Chaos on Campus: Puzzle #41
"What politicians are always trying to get more of"
Education
The Government's Solution to FAFSA Chaos: Spend $50 Million More
Instead of throwing money at the problem, the Education Department should commit to fixing the form for next year.
California Students Get $1 Million After They Were Expelled for Wearing Supposedly Racist Acne Masks
School officials falsely accused the boys of posing for a photo in blackface.
This Student Was Allegedly Suspended for Saying 'Illegal Aliens.' Did That Violate the First Amendment?
Christian McGhee is suing, arguing a North Carolina assistant principal infringed on his free speech rights.
The Best of Reason: The Future of AI Is Helping Us Discover the Past
Historical teaching and research are being revamped by AI.
Campus Anti-Israel Protests and the Ethics of Civil Disobedience
Civil disobedience is sometimes justified. But current law-breaking by anti-Israel protestors on college campuses doesn't come close to meeting the requisite moral standards.
Americans Care About Inflation, but Politicians Don't
Plus: A listener asks the editors about cancelling student loan debt.
What I Saw at the University of Virginia's Protest Crackdown
The college had a legal right to break up the pro-Palestine encampment. But does that mean it should?
Debating Legacy Preferences in College Admissions
Sociologist Roderick Graham and I debated this issue at the Divided We Fall website.
The Future of AI Is Helping Us Discover the Past
Historical teaching and research are being revamped by AI.
West Virginia Declares State of Emergency Over FAFSA Chaos
Due to persistent glitches in the financial aid form, Gov. Jim Justice issued an executive order lifting the FAFSA requirement for several state grants.
'Equity' Grading Is the Latest Educational Fad Destined To Fail
Why work extra hard when you won't be able to get an A? Why try to improve when you won't get worse than a C?
New Article on "Brown, Democracy, and Foot Voting"
My contribution to the American Journal of Law and Equality symposium on the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.
Do Schools Really Need To Give Parents Live Updates on Students' Performance?
This new school-to-parent pipeline allows parents to micromanage yet another aspect of their kids' lives.
Coddled Kids Become Depressed, Anti-Social College Students
Young people need independent play in order to become capable adults.
Don't Fall For RFK Jr.'s Home Loan Scheme
Kennedy’s plan for government-backed mortgage bonds will do to housing what federal student loans have done to college tuition.
Bipartisan Legislation Would Let the Government Create Speech-Chilling 'Antisemitism Monitors'
The bill would allow the Education Department to effectively force colleges to suppress a wide range of protected speech.
Seriousness Crisis
Plus: NatalCon, Cuban economics, AI priest defrocked, and more...
Student Movements Are Often Wrong
We shouldn't assume that student political movements necessarily have a just cause. Far from it.
Texas Public Colleges Crack Down on Peaceful Anti-Israel Protests
In March, Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order demanding that colleges crack down on antisemitic speech.
New Title IX Rules Erase Campus Due Process Protections
The new rules allow students to be found guilty of assaulting a classmate without ever seeing the full evidence against them.
USC Cancels Valedictorian's Speech Over Bogus 'Safety Concerns'
The university has a history of suppressing speech from both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Regulating Smartphones? Jonathan Haidt vs. Libertarians
The author of The Anxious Generation argues that parents, schools, and society must keep kids off of social media.
Why Are So Many People Eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
A recent case in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals highlights just how bloated PSLF eligibility has become.
FAFSA Glitches Cause Chaos for Millions of College Students
A shoddy effort to simplify the financial aid form led to errors affecting 30 percent of this year's FAFSA applications.
Getting Testy
Plus: Joe Biden pushes through new background checks for gun purchases, O.J. Simpson dies, NA beer takes D.C., and more...
Say No to This: America's Fiscal Norms Are in Decline
Despite their informal nature, those norms have historically constrained U.S. fiscal policy. But they're eroding.
Quiz: What Do You Know About the SAT?
Colleges have turned away from standardized testing in admissions. Are the tests really that bad?
Arizona's Battle Against School Choice for Special Needs
State government officials deploy scare tactics against families of special needs students seeking alternatives.
The Government Was Supposed To Simplify the FAFSA. Instead, They Created a Glitchy Fiasco.
Instead of making the FAFSA form easier for families, persistent technical issues have imperiled vital financial aid information for millions of students.
Try, Try Again
Plus: Trump's abortion principles, celebrating Larry David, a bizarre Chechnyan music crackdown, and more...
Biden Announces Second Attempt at Widespread Student Loan Forgiveness
The new plan is much less ambitious than the president's 2022 blanket forgiveness effort, mostly relying on an expansion of previous smaller-scale debt cancelation schemes.
Seattle Is Getting Rid of Gifted Schools in a Bid To Increase Equity
When schools get rid of advanced offerings, they hurt smart, underprivileged students.
More Than 1 in 4 Kids Are Chronically Absent From School, Report Shows
Since COVID-era school closures, chronic absenteeism has increased from 15 to 26 percent, with poor districts struggling the most.
DARE Didn't Make Kids 'Say No' to Drugs. It Normalized Police in Schools.
DARE to Say No details the history of an anti-drug campaign that left an indelible mark on America.
How the Show Me State Could Show 'Em Again - Bring Missouri Into the Litigation Challenging Biden's New Student Loan Forgiveness Plan [Updated to Note Missouri Has Previously Announced it Will Do What I Urge Here]
This would virtually ensure the case can't be dismissed for lack of standing, thanks to Missouri's precedent-setting Supreme Court victory in Biden v. Nebraska. The Show Me State can once again really show 'em!
Red States File Lawsuit Challenging New Biden Student Loan Forgiveness Plan
There are many parallels between this case and the one the Supreme Court decided in Biden v. Nebraska, invalidating Biden's previous large-scale loan forgiveness plan.
What Do We Owe the Kids?
Plus: Gun detection in the subway system, Toronto's rainwater tax, goat wet nurses, and more...
Review: Musical Movie Doesn't Recapture Mean Girls' Genuine Meanness
The audience's tolerance for the truth about bullying has diminished in our oversensitive age.
Parents Don't Want Schools to Confiscate Kids' Phones
A new survey highlights how fear-based parenting drives phone-based childhoods.
Steven Pinker: What Went Wrong at Harvard
The psychologist and bestselling author argues that Harvard's free speech policy was so "selectively prosecuted that it became a national joke."
FAFSA Glitch Imperils Financial Aid for 200,000 Students
A rushed attempt to simplify the financial aid form has led to persistent technical difficulties, frustrating families and colleges alike.
Public Schools Charge Tuition, Just Like Private Schools
All too often, admission is only open to students whose families can afford a home inside the districts’ boundaries or pay transfer student tuition.
Hardcore History's Dan Carlin: 'History Is Not Like Math'
The podcasting pioneer argues that "history is a moving target."
The Lesson of COVID-19: Don't Give Government More Power
The pandemic showed that America's founders were right to create a system of checks and balances that made it hard for leaders to easily have their way.
