Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
There is a plethora of research on the causes of hostile environments for women in academia, and on why we have an underrepresentation of women in many fields. There are support groups for women, societies entirely devoted to women academics (broadly and field-specific), workshops for women in academia, and countless articles and blogs devoted to…
BEFORE the semester began earlier this fall, I went to check out the classroom where I would be teaching an introductory American history course. Like most classrooms at my university, this one featured lots of helpful gadgets: a computer console linked to an audiovisual system, a projector screen that deploys at the touch of a…
Geoff Marcy is a superstar astronomer, by any measure. He is a major figure in the exoplanet revolution, which has transformed our view of the universe so profoundly, that some have compared it to the revolution kicked off by Copernicus. Many of the first thousand planets observed circling other stars were detected by teams Marcy…
The demise of a long-standing college loan program will hit the bottom line at small colleges and standalone law schools especially hard, a new report shows. The Perkins Loan program, the U.S. government’s oldest student aid program, expired two weeks ago, leaving small schools that depend on tuition without a lifeline. Expect “greater pressure on university financial aid…
On a chilly night in 2013, as the stress of the semester was coming to a peak, I had the most scarring experience of my life. In the moment, I wasn’t aware that it was happening. Yet I will always remember the trauma. Being sexually assaulted—raped—shattered my self-image and confidence in my own voice. My…
The Alpha Tau Omega chapter at Indiana University is suspended tonight, after a video depicting what looks like a horrific hazing ceremony surfaced on Twitter. In it, a student appears to be forced to perform oral sex on a woman—it’s unclear if either is consenting. It’s unclear who leaked the 29-second clip, now circulating on…
They say it’s because she’s transphobic The SU are not allowing Julie Bindel to talk at a Free Speech and Secular society event. They released a statement explaining that Bindel was “flagged as potentially in breach of [their] safe space policy.” The activities and development officer and the SU decided to ban her from the uni based…
Last year, I conducted alumni interviews for Yale applicants. It’s an easy gig. You take a smart, ambitious 17-year-old out for hot chocolate, ask them about their life, and then report back to the university, “Yup, this is another great kid.” I recently got an email asking me to re-enlist. Was I ready for another admissions season? I…
With the rise of coding bootcamps, it’s become a popular notion that being able to code is simply a matter of will, not dollars. “Learn how to code and become a developer, it’s easy! Take an eight-week course!” But this couldn’t be further from the truth: Becoming a developer is difficult and often out of…
Until recently, Loni McKown was the envy of the college media-advising world. As the student-newspaper adviser at Butler University in Indianapolis, her evaluations were sterling. Grads were landing impressive reporting jobs. Beginning in 2011—for the first time in the student newspaper’s history—national awards started adorning the walls of the newsroom. But on September 4, McKown,…