The Israel-Hamas War Is Escalating. Colleges Are Caught in the Middle. →

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The Israel-Hamas War Is Escalating. Colleges Are Caught in the Middle.

To Davis, the statements from faculty and administrators supporting Israel or condemning pro-Palestinian protests have helped to create a “volatile” and “polarizing” campus climate. Many of the statements have a “complete and utter disregard” for how Palestinian people have been treated for the past 75 years, Davis said. This can be especially problematic for colleges with large populations of Palestinian and other Arab students, he said.

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What’s Different About Student Activism Over the Israel-Hamas War →

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What’s Different About Student Activism Over the Israel-Hamas War

A wave of student activism has spread across the country this month following the onset of the Israel-Hamas war. And more activity is likely in the coming days, with the national Students for Justice in Palestine group issuing a second call to action for its campus chapters this week.

The demonstrations and the reactions to them stand out in the long history of campus protests, experts say. Students are more skeptical, more influential, and simultaneously more vulnerable than ever.

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Why Didn't Colleges Rein In Their Police →

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Why Didn't Colleges Rein In Their Police

Three years after George Floyd’s murder, campus safety hasn’t changed much. George Washington University’s police department will begin arming some officers this fall for the first time. Portland State University quietly moved away from a 2021 policy change that had restricted its officers’ ability to patrol with weapons. Dr. Davis said the backpedaling on reform efforts “communicates a lack of political commitment” to the racial-justice priorities colleges identified in 2020. Davis served on the aforementioned Michigan task force.

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UC Strike Expected to Inspire Further Campus Organizing →

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UC Strike Expected to Inspire Further Campus Organizing

Although graduate workers have seen benefits from striking, since minoritized students are often subject to barriers that prevent them from attending graduate school, the strikes do not benefit everyone equally, according to Dr. Charles H.F. Davis III, an assistant professor in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan.

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Harvard Names Dr. Claudine Gay to Presidency →

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Harvard Names Dr. Claudine Gay to Presidency

Dr. Claudine Gay is making history.

Gay, dean of Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, will succeed current Harvard President Dr. Lawrence S. Bacow on July 1, 2023. Gay’s appointment marks the first time a person of color will lead the nation’s oldest and one of its most prominent postsecondary institutions.

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Deion Sanders Leaves Jackson State for Colorado →

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Deion Sanders Leaves Jackson State for Colorado

Former NFL star and renowned coach Deion “Prime Time” Sanders is leaving his position as head football coach of Jackson State University in Mississippi and is heading to The University of Colorado Boulder (CU). Online, reactions to Sanders's announcement have varied. Some fans were hurt that Sanders is leaving the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) at its peak.

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Biden Cancels Up to $20,000 of Student Debt →

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Biden Cancels Up to $20,000 of Student Debt

The moment has finally arrived. The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it is moving forward with its promise to partially cancel student debt.

Biden also announced the student loan repayment pause, issued due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will cease at the end of this year. These changes come on top of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness waiver and debt cancellation of students defrauded by predatory institutions, totaling $32 billion in student debt relief for 1.6 million Americans.

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