On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” Axios co-founder and CEO Jim VandeHei stated that America is great, but, sadly, a good portion of young people on the left don’t see that because they’re being taught “crap in college” that is

The post Axios’ VandeHei: ‘Crap in College’ Has Made Many Young Lefties Not Appreciate America’s Greatness appeared first on Breitbart.

• I was offered a full-ride scholarship to Florida Atlantic University, and I accepted.
• Not having to worry about money helped me explore my passion for dentistry and build a community.
• I graduated debt-free, and now I'm going to dental school.

When my phone rang during my senior year of high school, it was Florida Atlantic University calling. I didn't know that answering would change the trajectory of my life.

I had 48 hours to decide whether to take a chance on an opportunity that seemed too good to be true: the opportunity to graduate debt-free.

After a last-minute decision to apply, I was admitted to Florida Atlantic University's Kelly/Strul Emerging Scholars Program, which provides a fully funded, four-year scholarship package.

The moment I received the call, a weight was lifted from both my family and me. College was no longer something my parents and I had to approach with fear about how we would afford it. The people who had spent years sacrificing to give me opportunities could finally watch me step into one without wondering what it would cost our family.

For me, the scholarship meant possibility. For my parents, it meant relief.

I didn't know what I wanted to major in, and some of my dreams still felt too ambitious to seriously pursue. But for the first time, I had the freedom to discover what I was capable of without letting difficult financial circumstances make that decision for me.

So, 48 hours after receiving that phone call, I said yes.

I almost let fear pick my major

When I first arrived at Florida Atlantic University, I didn't declare a major. I was considering studying accounting because numbers came naturally to me, and it seemed like a safe and successful career path.

There was just one problem. I had no passion for it.

I kept getting asked the same question: Why choose what's safe over what I actually wanted? It took time and a lot of encouragement before I realized the answer started with believing I could become more.

Having a full scholarship also changed what felt possible. Without the constant worry of how I would afford my education, I finally gave myself permission to explore the career I had once been too afraid to seriously pursue.

Shadowing a dentist changed everything

I began researching what it actually took to become a dentist and spent the following summer shadowing one. I expected the experience to help me understand the profession, but it did more than that. I fell in love with dentistry.

Even though I was spending hours observing without pay, it never felt like unpaid work. I was fascinated by the combination of science, precision, problem-solving, and human connection involved in dentistry. For the first time, I could clearly picture myself building a career around something that genuinely excited me, and I changed my major to biological sciences.

The financial support from the Kelly/Strul program made that transition possible in ways that went far beyond tuition. I didn't have to rush from class to work every day or take out loans simply to make ends meet. Instead, I had the freedom to study, explore my interests, become involved on campus, and figure out what kind of professional and person I wanted to become.

The scholarship gave me more than financial freedom. It gave me room to grow.

My biggest challenge reminded me of why community mattered

One of the most difficult periods of college came when I began studying for the Dental Admission Test while balancing coursework, leadership positions, and extracurricular commitments.

Without the stress of paying for tuition, housing, and meals, I was able to stay invested in the responsibilities and communities that had shaped my college experience instead of sacrificing them because of financial pressure.

But that season also taught me the importance of community. A men's group I had helped create to encourage and mentor others became the greatest source of encouragement for me. When I needed support, the same people I hoped to uplift were there to uplift me.

Sometimes, the greatest evidence that you have built something meaningful is seeing it carry you when you need help yourself.

I graduated debt-free and headed to dental school

Three years after answering that phone call, I graduated from Florida Atlantic University with my bachelor's degree in biological sciences.

As a first-generation student, I had accomplished something I once struggled to imagine for myself. I graduated in three years, debt-free, and prepared to begin dental school. But the greatest gift of the Kelly/Strul Emerging Scholars Program was not simply leaving college without student debt. It was leaving with a clearer understanding of who I was and what I was capable of becoming.

I entered Florida Atlantic uncertain about my major and hesitant to chase my dreams. I left with a degree, a community, leadership experience, and the confidence to pursue dentistry.

When I received that phone call almost four years ago, I thought I was simply saying yes to a scholarship, but I was really saying yes to a version of myself I hadn't met yet.

Another chapter of my life is calling as I begin dental school. This time, I don't need 48 hours to respond.

Across Europe, young people have taken to the streets to demand improved education and voice frustration at generational and structural inequalities.

From Canada, Dr Henry Giroux has watched protests unfold and is cheering them on. Speaking with EUobserver, the scholar of critical pedagogy analyses the root causes of mass discontent. He discussed the global fight for democracy and warns ‘gangster capitalism’ has enabled the far-right to thrive.

You gave a speech in which you said widening inequalities are hollowing out democracy, as well as rising authoritarianism and assaults on public institutions. At what point does a society stop being a democracy?

I think a democracy dies when you no longer have the apparatuses available to take seriously the fact that you can’t have a democracy without informed citizens.

You start seeing inequality translate itself into the criminalisation of culture itself: not simply an attempt to spread ideologies that depoliticise people, but ideologies that are geared at creating a fascist subject – somebody who’s unthinking, doesn’t really understand context or the problems their lives are basically engaged in. Such a person turns to educational institutions – what I call pedagogical regimes of terror – and to communities of hate and bigotry.

But where the left has really failed around this question is that education is central to politics – it’s not just about schooling, it’s embedded. The most powerful educational institutions today are cultural apparatuses like podcasts, X, or other social media. These are powerful regimes for telling stories that normalise inequality, attack the welfare state, unions, and all those things that make a democracy viable.

When I talk about democracy and education, I don’t ask: ‘What is good educational policy?’. I think the real question is: ‘What kind of education does a democracy require?’

It’s a conversation about power. Who controls the apparatuses of education? What kind of agents are they trying to create? What kind of values are they justifying?

All we have to do is look at what’s happening all over Europe, with respect to these student revolts. There are differences in these revolts, but the overarching connection is that young people are saying, ‘We’ve had enough of gangster capitalism. It’s destroying our lives.’

You can’t have a democracy when it goes after the welfare state. I listen to the French leaders saying things like, ‘Oh, the debt is terrible now. It’s off the charts.’ Well, you know what isn’t off the charts? The growth of money concentrated in the hands of relatively few people. And at the same time, it’s off the charts at the expense of the welfare of students, and others struggling to pay their bills. 

You often use the term ‘gangster capitalism’, which is quite strong. Can you define it?

Gangster capitalism concentrates wealth in relatively few hands at the expense of any institution that would make democracy possible because it’s more concerned about the belief in the ability of markets to solve all problems. And it seems to me that it does a few things that we need to talk about.

This article continues, but the full version is available only to EUobserver.com subscribers. Visit account.euobserver.com/membership

France is preparing for another weekend of mass demonstrations as youth-led protests spread across Europe. Behind the unrest lies a broader dispute over economic priorities, public spending and the political influence of younger generations.

France and Germany face major demonstrations on Saturday, 31 October, as a wave of youth-led protests across Europe raises questions about the relationship between younger voters and political establishments struggling to reconcile economic pressures with competing spending priorities.

French authorities have mobilised approximately 70,000 police officers and gendarmes for a third consecutive weekend of protests over living costs, education and public services. In Germany, organisers expect more than 160,000 people to participate in demonstrations across 34 cities.

Although the movements have emerged under different national circumstances, their grievances reveal common concerns: declining purchasing power, deteriorating public infrastructure, limited political representation and uncertainty about future economic prospects.

France prepares for further unrest

The French demonstrations began with dissatisfaction among secondary-school pupils before developing into a wider protest movement involving trade unions, yellow vest activists and other organisations.

As EU Today reported during the initial wave of student demonstrations, complaints about teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating educational facilities rapidly developed into a national confrontation.

According to official figures, approximately 550,000 people participated in demonstrations on 17 October, followed by 410,000 a week later. Union estimates were higher.

The demonstrations on 17 October were accompanied by widespread disorder, including attacks on commercial premises and public property. Subsequent protests were largely peaceful, although numerous arrests continued.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has warned that the latest demonstrations present a particularly high risk of disturbances, especially during the evening.

The security measures announced for the Halloween weekend include restrictions on demonstrations in central Paris and increased policing around areas affected by earlier violence.

Student organisations and trade unions have challenged the restrictions, arguing that they interfere with freedom of assembly. French authorities maintain that the measures are necessary to prevent further attacks and looting.

The political significance is heightened by France’s approaching presidential election in 2027. President Emmanuel Macron’s administration must manage the immediate security situation while addressing dissatisfaction extending beyond individual government policies.

Germany’s younger generation enters the debate

Germany’s demonstrations have a somewhat different character.

The campaign group Gen Z regelt, broadly translated as Generation Z Takes Charge, has organised protests in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt and other cities, demanding improved education, affordable living conditions, better healthcare and stronger climate policies.

The movement also opposes the expansion of compulsory military service.

According to details of the nationwide mobilisation, organisers expect more than 160,000 participants, although these figures represent expressions of interest rather than confirmed attendance.

Germany’s debate over military service has particular significance in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine and Europe’s efforts to strengthen its defence capabilities.

As EU Today previously examined, Germany’s military-service framework has already generated controversy over the obligations of military-age men, including rules governing prolonged travel abroad.

For younger Germans, the possibility of further compulsory military obligations raises questions about individual freedoms, generational responsibility and the allocation of public resources.

Organisers argue that governments are willing to increase military expenditure while schools, universities and social infrastructure face financial constraints.

However, opposition to conscription should not automatically be interpreted as opposition to European defence or assistance to Ukraine. The demonstrators’ objectives encompass several policy areas, and the movement is not politically uniform.

Security concerns and political mobilisation

German authorities have approached the demonstrations cautiously.

The Hessian Interior Ministry’s assessment warned that violent extremist groups might attempt to exploit gatherings in Frankfurt and elsewhere.

At the same time, Stuttgart’s municipal authorities stated that they had no concrete evidence suggesting that the local demonstration would descend into violence comparable to the disorder witnessed in France.

The distinction matters. Organisers have explicitly rejected violence, while authorities remain responsible for protecting participants, businesses and public infrastructure.

The question of who is organising the movement has nevertheless attracted scrutiny. Germany’s national student representatives have distanced themselves from the initiative, while acknowledging the legitimacy of the concerns being expressed.

A wider European phenomenon

The demonstrations form part of a broader pattern involving younger Europeans.

As EU Today’s recent analysis of Generation Z protests examined, mobilisation in France, Belgium, Italy and Serbia has brought together concerns about housing, education, employment and political accountability.

These movements do not constitute a single coordinated European organisation. Their objectives, political affiliations and methods differ considerably.

Nevertheless, their emergence suggests that similar economic and social pressures are generating comparable political responses.

European governments are simultaneously confronting difficult decisions over defence expenditure, ageing populations, public finances and energy security.

In France, demands for higher public spending come against the background of substantial government debt and pressure to reduce the budget deficit.

In Germany, the argument is increasingly connected to the allocation of resources between social priorities and the expansion of military capabilities.

These tensions do not necessarily represent incompatible objectives. Defence, education and economic stability all form part of Europe’s long-term security.

The political difficulty lies in demonstrating how competing priorities can be financed without placing a disproportionate burden on particular generations.

For European institutions, the immediate significance of the protests is therefore not simply their scale.

It is whether the demands of younger voters begin to influence national budgets, military-service policies and electoral programmes as governments prepare for a period of sustained strategic and economic pressure.

Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has authorized financing permanent public-sector expenses, including health and education, with extraordinary revenues or debt in 2027 under Executive Decree 527, signed October 29.

The decree establishes an exception to the fiscal rule and orders the authorization to be incorporated into next year’s General State Budget.

RELATED: Ecuador Protesters March Against Noboa Ahead of Local Elections

Ecuadorian regulations require permanent expenses to be financed, as a general rule, with permanent revenues, though the Constitution exceptionally permits health, education and justice obligations to be covered with non-permanent resources.

Non-permanent revenues include money from oil and public-good sales and extraordinary resources the State does not receive regularly. The Government may also resort to loans, which it must repay in the future.

The measure emerged days before the legal deadline for the Executive to present the 2027 budget draft to the National Assembly, set for Saturday, October 31. Noboa already used the mechanism for the 2026 fiscal year through Executive Decree 199, signed in October 2025.

The Dollarization Observatory, a collective specializing in economic analysis, warned that repeatedly using temporary revenues for recurring obligations can compromise fiscal sustainability and hinder the continuity of public services. “Attention! They are leading us into a dead end, and the privatization of health and education will be imminent,” the organization said in a statement.

The body also questioned the growing weight of public indebtedness and warned that new credits to cover state obligations can increase interest payments and reduce resources for social needs. “The moment will come—not very far off—when they will simply say that budget revenues (…) will not allow these services to be maintained and, therefore, they will have to be restricted or eliminated,” the Observatory said.

A California father of five says his family's public charter school rejected homeschooling materials that merely mentioned God or faith, even when the books met state academic standards, forcing his family to pay out of pocket for educational resources he says other parents could access with public funds.

John Woolard told Fox News Digital he and his wife initially had no problems using a public charter school program that allowed them to educate their children at home. 

But he said they eventually discovered that their curriculum choices were being scrutinized for religious content.

"Any book or curriculum purchase that we wanted to make that referenced God or faith in even, like, an adjacent sort of way was being denied," Woolard said.

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DISTRICT SUED OVER FIELD TRIP TO MOSQUE WHERE STUDENTS ALLEGEDLY DONNED MUSLIM GARB

He described what he called a "publisher blacklist" and said the restrictions extended beyond explicitly Christian instructional materials.

Woolard said he even encountered problems with books examining the religious beliefs of America's Founding Fathers.

"You would think that that would be something that would be non-controversial, but those curriculum choices would be denied," he said.

For Woolard, the dispute goes beyond religious expression. As a father of five, he said, the charter school program provided a cost-effective way to tailor the curriculum to each child's individual needs.

But when the school rejected certain curriculum purchases, he said, his family was left covering the costs.

"If our curriculum choices are denied, then we have to pay for those resources. We have to pay for those curriculum choices out of pocket," Woolard told Fox News Digital.

WASHINGTON FATHER SUES SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR DENYING RELIGIOUS OPT-OUT FOR FIFTH GRADER FROM LGBTQ INSTRUCTION

Woolard said he pressed school officials to explain why the materials were being rejected.

He asked whether the curriculum met California standards and whether it was academically rigorous enough. According to Woolard, the answer to both questions was yes.

"So, at the end of the day, the only objection that you have to this curriculum, our curriculum choices, is that there's a faith component to it," Woolard said he recalled asking.

He said both a teacher and principal acknowledged that the religious component was the objection.

WASHINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT FORCED KIDS TO HIDE BIBLES IN SEALED ENVELOPES MUST APOLOGIZE, PAY $275K

"What that tells me is that equality only extends as far as what the government approves," he said.

Stephanie Taub, senior counsel with First Liberty Institute, characterized the policy as discriminatory toward families seeking a faith-based education during an interview with Fox News Digital. 

"What we're asking here is California has a policy that singles out parents who want to give their children a faith-based education, and it excludes them from homeschooling benefits that would otherwise be available," the attorney said.

Taub said the family is seeking s after an unfavorable lower-court decision.

Woolard said he hopes the justices will ultimately force California to change its approach.

"What I really hope is for the government or for the Supreme Court to come back and tell California you got the decision wrong, and this is the way to correct it," he said.

He added that such a ruling could "break open California for a lot of families" seeking similar changes.

Taub said the Supreme Court is considering whether to take the case and that she expects to hear whether the justices will review it in the next few months.

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A spokesperson for the California Department of Education told Fox News Digital the department cannot comment on pending litigation.

Education Minister Athena Michaelidou on Friday asked the House finance committee to approve a five-per-cent increase to her ministry’s budget, which, if approved, will amount to just shy of €1.7 billion next year.

“Through a coherent reform plan, we are seeking to free the education system from the logic of fragmented actions and are working towards a holistic framework, adopting a new culture of adequacy and efficiency,” she told the committee.

She added that her ministry’s budget “serves this strategy precisely”, and is “a tool for implementing our reform policy, with clear priorities, targeted investments, scientific documentation, and continuous evaluation”.

In this budget, she said, a total of €53 million has been allocated to school infrastructure, an increase of €10 million on this year’s budget, with her ministry “planning upgrades to school facilities and the implementation of 23 large-scale projects”.

Additionally, she said the ministry is planning to implement a free breakfast programme for children, and that social workers will be deployed to schools with “high rates of delinquency” so as to “support pupils and families”.

House education committee chairman and Diko MP Chrysanthos Savvides then lamented that “almost 90 per cent of the budget is allocated for teacher salaries”.

He also criticised that “no government has put in place a plan for the creation of school classrooms or school buildings”, and said that because of this, schools are “overcrowded” and “overpopulated”.

On this matter, he said that the rollout of portakabins to be used as classrooms is “a huge problem in the European Cyprus of 2026”.