Tag Archives: science

Anchoring academic resistance

Last week the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rejected the “Compact” offered by the Trump Administration, crossing a line into resistance and (implicitly) inviting other universities to follow. In a powerful letter, MIT President Sally Kornbluth, the cell biologist, explained … Continue reading

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Solidarity and higher education

https://www.inquirer.com/education/upenn-union-rally-dei-funding-trump-administration-20250320.html Virtually everyone starts with a gripe about higher education: costs, grades, debt, jobs, parking, artificial intelligence, natural intelligence, and so and so on. The Trump administration has floated on all the grievances to launch a series of attacks that … Continue reading

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Searching for Solidarity in Higher Education (1)

I want to know what we’re doing to save higher education in America from the Trump Administration. Tell me what you know about. Here’s what I’ve seen: The victims of the Trump Administration’s scattershot but relentless campaign against America’s colleges … Continue reading

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Columbia University negotiates with terrorists: The Trump Administration

Taking hostages is an act of terror. Kidnappers hold more and less innocents to gain attention, extort money, and bully others into doing something they don’t want to do. Taking hostages is morally reprehensible and widely recognized as a war … Continue reading

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Strategizing an Opposition in Trump II

I get more calls from journalists in turbulent political times, generally when there’s interest in figuring out viable political and protest strategies. In the last week or so, I’ve commented on a consumer boycott announced by a thus far marginal … Continue reading

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Search for a Strategy: Protest Plus

The iconic image of a social movement is the mass demonstration, and American history is littered with plenty of them, representing causes, good and bad. Washington, DC is a magnet for mass demonstrations, and the Resistance to Trump I was … Continue reading

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Dilemmas and Dynamics of Escalation (3)

People who want strong action to combat climate change have many options beyond self-immolation–which isn’t a good choice at all. Within a broad movement that includes the full spectrum of advocacy and protest actions–from talking to neighbors to ecosabotage–with all … Continue reading

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Democracy and science

This weekend’s March for Science turned out hundreds of thousands around the world, with particularly large turnouts in Washington, DC, and Chicago. For yet another protest weekend, a week before the Peoples Climate March, this level of participation was pretty impressive. … Continue reading

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Taxes and science

When large demonstrations work, they change the conversations afterward. Assembling in Washington DC–and elsewhere–occupies space in mainstream and social media even when the demonstrators have gone home. Last week’s tax march, which turned out tens of thousands across scores of … Continue reading

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Do you believe in science?

The image above is from the Heartland Institute, an advocacy group which receives funding from a number of conservative sources (Scaife, Olin, Koch, for example) to promote doubts about climate change, the health risks of cigarettes, the dangers of fracking, … Continue reading

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