Higher Education
Federal Funding for Universities Comes With Strings. Now Trump Is Pulling Them.
The potential nationalization and forced revenue sharing of university patents makes a strong case for the separation of economy and state.
America Educates the World's Best and Brightest—Then Shows Them the Door
As students grapple with an unfriendly immigration system and targeted crackdowns on campus, how long will the U.S. remain the world's top study destination?
Trump Changes His Mind
Plus: War Department, government ownership stake in Intel, National Guard members become cleaning crews, and more...
College Football Is a Fun, Glorious Mess. These 7 Changes Would Make It Even Better.
How to fix the conferences, the rules, the playoffs, and more
West Texas A&M Drag Ban Defeated in Court
Obviously drag shows are protected by the First Amendment.
Advice to Entering Law Students - 2025
Some suggestions that might help you make better use of the opportunities available to you in law school.
America's Two-Front War on Science
Universities’ internal culture wars threaten free speech and inquiry, but political attacks on research funding and infrastructure are crippling U.S. scientific leadership.
The University Presidents Who Want to Fix Universities Before They Get Fixed
University Presidents are divided on how to respond to pressure from the Trump Administration. Are their concerns too little, too late?
A First Amendment Lawsuit Highlights the Chilling Impact of Speech-Based Deportation on Student Journalists
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is seeking an injunction that would protect noncitizens at The Stanford Daily from arrest and removal because of their published work.
On the Politics of University Autonomy
My new paper thinking through the political calculus of independent universities
Harvard Is Wise To Not Consider $500 Million Settlement With Trump
The university's president has maintained that Harvard will not risk losing its academic freedom, and it may delay any settlement negotiations until after a final court ruling.
Safe Spaces Are Coming Back to Brown University—All Thanks to Trump
The campus' settlement with the federal government is bound to create free speech headaches.
How Sports Tickets Got So Expensive—Or Did They?
Plus: regulating college sports, forgiving baseball’s legends, and Happy Gilmore 2
Columbia's $200 Million Deal Will Placate Trump—for Now
To reinstitute $400 million in federal funding, the university agreed to implement plans to combat antisemitism and to appoint an independent monitor to oversee changes.
Trump Administration Opens New Investigation Into Harvard, Escalating Pressure
The investigation comes only two days after a federal judge cast doubt on the Trump administration’s argument in Harvard’s lawsuit over federal funding.
Defending Its Speech-Based Deportation Policy, the Trump Administration Says 'No Such Policy Exists'
The government's gaslighting strategy suggests that federal officials are not confident about the constitutionality of punishing students for expressing anti-Israel views.
Trump vs. Harvard
Plus: City-run grocery stores, Peronists for prison, California can't figure out how minimum wage hikes work, and more...
Why Are Students Using AI To Cheat? Maybe Because They Shouldn't Be In College At All
AI cheating is often a crutch for students ill-equipped to attend a four-year university.
Trump Wants Harvard To Hand Over Info on Over 10,000 International Students
The university says it will continue to defend itself against government overreach.
The Trump Administration Says Its Speech-Based Deportation Policy 'Does Not Exist'
The government’s lawyers also say that supposedly nonexistent policy is perfectly consistent with the First Amendment.
New Jersey Lawmakers Are Considering 2 Bills To Heavily Regulate Homeschooling
Under the bills, homeschooling curricula would have to meet state learning standards and students would be required to complete annual wellness checks.
Colleges Created a Diversity Box-Ticking Game—Zohran Mamdani Just Played It
The big problem here is the elite racism of college admissions departments, not the mayoral candidate's creative box-checking.
How the NCAA Helped Trump Score Big on Transgender Issues
The organization was unfair to female competitors, was unfair to Lia Thomas, and handed the Trump administration a win on a silver platter.
I'm No Fan of UVA's President. That Doesn't Mean the Government Should Force Him Out.
Jim Ryan is the latest casualty in Trump's unconstitutional war against elite universities.
Student Visa Applicants Will Now Be Forced To Make Their Social Media Accounts Public
The Trump administration continues its war against disfavored speech.
Reason Earns 15 Southern California Journalism Awards
First-place finishes include a piece on the Dutch "dropping" rite of passage, a documentary exploring citizen journalism and free speech, and a long-form interview with exoneree Amanda Knox.
The Rationale for Deporting Mahmoud Khalil Is Alarmingly Vague and Broad
Marco Rubio’s nebulous invocation of foreign policy interests is bound to have a chilling impact on freedom of speech, which is the whole point.
Capping Student Loans Won't Destroy Medical Schools
Medical school is so expensive in the first place because of a policy that gives medical students unlimited access to loans.
Texas Legislators Say They Are Protecting Free Speech on Campus by Banning 'Expressive Activities' at Night
A bill awaiting the governor's signature represents a stark reversal from a 2019 law aimed at promoting "uninhibited debate."
A Judge Said the Excuse for Arresting Mahmoud Khalil Was Unconstitutionally Vague. Why Isn't Khalil Free?
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz highlights the chilling impact of Marco Rubio's dubious rationale for deporting students whose views offend him.
What Happens if the Department of Education Goes Away?
Most of what the department does would likely stick around, for better or for worse.
Academic Freedom Podcast on the University Endowment Tax
An explainer from Brian Galle
Trump's Threats Against Musk and Newsom Reflect an Authoritarian Intolerance of Dissent
Even if the president was joking in both cases, he already has used his powers to punish people whose views offend him.
As Trump Threatens Columbia's Accreditation, the School Should Stop Trying To Placate Him
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the school’s handling of campus antisemitism violated civil rights law and is grounds for revoking accreditation.
Trump's Haste Begets Lawlessness
The president treats legal constraints as inconveniences that can be overridden by executive fiat.
Harvard International Student With a Private Instagram? You Might Not Get a Visa.
Under new State Department guidance, having private or no social media presence "may be reflective of evasiveness and call into question [a student visa] applicant's credibility."
Is the American Bar Association's Accreditation Monopoly about to End?
My latest Civitas Outlook column looks at the growing pressure on the ABA's role in law school accreditation.
Can Trump Yank Harvard's Remaining Federal Funding?
Trump is wielding the state against a school whose politics he doesn't like.
Seizing Harvard's Federal Funds
Plus: Nanny surveillance, Apple stock price responds to tariff threats, Boeing settlement, and more...
Harvard's Best Protection Is To Get Off the Federal Teat
It's the best shield when the executive branch tries to strong-arm private universities.
Trump's Mass Cancellation of Student Visas Illustrates the Lawlessness of His Immigration Crackdown
A federal judge blocks the administration's "Student Criminal Alien Initiative," which targeted foreign students who had no criminal records.
Reason Nominated for 17 Southern California Journalism Awards
Nominees include stories on inflation breaking brains, America's first drug war, Afghans the U.S. left behind, Javier Milei, and much more.
Court Orders Release of Tufts Foreign Student Detained For Her Speech
The ruling is a victory for the proposition that the First Amendment applies to immigration and visa restrictions.
Who's More Liberal, Law Professors or Their Students?
An interesting new study on the ideological concordance between law faculty and law students.
Steven Pinker: Can Harvard Be Saved?
The Harvard psychologist discusses recent gains for free speech at Harvard, growing political and ideological threats to academic freedom, and the importance of shared knowledge in sustaining truth and progress.
