Dubai: As the death toll from protests in Iran climbs, Iranian authorities are concerned the nationwide unrest will undermine the clerical establishment, senior government officials say. But the person with the most to lose is President Hassan Rouhani.
While several senior officials said there was concern that prolonged unrest would damage the legitimacy and influence of the country's religious leaders, few insiders see the unrest as an existential threat to that leadership, which has ruled since the 1979 revolution and is now controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the ultimate authority in Iran's system of dual clerical and republican rule.
The biggest loser, they say, is likely to be Rouhani, who is much more closely tied to the country's economic policies.
"Of course Rouhani and his government will have less power afterwards, especially because his economic policy was criticised during the unrest," said political analyst Hamid Farahvashian.
"He will be a lame-duck president and Khamenei will have more power."
Much of the protesters' anger has focused on what Rouhani and his government have failed to deliver: an economic boom promised as the payoff for the 2015 deal that curbed Iran's disputed nuclear program in return for world powers lifting sanctions.
Protesters are angry that Iran's youth unemployment rate is edging towards 30 per cent, want higher wages and an end to alleged corruption. They have chanted slogans against all of Iran's leaders, including the clerical elite, and attacked police vehicles, banks and mosques as the unrest widened.
"The continuation of the protests will lead to a legitimacy crisis," said one senior official close to Rouhani, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
"People have economic demands ... of course these demands should be taken seriously ... of course the establishment should listen to the people, but all these can be discussed in a calm atmosphere," the official said.
Some conservatives have pushed for a hardline approach, even though bloodshed could fuel more protests in the largest wave of demonstrations since nationwide unrest in 2009.
"So far, security forces have not tried to prevent the demonstrations .... but this will change if [Khamenei] calls for an end to the street protests and demonstrators defy his call," said one former Iranian official from the reformist camp.
Even if the unrest is quelled, the demands of tens of thousands of restless working class youths who have taken to the streets are unlikely to dissipate.
Khamenei spoke publicly for the first time about the crisis on Tuesday, accusing Iran's enemies of stirring unrest.
"In recent days, enemies of Iran used different tools including cash, weapons, politics and intelligence apparatus to create troubles for the Islamic Republic," Khamenei said.
He did not mention any enemies by name but Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said the United States, Britain and Saudi Arabia were behind the riots.
US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said of the claims: "We all know that's complete nonsense.
"The demonstrations are completely spontaneous. They are virtually in every city in Iran. This is the precise picture of a long oppressed peoples rising up against their dictators," she said.
The Trump administration also accused the Iranian government of blocking or suppressing internet communications used by anti-government protesters and began laying groundwork for new international sanctions targeting alleged human rights abuses. At least 21 people had died in protest related violence by Wednesday.
A statement on Khamenei's website said he would address the nation about the events "when the time is right".
The protesters have little chance of toppling the clerical leaders, who appear to be retaining control of the military, police, and security forces and have no compunction about using them, according to one US official following the developments.
Rouhani, who was elected in 2013, is more exposed. He is seen as a pragmatist at odds with hardliners and has said in response to the protests that Iranians have a right to criticise the authorities.
But he has a fight on his hands because of growing resentment over high prices and allegations of corruption.
"His power is limited in Iran's ruling system. Public discontent is increasing ... people are losing their faith in the establishment system," a third Iranian official said. "The leaders are well aware of this fact and its dangerous consequences."
US officials fear the likeliest outcome of the protests is discrediting what one called Rouhani's "moderate brand of moderation" and a harsher crackdown by the clerical authorities.
"It's an open question whether Rouhani ever intended to keep any of his promises, but he hasn't delivered, especially on the economic front, and that means he has no popular support and is expendable to Khamenei," said a second US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
"He's likely to be one of the casualties, though maybe not immediately."
Rouhani has blamed his predecessor and the United States, Iran's long-time adversary, for the economy's shortcomings.
But his government has also backtracked on planned fuel price rises and promised more jobs.
Rouhani may need to spend more money to create more employment if he is to ease discontent, and could risk antagonising powerful interests if he tries to address allegations of corruption.
His vulnerability and the deep divisions in Iran's hierarchy have fuelled suspicions among some of his sympathisers that conservative rivals may have played a hand in the crisis.
"It was a coup against Rouhani and his achievements ... The aim was to harm Rouhani," said Saeed Leylaz, a political analyst close to the pro-reform movement.
But a fourth official in Tehran said the nationwide protests had united Iran's leadership.
"At this point it is not important whether a political faction initiated the unrest to harm the rival group," the official said.
"The unrest was hijacked by our enemies ... that is why all factions have united to protect the Islamic Republic."


At the end of 2011’s X-Men: First Class, Charles Xavier felt betrayed as his dear friend Mystique had taken off with Magneto and his brotherhood. Jennifer Lawrence will reprise her role as the blue shapeshifter in the film’s sequel, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and recently spoke about where her character finds herself in the film.
Coming to theaters on May 23, 2014, X-Men: Days of Future Past is directed by Bryan Singer and also stars Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore, Peter Dinklage, Omar Sy, Halle Berry, Daniel Cudmore, Fan Bingbing, Boo Boo Stewart, Adan Canto, Evan Peters, Josh Helman and Lucas Till.


"If the club had faith in me, I feel like I'd be the guy after I came back from the concussion," QB says. "That hasn't happened."
Perhaps the problem is the Alouettes, in the words of Johnny Manziel, “traded half of an organization” to secure his services. Put that on general manager Kavis Reed.
This organization has been sending mixed signals to Manziel, the former Heisman Trophy winner and first-round NFL draft choice, since he arrived on July 23. He thought he was the guy and, given the carousel of quarterbacks this franchise has gone through since Anthony Calvillo’s retirement in 2013, Manziel should have been the guy.
Instead, he’s been a victim of circumstance.
He played before he was ready — even his agent said as much — was thrown to the wolves in a marketing ploy to sell tickets and was intercepted four times by Hamilton, the team that traded him to Montreal. The Als lost by 39 points. Then they lost again the next week at Ottawa, but Manziel passed for 168 yards and wasn’t intercepted. The bar has been set so low with this team it seemed like a moral victory.
But Manziel was concussed in that game which, it has turned out, was the worst thing that could have transpired. He missed two games and was replaced by Antonio Pipkin. The Als lost his first game at Edmonton, but Pipkin passed for 217 yards. Then he beat Toronto, throwing for 303 yards and scoring two short-yardage touchdowns.
Pipkin wasn’t supposed to be this good, and he wasn’t throughout training camp. That’s why the team released him in late June, only to repatriate the 23-year-old in early August due to injuries.
Manziel was available to play Aug. 31 at Ottawa, and dressed, but remained on the bench. There was no reason to make a change at quarterback going into the game and, after Pipkin passed for 242 yards and Montreal won a second consecutive match, there still remains no justifiable reason.
Manziel, 25, acknowledges this. But on Thursday, when he returned to practice after missing three days with a stomach flu, he complained about his lack of playing time.
Manziel has every right to be frustrated, given the mixed messages he’s received. But he’s not Calvillo. Nor is he Jeremiah Masoli, the quarterback he failed to dislodge in Hamilton. Manziel hasn’t accumulated any cachet and hasn’t earned the right to declare the starter doesn’t lose his job through injury.
And Sherman isn’t Don Matthews, either. Or Wally Buono. He has to be more concerned about winning games, and if someone’s ego gets bruised in the process, that’s the price that must be extracted.
“I hope this organization and the people here haven’t lost faith in my ability to play,” Manziel said Thursday. “I felt there was a lot of hope and faith in me being the guy here. How quickly that’s changed in two weeks. It’s tough.
Manziel said he’s struggling to ascertain his role. He’s not a third-down, short-yardage quarterback. That position’s held by Pipkin. Manziel can’t even become the holder on field goals and converts, because that responsibility is assumed by Matt Shiltz, one of three healthy pivots on the roster. Manziel said he doesn’t have a significant role in the game plan and is struggling mentally due to that circumstance.
But here’s the reality. Pipkin has played well, but it has been only three games. He remains inexperienced. He doesn’t walk on water. He will run into a defence that has prepared for his skill set and will struggle, eventually. That’s inevitable. And this is the Canadian Football League. Only Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell, Edmonton’s Mike Reilly and Masoli have avoided injuries this season.
Manziel’s one hit away from becoming the Als’ starting quarterback. Again. His ill-timed outburst, on the eve of Friday’s home game against British Columbia (7:30 p.m., TSN, RDS, TSN Radio 690), was the last thing this team needed.
Reed talks to Manziel virtually daily, and undoubtedly will again — he must after Thursday’s outburst.
“I’m happy he wants to play,” Reed said. “We’ve not lost confidence in Johnny. We’ve been long suffering in terms of finding a quarterback. It’s important not to just have one option. We don’t know where this will take us … whether Antonio will continue having success.
Reed, incidentally, knows there always will be whispers when Manziel’s absent, given his off-field history. But Reed said he took Manziel to a doctor on Wednesday, saw him eat some toast and banana, and vowed he has been suffering from the flu. And yet, somehow, you get the feeling this isn’t going to end well.


The September 29, 2012 opening of the Green Music Center (GMC) at Sonoma State University (SSU) was nothing less than a grand celebration of wealth and privilege. Beaded dresses, tuxedos, and political elites blended in a glorious aristocratic coming out. The ceremonious inauguration was a joining of the regional symphonic upper elites in delusional expectations of continuing high-class cultural immersions.
Built in a time of an economic recession and including $47 million in public bonds, the $150 million GMC represents one of the most opulent expensive building projects in the history of Sonoma County. The website for the GMC claims it is “Destined to become one of the most sought-after music and arts venues in the world.” “All three floors of Weill Hall are filled with handcrafted, European steamed beech maple seats, which remain acoustically neutral whether occupied or empty.” An A level seat for the first eight concerts costs $626 and B level concerts are $459 for the same. A single ticket for the first concert was $81.00. Dinners at the GMC Prelude restaurant range for $31-50, not including wine.
Splendid indeed are the ten majestic 118-year-old olive trees, which grace the Green Music Center’s Trione Courtyard leading to Weill Concert Hall, which are old growth Sevillano olive trees dug up and transported on a flat bed truck from Corning, California.
Weill Hall is named after a semi-billionaire, whose wealth accumulation is directly linked to the impoverishment of millions of American families and home foreclosures in the thousands in Sonoma County.
While SSU is suffering tuition increases, declining student-faculty ratios, and widespread institutional cuts, the corporate media fell over itself with acclaim for SSU President Ruben Armiñana’s “vision”—vaunting magniloquently his personal drive. Presidents of state colleges, with the approval of the California State University (CSU) trustees, have total financial control over their institutions. Therefore, an administrative manager of a public taxpayer supported university can cozy up to the regional elites and pro-growth forces to build a Taj Mahal without any democratic process with the stakeholders inside the institution or the public at large. This unilateral control is as much about why 73.4% of the SSU faculty in May 2007 voted no confidence in President Armiñana as was the issue of allocation of resources to instruction.
I recently asked my Sociology class of some 45 juniors and seniors if fifteen years ago the SSU development office had said to the students and faculty that they plan to raise $150 million in support of new projects, what would you like to see done with the money—how many would have supported a world-class music hall? Zero hands went up and laughter filled the room. Sometimes we can only laugh at the folly of elites.
From a public perspective, $150 million could have had huge regional impacts on poverty, homelessness, home foreclosures, and human misery. The self-aggrandizement of the symphonic elites, many of whom are multi-millionaires and one percenters, manifests a folly so classist as to challenge the very notion of human rights and equal opportunity.
The extravagance of the GMC means SSU faculty, students, and staff will continue to suffer lost resources long into the future due to continuing expenses in excess of income. All due to the willingness of regional elites and the CSU trustees to support and accept the megalomania vision of a single individual with far too much power.
In a century where humankind faces possible extinction, and 2.5 billion people live on less that $2 a day with some 30,000 dying everyday from malnourishment and simply cured diseases, wealth concentration is sinful and the celebration of wealth with grandiose monuments is the mortal sin of the elite.
Someday, these monuments to wealth will be occupied, renamed and democratically modified to meet the needs of the people. In the meantime, we must continue to denounce classism and mobilize collectively for global human betterment.
Peter Phillips is a professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University and President of Media Freedom Foundation.


Published February 26, 2019 at 9:02 a.m.
Driving past, the building that houses MPS’ Alliance High School, 850 W. Walnut St., doesn’t really look like much. But you get the sense that there’s more than meets the eye at this place that looks, from the side that we can see from the street, sort of like a school and sort of like an industrial building.
After years of wondering, I decided to find out more. When art teacher Jill Engel-Miller invited me in for a tour, I realized that simply approaching from the west already offers a whole new perspective. That was – and still is – the main entrance and the side everyone was meant to see when the building was erected in 1914 as the social center for the new Lapham Park.
At that time, North 9th Street was still open and the west facade was more elaborately decorated. What we see as the "front" now – that is, what we see from Walnut Street – is actually the side of the building.
You can see how the original features interact with the newer addition.
"High school can be a tumultuous time for anyone (growing up will do that to you), but research shows that certain students feel the struggle more acutely: LGBTQ teens are more likely than their peers to suffer from depression and have thoughts of suicide. To tackle this issue head on, Alliance High School was founded in 2005 as a safe space for all teens – no matter what their sexual orientation may be.
The school's policy of acceptance for all and zero tolerance for bullying has made it a haven for students (gay or otherwise) who have faced harassment in more traditional school environments. Part of the Milwaukee Public School system, Alliance has expanded to serve middle schoolers as well as high schoolers, making it the first educational institution of its kind in the States."
For this one, I think we have to go way back. Trust me, it’s worth it and I promise the road will lead back to the building you see today.
Johann Christian Carl (aka Charles) Quentin was born in Bückeburg, a town in the Lower Saxony state of Germany in 1810, the son of a doctor. After studying law, he became a councillor in the Royal Government of Dusseldorf, where he worked in an office that oversaw state subsidies to business.
When an uprising hit Dusseldorf in 1848, however, Quentin and five of his colleagues sided with the revolutionaries in campaigning for democracy and civil rights, leading him to be disciplined and suspended when the government quelled the unrest.
The German Revolution of 1848. Artist unknown.
So, in 1850 Johann left for America, where he traveled widely, visiting Wisconsin, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Michigan, and some of the New England states, and wrote a book about it.
Interestingly, the city of Dusseldorf bestowed a gift and a letter of thanks to Quentin (and other so-called Forty-Eighters, named for the year of the uprising) upon his departure from Germany, where his travelogue, "Travel Pictures and Studies from the North of the United States of America," was published in 1851.
That same year, Quentin moved permanently to Milwaukee with his wife Charlotte. Here, they had three children and Johann, now Charles Quentin, entered the real estate game, purchasing property from pioneer Dutch settler Garrett Vliet, who had surveyed a large portion of the land that became the west side of Milwaukee.
Newspaper advertisements suggest that Quentin was especially active in real estate in the second half of the 1850s. In 1860, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate, where he served until his death in May 1862.
After his passing, Charlotte took the kids and returned permanently to Germany. Because Quentin had also served on the Board of School Commissioners from 1860 until 1862, the Ninth Ward Milwaukee public school was named in his honor.
In 1864, a big chunk of Quentin’s land – including his former homestead – became Quentin’s Park, which owners Wolf & Schuengel boasted was "a beautiful park with its magnificent altuation (sic), only eight blocks from the Chestnut Street bridge, will be open every day through the summer season. Refreshments of every kind ware also on hand."
"About 150 invited guests assembled at Quentin’s Park on Thursday evening, to partake of a supper prepared by the gentlemanly proprietors, on the occasion of the formal opening of the park to the public. The supper was called an Asparagus Supper – so named because asparagus, prepared in the best manner possible, was the first dish served. After full justice had been done to the excellent repast prepared by mine hosts, Wold and Schnengel (sic), wine was brought on.
Then, of course, speeches were made, songs sung and there was good time generally. Quentin’s Park will hereafter be open to the public. It is the most beautiful spot in the city. From the crest of the knoll in the center of the park can be seen ‘the fair white city on the shores of the murmuring Michigan sea.’ Our city is a beautiful one, and a sight of it from such a point will repay the trouble of going to Quentin’s Park."
In the summer of 1879, Quentin’s Park was purchased by Schlitz Brewing Co. and transformed into Schlitz’s Park, a seven-acre playground with a pavilion, a pair of fountains, a concert hall and other amenities.
Schlitz Park Pavillion. © Milwaukee Public Library.
"In the center of the grounds is what is termed ‘Lookout Hill,’ an elevated plateau 40 feet high, and ascended by means of stairways at the north and south sides. It contains also a pavilion and seats of rustic beauty. … The main building, situated near the north of the park, 150x150 feet, is very attractive, and consists of three departments. The main floor, used for concerts, theaters and balls, has a seating capacity of 5,000. There are also a dining room and ice house. East of the main building is a pavilion, built in the Turkish style, used as a confectionery stand.
On the ground are gymnastic apparatus for the various societies, and seats for 1,000 people. … To the right of the entrance is the Schlitz’s Park menagerie, containing various wild animals.The Schlitz’s Park Hotel, a large establishment near the main gate, is run in connection with the park by Mr. Otto Osthoff, who is also manager of the park. Its cost, including buildings and improvements, is estimated at $150,000 (note: about $3.7 million in 2018 dollars) and during the summer months the park is frequented by all classes of people. Schlitz’s Park has accommodations for 20,000 people."
"The name of Schlitz Park will be changed if the city buys it. The city officials do not believe the city owes anything to the name Schlitz in this connection, and will immediately wipe out the name. If the park was a gift, Ald. Smith says the name Schlitz would not only be retained, but a granite monument would be erected in the park. He also suggests the name Lapham as a name for the park, but would also be pleased with Jefferson or Jackson. He thinks I.A. Lapham, the Wisconsin scientist, ought to be honored in naming one of the new public parks.
A considerable portion of Mitchell Park was a gift to the city, so the name was retained. Mrs. Gordon have so large a portion of her interest in Gordon Place that that name is also likely to be retained. Since the building committee of the council visited Schlitz Park and called upon Joseph Uihlein, obtaining from his the lowest price at which he will dispose of the park to the city, Chairman Strachota has called no meeting of the committee and no vote has been taken on the subject. So no report was ready for the common council Monday, and the matter goes over for two weeks."
The purchase was made soon after and by the following January, the Journal reported that the name had officially been changed to Lapham Park. In 1915, 30 of Lapham’s friends – members of The Old Settlers Club of Milwaukee County" – chipped in from $2 to $25 to raise $420 to commission a bronze plaque in honor of their old chum and mount it on a 40,000-pound granite boulder that was set in the park. The rock was moved to a site next to Lapham Hall on the UW-Milwaukee campus in 1965.
The highly complex blueprints for the design of the gymnasium.
By 1914, the social center movement had been underway already for a few years, boosted by a 1911 speech in Madison by then-future President Woodrow Wilson, who said, "The object of the (social center) movement is to make the schoolhouse the civic center of the community, at any rate in such communities as are supplied with no other place of common resort. … What you do is to open the schoolhouse and light it in the evening and say: 'Here is a place where you are welcome to come and do anything that it occurs to you to do.'"
Milwaukee Public Schools had already gotten on board and kept the lights on at a number of schoolhouses – dubbed, appropriately, "Lighted Schoolhouses" – in the evenings as neighbors were welcomed for a variety of classes, activities and clubs. One of the social center movement's earliest proponents here was Robert Witt, who, as assistant principal, had embraced the program at Fourth Street (now Golda Meir) School.
"About 24 years ago, when I procured permission to make use of the Fourth Street School for the benefit of the neighborhood, the teachers were aroused," wrote Isador Horwitz in a letter to the Journal after Witt’s passing years later. "They felt that THEIR classrooms were being desecrated. However, it was Mr. Witt, then vice principal of the school, who became the revolutionist. He agreed to my assertions that a teacher is a servant of the public and that he or she is a mere part time custodian of the building, which at all times during the 24 hours of the day belongs to the neighborhood. Mr. Witt helped greatly in the development of the social center movement."
When MPS’ recreation extension department was created in 1912, Witt was a natural and was – along with Dorothy Enderis and a few others – named an assistant to director Harold Berg. And when a dedicated social center was created at the new Lapham Park – which over the years has been home to numerous schools, including Lapham Park Open Air School, Ninth Street School, Roosevelt Junior High/Middle School and Elm Creative Arts – Witt became its director.
The building, designed by Van Ryn & DeGelleke, who did much work for Milwaukee Public Schools in the first couple decades of the young century, was erected, facing 9th Street, which then still ran past. That’s why the main entrance now appears to face away from the street – not because the building has been moved, but because its street is no longer there.
The building looked much like a school, with two entrances, finely decorated, at either end and an engraved "Lapham Park" nameplate in the center. Though the south entrance and the nameplate survive, a much later addition has obscured the north entrance. However, the decoration from the old entrance was saved and installed on the entrance to that stairway addition.
In 1925, the building was expanded to the east, with the addition of the gym. A tunnel connects the building to Roosevelt Middle School nearby, as that school’s heating plant also warms the social center.
Thanks for current school board member Larry Miller, who was lead teacher at Metropolitan High School – which occupied the building from 1996 until 2009 – there are copious photos of the activities at the social center from across the years. Miller led a student project that collected photos and memories of the center and the Bronzeville neighborhood.
Now, one can see children shooting marbles out front, having costume parties and staging performances inside; playing basketball and other sports in the gym, where banquets and other functions were also held; getting immunizations from white-coated doctors.
There are strapping lads lifting weights, dainty old ladies sewing and teens playing table tennis. In one room – "Newsies" fans alert! – the "Newsboys Republic" can be seen holding a "congress." There’s a portrait, like a class photo, of a billiards team, each man holding a cue, and a shot of an elderly couple apparently selling snacks at a small stand.
A man plays an upright piano, in another shot, as a group of boys gathers around to listen. Another image shows a boy reaching first base at the same time as the ball lands in the opponent’s mitt. One photo depicts a group of ballerinas.
Clearly, the social center served many needs of countless children and adults over the years.
Witt, however, would not be around for long to see it. According to Horwitz, Witt had struggled with his health.
"Mr. Witt, who came from a healthy, robust farm family, was broken physically while a mere young man, having served his master, the public," he wrote in his letter. "And the tragic part of it was that when he became full-time social center director he had to resign as a regular teacher and lost all rights and claims to pension, sick and other benefits. By will and economic necessity, Mr. Witt worked like a trojan until his health failed him completely."
In 1931, Witt died and was buried at Wanderers’ Rest cemetery. But his efforts were not soon forgotten.
Immediately, plans were afoot to raise money for bust in his honor and for a portrait to be painted and presented to his widow. A committee was organized to collect funds for a plaque for the center.
In early 1933, the three-panel plaque, created by George Dietrich of the Layton Art School, was ready, and the newspaper noted, "three panels show a likeness of Mr. Witt and symbolical studies typifying his pioneer work in education through recreation. The pennies of school children and the dollars of former pupils, instructors and friends went into the fund."
The plaque is still mounted on the wall in a prominent location on the first floor of the building. On the left, the image of a man with a plow bears the inscription, "The supreme achievement of a human life is the culture of a soul, is the development of a character."
Opposite, a man can be seen walking children up a staircase. "There is none of us who is not better for having known him, none of us but whose life has been enriched through that knowledge."
In the center, a portrait of Witt, with the dates of his birth (1872) and death (1931) and the inscription, "Robert H. Witt. There was – there is – no finer – manlier man"
For years later, the center held an annual oratory contest that bore Witt’s name, as did the medals presented annually for outstanding community service in the Lapham Park district.
The activities of the center continued unabated after Witt’s passing right up into the last decade of the 20th century, when it closed and was replaced with Metropolitan High School of the Arts and Technology, which focused on information and communication technology as well as photography, video and audio recording.
In 2009, the program moved to the North Division High School building but it did not last much longer.
In the meantime, Alliance launched in what is now Golda Meir’s upper campus, at that time called the Milwaukee Education Center, in the former Schlitz Brewery, as the first school in the country started with a mission to put a stop to bullying.
"The school opened in 2005 with the goal of providing a safe and accepting environment for all students," reads the program’s website. "The Alliance School is a place where it’s okay to be black, white, LGBTQ, straight, gothic, Buddhist, Christian, or just plain unique!"
The gym looks unchanged from the earliest photos I’ve seen. And when Alliance moved in, teachers found banners from over the many years that the social center operated and they hung them in the gym in celebration of the building’s history.
The former billiards room is now an art classroom, the top floor performance space appears to still have its original stage – and, oddly, an array of taxidermied animal heads. The kitchen is intact and each of the row of drawers of the built-in cabinets has the name of a sport penciled in it. Old ticket booths also survive, though they’re now used as closets.
This classroom served as a theater space and still has a stage along one wall.
The basement still has its water-resistant enameled bricks even though the boys and girls shower rooms and adjacent locker rooms have been removed, converted into offices, closets and bathrooms.
And, yes, the tunnel is still there, as is the connection to the Roosevelt heating plant. Like the building itself – now more than a century old – the tunnel still gets a lot of use. As we walk through, I ask the engineer if she ever uses it.
"I come through here every day," she says.
Listen to the Urban Spelunking episode on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee.


While Rory tries to make money selling stuff on the Internet, C.J. (David Spade) takes a job as a mall cop and Kerry works in a fast-food store, where she becomes her grandfather's boss. Jim: James Garner.


MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - The Northern Michigan University community is mourning the loss of a freshman student and former soccer player who died in a car crash downstate on Sunday.
According to the Lansing State Journal article, a passenger in Bullen’s vehicle was uninjured.
NMU sent out a campus-wide email on Tuesday, saying they will be lowering their flags to half-staff on Wednesday, April 17, in honor of Bullen, who was a marketing major at NMU.
The email also said any students in need of counseling services can contact the Dean of Students Office or Counseling and Consultation Services at 906-227-2980.
Bullen’s obituary can be viewed online here.
To read the entire article on the crash by the Lansing State Journal, click here.


Chinese artist Kong Ning in a performance on the dangers of smog.
People living in Beijing may have thought that pollution was bad already, but it seems worse is still possible. The city’s authorities have issued a “red alert” for the next three days, commencing at 7am local time on Dec. 8.
Beijing was placed in November on orange alert, one level below red in a four-tier system, and, as the BBC reported, pollution readings today (Dec. 7) were actually slightly lower than in previous days.
But the new red alert means more serious actions will have to be taken—all with implications for the city’s productivity, as well as its people’s health. Schools will be forced to close. Outdoor construction work will halt.
Policemen in protective masks at Tiananmen Square.
The cloud is choking the city. The big problem is particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, which is capable of entering the lungs and even the bloodstream and causing serious health effects.
The particulates, which reached “very unhealthy” or “hazardous” levels in 28 cities in northern China in November, are caused to a large extent by man-made pollution, including the burning of fossil fuels.
China is the biggest consumer of coal in the world, by a long way.
When the red alert goes into effect, so will traffic restrictions.
“Construction waste, excavation transport vehicles, cement trucks, gravel transport vehicles and other large-scale vehicles are prohibited from driving on roads,” the Chinese authorities said in a notice, according to Reuters. And cars with odd- or even-numbered plates will be banned on alternate days.
As for the coal-fired power stations? They’re still running, with thousands more planned to be built in the coming years. At a climate conference in Paris, where China is negotiating with the rest of the world on emissions, that strategy is getting harder to argue for. After this week, the idea may be harder to sell in Beijing, too.


Saturday night at Spike TV’s Guys Choice Awards, Salma Hayek proved she is as gorgeous as ever when she was given the Decade of Hotness award.
At the event, Hayek wore a tight black dress with a very deep neckline that left little to the imagination. Hayek was asked how she felt about being given an honor based solely on looks.
The world’s first real glimpse at the alluring actress came in 1995 in the movie Desperado. Hayek starred in the movie with Antonio Banderas. Salma remembers reading the reviews from that movie and thinking that she was a horrible actress.
She must really be in love. Hayek married François-Henri Pinault in 2009 and they share a daughter.
At 48-years-old, Salma does not look like the hands of time will be slowing her down anytime soon.
Will you be tuning in on June 18 to see Salma and others accept their awards? Do you think that someone besides Hayek should have won this award?


Bangalore: Fujezone Tablet maker has launched a new tablet MT-12 a ‘Smart Touch’ tablet with a collection of multiple features, incredible looks & affordable price for almost every niche.
MT-12, Tablet is equipped with features like 7 inch HD capacitive touch screen with a resolution of 800 X 480 pixels. The tablet functions on Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and is powered by a 1.2 GHZ A8 processor with 512MB RAM. The Smart Touch Tablet has 4GB inbuilt memory with 32GB expandable memory microSD slot. It also has video support for all major formats, social networking apps, messengers, pre loaded games and many more exciting features.
The tablet is very light and it weighs only 720 grams and comes with the dimensions of 232 X 168 X 80. It is priced at 6,199 along with a FREE Fujezone 3G Data. This tablet can be bought at any gadget retail portal or through Fujezone’s distribution channel in multiple states.


Charleston police chief Greg Mullen declared that the shooting of nine African-Americans in Emanuel AME Church on Wednesday was a “hate crime” even before we learned anything about what may have motivated the attack. As it became increasingly clear on Thursday that alleged shooter Dylann Roof is a white supremacist who wanted to terrorize the black community, many asked why journalists and law enforcement were sticking with the milder term rather than calling the shooting an act of domestic terrorism.
On the journalism site Poynter, Al Tompkins argued that the media “should remain factual and focused on truth-telling, not guessing” in times like these.
Who was the shooter referring to? Church members? Christians? Or black people?
Is this shooting in Charleston, South Carolina an act of terrorism? We don’t know yet. My advice to Matt [Jaworowski, a digital content producer] was to stick to the facts, publish as much information as possible to catch the killer, then we can begin to understand why he did what he did.
… it is important to use the term “terrorism” when we see it in order to be consistent. Terrorism is already used without hesitation for many non-white – especially Muslim – actors who carry out violence consistent with the definition outlined above. Few media sources use the term for violent actors motivated by, for example, white supremacy or anti-government rage. To avoid the term becoming simply an insult, or worse a racist insult, it should be used whenever the basic criteria apply, or not at all.
@Deanofcomedy i didnt wait, though...because authorities see it that way. terrorism doesnt just mean "muslim extremism"
3. Occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S.
Roof’s comment that blacks were “taking over the country“ and “have to go” makes it clear that his murderous rampage was at the very least intended to intimidate the African American community in that area. He wanted to terrorize them so they would not even feel safe in their own place of worship.
Roof also assassinated an elected official, South Carolina State Senator Clementa Pinckney, the well-known pastor of the church. Was this assassination intended to impact the conduct of government? Again Roof’s comment that blacks are taking over our country would arguably indicate that he wanted to remove black elected officials from office, which would certainly influence government policies.
Given these facts, as a former trial lawyer, I can say it appears that Roof’s conduct warrants charging him with domestic terrorism under this federal statute.
White men telling me that this can't technically be terrorism are perhaps not themselves, personally, in a position to be terrorized by it.
Call it a "hate crime," but really that's a euphemism for the kind of terror black folks have experienced since we were brought here.
I guess people shy away from calling acts like this terrorism because that would mean white supremacy in itself is a terrorist act. And we live in a country that operates on systemic racism.
But do the thought experiment: If this attack on the church in Charleston had been conducted by a Muslim man shouting “Allahu akbar,” what is already a big news story would have become even bigger, as it would appear to fit so well into the political and media narrative that Muslim militants are the major terrorist problem in the United States.
According to a count by New America, since 9/11, 26 people have been killed in jihadist terrorist attacks in the United States, while extremist right-wing racists and anti-government militants have killed 48, if we include the nine people who were killed in the attack in Charleston, which is being investigated as a hate crime.
Terrorism in the United States and around the world, however, has a much longer history than the period after 9/11 and hasn’t been limited to radical Islamists. Consider the IRA, the Baader-Meinhof Gang, Carlos the Jackal, the Red Brigades, the KKK, and Timothy McVeigh. The use of violence as a political tool against civilian targets is a tool that adheres neither to religion nor race.
It has always been ironic to me that America has been diligent in fighting the war against terror around the globe, losing thousands of lives in the effort and spending billions, if not trillions, of dollars over the years to hunt down foreign terrorists whom we felt were a threat to our nation or our allies. Well, America, it is past time to fight a war on racial terror within our own shores.
We have allowed it to fester for far too long, and it is ripping our nation apart.
This time, I hope that reporters and newscasters will ask the questions that get to the root of acts of racially motivated violence in America. Where did this man, who killed parishioners in their church during Bible study, learn to hate black people so much? Did he have an allegiance to the Confederate flag that continues to fly over the state house of South Carolina? Was he influenced by right-wing media’s endless portrayals of black Americans as lazy and violent?
I hope the media coverage won’t fall back on the typical narrative ascribed to white male shooters: a lone, disturbed or mentally ill young man failed by society. This is not an act of just “one hateful person.” It is a manifestation of the racial hatred and white supremacy that continues to pervade our society, 50 years after the Birmingham church bombing galvanized the Civil Rights Movement. It should be covered as such. And now that authorities have found their suspect, we should be calling him what he is: a terrorist.


Stormy Daniels Suing Donald Trump’s Lawyer Michael Cohen For Defamation — Should POTUS Be Worried?
Congrats, Star Jones! The former ‘The View’ co-host looked stunning as she wed Ricardo Lugo on a cruise ship on March 25. See her dress and bridal beauty below!
Star Jones, a lawyer, author, and former co-host on The View, married lawyer Ricardo Lugo on Sunday! This wasn’t a regular wedding, it was a cool wedding — it took place on a Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship! The Anthem of the Seas was re-named the Anthem To Love! Star celebrated her 56th birthday on Saturday on the ship with close family and friends, and on Sunday, March 25, she got hitched! Beyonce‘s mom Tina Knowles posted a photo on Instagram on March 26, writing: “Congratulations Star and Ricardo Lugo !! The wedding was one of the most beautiful weddings i’ve attended! There was not a dry eye in the joint. Much love from here until eternity Star And Ricardo.” So sweet!


A list compiled by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission shows more than two dozen state agencies are currently employing contract lobbyists, a practice the new governor wants to end.
Whatever the Oklahoma Ethics Commission finally votes on, the whole idea of regulating so-called “indirect lobbying” is silly and illegal.
A state ethics rule proposal has created a debate over where transparency issues end and privacy issues begin.
Oklahoma's watchdog agency has filed a lawsuit accusing lawmakers of failing to provide adequate funding.
The Oklahoma Ethics Commission's funding fight went another round Friday when commissioners voted to raise committee registration fees by $100.
It is a sad fact that legislative leaders rarely forgo an opportunity to stick a knife into the state Ethics Commission and twist it.
A proposed rule that would require Oklahoma elected officials to wait two years before working as lobbyists is getting mixed reviews.


Sally Ride, the first American woman to travel in space, has died at 61.
Ride had been fighting pancreatic cancer for 17 months and died peacefully, her company Sally Ride Science announced today (July 23). When she was 32, Ride blasted off on the STS-7 mission of the space shuttle Challenger, breaking through the highest glass ceiling for U.S. women to date.
During her historic mission, which deployed two communications satellites, Ride also became the first woman to use the shuttle's robotic arm in space.
Ride is survived by Tam O'Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years, who also serves as chief operating officer and executive vice president of Sally Ride Science, a science outreach company Ride founded in 2001.
"Sally lived her life to the fullest, with boundless energy, curiosity, intelligence, passion, commitment, and love," Sally Ride Science officials said in statement. "Her integrity was absolute; her spirit was immeasurable; her approach to life was fearless."
Ride was the third woman to travel to space, following Soviet cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982. She joined NASA in 1978 — one of 8,000 people to respond to a newspaper ad seeking space program applicants.
Only after her first spaceflight did she realize quite the impact she had had.
"It means a lot to me that my participation in that flight has meant so much to so many people," Ride told Florida Today on the 25th anniversary of her mission. "And I hadn't appreciated how much it did really mean to people, how much it touched particularly women, until after my flight. The first few months after my flight I was really struck by the way that women of all ages — from college students to 60-year-old, 70-year-old, 80-year-old women — reacted to me. It was just something that they never thought they would see."
Ride received bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in physics from Stanford University.
Following her groundbreaking first spaceflight, Ride went on to fly in space once more, aboard the STS 41-G flight of Challenger in 1984. She spent a total of 343 hours in space.
Ride also played a role in two defining moments in NASA history, serving on the accident investigation boards set up in response to the tragic destruction of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia and their crews in 1986 and 2003, respectively. In 2009, she served on the Augustine committe that helped shape NASA's new human spaceflight goals.
In 1987, Ride left NASA to work at the Stanford University Center for International Security and Arms Control, and later served as a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego. From 1999 to 2000, she served as president of SPACE.com.
Ride was married from 1982 to 1987 to fellow astronaut Steven Hawley. She had no children; in addition to O'Shaughnessy, she is survived by her mother, Joyce; her sister, Bear; her niece, Caitlin, and her nephew, Whitney.


The best players in Madden NFL 19.
Madden NFL 19 launches August 10th, and there are seven players in the game at launch with a 99 overall rating. A total of 28 players earned a rating of 95 or higher.
The Cowboys have four players in the top 28, the most of any team, followed by the Steelers with three.


And we must not forget that this huge building project in Jerusalem [Ramat Shlomo] is for Jews only; not one Palestinian neighborhood has been built in 43 years of occupation. Should that not be called apartheid?
Should it not be called apartheid to prohibit Jews from building in certain neighborhoods, as Levy would like?
This "committee" is nothing close to "accurate reporting," and to claim such nonsense on your part is simple ludicrous. Gideon Levy is by no means far from the right, but regardless, this statement is preposterous! I am an Arab from East Jerusalem, if you look at the growth rate of Jewish housing versus that of Arab housing and compare them to population growth in the city you will see explicit inequalities. And the creation of "one type" only neighborhoods such as these Jewish only neighborhoods exemplifies the opposite of what liberal democracy stands for. There is no equality in restricting residency requirements to the ethnic background of the family. If that is not apartheid, than most certainly that is segregation, both of which must end before either people can truly declare their societies as free.
According to Israel Kimhi, the former municipal planner for Jerusalem from 1963-1986: "During the period 1971-1994 permits for 1.1 million square meters of residential construction were issued to the Arab population. By way of comparison, in this period the ultra-Orthodox Jewish population, which is roughly the same size, received permits for only 954,000 square meters of residential construction."
Some Jews live and are moving into what many consider Arab-only neighborhoods in Jerusalem, and some Arabs are moving into what many call Jewish-only neighborhoods in Jerusalem. The only difference is the former garners international condemnation and the latter does not. It is the international community which is calling for residency based on ethnicity, and that would-be restriction applies to Jews only.


The Hyperbike is a total body bike, exploiting strength from both the lower and upper body. Yes, this contraption/deathmobile looks absolutely hideous. But NASA's Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program is officially funding a new prototype because of its innovative design.
But the bigger draw is that your balance is no longer precariously hanging over the wheels. Instead, inspired by racing wheelchairs, two massive, 8-foot wheels lean inward adding speed and stability. The inventor claims the hyperbike is "crawling at 50 mph", and we hope that's true. Otherwise the public will make out our shamed visage as we chug by next Saturday. No pricing yet.


Prosecutors charged three men with stealing millions from an offshore investment fund that is under investigation by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, said yesterday.
The charges relate to Evergreen Securities, a $218 million fund that filed for Chapter 11 protection in January in Orlando, Fla.
Investigators charged the company's owner, William J. Zylka; his lawyer, James P. Conroy; and the fund manager, Martin W. Boelens Jr., with grand larceny.
Beginning in 1992, customers invested in Evergreen based on promises of government and mortgage-backed securities, interest rates of 9 to 12 percent and the privacy of an offshore account, prosecutors said.
Evergreen was registered in the British Virgin Islands, was based in Nassau, Bahamas, and was managed in Orlando. Prosecutors have described Evergreen as having used money from new investors to make interest payments to earlier investors.
New York investigators arrested Mr. Zylka, 64, and Mr. Conroy, 61, yesterday in New Jersey. The two were charged with stealing $27 million from Evergreen from late 1999 to mid-2000. They were awaiting transport to New York, Mr. Morgenthau said. Mr. Boelens, 43, of Orlando was arraigned before Acting Justice Brenda S. Soloff at State Supreme Court in Manhattan, and released without bail. Mr. Boelens is charged with helping embezzle $22.7 million from the fund.
Mr. Zylka's lawyer declined to comment on the case. Mr. Conroy's lawyer could not be reached. Mr. Boelens's lawyer, Barry A. Bohrer, did not return calls for comment.


A man has been left with a serious head injury after a fight outside of a Bulwell pub.
A 17-year-old has now been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and remains in police custody.
Police were called to the Top House pub, Bardney Drive, at around 6.30pm yesterday (Sunday, June 24).
A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: "It's believed a number of men were involved."
If you were there or saw or what happened, please call 101 quoting incident 755 of 24 June 2018. You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security advisor met on Friday with the president of Venezuela’s opposition-led National Assembly and they agreed the political crisis in Caracas should be brought to a quick and peaceful conclusion, the White House said on Saturday.
National security advisor H.R. McMaster and Venezuelan National Assembly President Julio Borges discussed “the need for the government to adhere to the Venezuelan Constitution, release political prisoners, respect the National Assembly, and hold free and democratic elections,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said in a statement.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, facing weeks of anti-government protests, on Monday announced the creation of a new popular assembly which foes decried as a power grab aimed at sidelining the National Assembly. Borges responded by calling on Venezuelans to rebel.


An Oregon couple discovered an unexpected benefit of being a Wii gamer earlier this week: When your drunken girlfriend hurls the console in your face, it does less damage than an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.
According to her boyfriend, 31-year-old Rebecca Varina Sloskowski was intoxicated on the evening of January 10, so he left her apartment between the hours of 7PM and 11PM to let her cool off.
This never works, incidentally. Leaving an angry female to cool off only gives them more time to think up horrible things to do to you in response, like throwing video game consoles.
Upon returning to his girlfriend's apartment, Sloskowski allegedly became violent, picking up various objects and throwing them at him until she finally hurled the four pound gaming console, hitting him square in the face. The victim suffered a swollen lip and two chipped teeth.
Police were called to the scene, and Sloskowski was arrested and charged with second degree assault.
I'm guessing the charge would have been the same no matter what video game console she threw in his face. I bet she's kicking herself right now for not purchasing the original PlayStation 3.


OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- It's official. Overland Park residents can now pack heat, openly, in the city. The city council voting 11 to 1 Monday.
City leaders said they were forced to change the ordinance to come into compliance with an opinion by the Kansas attorney general. But the decision didn't come without debate. Council members went back and forth on what one called a charged issue.
The ordinance said an individual is allowed to openly carry a handgun on public property as long as he or she legally obtained it. But they must keep it in a holster with a safety engaged and must keep their weapon in their control at all times.
City leaders said public buildings can prohibit open carry as it has a gun buster sign posted.
The city passed an ordinance prohibiting the open carry of firearms in 2007. That happened before the Kansas legislature passed a statute that same year saying cities could not prohibit open carry.
An attorney for the city said the city would've had to settle this in court eventually if they went another direction.
Council member Paul Lyons was the only one who voted down the ordinance.
"I recognize the fact that we're doing this because the legislature is putting us into this position, but in my view, we better put this on our legislative agenda, to take forward to the state legislature to say, 'We don't like this,'" he said.
Lyons said the city is safe, and residents don't need to openly carry. He also thinks open carry would intimidate other residents.
David White, another city council member said he understood Lyon's standpoint, but that he was a realist.
"We're trying to make sure we don't spend our taxpayers money defending a law suit, brought by the attorney general of trying to strike down our statutes," White said.
Police Chief John Douglass said this won't impact officers jobs tremendously.
"I don't think it'll change much because it's not a concealed carry, it's an open carry and frankly given the choice of the two, open carry is probably less dangerous because we know what we're dealing with," Douglass said.
Chief Douglass was asked a lot of what-if scenarios, like openly carrying at a park or soccer game.
The chief said while he has some pause on many scenarios, he told council members he thinks this is the best decision moving forward for the city.


SAN ANTONIO, April 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital of San Antonio is helping stroke and spinal cord injury patients stand and relearn to walk, while gaining confidence and freedom, with the EksoGT™ robotic exoskeleton. The hospital uses the wearable device, which is the first exoskeleton approved for use in stroke and spinal cord injury rehabilitation, to mobilize patients earlier in their rehabilitation for optimal outcomes.
Each year, as many as 15 million individuals suffer a stroke and 500,000 experience a spinal cord injury. This cutting-edge exoskeleton technology helps patient get back on their feet earlier to re-learn correct step patterns, weight shifting and posture. Clinical evidence suggests that including EksoGT™ gait training in inpatient rehabilitation for stroke improves independence in functional mobility, according to Misty Campbell, the hospital's director of rehabilitation.
"The EksoGT offers many unique benefits to our patients who are relearning to walk after a spinal cord injury or stroke, as the device promotes early mobilization and can help improve gait speed and distance, which are critical factors for optimal recovery," said Campbell. "Most patients take an average of 400 steps their first-time training in the device."
The wearable robotic exoskeleton, which is manufactured by Ekso Bionics®, features SmartAssist™ software that allows clinicians to augment a patient's strength by customizing support for each leg independently, engaging the patient throughout his or her continuum of care.
Dr. Mark Fredrickson, spinal cord injury medical director for the hospital, added, "We are excited to provide our patients with access to this leading exoskeleton technology and are proud to be at the forefront of a new standard of care for spinal cord injury and stroke survivors."
EksoGT™ is the first exoskeleton approved by the FDA for use with stroke and spinal cord injuries from L5 to C7. The EksoGT™ with SmartAssist™ software is the only exoskeleton available for rehabilitation institutions that can provide adaptive amounts of power to either side of a patient's body, challenging the patient as he or she progresses through the continuum of care. The suit's patented technology provides the ability to mobilize patients earlier, more frequently and with a greater number of high intensity steps. To date, this device has helped patients take more than 100 million steps in more than 260 rehabilitation institutions around the world.
Recognized throughout South Texas as a leader in providing comprehensive rehabilitation services, Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital of San Antonio is a licensed 65-bed specialty hospital with inpatient and outpatient programs for adults. Located in the heart of the San Antonio Medical Center, the hospital is part of the Post Acute Medical (PAM) network of hospitals and maintains the highest levels of accreditation from The Joint Commission. PAM, which is based in Enola, Pennsylvania, provides post-acute health care services through 32 long-term acute care hospitals and medical rehabilitation hospitals and 15 outpatient physical therapy locations in nine states. PAM is committed to providing high-quality patient care and outstanding customer service, coupled with loyalty and dedication of highly trained staff, to be the most trusted source for post-acute services in every community it serves. Learn more at www.postacutemedical.com.


A documentary released Saturday about Beto O'Rourke's near-upset of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz contains no hints about his 2020 plans — and the candidate himself was just as coy after its screening.
O'Rourke attended the premiere of "Running with Beto" at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, with his wife and daughter.
Afterward, O'Rourke repeated that he's made up his mind about running for president and plans to let everyone know soon.
The documentary will air on HBO and was cobbled together from 700 hours of Texas Senate campaign footage.
O'Rourke briefly took questions from reporters afterward but provided no details on when he'll announce his next move. He called seeing the documentary "very emotional."


Analysis: Why not hold Boston students to state standards?
Here’s a common-sense way to better prepare Boston public school students for college: Require them to take the same basic courses as other students around Massachusetts.
Ninety to 100 percent of graduates at most other high schools statewide meet the minimum number of courses in English, math, science, and other core subjects that state guidelines call for. That includes 100 percent of graduates from urban schools in Chelsea and Lawrence. But the Boston public school system has largely ignored those guidelines, called MassCore.
Instead, officials have opted to keep lower standards for earning a diploma, helping to push high school graduation rates to historic highs. Today, for example, Boston requires only three years of math instead of the four required at schools following MassCore.
Lower standards have consequences: In 2017, only 31 percent of Boston high school graduates met the state’s MassCore guidelines, according to state data, putting the rest behind their peers at other Massachusetts schools.
In Boston, there are plenty of reasons for urgency: Almost half of Boston high school graduates who enroll in college fail to earn degrees within six years, according to a report in April by the Boston Private Industry Council. A state report showed that nearly three-quarters of graduates who went on to community college in 2012 required at least one remedial course.
And more than a quarter of 93 valedictorians who were interviewed by the Globe and graduated from 2005 to 2007 said they felt academically unprepared for college, including some who had not taken basic courses they needed for success.
Yet since the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education passed MassCore in 2007, the Boston school system has made only fleeting efforts to implement it. Just two high schools — Boston Day and Evening Academy and Boston Green Academy — had 100 percent of their graduates complete MassCore in 2017. Even the city’s highly regarded exam schools don’t fare well on MassCore completion: Boston Latin School recorded 72 percent; John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, 45 percent; and Boston Latin Academy, 29 percent.
Huge gulfs also exist among students of different demographics. For instance, 43 percent of white graduates districtwide completed MassCore, compared with just over a quarter of black and Latino graduates. That divide may help explain the lagging performance of black and Latino males across the school system.
A 2014 report on the achievement gap by the Center for Collaborative Education and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University initially appeared to galvanize the school system into action. When Tommy Chang became superintendent in 2015, he incorporated MassCore adoption into his plan to boost academic rigor. But he and his team confronted skepticism from high school administrators and faculty.
“All stakeholders lack understanding of what [MassCore] is and why it’s important,” according to a PowerPoint presentation by public school officials that laid out the benefits and challenges of adopting MassCore.
Some members of the School Committee’s Opportunity and Achievement Gap Task Force also raised concerns about the plan, arguing that more rigorous standards would reduce the graduation rate and increase costs, according to minutes from a December 2015 meeting.
Laura Perille, the interim superintendent, said in an interview in November that the school system plans to raise graduation requirements for math to four years next year. She said implementing MassCore systemwide is challenging because courses would need to be tailored to meet the unique needs of students, including some who have significant disabilities and recent immigrants who don’t speak English and missed schooling in their native countries for several years.
“We absolutely recognize that MassCore is an important tool,” Perille said. But she sees it as just one piece of the effort to overhaul high schools, which includes new facilities and adding seventh and eighth grades to several of them. The school system also recently reorganized the central office staff that oversees high schools to offer greater assistance in improving their programs.
As of this month, Perille had not presented a proposal to the School Committee to increase the math requirement districtwide. A school spokesman said on Jan. 7 that “we are not able to comment on a timeline at the moment,” although he insisted the proposal is not on hold.
The MassCore standards — which include four years of English and math, three years of science and social studies, and two years of world language — were designed to be a better measure of college readiness than standardized MCAS testing. That’s because MCAS measures only 10th-grade knowledge.
The guidelines match admissions criteria for the state’s public universities, including the University of Massachusetts. For courses to count under MassCore, they must meet the state’s grade-level standards for those subjects; remedial courses don’t count.
If Boston’s valedictorians from the mid-2000s often struggled in college, their classmates were dropping out at an alarming rate. A groundbreaking 2008 study, Getting to the Finish Line, found that fewer than 40 percent of college-enrolled students from Boston public schools had earned a degree within seven years. The rest essentially did not make it.
The stunning data raised questions about whether the city’s high schools were adequately preparing students for college and whether colleges were doing enough to ensure that Boston students would succeed. Vowing to raise the college graduation rate to 70 percent for the BPS class of 2011, then-Mayor Thomas M. Menino launched a citywide effort called Success Boston.
Colleges and nonprofits that signed up for Success Boston promised more comprehensive support services to help students transition to college, such as financial aid counseling, academic support, and social programs. A central component was one-on-one coaching with students during their first two years of college.
The program also provided a way to track BPS graduates in college. “We are able to measure [student progress] now … . It’s more visible now to students and policy makers,’’ said Joseph McLaughlin, research director at the Boston Private Industry Council, who worked on the Getting to the Finish Line study.
The number of BPS graduates working with a transition coach to navigate the first two years of college more than tripled, from 313 for the class of 2011 to more than 1,000 graduates currently, the Boston Foundation said. Those who received coaching were 11 percent more likely to make it to their second year of college and 21 percent more likely to make it to year three.
High schools have largely come through with providing more challenging courses that better prepare students for college. Data show that at non-exam schools the number of Advanced Placement courses rose from 71 in the 2007-08 academic year to 128 in 2015-16, district figures show. Unfortunately, after the initial gains of Success Boston and other initiatives, improvements in the graduation rate leveled off, far below the 70 percent Menino had vowed.
Joan Becker, vice provost for academic support services and undergraduate studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston, said the work ahead must focus on students who continue to lag, particularly blacks and Latinos. Data also show that male students are not doing as well as female students. She stresses that leaders need to focus on these equity gaps more systematically.
Critical to the next phase, she and others say, will be the creation of more workplace connections, internships, and jobs for low-income and first-generation students during and after college to ease their transition to the job market and eliminate another barrier that derails graduates once they earn their degrees.
In addition, researchers and educators agree that more creative approaches are needed to build on Success Boston’s gains. Two years ago, Mayor Martin J. Walsh established the Tuition-Free Community College Plan to address affordability issues and help more students attend and complete Bunker Hill, MassBay, and Roxbury community colleges. Students in the program not only get a coach, their classes are paid for.
But only 295 students have participated in the program thus far, illustrating the struggle to reach low-income students for whom college costs are a major barrier.
About 20 years ago, David Laude, a chemistry professor at the University of Texas at Austin, noticed that too many students in his general chemistry class were not cutting it. That was especially true of first-generation students, who were flooding Texas public colleges because of a state law guaranteeing admission to students who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class. Laude discovered that many of them had what he calls “adversity indicators” — among them being economically disadvantaged, coming from struggling urban high schools, and growing up in families in which no one else had gone to college.
As an experiment, he started a special class for 50 of those students, far smaller than the usual class of 500. He taught the same course material and gave the same tests as in the bigger class. But he added student mentors, academic advisers, and seminars in leadership skills. The four-year graduation rate for students with “adverse indicators” soared from 20 percent in 1999 to 60 percent last year.
Today, the effort, called the Texas Interdisciplinary Plan, is replicated across the University of Texas at Austin, making Texas a leader in finding ways to help first-generation students succeed.
Other colleges are becoming much more proactive about targeting students in academic trouble. The schools’ approaches share a core mission: providing a sense of belonging.
At Westfield State University, roughly 20 percent of freshmen — many of them low-income, first-generation students — drop out every year. The university recently began working with juniors at nearby urban high schools in Westfield, Holyoke, and Springfield, exposing them to coursework, advising, and an overnight experience that helps them envision themselves as college students, said president Ramon Torrecilha, a former first-generation student himself.
Some colleges have long worked to ease the transition for urban students of color — most of them first-generation and low-income students. Boston College’s Options Through Education Transitional Summer Program, established in 1979, helped people like Maria Martinez, the 2007 valedictorian at Boston’s now-closed Media Communications Technology High School, acclimate to campus. “It’s just nice to have a group of people who understand you,’’ she said. But while such programs have improved student retention, they have not been universally successful. Another Boston valedictorian interviewed by the Globe said that BC’s summer program didn’t prevent him from dropping out.
Tufts University last year took the unusual step of opening a center on campus solely for first-generation students. Tufts also created a mentoring program pairing the students with staff and faculty from similar backgrounds.
They were Boston’s valedictorians, many of them loaded with scholarships that covered part or all of their college tuition and other expenses. Even so, more than half are still carrying student debt — a figure that’s roughly on a par with the national average for young adults with a bachelor’s or postgraduate degree. Some, like Delcy Miranda, ended up not only deeply in debt, but with no four-year diploma to show for it. Miranda, who struggled academically at UMass Amherst, dropped out after suffering a series of personal tragedies and worked for a while in a factory making powdered cappuccino sachets.
Jill Schlesinger, a certified financial planner and CBS News business analyst, has straightforward advice for people facing Miranda’s dilemma: “Don’t freak yourself out.” The first step, she said, is to make a budget. Get a handle on your debt load and monthly payment, and factor them into your monthly spending and earnings. Student debt shouldn’t prevent people from achieving other financial milestones, such as buying a house, she said, but potential borrowers should try to keep student loan repayments to 20 percent or less of monthly income.
There are lots of ways to take some of the sting out of loan repayment. Students who work for the government or for nonprofits can have their student loans forgiven, and graduates with good credit scores and a solid paycheck can shop around and refinance their loans to save money. Miranda, who later earned an associate’s degree and today runs her own massage studio, said she still owes nearly $50,000 in student loans. But she got her payments under control by opting for an income-driven repayment plan, which can reduce payments for people with lower incomes.
Abby Shafroth, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, said borrowers have several such plans to choose from, including some that cap loan payments at 10 percent of discretionary income and offer loan forgiveness after 20 years.
Shafroth added that graduates should be skeptical of any company that claims it can save money on student loans for a fee. These schemes are most likely scams that charge you for things you can do online yourself for free — and they could cause you to default on a student loan, which can have disastrous consequences.
“The government can seize payment from your paycheck, and the default will hurt your credit, making it harder to rent, get a mortgage, or potentially even land a job,” Shafroth said.
Financial advisers also strongly urge graduates, even those with large student loan payments, to begin saving for retirement as soon as they start working. Many recommend starting a Roth IRA or taking advantage of a 401(k) match if an employer offers it. Small amounts invested on a regular basis can grow exponentially, and advisers say it’s important to start the habit of saving for retirement early in your career.
Eric Roberge, founder of Beyond Your Hammock, a financial planning firm in Boston, said Bano’s brand of penny-pinching makes sense. He urges clients in their 20s to live well below their means and build up an emergency fund in case they lose their job or have a medical emergency. Advisers recommend having three to six months of living expenses on hand.


NEW HAVEN -- Federal prosecutors disclosed that "one or more" of their "prospective witnesses" against James Botti may have been given immunity against prosecution for a crime they committed.
Additionally, the prosecution admits that some of the evidence includes "tape-recorded conversations."
The two disclosures are the first made by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Schechter and Rahul Kale regarding witnesses and evidence they may use in the corruption case against Botti, a 46-year-old Shelton developer. The disclosures are contained in a document recorded Tuesday in the federal court case against Botti.
Botti was indicted last November for allegedly bribing Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti and members of Shelton land-use commissions to push through his projects.
However, despite a five-and-a-half-year investigation by the FBI and IRS which included at least two wiretaps and as many as five cooperating witnesses wearing recording devices, only Botti and his father have been charged with federal crimes.
Lauretti, who is campaigning for a 10th term in office, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.
The latest disclosures come in a prosecution request to Senior U.S. District Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. to ask certain questions of prospective jurors who will be assembled in the courtroom on Oct. 15.
Unlike state court, where lawyers may question jurors individually, federal court rules allow only the judge to ask questions. Federal judges will throw a general question out to the entire pool, then seek individual answers from anyone who raises their hand. As a result, it usually takes less than a day to pick a 12-member criminal jury and four alternates.
In Botti's case the prospective jurors, who are chosen at random from the state motor vehicle and voter registration lists, will come from towns in New Haven County such as Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Milford, New Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, West Haven and elsewhere. None will come from Shelton, which is part of Fairfield County.
The government filing urges Haight to ask specific questions of the panel.
It asks if any know the federal agents who are involved in the investigation and identifies them as FBI Special Agent Christopher Halpin, who worked the corruption probes of former Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim and former state Rep. Ernest E. Newton II; FBI Special Agent Matthew Elio and IRS Special Agents Charles "Chuck" Cooney and Sean Darling.
In the document filed Tuesday, the prosecution maintains they intend to "offer evidence ... to demonstrate" Botti "engaged in a conspiracy ... with others to pay or provide benefits to public officials to commit acts or refrain from committing acts that enured to James Botti's benefit."
A focus of the probe involves the June 13, 2006 and June 20, 2006 Shelton Planning and Zoning Commission meetings which resulted in a complete turnaround to an approval of one of Botti's projects on Bridgeport Avenue.
The prosecution also wants Haight to tell the jury: "This case involves allegations of bribery of public officials. ... Is there anything about the nature of this evidence that would make it difficult for you to be a fair and impartial juror in this case?"
They also want the panel asked if anyone served as a municipal official and appeared before a local government body or commission.
The prosecution wants the jury advised that "one or more prospective witnesses in this case may be a person who was formerly associated with the defendant and who has received immunity from prosecution. The court will instruct you that it is entirely appropriate for the government to rely upon cooperating witnesses when proving its case. Is there anyone who feels that they could not believe a witness either because that witness participated in criminal activity or agreed to cooperate with the government?"
Finally, the prosecution urges Haight to inform the jury panel: "Some of the evidence you might hear will be in the form of tape-recorded conversations. ... If the evidence is allowed in, does it offend anyone that tape-recorded conversations are being used as evidence?"


Regulatory body to approve website names in non-Latin characters.
The regulatory body overseeing the internet has said it is ready to begin approving web site names written in non-Latin characters.
The move is being billed as the biggest change in the 40-year history of the internet.
Until now URLs have only been available in Latin script. But the changes should pave the way for users to enter addresses in scripts such as Chinese, Arabic and Cyrillic.


It turns out Thinkmodo can thrill people, not just scare them.
The viral marketing agency, best known for its frighteningly good Carrie and Devil's Due prank videos, takes a refreshingly different approach with its latest video. It shows a petite traffic cop in New York City arguing with a cab driver—and then, in an apparent act of savage anger, lifting his vehicle clear off the ground.
It is, of course, a prank—though plenty of people in the vicinity were gobsmacked by the chain of events. And turns it out the advertiser, car-selling app CarLister.co, is visible throughout the video—on the ad atop the taxi itself.
Mashable has more on the making of the video.


David Bustillos died on June 27, 2016, at 55. He was found unresponsive on the roof of Arizona Mills Mall, where he worked in maintenance.
David and Rachel Bustillos fell in love and eloped to Las Vegas in the same, dizzying year.
They met in 1990 while they were working at an air conditioning company. He left love notes on her car’s dashboard and roses on her desk; it was a romantic streak he kept going through 26 years of marriage.
Around the day he died, the high temperature in Phoenix was 110 degrees. The cause of death, according to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner, was environmental heat exposure. Diabetes played a contributing role in his death.
Rachel Bustillos has three children. They were not David’s biological children, but he was like a father to them. Andrea Ruiz, one of those children, is forever grateful for the practical lessons she learned from David: how to change the oil in her car, replace her own spark plugs and change a tire.
But the “family man,” as Rachel Bustillos described him, was also a workaholic. If he was called to a work emergency at midnight, he wouldn’t think twice about rushing over.
The day her husband died, Rachel knew he wasn’t feeling well. On the phone, he told his wife that he had been assigned a chore on the roof, but he was worried about the heat. Later that day, she was told, another worker found him badly burned near his work site.
“He went to work and to this day I really wish he had stayed home,” Rachel said.


Your mission: Help locals seeking information about cancer treatment and resources.
What you'll do: Volunteers will be trained to assist cancer patients, their families and caregivers with the latest in cancer-related information and connect them to needed resources. They will also provide information on community programs and services, along with dates and times for local American Cancer Society events and programs.
Where: Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center's American Cancer Society Cancer Resource Center, 1978 Industrial Blvd., Houma.
How long you're needed: The center is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. Officials say whatever time you can donate is appreciated.
What's in it for you: You'll receive all the training you need to help patients, and you'll be rewarded by helping people in need get connected with the American Cancer Society's local resources, said Shea Austin, health initiative representative with the American Cancer Society.
Who to contact: Call the American Cancer Society office at 851-7776.
Your mission: Work in the Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
What you'll do: Various tasks, including sales, setting up display, cleanup of donation and other day-to-day operation to run the store.
How long you're needed for: The ReStore is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Where: 509 St. Mary St., Thibodaux.
Who to contact: For information, call 447-9743 or visit www.bayouhabitat.org.
Your mission: Help cancer patients feel beautiful.
What you'll do: Licensed cosmetologists, hairdressers and makeup artists are needed for the American Cancer Society's Look Good, Feel Better workshops.
How long you're needed: They're held several times a year to coach cancer patients about makeup, wigs and other beauty tips to stay looking good while undergoing treatment. Volunteers commit to two or three sessions each year, which last about two hours.
What's in it for you: The group is down to just one cosmetologist right now, and are in desperate need of a helping hand. Look Good, Feel Better is one of the American Cancer Society's most successful programs, and its a great way to volunteer and give back, Austin said.
Who to contact: To sign up, call 851-7776.
Your mission: Volunteer at Hospice of South Louisiana to help patients facing a terminal illness and their families with spiritual and supportive care.
What you'll do: You can work directly with patients and families to provide care and support as patients face the final stages of a terminal illness. You can also volunteer for office and clerical work, special events and fundraising, arts-and-crafts programs, bereavement programs or community outreach.
How long you're needed: Volunteers are needed year round.
Where: Hospice of South Louisiana, 6500 Main St., Houma.
What's in it for you: You'll provide spiritual, physical and mental support for patients and families in the greatest need.
Who to contact: Call Cathy at 868-3095.
Your mission: Help to raise money to provide services to all people living with cerebral palsy in Louisiana.
What you'll do: Donate your time or man the phones at Cerebral Palsy of Louisiana's annual two-day telethon. It will be broadcast on Charter Communications channel 18, Comcast channel 5 and online at www.cerebralpalsyla.com. The event features live entertainment. The event is free and open to the public.
How long you're needed: From 4 to 10 p.m. Aug. 6 and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 7.
What's in it for you: You'll be helping people with cerebral palsy and their families to purchase, rent and repair medical equipment; pay for physical and occupational therapy, prescription shoes and evaluations; among other things.
Who to contact: To volunteer, call 1-800-375-8275. To make a pledge, call 868-0200 during the broadcast.


Daniel Poulin stops short of predicting an end to the Great Recession in St. Charles Parish, but he likes what he’s seeing now much more than what was taking place earlier this year.
Would-be industrial tenants want more acreage, while potential office tenants are not expanding, often looking for smaller space and more than happy with Class B or C property.
While its planned superstore is far from open, just the talk of Wal-Mart’s decision to consider eastern New Orleans after leaving the area in 2005 has spurred interest among other firms.


I don’t know how Brad Pitt really has time to schedule anything of late, but evidently he’s trying to get The Hatfields and the McCoys made at Warner Bros. The film would cover the legendary American family feud, and now has Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper attached to direct.
Jeff Wells got this info from Robert Duvall, with whom he spoke at the junket for Get Low, which took place as part of the Tribeca Film Fest. Duvall says that Eric Roth has written “an excellent script” (those are Jeff Wells’ words, though perhaps an indirect quote from Duvall) and that Pitt’s Plan B would produce at Warner Bros. with Pitt playing the lead role. Duvall would co-star.
The Hatfields and the McCoys were in the first wave of settlers in Tug Valley, with the McCoys living on the Kentucky side and the Hatfields on the West Virginia side. The wealthy Hatfields largely fought for the Confederacy, while the McCoys fought with the Union in the Civil War.
The roots of the feud are in the murder of a McCoy in 1865; in 1878 things kicked into gear thanks to a dispute over ownership of a hog. The McCoys lost that dispute, and in 1880 two members of the family killed the man who testified and cost them the dispute. Then there was an affair between a Hatfield and a McCoy and more killings; the peak of the violence was the 1888 New Years Night Massacre, during which Hatfields surrounded the McCoy cabin, fired rifles inside and set the home on fire to drive out Randolph McCoy. He escaped, but his wife and two of his children were killed.
Duvall said Pitt would play “the main guy,” but which ‘main guy’ he means is open to question. One of the two patriarchs, no doubt, and the easy money is on Randolph McCoy.
OK, setting aside the Eric Roth part of the equation, this could be a great little film. I’m surprised there haven’t been more cinematic takes on it, really.


This game is focused on recognizing intervals on a music staff. As simple as it can be you will learn how to visually and quickly recognize an interval between two tones. All our simple music games are designed and created because of our children told us they need them. Hopefully it will also help you and your children. TRAIN MODE You hear and see two tones and your task is to recognize their mutual interval. A hint can be : Count lines and spaces between the two tones and you get the right interval. If you still do not know what kind of interval it is wait a moment and the appropriate answer will start to be pointed by a colored arrow. PLAY MODE Play Mode is in every our application a challenge. So you have 60 seconds for recognizing as many intervals as possible. World Record is real challenge so we invite you to give your best try and measure your interval reading skills with the World Record.


An Uzbek jihadist group known as the Imam Bukhari Jamaat released a video of its training camp in Syria. It is the latest video by jihadist groups that shows fighters going through training at camps inside Syria.
The video, which was produced by Al Fath Studios and released in late May, was obtained by From Chechnya to Syria, a website that tracks fighters from the Russian Caucasus and Central Asia who are fighting in Syria.
The Imam Bukhari Jamaat group is named after an Uzbek cleric who authored a collection of hadith, or traditions of the Prophet Mohammad, that are considered to be among the most authentic. The group is allied with the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, and Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar, a jihadist group led by fighters from the Islamic Caucasus Emirate.
In the video of the Imam Bukhari Jamaat’s training camp, 31 trainees, who are dressed in identical uniforms and whose faces are covered, march in a double-file formation around the parade ground carrying assault weapons and other various arms. One trainee flies the black banner of jihad while marching.
The trainees then stop and stand in formation as their leader addresses an unmasked commander, whose face is digitally obscured. During the commander’s address, children are seen at the camp.
After the camp commander addresses the group, footage of the fighters executing rifle drills, conducting martial arts training and exercises, and navigating an obstacle course is shown.
While the site of the camp has not been disclosed, it may be located “around Hraytan in Aleppo Province,” as the group is known to operate there, according to Joanna Paraszczuk, who manages From Chechnya to Syria.
At least five training camps have been disclosed by jihadist groups over the past three months.
In mid-March, the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, announced that it is running two training camps in Syria. Its Ayman al Zawahiri Camp is located in the city of Deir al Zour and is named after al Qaeda’s current emir. The other camp, whose location was not disclosed, is called the Abu Ghadiya Camp and is named after the leader of the al Qaeda in Iraq facilitation network that was based in eastern Syria. Abu Ghadiya was killed in a US special operations raid in eastern Syria in the fall of 2008.
In the beginning of April, the Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar (Army of Emigrants and Supporters, or Muhajireen Army), a group of foreign fighters led by commanders from the Caucasus, released video of its training camp in Aleppo province. The video included footage of a bomb-making class.
And in early May, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham announced the existence of the Zarqawi Camp, which is named after the slain founder of al Qaeda in Iraq, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus.
The videos from ISIS, Al Nusrah Front, Muhajireen Army, and Imam Bukhari Jamaat training camps are reminiscent of others released by al Qaeda from the network of camps in Afghanistan during the 1990s. Al Qaeda used camps such as Khalden and Al Farouq to churn out thousands of foreign fighters who fought alongside the Taliban in the 55th Arab Brigade. But al Qaeda also selected graduates of the camps to conduct attacks in the West, including the Sept. 11, 2001 operation against the US.


Last Saturday, more than a thousand Chichester University students lined the streets of Bognor Regis in wild fancy dress outfits for their charity Rag Race.
Rag Race is an annual event where pubs from the seaside resort come together in aid of supporting a nominated ‘Charity of the Year’ from the University of Chichester's Student’s Union.
The 'Raising and Giving' event is a safely observed pub crawl, and is anything but a race, and has become a favourite of past and present students.
It's estimated that up to £1500 was raised in this year’s event for nominated charity Challengers, a charity that delivers inclusive fun for disabled children and young people aged two to 25 years old.
Those funds will be enough to provide up to 100 hours of play for local disabled young people.
Outfits this year, pictured by Neil Cooper, included a large group of jockeys, a homage to the Grand National that also took place on Saturday, various Toy Story characters, and the Super Mario Bros family.
Rag Race dates back to the 1970s. Students today usually pay £10, with alumni and guests paying a little more.
Pubs that have openly donated and supported the Students Unions’ charity of the year are rewarded with a place on the pub crawl map and hundreds of lively students.
Starting at Chichester University’s Students Union in Bognor, The Hub, as early as 9am, groups aim to visit every pub on their given map before ending up at the popular pier nightclub, Sheiks.
The university believes that up to 1200 students and alumni were said to have taken part in this year’s race, which has volunteers on hand to assist those who may need guidance on the day.
Did you take part in this year's Rag Race? Pick up your Bognor Regis Observer for pictures of the day.


The Bipartisan Policy Center led a conversation Tuesday night at the Newseum with prominent journalists PBS’s Judy Woodruff, Gwen Ifill, and CNN’s Candy Crowley, who have all been on the front lines of election coverage this cycle. They chatted about the upcoming election and their groundbreaking experiences on the campaign trail.
Um, not so fast Woodruff…We did have four criminal and violent changes of power in our history with Abraham Lincoln in 1865, James Garfield in 1881, William McKinley in 1901 and John F. Kennedy in 1963. But yes, we get the point that we vote freely and transfer power peacefully.


It's 10 days until Pippa Middleton's wedding to her fiance James Matthews and the most surprising rumour yet to percolate about the event has seeped through Twitter and into our feeds.
According to the social media rumour mill yesterday guests at the Duchess of Cambridge's sister's wedding have been asked to bring a second outfit for the reception. "Is this a trend?" many asked.
Whether or not the request is true, it has certainly kicked off more questions than answers about the merits of multiple outfit changes at nuptials. While it isn't unusual for brides to change into something more comfortable later, most agree that it "a tad ridiculous and over the top" to ask guests to think about a second tier ensemble too.
And, when you consider it's hard enough to nail the perfect ONE outfit for a high profile society wedding, if all of Pippa's 150 guests have been asked to bring a change of clothes for later, there are a few more questions we'd like answered too.
Where to get changed? Behind the marquee, in the portaloos, in a nearby pub in Englefield, in the car on the way to the reception... though seemingly endless, none is particularly appealing.
Can the price tag be kept in? Stumping up enough for a different outfit per wedding is costly enough, if we need two, we're going to probably want to return one of them.
How should no.2 be pitched? Do we go smarter or more casual? Is is about dressing more comfortably after a formal service or jazzing our attire up for an all-singing black tie dinner?
Is there a coat rack in the church/reception? If we've bought an expensive, crease-free number to slip into later, we don't want to have gone to all that trouble only to pull it out and find it has more pleats in than Issey Miyake.
Is there hanging space? The inside of a car window doesn't count.
What about a theme? A Midsummer Night's Dream? Stripes? Your childhood hero? Please God no. If all else fails can we turn our dress/jacket/shirt inside out or swap outfit with another guest?