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How a ‘Handsome’ Ivy League Grad Was Nabbed by Gender Misconduct Cops0
- Culture
- October 6, 2016
How does it feel to receive a gender misconduct violation? Not good. That’s the impression one gets after reading Benjamin Sweetwood’s recent public confession. Sweetwood, writing at The Tab, shared a traumatic experience: While an undergraduate at Columbia University, he was accused of gender misconduct. Here is his story: I was in Chinese class in
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English Prof: ‘My Students Can’t Write to Save Their Lives’0
- Education
- October 6, 2016
By now you’ve probably heard that American students can’t write. This rumor is underscored by stats from the Nation’s Report Card, which show roughly 3 out of 4 high school seniors unable to achieve proficiency in this area. Unfortunately, that proficiency doesn’t magically improve once those students get to college, a fact which English professor
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Affirmative Consent Laws: ‘State-Mandated Dirty Talk’?0
- Culture
- October 6, 2016
Writing in the California Law Review, Harvard Law School professors Jeannie Suk and Jacob Gersen note that “Today we have an elaborate and growing federal bureaucratic structure that in effect regulates sex.” This is largely the result of pressure from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, where I used to work. OCR also has
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Roots of Our Insecurities0
The news regularly alerts us to allegedly rising rates of depression and anxiety for modern Americans. What we don’t often see is a general discussion about what could cause those issues in a world in which everything is supposedly getting better. Think about it: our grocery stores are full, we have air conditioning and heat
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Is NYT Story on Trump’s Taxes a ‘Bombshell’?0
- Economics
- October 5, 2016
The New York Times, which apparently broke the law by publishing some of Donald Trump’s 1995 tax return, overpaid a tax accountant. Here’s the relevant NYT statement in a news report by NYT reporters David Barstow, Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, and Megan Twohey about Trump’s taxes: Tax experts hired by the Times to analyze Mr.
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Is ‘Closed for Thanksgiving’ Trending?0
- Culture
- October 5, 2016
Last year, it was the small business retailers who balked at opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day. This year, it’s the largest mall in the U.S. On Wednesday morning, Mall of America officials announced that they will not participate in the Black Friday creep which has overtaken Thanksgiving in recent years. According to The Minneapolis
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If ‘Hell’ Exists, What Does It Mean for God?0
- Philosophy
- October 5, 2016
I don’t like the Christian doctrine of Hell. I write this with a full awareness that the truth depends absolutely not at all on my personal preferences and sensibilities. What is, is, regardless of what I think or how I feel about it. There are, of course, different interpretations of Hell. But unquestionably the most common
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How Your Name Can Predict How You’ll Vote0
- Culture
- October 5, 2016
I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed a decided absence of political yard signs in my neighborhood this election season. Such an occurrence may be the result of general disinterest in the two main candidates… or maybe my neighbors have suddenly been bit by the Minnesota Nice bug, which requires people to keep their
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Before Indiana Jones came Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron0
- Education
- October 5, 2016
Before Indiana Jones and Lawrence of Arabia, came Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron. Born in 1731, Anquetil was the original Orientalist-adventurer: a European scholarly expert of Asian culture who also embodied bold, heroic action in the field. His speciality was the roots of ancient religions in Asia. He was the first European to translate the Avesta, a
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