NOTE: Faculty, if you are interviewed and quoted by news media, or if your work has been cited, and you have an online link to the article or video, please let us know. Contact us at news@csusb.edu.
Cal State San Bernardino professor celebrates 50 yearsInlandEmpire.usNov. 18, 2017
Robert “Bob” Blackey has made CSUSB history — and he is, in fact, a history professor. The 2017-18 academic year marks Blackey’s 50th and final year of teaching at Cal State San Bernardino, the first faculty member at the university to reach this milestone. To date, no other CSUSB faculty member has even reached 45 years of service.
Read the complete article at “Cal State San Bernardino professor celebrates 50 years.”
CSUSB history professor David Yaghoubian interviewed about Saudi Arabia recalling its ambassador to Germany over Lebanon comments Press TVNov. 18, 2017
David Yaghoubian, CSUSB history professor, was interviewed regarding the recalling of the Saudi Arabia ambassador to Germany and recent developments in Saudi foreign policy.
Press TV is a 24-hour English language news and documentary network affiliated with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
Watch the online video report at “Saudi Arabia recalls ambassador to Germany over Lebanon comments.”
CSUSB political science professor comments on removal of Zimbabwe’s president from powerThe HillNov. 19, 2017
In an op-ed piece, Alemayehu Mariam, a CSUSB political science professor, wrote: “In December 2016, the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) announced incumbent Robert Mugabe will be its sole presidential candidate in 2018. In February 2017, Mugabe’s wife Grace told supporters that if her nonagenarian husband ‘dies, we will field his corpse as a candidate.’ Mugabe chimed in declaring ‘there is no replacement, successor who is acceptable (to the people) as I am.’ Last month, Mrs. Mugabe warned of a ‘coup plot.’
“The best-laid plans of mice and (wo)men to continue Mugabe’s reign from the grave came to an abrupt end on November 15 when General S. B. Moyo declared Mugabe ‘and his family are safe and sound’ and assured Zimbabweans there is no ‘military takeover of government,’ only the ‘targeting criminals around (Mugabe) causing social and economic suffering in the country.’ A day earlier, General Constantine Chiwenga defiantly warned the military ‘will not hesitate to step in to protect our revolution.’”
Read the complete article at “Mugabe is out, but don't cheer because Zimbabwe's military is in.”
Lack of uniformity in reporting hate crimes may draw misleading conclusions, CSUSB professor saysThe Washington PostNov. 17, 2017
The FBI released data this week that showed a continuing rise in hate crimes across the country in 2016, with 6,121 total incidents, compared to the 5,850 reported the year before. There was a 19 percent rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes — the largest jump against any group — since the previous year, which also saw a precipitous rise.
But the data is also misleading. There are so many gaping holes in the data that it is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the true scope of bias-related crimes in America.
It’s also impossible to say where most hate crimes are being committed. FBI data shows roughly half the hate crimes in the country occur in just six states: California, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Massachusetts and Washington. You might think that California, the location of 931 hate crimes last year — more than any other state, according to the FBI — is the worst place to be black, gay or Muslim. But that would be the wrong conclusion, says Brian Levin, a criminologist and attorney who has spent 31 years studying hate crimes. It just means California is better than most other states at reporting hate crimes.
Hate crime reporting varies widely by state. The statistics compiled by the FBI each year depend on thousands of U.S. law enforcement agencies voluntarily submitting their data to their state’s uniform crime reporting agency, which then categorizes the crimes — deciding, for example, what crimes meet the federal hate crime definition. Those state agencies then voluntarily submit their data to the FBI.
In California, fewer than 30 percent of law enforcement agencies submitted data last year. In Massachusetts, which Levin considers one of the most thorough states when it comes to reporting hate crimes, fewer than a quarter of the agencies submitted.
Then you have Hawaii, which submitted no data. In Arkansas, Pennsylvania and New Mexico, only 1 percent of law enforcement agencies sent in their hate crimes statistics. More than 80 U.S. cities with more than 100,000 residents either reported no hate crimes or simply ignored the FBI’s request for data. The result is a compilation of numbers that is startlingly arbitrary.
“We have a variety of states that are just not meaningfully participating,” said Levin, who heads the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
Read the complete article at “Hate crimes reports are soaring — but we still don't know how many people are victimized.”
CSUSB criminal justice professor Brian Levin discusses FBI hate crime report with WJBC radio host Sam WoodWJBC Radio (Bloomington, Ill.)Nov. 16, 2017
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at CSUSB, joined WJBC's Sam Wood to discuss data from the FBI showing an increase in hate crimes in 2016.
Listen to the online audio of the interview at “Brian Levin, Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, 11-16-17.”
CSUSB professor comments on Maryland hate crime reportThe Baltimore SunNov. 17, 2017
The number of hate crimes rose nearly 5 percent across the country in 2016, according to new data released by the FBI this past week. It marks the second year in a row hate crimes have increased.
In Maryland, however, hate crimes have decreased 14 percent, according to the data.
Experts caution there is a big caveat with the FBI data: It’s based on voluntary reporting from more than 15,000 police agencies across the country, and hate crimes generally are underreported to police.
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, said the increase in hate crimes nationally reflects an increase in hate crimes around the 2016 presidential election, a big increase in some large jurisdictions, a sustained level of crimes against groups including African-Americans who have long been the top target of hate crimes, and a jump in crimes against Latinos, whites, Muslims and transgender people.
Read the complete article at “FBI data shows decrease in hate crimes in Maryland, but State Police says numbers are flawed.”
These news clips, and others, may be found at “In the Headlines” on the Inside CSUSB website.