Universities, freedom of speech, and freedom and responsibility in science - International Science Council
In this blog, Robert French explores the limits of lawful expression, the role of universities in resisting intolerance, and why the scientific community must help uphold public debate.
Faculty chair slams 'dirty compromises' White House asks of University of Arizona
White House asks the U of A and eight other universities to pledge support for President Trump's political priorities in return for priority access to federal funds.
In-State Tuition and Scholarships for Undocumented Students: What Institutions Should Know - Presidents' Alliance
Since coming into office, the Trump administration has increasingly targeted undocumented students and the colleges and universities seeking to enroll and support them. This includes efforts to roll back in-state tuition access and scholarships for undocumented students, including filing lawsuits against states with such laws, restricting eligibility to adult education and career and technical education (CTE) classes, and opening federal civil rights investigations into institutions that offer scholarships to DACA recipients and undocumented students. In response to these developments, this...
DEI closures at colleges leave students with ‘a different reality’
The student experience is changing at universities after multiple diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, offices and centers have been shut down. Schools such as the University of Mi…
Ohio State University president: Ivy League presidents ‘in survival mode, quite frankly’
The Ohio State University President Ted Carter said Sunday that he thinks Ivy League schools are in “survival mode” when asked about Columbia University’s settlement with the Trump administration. …
NSF Has Canceled More Than 1,500 Grants. Nearly 90 Percent Were Related to DEI.
The National Science Foundation has canceled more than $1 billion in research grants since mid-April, raising concerns about the future of American research and innovation.
Banned: The Fight for Mexican American Studies in the Streets and in the Courts - Nolan Cabrera.
In Banned, readers are taken on a journey through the intense racial politics surrounding the banning of Mexican American Studies in Tucson, Arizona. This book details the state-sponsored racism that led to the elimination of this highly successful program, and the grassroots and legal resistance that followed. Through extensive research and firsthand narratives, readers will gain a deep understanding of the controversy surrounding this historic case. The legal challenge successfully overturned the Arizona law and became a central symbol in the modern-day Ethnic Studies renaissance. This work is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the power of community activism, the importance of fighting for educational equity, and why the example of Tucson created an alternative blueprint for how we can challenge states that are currently banning critical race theory.
Most Americans disapprove of Trump's treatment of colleges, a new AP-NORC poll finds
A new poll shows a majority of U.S. adults disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of issues related to colleges and universities, as his Republican administration ramps up threats to cut federal funding unless schools comply with his political agenda.
A Map of Anti-DEI Efforts on College Campuses Across the U.S.
Threats to DEI are only growing stronger, with continued plans to introduce bills in the next legislative session, and attacks occurring on the accreditation front. Use our interactive dashboard to keep track of the evolving attacks on DEI across the states.
State Republicans push to police DEI in education via state funding
The Arizona House is set to vote on whether to eliminate state funds for universities and colleges that offer courses on diversity, equity and inclusion.
This Time, Higher Ed’s Resistance to Trump Is Being Led by Its Associations
While individual colleges have been relatively quiet, groups like the American Council on Education and the American Association of University Professors are fighting the administration in the courts.
A University, a Rural Town and Their Fight to Survive Trump’s War on Higher Education
The administration’s research funding and DEI cuts present an existential threat to regional public universities like Southern Illinois University, the economic backbone of the conservative rural region it serves.
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform
On the wrong side : how universities protect perpetrators and betray survivors of sexual violence - Nicole Krystine Bedera
"The debate over campus sexual violence is more heated than ever, but hardly anyone knows what actually happens inside Title IX offices. On the Wrong Side provides the first comprehensive account of the inner workings of the secretive Title IX system. Drawing on a yearlong study of survivors, perpetrators, and the administrators who oversaw their cases, sociologist Nicole Bedera exposes the structures that predictably punish survivors who come forward in the service of protecting-or even rewarding-their perpetrators. In doing so, she reveals that the system tasked with ending gender inequality on campus only intensifies it, upending survivors' lives and threatening the degrees that brought them to college in the first place. Equally heartbreaking and optimistic, On the Wrong Side makes it easy to imagine life-changing interventions for the next generation of students by proposing specific solutions to the structural problems of Title IX. Bedera proves that ending sexual violence is within our grasp-and dares us to be courageous enough to take action"--
Cancel wars : how universities can foster free speech, promote inclusion, and renew democracy. Sigal R. Ben-Porath.
An even-handed exploration of the polarized state of campus politics that suggests ways for schools and universities to encourage discourse across difference.
College campuses have become flashpoints of the current culture war and, consequently, much ink has been spilled over the relationship between universities and the cultivation or coddling of young American minds. Philosopher Sigal R. Ben-Porath takes head-on arguments that infantilize students who speak out against violent and racist discourse on campus or rehash interpretations of the First Amendment. Ben-Porath sets out to demonstrate the role of the university in American society and, specifically, how it can model free speech in ways that promote democratic ideals.
In Cancel Wars, she argues that the escalating struggles over “cancel culture,” “safe spaces,” and free speech on campus are a manifestation of broader democratic erosion in the United States. At the same time, she takes a nuanced approach to the legitimate claims of harm put forward by those who are targeted by hate speech. Ben-Porath’s focus on the boundaries of acceptable speech (and on the disproportional impact that hate speech has on marginalized groups) sheds light on the responsibility of institutions to respond to extreme speech in ways that proactively establish conversations across difference. Establishing these conversations has profound implications for political discourse beyond the boundaries of collegiate institutions. If we can draw on the truth, expertise, and reliable sources of information that are within the work of academic institutions, we might harness the shared construction of knowledge that takes place at schools, colleges, and universities against truth decay. Of interest to teachers and school leaders, this book shows that by expanding and disseminating knowledge, universities can help rekindle the civic trust that is necessary for revitalizing democracy.