally be in the path of the sun for most of the day, which will help melt any snow or ice that accumulates during the course of your day.



Use hand sanitizer to "de-ice" your car's lock.



The high alcohol content in hand sanitizer will melt through the ice, says DoItYourself.com.



Change the rotation of your ceiling fan.



According to The Simple Dollar, running your fan on low in the clockwise direction will help "mix" the warm and cool air in a room, keeping your home at a steady temperature.



Keep your curtains open during the day.



Mainly if your home is facing south. The sunlight will help keep your home warm (the official term is "passive solar heating").





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Here Is What It Was Like To Be A New England Patriots Fan During The Super Bowl

Well, after four crazy quarters, and one of the most insane endings in Super Bowl history, the new reigning champions are the New England Patriots. And even though it was far from an easy path to victory, Patriots fans can bask in the glory of the win.



Here's what it was like to be a Pats fan Sunday night:





It all started with some good ol' fashioned national anthem excitement care of John Travolta's favorite singer, Idina Menzel.









New England had the first long drive of the game, but then AUUUUUUUUGGHHHHH the lethal Seattle defense struck.









But even with the early turnover, the Patriots came back again, and this time for the first touchdown of the game.









Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance.









Unfortunately, Marshawn Lynch finally spoke.









A beautiful pass to Gronk would surely send New England into halftime with the lead, right?









WRONG. The Seahawks weren't finished. 80-yard march down the field. 6 seconds left. Russell Wilson hit Chris Matthews for the touchdown. Oh the pain, oh the pain of it all!









The feels Brady didn't want.









Then Katy Perry rode a Transformer-looking tiger ...









... Leading into another Patriot interception, which lead to Seattle putting on another 7.









New England finally scored again.









And again!









And then whaaaaaaaaaat the f**k just happened??









But it didn't REALLY matter at all ...









Because the entirety of New England almost had their own earthquake.









Lol.









Tom Brady is the undisputed king of football.









But even if it didn't wrap up as quickly as it should have --









The trophy returned to where it belongs.









USA! USA! USA! USA!



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