Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right

BY HANK REICHMAN I thought of the old adage in my title when I read the following in today’s San Francisco Chronicle: UC Berkeley police are investigating the theft of names and emails of people interested in joining the Berkeley College Republicans, the student group whose invitation to Milo Yiannopoulos of Breitbart News prompted a…

Another Trump Playlist

BY HANK REICHMAN Back in November, about three weeks after the election, I posted “A Playlist for the Trump Presidency.”  It got a pretty good response, so now that we’re a bit more than two weeks into that presidency and the need for “solace, inspiration, and fortification” seems greater than ever, I thought I’d post…

black chalkboard with the word TENURE in chalk; a chalk imprint of an eraser appears in the lower-right corner

The Tenure Top Ten

POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN The following is taken from an op-ed piece, “Top 10 ways tenure benefits students and all Iowa residents,” by Katherine Tachau and Lois Cox of the University of Iowa AAUP chapter, published yesterday in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The University of Iowa chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)…

Academic Medicine Weighs In On Trump Immigration Ban

POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN The following is the text of an open letter to Cleveland Clinic Director Delos “Toby” Cosgrove, who happens to be a Trump adviser, signed by over 1,500 (and counting) medical students, faculty and related personnel. Dear Dr. Cosgrove, On January 27th, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order indefinitely banning Syrian…

On Milo's Right to Speak

BY HANK REICHMAN Yesterday a minor moronic bigot by the name of Milo Yiannopoulos was prevented from speaking at the University of California at Berkeley campus by protesters, some of whom set fires, smashed windows, and attempted to assault police officers.  Yiannopoulos has gained undeserved notoriety through his vile assaults on liberals, minorities, women, gays,…

Targeted Online Harassment of Faculty

POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN The following statement was issued by the AAUP earlier today, February 1, 2017. The 2016 election has exacerbated a political climate that was already inimical to academic freedom. Six years ago the American Association of University Professors conveyed its concern that “the war on terror, the conflict in the Middle East,…

Prospects for Academic Freedom Under the Trump Regime

BY HANK REICHMAN The following is the text of a talk I delivered on January 30 at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.  I want to thank the Whitman AAUP chapter, the faculty committee on academic freedom and due process, and the Whitman administration for their invitation, hospitality and support during my illuminating two-day visit.…

The $48 Fix: Reclaiming California's Master Plan

BY HANK REICHMAN Privatization has failed.  But a tuition-free college education in California is possible. That was the message this morning at a press conference in Berkeley introducing a new policy paper demonstrating how it is entirely feasible to provide today’s students with the same accessible low-cost university experience that California successfully offered its students…

Women's Marches Nationwide By the Numbers

POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN Jeremy Pressman of the University of Connecticut and Erica Chenoweth of the University of Denver have been gathering crowd estimates for every single one of yesterday’s women’s marches across the nation (and also internationally)  As of this posting, they conclude that between 3,664,292 (low estimates) and 4,584,210 (high estimates) people attended…