to make a man covet a thing
/In order to make a man covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. -Mark Twian
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
The path to sainthood
/The path to sainthood goes through adulthood. There are no quick and easy shortcuts. An identity must be established before it can be transcended. One must find one’s self before one can lose it.
M Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled
Articles of interest about the virus and higher ed - May 7
/***THE VIRUS
Is It Safer To Visit A Coffee Shop Or A Gym?
About Seven-in-Ten U.S. Adults Say They Need to Take Breaks From COVID-19 News
Fed study ties 1918 flu pandemic to Nazi Party gains
Virus hospitalization is new barrier to military enlistment
UC San Diego to mass test its students for the novel coronavirus
***HIGHER ED: WHAT’S AHEAD
As Students Put Off College, Anxious Universities Tap Wait Lists
Disasters have shut down California colleges in the past: Here’s how they fared
***UNIVERSITY CUTS & CLOSURES
University of Akron will be cutting six of its 11 academic colleges
Professors at Ohio U say faculty cuts can't just be blamed on COVID-19
PSU employees furloughed after university’s loss in revenue
Are layoffs coming? Fresno-area community colleges face massive budget shortfalls
***HIGHER ED & FINANCE
Windfall for Small Colleges like God’s Bible School and College
Faculty, Staff Criticize System President's $200K Bonus
Forecasting the US Higher Education Market: A Primer
University-affiliated hospitals suffer huge revenue losses
The University of Illinois made a prophetic insurance bet in 2017
The ‘Public’ in Public College Could Be Endangered
***HIGHER ED IN COURT
Initial Considerations for Colleges and Universities Defending Class Action COVID-19 Refund Cases
***TEST-BLIND ADMISSIONS
UC will waive ACT and SAT requirements for most applicants starting next year
Loyola University New Orleans Adopts Test-Blind Admission Process
UW campuses, except Madison, consider dropping SAT and ACT requirement due to COVID-19 pandemic
Alabama colleges waive ACT & SAT scores for admission
Texas Lutheran waives SAT/ACT requirements
Will the Coronavirus End the SAT?
***TEACHING
Paranoia about cheating is making online education terrible for everyone
Why I’m Learning More With Distance Learning Than I Do in School
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Plans for fall assume professors will be willing to teach. Will they?
Report details gaps for women and minority professionals in higher ed
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Christian college president urge Calif. to reopen churches
Holy Family College to close this summer
Liberty University surpasses 100k online students
***RESEARCH
The dangers of sharing unpublished medical articles during a pandemic
Chinese state censorship of COVID-19 research represents a looming crisis for academic publishers
Three ways to turn the page after your first paper rejection
***STUDENTS & THE GAP
Coronavirus fears may lead to big gap year for college students
College Students Are Considering Gap Years If Classes Are Still Remote In the Fall
***STUDENTS & GRADUATION
Daytona, Texas to host high school graduations, NASCAR style
****STUDENT PROTESTS
University of Chicago students refuse to pay spring quarter bills until the school cuts tuition
College protests go digital, distant
****STUDENT LIFE
San Diego college students adjust to online job interviews
Gallup/Knight Foundation survey shows students conflicted about free speech
Chinese students who remain on American college campuses during the pandemic adjust to quieter lives
Students face restricted access to open records and meetings due to COVID-19
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
The new regulations governing campus sexual assault under Title IX
The New Federal Rules Will Better Protect Students Accused Of Sexual Assault
ACE: The Education Department "is not living in the real world"
one step
/If you're running a 26-mile marathon, remember that every mile is run one step at a time. If you are writing a book, do it one page at a time. -Charles Swindoll
It's over
/What you knew, what you understood, and what you trusted about everything is OVER. Because everything’s changed. It’s over. That’s the first truth.
The second truth.. is that it’s just beginning—if you choose to be remarkable. Why not choose to show up in your life and then your profession with a kind of engagement and energy and commitment and passion that says, “I can do it again! And I can’t wait.” Why wouldn’t you choose that?
If you say, “I don’t know,” then look at your beliefs. Because chances are someone told you long ago that you couldn’t do it. You weren’t tall enough. You weren’t smart enough. You weren’t rich enough. You weren’t the right color.
Don’t pay a bit of attention to that. You are in the process every day of becoming. Take your hand off the doorknob and say, “Now.”
Roger Fransecky, The Apogee Group
Articles of Interest about the virus, journalism, writing & more - May 5
/***THE VIRUS
New Studies Add to Evidence that Children May Transmit the Coronavirus
Coronavirus spares one neighborhood but ravages the next. Race and class spell the difference.
Covid-19: What if a vaccine is never developed?
Anti-Vaccination Activists Are Growing Force at Virus Protests
Study shows mutant coronavirus has emerged, even more contagious than the original
***PROTECTING YOURSELF
Is It Ok To Go To Parks And Beaches? Coronavirus Experts Weigh In
Report on face masks' effectiveness for Covid-19 divides scientists
How does alcohol change immunity? 3 truths about lockdown drinking
***ZOOM
How to hide yourself on Zoom—and why you should
Hackers target remote workers with fake Zoom downloader
***GOOD NEWS
Anonymous donor gives $1 million to virus-fighting hospital staff —designated entirely for employees
An Alabama teacher paid several months of utility bills for some of his students and their families
FSU students create map of kindness
***WRITING & READING
Indie bookstores take a page, and a slice of sales, from Amazon
For a lot of book lovers, rereading old favorites is the only reading they can manage at the moment
***PLAGIARISM
India’s University Grants Commission: 'Self-Plagiarism, Text Recycling Not Acceptable'
Illinois Republican congressional candidate’s fundraising email plagiarizes Chicago Tribune story
***JOURNALISM
The Rev Guide to Surviving Journalism in 2020 (A Toolkit)
COVID-19 Resources for Reporters
The topography of local news: A new map
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
Local newsrooms unite to cover coronavirus pandemic
After coronavirus furloughs, Gannett newspapers lay off journalists around the country
Most newspapers not eligible for stimulus loans, says report
***FAKES & FRAUDS
The scientific community must take up cudgels in the battle against bunk (opinion)
Trump’s Pick for Intelligence Chief Follows a Slew of QAnon Accounts
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media use spikes during pandemic
The founder of surveillance startup Banjo has a secret racist past
***LANGUAGE
Can COVID-19 isolation change how you speak? You may emerge with an accent, experts say
What protects minority languages from extinction?
***LITERATURE
Alaska school board removes 'The Great Gatsby,' other famous books from curriculum
‘Never Be Afraid’: William Faulkner’s Speech to His Daughter’s Graduating Class in 1951
***POETRY
A beginner's guide to reading and enjoying poetry
Emory professor wins Pulitzer prize for poetry
a dog barks
/If you stop every time a dog barks, your road will never end. - Arabian Proverb
Why couples start to look alike
/It’s folk wisdom that couples in long and happy relationships look more and more alike as the years go by. Peer closely at those old photographs, and you’ll see that the couples haven’t actually grown similar noses or chins. Instead, they have reflected, each other’s expressions so frequently and so accurately that hundreds of tiny muscle attachments to their skin have reshaped their faces to mirror their union. How this happens gives us a window on one of the most fascinating recent discoveries about the brain, and about how we come to “feel felt” by one another.
Daniel J. Siegel, Mindsight
Carl Jung's patients
/I have treated many hundreds of patients. Among [those] in the second half of life-that is to say over 35—there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life. –Carl Jung
Celebrating what is right
/If we celebrate what is right in our lives, we gain the perspective to deal with some of the things that are wrong in our lives.
Articles of interest about the virus & higher ed - May 1
/***THE VIRUS
Poop may tell us when the coronavirus lockdown will end
How the COVID-19 Pandemic Could End
Florida medical examiners were releasing coronavirus death data. The state made them stop.
Texas Still Won’t Say Which Nursing Homes Have COVID-19 Cases. Families Are Demanding Answers.
***FAKES & FRAUDS
Cue the debunking: Two California doctors go viral with dubious COVID test conclusions
Groups sow doubt about COVID vaccine before one even exists
An infectious disease expert on Covid-19, misinformation and 'bullshit'
Covid hoaxes are using a loophole to stay alive—even after content is deleted
***WORKING FROM HOME: ZOOM
Google Meet tackles Zoom by going completely free for all
When Mom’s Zoom Meeting Is the One That Has to Wait
Is video conferencing draining our productivity?
***WORKING FROM HOME
Tips to settle into your new work-from-home routine
Should I run with a mask? Experts share coronavirus mask guidance
What Expenses Can I Write Off Working From Home During the Pandemic?
Bad WiFi is slowing you down. Fix yours without spending a dime
***HIGHER ED & THE VIRUS
Higher Education in the Age of Coronavirus
Colleges and universities could see more interest in nursing
What are some of the key decision points colleges face?
***HIGHER ED & FALL CLASSES
What Do US Universities Risk If They Reopen This Fall?
Anxiety builds as California colleges consider how and when to resume on-campus fall courses
These universities say their students will return to campus in the fall
Colleges Are Weighing the Costs of Reopening in the Fall
There's No Simple Way to Reopen Universities
Even if California college campuses reopen, will most students still come?
Brown University President On Why Universities Need To Reopen By Fall
Community colleges offer summer discounts to help struggling students and enrollments
***HIGHER ED & FINANCE
Coronavirus pandemic brings staggering losses to colleges and universities
Colleges could lose up to 20 percent of students, analysis says
Colleges are facing a cash crunch and it could alter campus life
***EDUCATION IN COURT
Students sue California’s university systems demanding coronavirus-related refunds
Court Rules Detroit Students Have Constitutional Right To An Education
***STUDENTS & THE VIRUS
Some students are considering dropping out of college because of coronavirus
Gap Years To Financial Aid: A College Decision Day Colored By Coronavirus
***STUDENT LIFE
Millennials outnumbered Boomers in 2019
Students in off-campus housing struggle to make rent
An all-star virtual graduation awaits college students
Uncertain Job Market Awaits Soon-to-Be Graduates
Who qualifies for a stimulus check? Not most college students or adults under 24
***TEACHING
From Wuhan to Brooklyn, educators are rethinking what students really need
5 Traps That Will Kill Online Learning (and Strategies to Avoid Them)
21 Times Zoom University Was Truly Out Of Control
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Who’s Laughing Now? (A Letter from Henry David Thoreau)
University of Miami professor resigns after reportedly sharing porn bookmark on Zoom
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Wheaton College offers a full room/board refund instead of a prorated refund
Beyond Cedarville: Why Do Pastors Keep Getting Rehired After Abuse?
The Promise & Paradox of Christian Higher Ed
Faith-based colleges face challenges even bigger than coronavirus
Point Loma Nazarene 3D Prints Over 300 Face Shields for Tijuana General
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
NCAA sued by 7 women for failure to protect in alleged sexual assaults
Harvard Law School Students Come Together To Demand The School Stop Harassing Three Students
NC Supreme Court orders UNC-CH to turn over sex assault info
Take a Closer Look
/
This lovely furniture looks like cozy quarters. But you won't findthe furniture taking up space in someone's living room. The trees in the background offer a hint that something's amiss. These items are tucked away in a Seattle park. They're made of solid cement. And while you can take a seat on the sofa, cozy wouldn't be the best word to describe the experience.
Today you will come across a situation that will look quite different--if you would only take a few small steps toward it. A closer look can change your whole perspective.. when you take the time to go deeper.
Stephen Goforth
Speech & Silence
/I have often regretted my speech, never my silence. -Xenocrates
Choosing Your Plan
/He who lets the world, or his own portion of it, choose his plan of life for him, has no need of any other faculty than the ape-like one of imitation. He who chooses his plan for himself, employs all his faculties. He must use observation to see, reasoning and judgment to foresee, activity to gather materials for decision, discrimination to decide, and when he has decided, firmness and self-control to hold to his deliberate decision.
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
braver
/I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who overcomes his enemies. –Aristotle
Articles of Interest about the virus, higher ed, research, student life, etc. - April 27
/***HIGHER ED IN THE FALL
Will students show up for college in fall 2020? Community colleges offer a hint. It isn't pretty
Higher education's 'to-do' list — the consequences of coronavirus
Nothing is firm, but some colleges are telegraphing their intentions
Will Colleges Keep All Virtual Classes For Fall Semester?
College students want answers about fall, but schools may not have them for months
What If Colleges Don’t Reopen Until 2021?
Brown University president argues that colleges must reopen this fall from coronavirus closures
***HIGHER ED
Coursera to give unemployed workers free access to 3,800 online courses
SAT, ACT Policies May Improve Diversity At Colleges And Universities
Colleges and universities offer virtual campus tours
***HIGHER ED & FINANCE
Downward price pressure: Tuition freezes and cuts
Why coronavirus-battered universities may not be able to use their endowments
Boise State is furloughing for all employees paid more than $40,000
Private colleges brace for downturn amid pandemic fallout
Community colleges could see a surge in popularity amid Covid-19
Coronavirus sends colleges and universities over a cliff
Rutgers Freezes Hiring, Cuts Leaders’ Pay to Weather Budget Woes By Janet Lorin
***HIGHER ED
Will the Coronavirus Forever Alter the College Experience
Public Universities Censor Social Media Speech
***HIGHER ED IN COURT
Why universities may face lawsuits related to the coronavirus
***TEACHING
African American students at University of South Carolina 'Zoom-bombed' by racist images, language
Zoombomber crashes Fresno State session with child porn, professor confirms
Teaching Literature in the Time of COVID-19
How lenient, or not, should professors be with students right now?
6 Reasons Students Aren't Showing Up for Virtual Learning
***TEACHING: ONLINE EXAM MONITORING
Fordham Opts Out of Using Exam Monitoring Software
Online classes lead to claims of privacy invasions
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Exhausted and Grieving: Teaching During the Coronavirus Crisis
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Cedarville professor fired over allegations of misconduct
Fire Cedarville University President Thomas White NOW
***RESEARCH
A Number Of Coronavirus Studies Are Now Being Released. How Do We Gauge Their Validity?” (podcast)
Coronavirus Is Forcing Medical Research to Speed Up
People are dying from coronavirus because we’re not fast enough at clinical research
Small studies routinely generate signals of promise that are not confirmed in subsequent trials
Early journal submission data suggest COVID-19 is tanking women's research productivity
COVID-19 misinformation: pay close attention to four major communication challenges
How to tell whether you’re the victim of a bad peer review
***STUDENT LIFE
San Diego College students shudder at thought of starting freshman year with online classes
Coronavirus is changing the way universities connect with potential students
5 things college students should include in a plan for their wellness
‘My World Is Shattering’: Foreign Students Stranded by Coronavirus
How a College Final Became a Lesson in Survival
What we know about disabled students in the U.S.
35% of Summer Internships Have Already Been Canceled, New Yello Study Reveals
How to score an internship during the COVID-19 pandemic
Why are so many college seniors in influential Trump admin posts?
PLNU’s Zack Noll: Pandemic like a 2-0 curveball, ‘I wasn’t expecting this’
The Doctor’s Prescription
/A physician gave some rather whimsical advice to a patient, an aggressive businessman. Excitedly he told the doctor what an enormous amount of work he had to do. "If I write you a prescription will you follow it?" asked the doctor, realizing his state of mental tension.
This, believe it or not, was the prescription: The patient was to take off two hours every working day and go for a long walk. He was to take off a half-day a week and spend that half-day in a cemetery.
In astonishment, the patient demanded, "Why should I spend a half-day in a cemetery?"
"Because," answered the doctor, "I want you to wander around and took at the gravestones of men who are there permanently. I want you to meditate upon the fact many of them are there because they thought even as you do, that the whole world rested on their shoulders. Meditate on the solemn fact that when you get there permanently, the world will go on just the same and, important as you are, others will be able to do the work you are now doing."
Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking
Articles of Interest about the virus & religion - April 26
/***THE VIRUS
How to avoid Foggy eyeglasses when wearing a face mask
The changes that will outlast the crisis
There is no anti-lockdown protest movement
Sunlight might kill the coronavirus on surfaces, but not on the body
***RELIGION & THE VIRUS
Arrest warrant out for anti-social distancing pastor after incident with bus, protester
Many Evangelicals Are Going To Church Despite Social Distancing Guidelines
The Plight of a Hospital Chaplain During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Virginia pastor who defiantly held church service dies of coronavirus
Megachurch Pastor Says Parishioner Did Not Die of Coronavirus, Despite What Coroner Says
***RELIGION
Pastor’s online sermon, with comical filters, cracks up thousands worldwide
Zondervan publishing Quran with Christian commentary as ministry resource
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
A Federal Judge Appointed By Trump Ruled To Let Church Gatherings Resume In Kansas
***RELIGION & THE LAW
More Americans OK with businesses not serving gays based on religion, survey finds
***RELIGION & FINANCE
Church donations have plunged—some won’t survive
Pastor: don’t buy food give your stimulus money to churches
***MEGACHURCHES
Willow Creek church names new senior pastor
New Mexico megachurch sues state over policy limiting gatherings
Articles of Interest about the virus, writing, journalism & more – April 25
/***THE VIRUS
This game simulates how your choices affect the spread of the coronavirus
When Denver backed off social distancing in the 1918 pandemic, the results were deadly
'We Haven't Learned From History': 'Radio Influenza' Is A Warning From 1918
Social Distancing Enforcement Drones Arrive in the U.S.
Coronavirus Entered My Father’s Nursing Home and Nobody Warned Me
***WORKING FROM HOME
Zoom’s encryption update is like ‘skipping two generations on a smartphone upgrade’
Google Duo video calls are about to look a whole lot better
Google Meet launches improved Zoom-like tiled layout, low-light mode and more
***WRITING & READING
Microsoft Word now flags double spaces as errors, ending the great space debate
Better training is key to tackling plagiarism in developing countries
These Are The Most Popular Books Set In Every State
Ways to Make Your Writing Clearer
Can Comic Books survive Coronavirus?
***JOURNALISM
Investigating the coronavirus: Incomplete data creates headaches for reporters
Congress' local news bailout push
California Times folds Burbank Leader, Glendale News-Press and La Cañada Valley Su
NYPD Seizes Drone Of Photojournalist Documenting Mass Burials On Hart Island
Why Do So Many News Anchors Sound Alike?
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
U.S. newspapers have shed half of their newsroom employees since 2008
Workers at Hollywood Reporter and Billboard Vandalize Website After Getting Laid Off
L.A. Times to Furlough Workers as Ad Revenue Eliminated
YouTube says 'authoritative' news viewership has jumped amid COVID-19 pandemic
***STUDENT MEDIA
A student newspaper retracts a story about coronavirus
Metro Atlanta schools’ shutdown doesn’t stop news — or student reporters
Oregon’s student newspapers are adapting amid pandemic
***FAKES & FRAUDS
Facebook already knows who believes in fake news—and selling ads to reach them
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
Flaw in iPhone, iPads may have allowed hackers to steal data for years
Better Business Bureau warns about posting your senior picture in #Classof2020 Facebook challenge
Half of Americans have decided not to use a product or service because of privacy concerns
***SOCIAL MEDIA
TikTok now lets parents set restrictions on their kids’ accounts
***POETRY
"I only have my poetry as my weapon. I will not surrender”
Poem constructed from emails received during quarantine goes viral
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
Two mind lessons
/Two mind lessons stand out for me. One is that becoming open to our body’s states—the feelings in our heart, the sensations in our belly, the rhythm of our breathing—is a powerful source of knowledge. The second lesson is that relationships are woven into the fabric of our interior world. We come to know our own minds through our interactions with others.
Daniel J. Siegel, Mindsight