Cambridge Policeman Cheered at Cop Convention
Cambridge, Mass., Police Officer James Crowley, best known as the cop who arrested African-American scholar Henry Louis Gates at his own home, was hailed as a hero when he stepped into an ocean of fellow officers at a California conference on Monday. The more than 3,000 officers at the Fraternal Order of Police convention in Long Beach stood and cheered when Crowley arrived to launch the group’s five-day gathering. Scores of others snapped photos as he delivered comments from the podium. “The past month has been very difficult for my family, my friends and my colleagues back in Cambridge, and it’s no exaggeration to say that it wouldn’t be as easy for me to handle this without the support from the Fraternal Order of Police … and the support that the men and women who do this job have given me,” said Crowley, who sparked perhaps the most divisive debate on race relations since the first O.J Simpson murder trial.”Thank you very much.” The White policeman gained national notoriety after arresting the preeminent Harvard University professor on July 16. He said that Gates became belligerent when the officer was trying to investigate a suspected burglary at the residence.
Federal Court Says University of Texas Can Use Race in Admissions
A federal district court said that the University of Texas at Austin’s is fine in using race as a criterion in admitting students. In Fisher v. Texas, the court concluded that the university’s plan merely seeks to “‘break down racial stereotypes,’ enable students to better understand persons of different races, better prepare students to function in a multi-cultural workforce, cultivate the next set of national leaders, and prevent students of color from serving as ’spokespersons’ for their race.”  The court rejected plaintiffs’ claims that Texas’s law guaranteeing admission to the top ten percent of high school graduates generated a sufficiently diverse student body at the University of Texas. “[The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund] (LDF) has fought tirelessly to ensure the pathways to success and leadership are open and accessible to all students.  Today’s decision will allow the University of Texas at Austin to continue its essential and well-documented efforts to provide a truly diverse educational environment for its students.” said John Payton, the fund’s president and director-counsel. LDF’s brief detailed the need for greater African-American enrollment to achieve the educational benefits of diversity.  It also addressed the severe racial isolation experienced by African-American students at UT. As the court recognized, in 2002, 90 percent of the university’s classes with between five and 24 students had only one or no African-American students.

University of Texas sack leader Sergio Kindle was treated for a concussion last week after slamming his vehicle into an apartment building while sending or receiving a text message, according to his attorney. The Longhorn linebacker apparently lost control of his car on June 24 while fidgeting with his texting device, said Brian Roark, the lawyer. “It was probably something he should not have been doing,” Roark said. That careless act caused nearly $9,000 in damage, but no one inside the building was hurt, he said. Kindle pushed his car back in the street and went home. Later, doctors told him he had a concussion but did not require hospitalization. The embarrassed linebacker told his coach about the incident the next morning, University of Texas spokesman John Bianco said. “We’re glad nobody else was hurt and he’s going to be fine,” Bianco said. Police say they are investigating, but no charges have been filed. Kindle, a senior from Dallas, led his team with 10 sacks last season. In 2007, he missed the first three games while serving a suspension for a drunken driving arrest, Sports Illustrated reports.