"Given the sometimes superficial and anemic historical accounts of McCarthyism, 'In the Spirit of H. Chandler Davis' is necessary reading for students, faculty and others concerned with safeguarding academic freedom in our turbulent times."

Remembering a Resister

In the Spirit of H. Chandler Davis: Activism and the Struggle of Academic Freedom Edited by Michael Atzmon, John Cheney-Lippold, Gary D. Krenz, Melanie S. Tanielian Michigan Publishing: Disobedienc…

againstthecurrent.org

The Great Salt Lake is the last refuge for 12 million migratory birds with nowhere else to go. Utah just approved a 40,000-acre AI data center on its edge, with no environmental study and almost no public notice. This is the template for what comes next 🪶

There Is Nothing Empty About Hansel Valley

How a 40,000-acre data center in Utah signals what AI infrastructure will cost the natural world

substack.com

More than ever voters need to vet their democratic candidates. It's easy right now to say "Vote Blue No Matter Who" but remember that Citizens United gave the Billionaires the power to buy SCOTUS. They are desperate right now and own both GOP and Dems. Think Fetterman, Kysten Sinema, Joe Manchin.

Qasim Rashid, Esq.@qasimrashid.com · 3mo ago

If you're shocked Mallory McMorrow launched a bizarre false attack against Dr. Abdul El Sayed that he's "not a real doctor," don't be. The woman running her comms is Liz Smith—the same Liz Smith who Cuomo hired to smear the women accusing him of sexual assault. www.qasimrashid.com/p/mallory-mc...

Some UM Law School professors think the university has the right to police the “inspiration, celebration, and inclusivity“ of commencement speeches. I’d like to see the rulebook that explains how this is interpreted.

President Grasso’s apology violated institutional neutrality

Institutional neutrality means little if it allows the University to signal official disapproval of deeply held views on matters of foremost public concern. Official statements must leave no doubt tha...

michigandaily.com

For historians concerned about assaults on academic freedom:

UM alums who are dismayed by Pres Grasso's statement apologizing for Dr. Peterson's Commencement address, please sign this open letter to protect and uphold the University’s own professed principles of free expression and free speech. #MichiganAlumni #UMich docs.google.com/document/d/1...

UM Alums - 2026 Spring Commencement

If you’re an alum of the University of Michigan, please sign the letter by clicking on this link to open a form. https://forms.gle/g5LZcE8bGGKZkG9J6 May 4, 2026 Dear President Grasso, Provost McCau...

docs.google.com

"A MacArthur Genius who celebrated Jewish students, Black students, women, and Palestinian solidarity activists in the same speech was publicly reprimanded... and subjected to a university apology that treats the mere mention of Palestinian humanity as something requiring institutional contrition."

Universities Are Enabling America's Press Freedom Collapse

Professor Derek Peterson said nothing wrong. That’s exactly why the University of Michigan punished him

qasimrashid.com

Open letter for UMich profs + students to protest President Grasso's cowardly reproach of Dr. Peterson's Spring Commencement speech acknowledging those—women, Jewish students, Black students, pro-Palestinian student activists—who "refused to accept the enclosures and orthodoxies of their time."

a DoJ official threatens a @umich.edu faculty member. But rather than denouncing Terrell, President Grasso denounces the chair of the faculty senate ladies and gentlemen, institutional neutrality

"Acker lost to no small extent because the entire Board of Regents has been deeply unpopular on campus, so much so that the Faculty Senate took the unprecedented step of formally censuring the lot of them in the fall of 2024...."

No, This Michigan Regent Wasn’t Defeated by Antisemitism

Jordan Acker’s failure was about real politics, not identity politics.

chronicle.com

Could not have said it better — “Jordan Acker deserved to lose.” From the @michigandaily.bsky.social

From The Daily: Jordan Acker deserved to lose

At the convention, Michigan Democratic delegates decided Acker is no longer fit to run for the regency; he lost the endorsement in a landslide to the other two candidates. Considering his scandal-ridd...

michigandaily.com

Amer Makled received the most votes and will run for UM Regent. We love Amer! The people are demanding change!!!

UM Regent Acker wants to be re-elected so he can make crass jokes about students’ sex lives. He should be removed from the Board.

Lewd messages linked to University of Michigan regent who led campaign against pro-Palestinian students

Jordan Acker, who pushed legal action against protesters, is running for re-election in race reflecting tensions on Israel

theguardian.com

This disgusting, misogynistic UM regent wants to be re-elected.

Lewd messages linked to University of Michigan regent who led campaign against pro-Palestinian students

Jordan Acker, who pushed legal action against protesters, is running for re-election in race reflecting tensions on Israel

theguardian.com

Shame on the MEA for endorsing someone who eliminated DEI and doxxes educators.

Jordan Acker used his position as Regent of the @umich.edu to wage a vendetta against student protesters and to dox faculty who wouldn't serve as his mouthpiece. Now, he wants to be reelected. This is his campaign photograph.

If you’re registered Democrat in Michigan, please join me to support Amir Makled for UM Regent at the convention in April.

How Amir Makled will change UMich for the better

I sat down with Makled in the Michigan Union atrium to see whether he could be that change. In our conversation, I found a leader who listens. His policies — taking no corporate money, protecting gend...

michigandaily.com

On Feb 23, @aaup.org hosts a conversation about activism and academic freedom, inspired by legacy of Chandler Davis (fired after upholding his 1A rights). Featuring Isaac Kamola, Henry Reichman, Marjorie Heins + Melanie Tanielian #academicfreedom @isaackamola.bsky.social @hankreichman.bsky.social

Marschall Runge, recent CEO/Dean of Michigan Medicine received millions from pharmaceutical giant Lilly without disclosing the connection on scholarly papers.

Former Michigan Medicine dean omitted multimillion-dollar pharma ties in multiple publications, Daily investigation finds

Over a decade marked by a pandemic and nationwide cuts to health care funding, Marschall S. Runge led Michigan Medicine in a historic triple-leadership position. He served as executive vice president ...

michigandaily.com

Thanks to @isaackamola.bsky.social for this generous endorsement of In the Spirit of H. Chandler Davis. Released today! Available everywhere. To order > disobediencepress.com

PUB DAY of In the Spirit of H. Chandler Davis, the remarkable set of essays inspired by the UMich prof fired in 1954 for refusing to testify to HUAC. The book’s 12 contributors argue against the suppression of protest, the policed campus, and other enemies of academic freedom. disobediencepress.com

Finally a candidate for U-Mich Regent who fights for civil rights and isn’t in it just for power and financial advantage. Vote Amir Makled.

Attorney fighting University of Michigan’s Palestine protest crackdowns now running for regent

Campaign efforts are underway for Amir Makled, who wants the University of Michigan to remain “a true public university” in both name and practice.

mlive.com

The University of Alabama has put allegiance to Trump over the 1st Amendment. They’ve shut down the student magazines that focus on experiences of women and Black students.

University of Alabama suspends student magazines amid DEI crackdown

Kendal Wright, editor in chief of the University of Alabama's Nineteen Fifty-Six magazine, reacts to the suspension of two student publications amid a federal crackdown on campus DEI policies.

npr.org

The @umich.edu could easily right this situation by honoring the original agreement: • display the work in the intended spaces • extend the show's schedule • provide freedom to the artists to articulate the meaning of their work as they choose • host a closing reception • publicize the exhibition

Artists accuse University Unions of censorship

Some of the artists who participated in the "Visual History of the Unions" are accusing the administration of censorship.

michigandaily.com

🔥🔥 piece about how @umich.edu weaponized the code of conduct against pro-Palestinian student activists.

A @michigandaily.bsky.social investigation: hundreds of @umich.edu employees who looked to Work Connections for support/medical leave during an illness report years-long pattern of misconduct. 2 key complaints: WC disregarded physicians’ recommendations, and WC employees were hostile/demeaning.

Following injury and illness, hundreds of U-M employees relied on the University to facilitate their return to work. They say it failed them.

On Dec. 20, 2024, Marcellous Demps, a former patient-care provider at Michigan Medicine, was working the night shift when he slipped and fell in a dimly lit, wet hallway while carrying a 150-pound por...

michigandaily.com

The way he rubs his inhumanity in Americans” face never ceases to stun me. He’s illegally refusing to pay food stamp benefits… …while he throws a ridiculously over the top Gatsby party for his right wing millionaire and corporate friends.

When I chaired the Faculty Senate last year, Regent Jordan Acker, enraged that he couldn’t control faculty voice, doxxed me on social media. UM police installed security cameras on my home to protect me from his threats. Now Acker wants to be re-elected. @aft.org is considering an endorsement

UM Regents Paul Brown and Jordan Acker are trying to get on ballot for re-election. They refused to hear reports from Faculty. Dismantled DEI at UM. Stopped gender-affirming care at UM Medicine. Expelled students who criticized Israeli actions in Gaza And yet, aft.org is considering endorsing them

When a billionaire pays the troops during a shutdown, it’s not charity, but leverage and control. That’s not how republics survive. That’s how they’re bought, one crisis at a time.

Donor Who Gave $130 Million to Pay Troops Is Reclusive Heir to Mellon Fortune

nytimes.com