Working Families Party Endorses Bernie Sanders
Writing for Huffington Post, Samantha Lachman reports: “The Working Families Party endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) bid for the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, after an overwhelming majority of its members backed the progressive candidate. It is the first time the party has formally backed a candidate in a national election. “Over 87 percent of Working…
Asian-American Students and the Racial-Justice Movement
Writing for The Atlantic, Kevin Cheng has posed and has thoughtfully explored the question, “What Role Do Asian Americans Have in the Campus Protests?” Here are the opening paragraphs: “Last month, Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber signed a document agreeing to take measures against racial inequality on campus, most notably the possibility of removing…
Questioning Student Evaluations
Most colleges and universities are nearing the end of their fall terms. Hence it’s time not only for final examinations but also for collecting student evaluations of teaching (SET). Student ratings can be high-stakes. They’re used to evaluate teaching when faculty members are being considered for tenure or promotions. They’re also employed in decisions as…
Trump, the Media and the Classroom
Even if Donald Trump were not such a looming threat to the United States and its traditions, he would still be a perfect teaching tool for use in Introduction to Journalism classes. If I could go back an redesign my syllabus for this fall semester, I would make it all about the coverage of Trump—not…
Project Gesundheit 2016
BY CAPRICE LAWLESS In its quest for top-down control and from a misplaced notion that our gritty, lonely and nearly despairing community college students will respond warmly to a more sterile environment, administration has removed almost all the bulletin boards on our campus. The college vice president has to approve anything that anyone might…
On the Resignation of Erika Christakis
I just learned this morning via a report on Inside Higher Ed that Erika Christakis, the associate master of one of Yale University’s residential colleges, has decided to stop teaching at the university, in part because of the continuing controversy over an email message she sent about Halloween costumes. Although some students have demanded her…
Moody’s 2016 Higher Education Outlook: This is What We’re Celebrating?
Last week Moody’s Investor Services issued its 2016 outlook for American colleges and universities. The takeaways were: stability and modest growth. Moody’ suggested that tuition revenue growth is expected to be between 2 and 3 percent for public and private universities, with a 3 percent increase in revenue overall. On the public side, state revenue…
Assumptions and the Class Divides they Confirm
When Everyone’s a Trump-et, It May Be Hard to Think through the Noise
This week’s “Sunday Show Wrap-Up” from The Hill (see below) seems particularly instructive. The one thing on which the GOP presidential candidates uniformly agree is that President Obama is an ineffectual leader (or, worse–because Donald Trump is now suggesting, something much more sinister). Moreover, other than Trump himself, of course, all of them agree that…