Latest news with #UniversityOfCalifornia
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Justice Department investigating University of California over alleged DEI-based hiring
The Justice Department has announced it is investigating the University of California (UC) for alleged Title VII discrimination violations in its hiring practices. The agency announced Thursday that its Civil Rights Division is looking into the university's individual campuses regarding potential race- and sex-based discrimination in employment practices. The university's "UC 2030 Capacity Plan" directs its campuses to hire "diverse" faculty members to meet race- and sex-based employment quotas, the Justice Department said. "These initiatives openly measure new hires by their race and sex, which potentially runs afoul of federal law," the Justice Department said in a press release. "The Civil Rights Division's Employment Litigation Section will investigate whether the University of California is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, sex, and other protected characteristics, pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." Title VII prohibits an employer from discriminating against an individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said. "Public employers are bound by federal laws that prohibit racial and other employment discrimination," Dhillon said. "Institutional directives that use race- and sex-based hiring practices expose employers to legal risk under federal law." The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division wrote to the university on Thursday, informing it of the investigation. "Our investigation is based on information suggesting that the University of California may be engaged in certain employment practices that discriminate against employees, job applicants, and training program participants based on race and sex in violation of Title VII," the letter reads. "Specifically, we have reason to believe the University of California's 'UC 2030 Capacity Plan' precipitated unlawful action by the University of California and some or all its constituent campuses." UC said it will work in good faith with the Justice Department as it conducts its investigation. "The University of California is committed to fair and lawful processes in all of our programs and activities, consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws," a UC statement provided to Fox News Digital reads. "The University also aims to foster a campus environment where everyone is welcomed and supported." The university's UC 2030 Capacity Plan lays out a goal of becoming a national model as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) system. The plan outlines a pipeline strategy to diversify faculty and researchers through expanded graduate enrollment and outreach to institutions that serve underrepresented students. The DOJ, however, claims these initiatives may violate Title VII by functioning as de facto employment quotas. In March, UC dropped diversity statements from its hiring practices amid President Donald Trump's threats that schools could lose federal funding. The university's provost, Katherine S. Newman, sent out a letter to the system's leaders informing them that diversity statements are no longer required for new applicants. Newman wrote that while some programs and departments have required them, the university has never had a policy of diversity statements and believes it could harm applicant evaluation. "The requirement to submit a diversity statement may lead applicants to focus on an aspect of their candidacy that is outside their expertise or prior experience," the letter obtained by Fox News Digital reads. She added that employees and applicants can still reference accomplishments related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on their own, but requiring stand-alone diversity statements is no longer permitted.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Why your addictive personality is increasing your cancer risk
When we talk about addiction, it's usually smoking or drinking alcohol that comes to mind. Most of us are aware that these are behaviours that may rush us towards poor health and, potentially, a cancer diagnosis. The statistics speak for themselves: six million people smoke, 24 per cent have too much alcohol and two-thirds are overweight or obese and, since 1995, cancer cases have increased every year in England (with the exception of 2020, when the drop in diagnoses is widely considered a result of a pandemic-fuelled NHS disruption.) But there are other lower-level addictions that go under the radar that can be just as damaging to our health. It's these lesser-known dependencies that are subtly increasing our risk of cancer that Dr Raphael Cuomo, a cancer epidemiologist and professor at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, wants to draw our attention to. You might jokingly confess that you've got an 'addictive personality', you're 'addicted to crisps' or 'addicted to looking at your phone' – but Dr Cuomo wants us to take these addictive behaviours more seriously. In his new book, Crave: The Hidden Biology of Addiction and Cancer, he explores how our supposed addictions to sugar and excessive screen time could be reshaping our biology to make us more susceptible to cancer. 'These are the addictions that we may not appreciate as seriously – like the constant need to be on a phone and scrolling through social media, the constant need to snack on processed foods.' They might not be classed as cancer-causing by leading cancer authorities, but Dr Cuomo argues that these habits trigger cellular changes that are depleting our health and can make us more vulnerable to the disease. 'I want to raise awareness that these low-grade addictions are not just a negative thing in isolation but they have a bigger consequence on the long-term risk of disease,' Dr Cuomo says. Screen addictions mess with your hormone production – and your health 'Even when you're just scrolling through your phone, you see something interesting and it gives you this low-grade high, this dopamine rush – and you want more,' Dr Cuomo says. This process, of exposure to engaging pictures and videos mixed in with less interesting content, is known as variable reinforcement, which he likens to playing on a slot machine. 'It keeps you scrolling and scrolling, hoping that you're going to get that dopamine hit,' he explains. 'We are hoping for the high of something interesting showing up on the newsfeed. The companies that make these products know about these mechanisms and they're manufactured with this in mind.' While addiction to screens is not widely medically recognised, the NHS launched a National Centre for Gaming Disorders in 2019 amid a rising number of people seeking help for being unable to control their video game use. Compulsive time spent scrolling through our devices causes spikes in the stress hormone, cortisol. 'The cortisol will prevent the relaxation needed in order to repair DNA breaks and it will also prevent our immune system from clearing out damaged cells,' Dr Cuomo argues. 'When you're looking at screens constantly, especially late at night, you get exposed to blue light which suppresses melatonin,' he says. This is a hormone that supports our body clock and has cancer-protective effects. Being addicted to sugar compromises your immune system In the UK, we're hooked on sugar, eating 18 teaspoons on average per day when a maximum of eight teaspoons is recommended – and Dr Cuomo believes we're addicted. Just last year, a collection of renowned experts gathered at the International Food Addiction Consensus Conference to get addiction to highly processed junk foods officially recognised as a condition by both WHO and leading psychiatry institutions. 'When we consume sugary or junk food, it tastes good and makes us feel good,' he says. Sugar triggers the release of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, which are associated with pleasure. 'We eat this food and suddenly we're feeling better,' he says. This pattern causes us to seek out sugary, high-calorie food repeatedly, which Dr Cuomo believes is sugar addiction. The problem is that when sugar enters our system, it spikes our insulin levels and stimulates insulin-like growth factor one (IGF-1), a hormone that promotes cell growth. In short bursts, these responses are normal, but when experienced repeatedly, cells begin to divide and multiply more rapidly, Dr Cuomo says. 'Repeatedly, over time, that will promote the development of tumours.' The types of food that we're most likely to become hooked on – which are high in sugar, refined carbohydrates and additives – also trigger low-grade inflammation, which hampers our immune system and could make it less equipped to identify and eliminate abnormal cells, he says. Three ways to tackle your addictive behaviours 'These addictive behaviours are not fixed,' Dr Cuomo notes. 'People can escape them and reverse the risk of cancer.' This is seen among smokers who quit as, after around 12 years of no longer using cigarettes, their risk of lung cancer is half that of someone who still smokes. 'Risk is fluid and, ideally, to keep risk minimal, we would engage in these behaviours not very much overall,' he adds. These are his tips on kicking your reliance on sugar and screens. 1. Tackle the root cause of your behaviours We turn to addictive behaviours as a way of displacing stress and as a source of comfort. 'We're seeking a kind of distraction to prevent us from dealing with the bigger issues, from relaxing and allowing our bodies to sit and repair,' Dr Cuomo says. It's uncomfortable to stop and think about what you're trying to escape from, but tackling the source of stress or trigger for reaching for food or your phone can help to replace it with healthier behaviours, he suggests. 2. Take an enforced break 'I would encourage people to attempt a reset,' Dr Cuomo says. 'I think that if you can achieve seven days without something, then you tend to start to break free from the addiction.' This would mean going for a whole week without eating sugar or engaging with the screen-based activity you feel you're addicted to, such as social media. 'Then you can re-engage, but you shouldn't be dependent upon it.' 'Seven days is a very high bar for a lot of people,' he notes. If it seems like too much, then start with one-day breaks, building up until you reach seven. 'Create barriers,' Dr Cuomo recommends. These include not buying any sugary foods or putting them in a more awkward location to get to, such as the top shelf of a cupboard. To cut back on using certain apps, you can remove them from your phone. 'You want to make the habits you've developed an addiction to be more difficult to engage with.' 3. Stick to a sleep schedule A regular sleeping pattern can help to regulate cortisol and melatonin levels, and it interrupts the loop of compulsive reward-seeking, better equipping you to steer clear of your unhealthy habits. 'Do the same thing every night before bed,' Dr Cuomo suggests. 'Go to sleep at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning, even on the weekend.'
New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Justice Dept. Opens Inquiry Into University of California Hiring Practices
The Trump administration on Thursday targeted California's education system for the second time in two days, announcing a new Justice Department investigation into whether a plan to build a university system that more closely reflects the state's racial and ethnic diversity violates civil rights laws against discrimination. The investigation was made public just 24 hours after the U.S. Education Department declared that California was breaking federal law by allowing transgender girls to compete on female sports teams. The federal government gave the state 10 days to reverse its policies or face 'imminent enforcement action.' On Thursday, Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department's top civil rights attorney, said in a letter to Michael V. Drake, the president of the University of California system, that she was focused on the 'University of California 2030 Capacity Plan,' which she said might discriminate against some employees, job applicants and training program participants. The government's news release about the inquiry said that the university plan required campuses to meet quotas for race- and sex-based employment. The 44-page plan is a three-year-old planning document aimed at expanding enrollment in the University of California system while also 'reflecting California's diversity.' It makes no specific mention of quotas, but does note that future growth of faculty and students should result in campus populations that 'better reflect and tap the talent of underrepresented populations who represent the majority of Californians.' The plan offers parameters on how to achieve that while also meeting Gov. Gavin Newsom's goal of 70 percent of working-age Californians earning postsecondary degrees or certificates by 2030. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
US Justice Dept to probe hiring practices at University of California
By Andrew Goudsward WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department will investigate hiring practices at the University of California system to examine whether its efforts to boost faculty diversity run afoul of anti-discrimination laws, the department said in a statement on Thursday. The probe is the latest move against colleges and universities by President Donald Trump's administration, which has also launched investigations into campus antisemitism and has sought to freeze research funding. The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division alleged that the university system openly measures new hires by their race and sex. The probe will investigate whether its practices represent a pattern or practice of discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bars employment discrimination. 'Institutional directives that use race- and sex-based hiring practices expose employers to legal risk under federal law," Harmeet Dhillion, the head of the Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. A spokesperson for the University of California system said it would work with the Justice Department "in good faith" during the investigation. "The University of California is committed to fair and lawful processes in all of our programs and activities, consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws," the spokesperson said in a statement. "The University also aims to foster a campus environment where everyone is welcomed and supported." The investigation focuses on the university's strategic plan, which identifies increasing underrepresented minority and female faculty as a university goal. The probe could begin another legal battle between the Trump administration and California, the largest U.S. state and a bastion of liberal politics. The state's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, sued after Trump took control of California National Guard troops to quell anti-deportation protests in Los Angeles earlier this month. The Trump administration has said it is investigating the state over a law allowing transgender athletes to compete on girls' teams in state schools.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Justice Department Investigates Hiring by University of California
The US Justice Department has begun an investigation into whether the schools in the 10-campus University of California system are violating federal law through discriminatory hiring practices. The probe, announced Thursday by the department's civil rights division, is the latest move by the Trump administration to challenge high-profile college campuses across the country over their practices.
