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Prominent Scientist: “Public Science is Broken”0
- Science
- February 29, 2016
In the wake of the well-publicized Flint, MI, water crisis, a prominent scientist who had worked on such matters before has gone so far as to claim that “public science is broken.” In painful detail, Prof. Marc Edwards of Virginia Teach describes the unconscionable oversights that led to the crisis—namely, state scientists ignoring the warning
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Here’s the Best Predictor of Support for Donald Trump 0
- Politics
- February 29, 2016
What’s the best predictor of those likely to support Donald Trump? According to this Vox piece by political-science researcher Matthew MacWilliams, it’s not “income, education, or age.” In fact, the only “statistically significant” predictors of support for Trump were “[a]uthoritarianism and a hybrid variable that links authoritarianism with a personal fear of terrorism…” That’s an
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Why Knowing the Past is Important 0
- Culture
- February 29, 2016
There is a tendency in some quarters to dismiss the importance of history. In doing so, its role has been diminished in learning. To this truth, there can be no doubt. The most current data available from the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ (NAEP) The Nation’s Report Card, a gold standard of sorts when it
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School Dress Codes = ‘Slut Shaming’? Give Me a Break 0
- Culture
- February 29, 2016
Lately, stories have been appearing in the news of young women who are outraged that their school required them to change their clothing or go home. The narrative typically heard is that school policies are sexist and prioritize boys being undistracted (by not seeing immodest dress in the classroom) over girls being allowed to learn
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Want to See Life as a Perpetual Victim? There’s an App for That!!0
- Culture
- February 29, 2016
It’s a common conundrum at the end of a meal at a restaurant: How to split the bill fairly? Rather than using that boring process of figuring out who ordered and ate what, a new app called “Equipay” divides the bill based on group members’ demographic characteristics and the presumed wage gap that they suffer
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Diversity vs. Academic Excellence 0
- Culture
- February 29, 2016
Recently, I took a call from a reporter looking for comments on the possibility of the University of Minnesota either disposing of the ACT as a standard of admission or diminishing its role dramatically. To be honest, I hadn’t been following any of the internal debate on the issue at the University or amongst its
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