Whatever happened to Haskell Indian Nations University’s BA in Health Science Degree? According to their site on Indian Country Today: Haskell is now down to two BA degrees: Bachelor of Arts in American Indian Studies and Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science. In comparison KU has 130 undergraduate and 220 masters, doctorate, and professional degree programs. Is there a minimum of BA degrees that a university must offer before it can call itself a university? Is Chris Redman doing anything to reinstate the health science degree and put new BA degrees in at Haskell?

haskellnews commentary 08/27/12

Mr. Chris Redman has held the position of President of Haskell Indian Nations University for a year now, with promises of change. Could perhaps the biggest change he has made thus far is to stay away from the Haskell campus as much as possible? Freshman came in this week and haskellnews commentary received several emails saying that once again Mr. Redman was not on campus and “actings” were taking his place. Other emails have stated that some of the employees don’t even know who he is and when he is there it is not for long, appears he runs on a Tuesday-Thursday schedule? Isn’t that the same schedule he had when he himself was an “acting?” Hard for any university president to know what is going on when he is barely on campus, however, with all of Haskell’s current problems, one would think the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington D.C. would want more than just a ghost like presence and his “actings” running the campus. There have been many reported sightings of ghosts on the Haskell campus, maybe if a student or employee is lucky enough they will spot Mr. Chris Redman. haskellnews commentary 08/17/2012

by haskellnews

Is the Secretary of Interior saddened to lose his staunchest Morman to the Mormon Church? Apparently Larry Echohawk really didn’t mean it when he told folks that he would stay an entire four years with the Obama administration? Did he really mean he would stay until his church called him home?

Isn’t this the moment Indians across the nation have been praying for?

Will his new position, allow Mr. Echohawk (who has an uncanny ability to cry at will) to testify that “all is well” full time?

Despite spending a bit of time making absolutely no positive changes for Indians? We wish him well in his new endeavor. He does seems eminently more qualified to cry than he did to actually make a positive difference in the lives of Indian people? Especially their biggest asset—their children.

He has succeeded where others have failed—was he able to stay longer than any recent Assistant Secretary because he chose to do absolutely nothing?

And his departure will provide a bit of levity too as we watch to see who scrambles to take his place. It will also be amusing to watch the Mormon’s who have safely sat surrounding him, providing Kleenex when he needed it, as they try to stay in their highly paid jobs?

Locally, nothing much will change. It is Haskell after all, and change is forbidden? Is it not?

And they have their own local self-identified Indian who can cry, with his eyes closed, and warn us about global destruction while students, under the tutelage of the Vice President for Academics, holds the tissue?

haskellnews commentary 04/12/2012

by haskellnews

We normally only post stories about Haskell Indian Nations University. However this one so outraged us we felt we had to post it after receiving several e-mails about it:

A 15-year-old girl was initially kicked out of a Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school then forced to stand before a school assembly to announce that she was pregnant, bringing public embarrassment to the eighth-grader, according to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Court papers filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New Mexico said Shantelle Hicks, who is Navajo and attends Wingate Elementary School in McKinley, N.M., was embarrassed at an assembly by the school director and another staff member over her pregnancy. The lawsuit said Hicks was forced to stand before the entire school at an assembly and announced that she was pregnant, even though only three school staff members knew.

"It was so embarrassing to have all the other kids staring at me as I walked into the gymnasium," said Hicks in a statement. "I didn't want the whole school to know I was pregnant because it's not their business, and it wasn't right for my teachers to single me out."

The ACLU of New Mexico said the girl's discovery in October that she was pregnant came about three weeks before the assembly. Hicks and her mother said they told the director of the middle school and two other staff members.

School officials initially responded by kicking her out of school but the ACLU of New Mexico sent a demand letter to the school, informing them that it was illegal to deny a student access to education because of pregnancy status.

Wingate readmitted Hicks after four missed days of school. However, the lawsuit said Hicks was placed in front of the assembly and told to announce her pregnancy.

A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Indian Affairs did not immediately return a phone call to The Associated Press.

For full story please link to: www.denverpost.com › News › Breaking News

haskellnews commentary 03/07/2012

Is there an answer to any of the questions Keith Moore raised in any of that gesturing?

This video is proof that Larry Echohawk and Kenneth Salazar (and we wonder since he appointed them President Obama) are clueless about self - determination. We now have proof positive that Keith Moore is clueless. He accuses tribes of being unaccountable to Indian children when he leads the Agency that has an historical commitment to UNaccountability. What many hoped was a breath of fresh air and new leadership we now see as proof that the reasons our cultures listened to elders was because elders actually had experience or expertise. Most of the people reading this are better qualified than Keith Moore. Many of the people sitting in the audience listening to this diatribe in the video have their children or grandchildren in Keith Moore’s schools.

Are his kids in them? Or the better question would he consider his schools worthy enough.

Look at the lady behind him ( to the left) wearing a yellow jacket looks like at times she can hardly contain herself from breaking out and laughing.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwLI6D...

haskellnews commentary
02/21/2012

Douglas County Sheriff’s records show an arrest for assault at Haskell Indian Nations University on 01/27/2011, booking number 12-0452. Link: http://www.dgso.org/web/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=228

The important question here is where does that student currently reside?

Do the higher ups at Haskell housing condone this type of behavior?

It’s ironic that Haskell President Chris Redman spoke out against this very thing today (LJW article February 1, 2012.) “Alcohol and drug dependency among students as well as domestic abuse and other violence. “It’s heartbreaking that one student may go through this,” he said. “I refuse to accept behavior that leads to harm.” Link: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/feb/01/haskell-president-says-university-faces-challenges

The question here is did the heads of housing report the incident to President Redman?

Has President Redman issued an order that he is to be told immediately about any arrests or assaults that happen on campus? Has it been reported to the Jeanne Clery Organization? If not that has consequences and shouldn’t this type of behavior have consequences at Haskell too? Don’t parents of Haskell students have a right to know about any type of crime and violence on the Haskell campus? The answer is yes they do.

From the Jeanne Clery organization: “Institutions that fail to comply may be fined or lose eligibility to participate in federal student aid. Schools that maintain a police or security department are required to disclose in the public crime log "any crime that occurred on campus…or within the patrol jurisdiction of the campus police or the campus security department and is reported to the campus police or security department." The log is required to include the "nature, date, time, and general location of each crime" as well as its disposition if known. Incidents are to be included within two business days but certain limited information may be withheld to protect victim confidentiality, ensure the integrity of ongoing investigations, or to keep a suspect from fleeing. Only the most limited information necessary may be withheld and even then it must be released "once the adverse effect…is no longer likely to occur. The log must be publicly available during normal business hours. This means that in addition to students and employees the general public such as parents or members of the local press may access it. Logs remain open for 60 days and subsequently must be available within 2 business days of a request.” Link: http://www.securityoncampus.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=297%3Aclerysummary&catid=64%3Acleryact&Itemid=81

President Redman has a rough road ahead.

We would wish him luck, but he needs more than luck, he needs fortitude and a lot of it.

haskellnews commentary

02/01/2012

We have decided to start with housing since many of our readers seem to have a great concern about housing at Haskell.

Apparently over the years little has changed with Haskell’s housing?

Haskell's housing has had the same department heads for years. Maybe it’s time for a change there? After all it may be hard to have new ideas with the same old leaders?

How much housing experience did these leaders bring with them when they were hired?

We understand there are still room checks? Not the safety checks that KU does. Haskell university students are treated as if they are attending a boarding school. Housing staff tells to clean their rooms. As if that is not injustice enough the housing staff actually enters students rooms to check and see if they are clean and for the grand finale they can be kicked out of the dorms for unclean rooms!

Do some students get back in the dorms because they run to someone to get a grade changed so now they once again qualify for the dorms? Who is that person who changes the grades? Grades are grades and once given should they not stand?

Seems like students complain a lot about not being able to find some of the dorm staff?

Why are they not where students can find them?

How about dorm safety? One dorm has 3 floors, yet there is no full time staff on floors two and three?

Is the only full staff in any of the dorms is only on the first floor?

These might be things that the new president would like to look into?

May we kindly suggest all student run dorms?

haskellnews commentary 01/25/2012

A division of Time Magazine, Time Moneyland "Insights from your wallet to Wall street" has named Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas one of the 24 most affordable schools in the United States and has also labeled it a dropout factory. It's current total enrollment of approximately 800 students and dropping is not helping the situation. Since the departure of Dr. Warner the school has been on a steady down climb. What good is a school no matter how cheap it is if it can't graduate its students?

haskellnews commentary 10/23/2011

Link:http://moneyland.time.com/2011/07/06/the-24-most-and-least-affordable-public-colleges/slide/haskell-indian-nations-university/#haskell-indian-nations-university