Articles of Interest about the virus & higher ed - July 7

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***THE VIRUS 

Face masks vs. face shields: What should we be wearing?

The race to develop RNA-based vaccine ($)

***HIGHER ED & THE VIRUS 

Florida State just barred many employees from caring for kids while working remotely. Moms ask: ‘What am I supposed to do?’

New Report: How The Coronavirus Pandemic Affected College Enrollments In The Spring

A Reckoning In Higher Education: Will There Be Campus Life After Covid-19?

***THE FALL SEMESTER  

What Will College Be Like in the Fall?

Colleges Plan to Reopen Campuses, but for Just Some Students at a Time 

A Shift to Online Classes this Fall Could Lead to a Retention Crisis

A Ph.D. Student Simulated a Day in the Life of a Covid 19-Era Campus. It Went Viral, but It Wasn’t Pretty.

Colleges Gear Up for an Uncertain Fall Semester Online

Texas universities are moving more classes online, but keeping tuition the same. Students are asking if it's worth the money.

Ethical challenges loom over decisions to resume in-person college classes

Universities Reverse Campus Reopening Plans Amidst Covid-19 Spike

There is no safe way to reopen colleges this fall ($)

Local Communities Should Sue to Keep University Campuses Closed (opinion)

A COVID-19 outbreak on UW’s Greek Row hints at how hard it may be to open colleges this fall

'How the hell are we going to do this?' The panic over reopening schools

Colleges are racing to create 'a new sense of normalcy.' Will new rules, COVID-19 testing be enough?

***FALL COLLEGE SPORTS

Texas College will forego intercollegiate athletics in the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic

'Not a stretch': Reality dictates Covid-19 may hit college football programs

Unable to afford coronavirus testing, some colleges are canceling football season

***COLLEGE FINANCE 

Shortened Semesters on Campus and Full Fees for Room and Board as Connecticut's Colleges and Universities Face a Steep Fiscal Challenge

***HIGHER ED

International students may need to leave US if their universities transition to online-only learning

College Leaders Have the Wrong Incentives 

3 Colleges to Acquire U of Bridgeport

University of Maryland, College Park No Longer Under Warning for Lack of Transparency

Ed Dept blames Higher Learning Commission for failing to protect students from two unaccredited for-profit colleges

***HIGHER ED & HACKERS

Ransomware is now your biggest online security nightmare. And it's about to get worse

How hackers extorted $1.14m from University of California, San Francisco 

***HIGHER ED IN COURT

CUNY faculty union sues system, saying adjunct cuts violate CARES Act

Steps Colleges and Universities Should Take to Avoid Future Litigation Over Tuition and Fees 

***TEACHING  

Seven Things That Worked in My Online Class

Are History Textbooks Worth Using Anymore? Maybe Not, Some Teachers Say - EdSurge News

Cornell researchers: in-person semester safer than online one

'We shouldn't go back to lectures': why future students will learn online 

***ACADEMIC LIFE: GEORGIA TECH

Georgia Tech Professors Revolt Over Reopening, Say Current Plan Threatens Lives Of Students, Staff

'A Nightmare': Georgia Tech Faculty Push Back Against In-Person Reopening Plans

Georgia Tech won't require students to wear masks on campus. Faculty aren't happy.

***ACADEMIC LIFE

UVA professor, supporters question role of race in decision to deny tenure 

As young people drive infection spikes, college faculty members fight for the right to teach remotely

Faculty from at least 15 colleges and universities in Virginia sign petition surrounding reopening

Mounting Faculty Concerns About the Fall Semester

A Problem for College in the Fall: Reluctant Professors ($)

University of North Carolina Wilmington University Paid $504,000 to Get Rid of Professor following campus uproar over tweets

***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS 

Baylor acknowledges historic ties to slavery

Cedarville University Trustees Resign as Board Reinstates President after Investigation

Wheaton College Chaplain Fired For Inappropriate Comments

***RESEARCH 

Rush to publication – What do we have to lose?

Publishing Journal Articles: Tips for Early-Career Scholars 

Why someone wrote a paper called "Dear Reviewer 2: Go F’ Yourself"

The Lancet Editor’s Wild Ride Through the Coronavirus Pandemic

Science needs to look inward to move forward

***RESEARCH & RACE 

Racial Inequality in Psychological Research

Science Has a Racism Problem

***STUDENT LIFE

ICE says international students must take in-person classes to remain in the US

Racist Social Media Posts From Students Are Forcing Colleges to Respond 

Colleges Rescinding Admissions Offers as Racist Social Media Posts Emerge ($)

Medics who changed history wouldn't get into modern medical schools

College students are preparing to return to campus in the fall. Is it worth it?

***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT

Petition started to fire UWM lecturer, Wisconsin Air Guard colonel for saying 'sexual harassment is the price of admission' to military 

Finding Yourself is not how it works

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“Finding yourself” is not really how it works. You aren’t a ten dollar bill in last year’s winter’s coat pocket. You are also not lost. Your true self is right there, buried under cultural conditioning, other people’s opinions, and inaccurate conclusions you drew as a kid that became your beliefs about who you are. “Finding yourself” is actually returning to yourself. An unlearning, an excavation, a remembering who you were before the world got its hands on you. 

Emily McDowell

Articles of interest about the virus, journalism, writing, fakes & more - July 5

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***THE VIRUS 

Treating COVID-19: What We Know Now

How California Went From Coronavirus Success to Hotspot

What autopsies reveal about coronavirus ($)

***THE VIRUS & WEARING MASKS

Does wearing a mask pose any health risks?

Coronavirus question: Is a mask effective when you wear it just below your nose?

Can face masks lower oxygen levels or weaken the immune system? Here's what health experts say

The Science of Mask-Wearing Hasn’t Changed. So Why Have Our Expectations?

***WRITING & READING 

U.S. Copyright Office Creates New Registration Process for Online Authors

Confederate monument enthusiasts targeted my store—and it comically backfired  

Recognizing Race in Language: Why We Capitalize “Black” and “White” (Center for Study of Social Policy)

‘Irregardless’ is too a word; you just don’t understand dictionaries

Are the police trying to stop you from taking that cell phone video? 

***JOURNALISM & RACE

AP changes writing style to capitalize ‘b’ in Black when referring to race

Black Journalists Weigh In On A Newsroom Reckoning 

Black, Hispanic, white Americans feel misunderstood by media for different reasons

***JOURNALISM

Science by press release: When the story gets ahead of the science

BuzzFeed News Fires Senior Reporter for Plagiarism

US Judge Slaps Virginia Clerks With $2 Million Fee Award in First Amendment Case

Journalists believe news and opinion are separate, but readers can't tell the difference

One America News Has Support of Trump, But Not Cable Companies  

Las Vegas police plan $280 an hour fee for body cam footage. Critics say that violates law

***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM 

IRE Executive Committee resigns, paving way for new election of board officers

Bowing to pressure, Google says it will pay publishers for news

Warner Media to Sell Atlanta’s CNN Center, Sidesteps Threat of Impending Layoffs

A quarter of all U.S. newspapers have died in 15 years, a new UNC news deserts study found

***FAKES & FRAUDS

How conspiracy theories emerge – and how their storylines fall apart  

‘Covid Parties’ Are Not a Thing

‘PizzaGate’ Conspiracy Theory Thrives Anew in the TikTok Era 

Bringing fact check information to Google Images

“The degree to which people level accusations of fake news against news outlets is at least partially associated with a personal need for an orderly and structured environment" 

Man Says He Was Falsely Arrested After Facial Recognition Mistake

***THE Q-Anon CONSPIRACIES 

Down the rabbit hole: how QAnon conspiracies thrive on Facebook

Born on the dark fringes of the internet, QAnon is now infiltrating mainstream American life and politics

***SOCIAL MEDIA  

'Facebook Groups Are Destroying America': Researcher On Misinformation Spread Online  

The rise of social media (Video) 

Facebook vowed to investigate horrific abuse by anti-vaxxers. Nine months later, no one was penalized

Facebook improperly gave users' data to third-party developers, again 

TikTok and Other Apps Are Secretly Reading Your Clipboard  

***LANGUAGE

The world’s weirdest languages

The Most Mispronounced Word in the World 

***LITERATURE

Lose yourself in the places that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien 

Men who stole rare books from Carnegie Library sentenced to home confinement  

***PRIVACY & SECURITY 

How to make sure Google automatically deletes your data on a regular basis

Apple Is Outing Apps That Snoop on Your Personal Information

***PRODUCING MEDIA 

Adobe wants users to uninstall Flash Player by the end of the year  

Here are the tools and technology journalists are using to tell the coronavirus story

NYU’s First Amendment Watch Releases “A Citizen’s Guide to Recording Police”

Are the police trying to stop you from taking that cellphone video? Check your First Amendment rights.

 

The Right Man for the Job

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His writing talents were never in doubt. Certainly not after he authored a well-written pamphlet called A Summary View of the Rights of British America. However, the tall red-headed, Virginian was so quiet during debates that some questioned his strength. The real power of that critically important Congress of 1776 was John Adams of Massachusetts.  His bull-necked honesty and enthusiastic zeal made him a power center in that legislative body. It was natural that Adams be a principal choice to prepare the key policy paper on the future of the 13 colonies. Three others joined him to form a committee: Ben Franklin, a Connecticut merchant and a New York lawyer. Another man was added to give place to the importance of Virginia. When the committee met to do its work, it was naturally expected that John Adams would be the primary architect of the writing. But Adam suggested instead that the quiet Virginian draw up the first draft for the committee’s consideration. “I’m too obnoxious,” he said. So, almost by accident, the new man had the job. “I turned to neither book nor pamphlet while writing,” he said.  He first draft was received without change by the committee and approved later by the entire Congress. Written almost by chance by just the right man…Thomas Jefferson. And the document— the Declaration of Independence

You Have Your Truth, I have Mine

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Some people.. maintain that morality is not dependent on the society but rather the individual. “Morality is in the eye of the beholder.” They treat morality like taste or aesthetic judgments, person relative. 

On the basis of (moral) subjectivism Adolf Hitler and serial murderer Ted Bundy could be considered as a moral as Gandhi, as long as each lived by his own standards, whatever those might be. 

Although many students say they espouse subjectivism, there is evidence that it conflicts with other of their moral views. They typically condemn Hitler as an evil man for his genocidal policies. A contradiction seems to exist between subjectivism and the very concept of morality. 

Louis Pojman, Ethical Theory

Articles of Interest about the virus & higher ed - June 29

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***THE VIRUS 

This simple model shows the importance of wearing masks and social distancing

This chart shows link between restaurant spending and new virus cases

Scientists just beginning to understand the many health problems caused by COVID-19

How Iceland Beat the Coronavirus

Covid-19: Scientists uncover the reason why people lose their sense of smell

Why Some Nursing Homes Are Devastated By COVID-19 While Others Remain Untouched

What To Look For In A Face Mask, According To Science

CDC expands list of who's most at risk for the coronavirus

Is It Safer to Fly or Drive This Summer? 5 Health Experts Weigh In.

***HIGHER ED & THE VIRUS

Colleges say campuses can reopen safely. Students and faculty aren’t convinced.

 ‘We Could Be Feeling This for the Next Decade’: Virus Hits College Towns

New research: accurate testing, limits on class size and social contact may be of critical importance

New coronavirus health concern as colleges reopen: Contaminated water sitting in pipes

At One Flagship, Coronavirus Cases Surge Even in the Midst of Summer 

Wealthier colleges can offer more protection from COVID-19 than cash-strapped peers

 ***THE FALL SEMESTER  

A Message from Your University’s Vice President for Magical Thinking

A tale of two liberal arts Colleges taking different paths in the fall

Univ of Chicago Professors Will Individually Choose Whether to Hold In-Person Classes Fall Quarter

This college is welcoming freshmen to campus this fall — but most older students will stay home

Park University offers discounted 'gap year' online

How COVID-19 has made some colleges question the academic calendar

As Colleges Make Plans For Fall, More Young People Are Getting COVID-19

Moody's Documents Likely Enrollment Effects by State if Students Stay Close to Home Come Fall

UC San Diego To Require Recurring COVID-19 Testing

***CUTS & CLOSURES

The University of Michigan, Flint, has laid off 41% of its nearly 300 lecturers

Boise's Concordia law school to close

Colleges cut academic programs in the face of budget shortfalls due to Covid-19

***HIGHER ED 

California University Paid $1.14 Million After Ransomware Attack

College athletics reacts to proposed change of Miss. state flag

Some colleges provide detailed lists of indirect expenses, while others provide nothing.

The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age (opinion)

A Push for Equitable Assessment 

Will More Unemployment Increase Fall College Enrollments?

***HIGHER ED RESIGNATIONS

University of Alaska System President Resigns

USC Dean Resigns After Acknowledging Student Relationship

***RACIAL ISSUES ON CAMPUS

When Free Speech and Racist Speech Collide 

Two black scholars say UVA denied them tenure after belittling their work

***HIGHER ED IN COURT

Harvard Law student sues university over tuition prices as classes remain online 

More than 60 colleges hit with lawsuits as students demand tuition refunds

We don't owe students refund for switching to online instruction, University of Michigan says

***TEACHING

Using Social Media to Retain and Connect with Students in the Shift to Online Education

Zoom losing to Teams in the video conference race to the top

With Pass-Fail, What’s the Point of Grades?

How did America’s remote-learning experiment really go?

UC Berkeley School of Law to be conducted entirely online in fall 2020

Study: Online College Classes Should Have No More Than 12 Students

What Does Good Classroom Design Look Like in the Age of Social Distancing?

***ACADEMIC LIFE 

Who Gets to Teach Remotely? The Decisions Are Getting Personal

Elon professor who researches right-wing extremist groups assaulted in Alamance County 

TCU Professor Asked To Teach Remotely Due To Daughter’s High-Risk Condition But Says He Was Denied 

George Washington University Provost Says Faculty Will Be Allowed to Opt out of Teaching Classes in Person

Teachers in Fairfax revolt against fall plans, refusing to teach in-person

Concerned for fall semester, UVM faculty union prepares to file labor complaint 

***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS 

Five evangelical Christian colleges and universities have eliminated more than 150 faculty and staff positions this spring.

Social media accounts force new discussion about racism and discrimination at Trinity College

Concordia College furloughing 210 full-time employees 

NCAA approves Division III membership for Bob Jones University

The Gift within the Quarantine (written by PLNU’s Dean Nelson for the U-T)

***LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

Former Liberty University official raises more than $18,000 to help Black employees leave the school

Two Liberty football players transfer, citing insensitivity, incompetence of school leadership

Evangelical Liberty University rattled by its own racial reckoning

***RESEARCH 

Duke researchers say all brain activity studies are wrong

Warning over coronavirus and predatory journals

Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journals Don't Really Do Their Job

CU Boulder alleges misconduct for former INSTAAR scientist

Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journals Don't Really Do Their Job

Does tweeting about research attract more citations? 

The Pandemic Claims New Victims: Prestigious Medical Journals ($) 

***STUDENT LIFE 

Northeastern Student Newspaper Calls Out School Administration

16-Year-Old Alexis Loveraz Teaches Math on TikTok to Students All Over the World

Hardin-Simmons University in Texas says student who made racist TikTok 'no longer enrolled'

College waivers and COVID-19 complications (opinion)

Is An MBA Worth It? After Covid-19, Absolutely Not.

More than 165 college deans explain what they want — and don’t want — to see from applicants in the covid-19 era ($)

Brown accused of fraud by student-athletes whose sports were cut

Universities should support their most vulnerable students to champion education equity (opinion)

College Is Worth It, but Campus Isn't  (opinion) ($)

***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT

Institutions Pushing Back Against Removing PIs From Awards, Despite Harassment Findings

Campus Sexual Assault Policy Changes Not Widely Known  

Disney Princess theology

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White Christianity suffers from a bad case of Disney Princess theology. As each individual reads Scripture, they see themselves as the princess in every story. They are Esther, never Xerxes or Haman. They are Peter, but never Judas. They are the woman anointing Jesus, never the Pharisees. They are the Jews escaping slavery, never Egypt. For the citizens of the most powerful country in the world, who enslaved both Native and Black people, to see itself as Israel and not Egypt when it is studying Scripture, is a perfect example of Disney princess theology. And it means that as people in power, they have no lens for locating themselves rightly in Scripture or society- and it has made them blind and utterly ill equipped to engage issues of power and injustice. It is some very weak Bible work.      

Erna Kim Hackett 

Shadows from the Past

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Feelings in relationships as we now understand them run on a double track. We react and relate to another person not only on the basis of how we consciously experience that person, but also on the basis of our unconscious experience in reference to our past relationships with significant people in infancy and childhood - particularly parents and other family members. We tend to displace our feelings and attitudes from these past figures onto people in the present, especially if someone has features similar to a person in the past.

An individual may, therefore, evoke intense feelings in us - strong attraction or strong aversion - totally inappropriate to our knowledge of or experience with that person. This process may, to varying degrees, influence our choice of a friend, roommate, spouse, or employer.

We all have the experience of seeing someone we have never met who evokes in us strong feelings. According to the theory of transference, this occurs because something about that person - the gait, the tilt of the head, a laugh or some other feature - recalls a significant figure in our early childhood. Sometimes a spouse or a superior we work under will provoke in us a reaction far more intense than the circumstances warrant. A gesture or tone of voice may reactivate early negative feelings we experienced toward an important childhood figure.

Armand Nicholi, The Question of God

Articles of interest about religion and the virus - June 24

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***THE VIRUS

Is it safe to use a public bathroom during coronavirus? 

What a Negative COVID-19 Test Really Means

When to Wear a Mask and When You Can Skip It

What happens when employees refuse to return to the office over concerns of the pandemic  

Top Five Employment Law Liabilities Facing Employers Post-Pandemic 

***RELIGION & THE VIRUS

Researchers creating national database of religious response to COVID-19

White Evangelicals’ Coronavirus Concerns Are Fading Faster

Ready to go back to church? 10 things to consider before heading to worship

***RELIGION & RACISM

Evangelical scholars sign statement condemning racism as 'contrary to Scripture'

Atlanta pastor who suggested slavery was a 'blessing' to white people apologize 

Evangelicals perfected cancel culture. Now it’s coming for them

What the Bible Has to Say About the George Floyd Protests (opinion)

Mississippi Baptists: Removing Confederate Flag Emblem Is a ‘Moral Obligation’

***RELIGION AND POLITICS

Trump allies see a mounting threat: Biden’s rising evangelical support

How the Head of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Came Around to Trump

White evangelicals fled Trump during George Floyd protests, according to new analysis 

‘Christian Nationalists’ and Their Critics

Millions of Americans Believe Donald Trump Is Fighting Literal Demons

Trump Rally Fills Megachurch With Young Conservatives

***RELIGION & THE LAW 

Gay Rights Ruling Complicates Trump Effort to Keep Evangelicals

Conservative Christians See ‘Seismic Implications’ in Supreme Court Ruling

***SATANISM

U.S. Soldier Linked to Satanic Neo-Nazi Group Allegedly Plotted 'Murderous Ambush' on His Own Unit 

Order of Nine Angles: What is this obscure Nazi Satanist group?

***MEGACHURCHES

Alabama Megachurch pastor says he’s not the same after controversy—vows to make progress on race relations

Comment by Atlanta megachurch pastor on race shows how difficult such dialogues can be 

***RELIGION & BOOKS

Book, 'Jesus And John Wayne,' Explores What It Means To Be A Christian Man

Plagiarism in Christian Books

Starbucks to open its first sign language store in Japan

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#GOODNEWS

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Starbucks Coffee is opening its first store in Japan with baristas who know sign language. The store will open on Saturday in Kunitachi, a city in the western part of Tokyo. Nearly the entire staff of 25 is deaf. This will be the fifth "signing store" for the company Others are located in Malaysia, the US and China. Read more here.(image from Starbucks)

Keep Asking Questions

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A few years ago, I got a call  (on my communication device) from a Pittsburgh author named Chip Walter. He was co-writing a book with William Shatner (a.k.a Kirk) about how scientific breakthroughs first imagined on Star Trek foreshadowed today’s technological advances. Captain Kirk wanted to visit my virtual reality lab at Carnegie Mellon. Shatner stayed for three hours and asked tons of questions. A colleague later said to me: “He just kept asking and asking. He doesn’t seem to get it.” But I was hugely impressed. Kirk, I mean, Shatner was the ultimate example of a man who knew what he didn’t know, was perfectly willing to admit it, and didn’t want to leave until he understood. That’s heroic to me. I wish every grad student had that attitude.

Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Recent data science articles - June 23

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