'A political agenda aimed at reshaping higher education into an ideological stronghold'
'The targeting of Palestinian activism is merely an excuse'
Faisal Kutty at Al Jazeera
"The Trump administration's war on campus dissent" has hit Columbia hard, and the university "ultimately capitulated to the Trump administration's sweeping demands," says Faisal Kutty. "What started as speech restrictions and campus disciplinary actions has now evolved" into deportations and "outright interference in university affairs." The "endgame is not just suppressing pro-Palestinian activism but taking ideological control over higher education" in the U.S., Kutty adds. "The assault on universities is part of a broader right-wing effort to reshape academia."
What people 'really need is not DEI, but PFJ — power, freedom and justice'
Perry Bacon Jr. at The Washington Post
Although the "right's war on DEI has gone way too far, liberals shouldn't seek" to "restore it when Democrats regain power," says Perry Bacon Jr. The right's "identity-blindness is deeply flawed, but the concepts of diversity and inclusion" have "shortcomings, too." Diversity "suffers from vague and even conflicting interpretations," and "individuals who get the spoils from a focus on diversity often don't share the interests of the broader group."
'AI is a powerful and efficient tool for addressing the problem of government waste'
Jon Husted at The Wall Street Journal
Ohio has had great success "using artificial intelligence to cleanse its regulations of outdated, conflicting or redundant content," says Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio). The state is now "on track to reduce its regulatory code by about a third," making it "easier for people and businesses to comply with the law." Congress should "work with the Trump administration to cull inefficiencies and redundancies from the federal government" using AI tools, which "don't replace government workers but can empower them."
'Why I got the measles vaccine at age 63'
Margaret Renkl at The New York Times
While "today there is absolutely no reason to believe that the measles vaccine causes autism," vaccination rates "continue to fall," and "now a measles outbreak is raging in unvaccinated communities," says Margaret Renkl. "My own safety wasn't my chief concern," she adds. "Doing everything I can to protect my fellow human beings who cannot be vaccinated" seems to be the "only moral thing to do for anyone living in close community with other people."