I couldn't even include everything in this piece (e.g., I got copies of presidential correspondence from AAU member institutions during the Red Scares from the archives) because my benevolent editor had already let me go way over my word limit. I wish they had learned from their past actions.

Gregg Gonsalves@gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 2d ago

On the day that Barbara Synder, Douglas Girod and Ronald Daniels and the @aau.edu capitulated to the Trump administration, it's worth looking back at history. First. The Red Scare. @aau.edu was there to bend the knee to Senator Joe McCarthy and HUAC. 1/ www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

🚨 ABC News: The Johns Hopkins University researcher released after being detained by ICE at Maryland airport: Fatima Ameaka was held at a facility in Louisiana, according to her lawyer. The ICE kidnappings must stop. abcnews.com/US/johns-hop...

Johns Hopkins researcher released after being detained by ICE at Maryland airport

A Johns Hopkins University researcher, originally from Cameroon, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers earlier this week.

abcnews.com

Today kicks off Black August. [graphic by Martin Sostre Solidarity House]

From @mirya.bsky.social: "Have you flipped the switch between big summer dreamin’ to small summer panicking yet?" Haha. Yes. miryaholman.substack.com/p/monthly-go...

Monthly goal setting systems

In good times and in bad

miryaholman.substack.com

My favorite, most recently read Haymarket book. Not actually about radicalizing on any particular topic, but on how to sustain movements and organizing work. A hopeful, encouraging read. www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1922-l...

Let This Radicalize You

Doing Justice: The Revolution of Rescue and Reciprocal Care is a practical and imaginative resource for activists and organizers building power in an era of destabilization and catastrophe.

haymarketbooks.org

Haymarket Books@haymarketbooks.org · 4w ago

ALL Haymarket Books are 40% off through August 21st! ✊🏾✊🏿✊🏽

those who work in University writing programs should pay close attention—developing AI-friendly teaching doesn't make you safe from layoff www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...

one of the saddest ironies of higher ed's headlong embrace of AI is that the clearest and most thorough reporting on the subject has been done almost exclusively by student journalists

Sarah Osment@smosment.bsky.social · 6d ago

those who work in University writing programs should pay close attention—developing AI-friendly teaching doesn't make you safe from layoff www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...

Who has a checklist for profiles to update when you move institutions? Because I am not on top of it after all. -Discipline association (ASA for me) -Regional association(s) -orcid -Google Scholar #AcademicSky, any others?

🚨Job Alert!🚨 Assistant/Associate Professor of Human Communication and Technology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Come join us here in Silicorn Valley! Deadline Sept. 15. #AcademicSky #AcademicJobs illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

Well now I feel better about forgetting to reply...

Micah Loewinger@micahloewinger.bsky.social · last wk.

We're working on a video about this for the @onthemedia.bsky.social socials. If you're an author and you receive these types of scammy AI booking requests from "podcasts," please drop a comment. I'd like to screenshot it for the vid. Especially if you've gotten one from someone claiming to be me!

BREAKING: Two more appeals courts blocked the Trump administration's policy subjecting millions of people to mandatory detention in violation of immigration laws and due process.

“The problem is getting worse, not better,” Ohio Immigrant Alliance continues. “Cases documented in 2025 and 2026 alone account for 42.4% of the entire list—25 out of 59 cases. The year 2025 saw 13 cases, and 2026 has already logged 12, with more than five months remaining.”

Gabe Ortíz@tusk81.bsky.social · 6d ago

“An analysis of ICE and Border Patrol agents who committed sexual or violent offenses against women and children found an alarming pattern: 85% committed sex offenses, nearly two-thirds targeted children, and many remained employed for decades despite red flags.”

Another tally mark against cuts to education. Or against the push to use AI in everything. Take your pick.

Eric Geller@ericjgeller.com · 6d ago

"A US government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a state department presentation at a global conference in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attenders who took screenshots and posted them online."

Please share my post, share my outrage and sign, and share this petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/op...

Open Letter Concerning the Tenure Denial of Dr. Iván Chaar López

The denial of tenure to Dr. Chaar López has become a national concern because it raises questions that extend far beyond one faculty member or one institution. Scholars across disciplines depend upon ...

actionnetwork.org

Sarah T Roberts, PhD@ubiquity75.xyz · 2w ago

UT President interfering with faculty tenure. Just the latest egregious example of administrator overreach and political capitulation. Non-paywall follows.

Dr. Iván Chaar López: “If you want a productive university…that supports the state, its citizens, its neighbors, I’m not sure that you want the workers in this institution to be nervous, to be looking over their shoulders… Academic freedom is not under duress—it’s being dismantled.”

Prof Denied Tenure: Academic Freedom at UT Being Dismantled

Border-surveillance researcher Iván Chaar López received a near-unanimous recommendation from faculty and outstanding external support letters. Still, he was denied tenure without explanation.

insidehighered.com

I was looking for something else, but this was quite nice. "Your lived experience does not weaken your scholarship. It can make your scholarship stronger because it gives you a sharper sense of what matters, what is missing, and why the question is worth asking in the first place."

Your Lived Experience Makes You a Better Scholar

Academic Life Your Lived Experience Makes You a Better Scholar What you know from your own...

getalifephd.blogspot.com

Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., said Black Americans are "outraged at what is happening now with these efforts to do away with the African American museum and all of the Smithsonian." "If you erase it, we will replace it," Mfume said. "It's that damn simple." https://to.pbs.org/4wraH1q

WATCH: 'If you erase it, we will replace it,' Rep. Mfume says of Black history at Smithsonian museums

“We will not let you destroy that museum. No matter how long it takes, how many battles are required, how much effort is needed, we will not allow that to happen,” Rep. Kweisi Mfume said Tuesday.

to.pbs.org

In addition to the discrimination claim over denying @thrasherxy.bsky.social tenure, the suit is very important for the claim that the federal government violated his 1A rights by pressuring the (private) university to fire him.

A Professor Argues His Tenure Was Denied Because the University Succumbed to Federal Pressure

Experts say a new lawsuit from Northwestern U.'s Steven Thrasher, who drew attention in 2024 for blocking campus police officers from a student encampment, makes some creative arguments.

chronicle.com

This. This is the correct, science-backed, responsible framing. Wish more news outlets did it like the CBC.

'Just stop burning fossil fuels.' Scientists stress that our smoky skies only have one true fix | CBC News

Smoky skies in Toronto have led to new scrutiny of government efforts to fight fires and manage forests. But scientists say the realistic way to tackle the smoke is fighting climate change itself.

cbc.ca

New: I talked with CO researchers, scientists & academics who warned about the impacts of continued federal interference in university research funding: www.denverpost.com/2026/07/19/c... via @denverpost.com #Edcolo #HigherEd #Edusky #academicsky

Colorado academics worry about future of scientific progress amid fallout from Trump’s research cuts

More than $375 million in federal grants to Colorado schools have been terminated and reinstated — or axed altogether.

denverpost.com

Overall, the anticipated fears of same-sex marriage have not come to fruition as most Americans view same-sex marriage as largely unproblematic in everyday life. These findings have political implications in support of same-sex marriage given the recent challenges to marriage equality.

This study offers the first national look at the perceived impact of same-sex marriage. Prior to this, we had no nationally representative data to assess attitudes of marriage across sexual and gender identities. (thread on findings) H/T to @gaylekaufman.bsky.social for getting us NSF funding.

Perceived Impact of Same-sex Marriage on the Family, Religious Freedom, and the LGBTQ+ Community - Sexuality Research and Social Policy

Introduction As we mark the 10 year anniversary for federal marriage equality, attitudes toward same-sex marriage are generally supportive though there seems to be an increasing partisan divide. Oppos...

link.springer.com

Interested in being editor of @soceducation.bsky.social? ASA Publications is accepting applications for editors for 2028-2030. www.asanet.org/wp-content/u...

“Compared to what?” is always the essential question when asking about critiques of higher education & universities, whether we’re discussing declining trust, freedom of speech, viewpoint diversity, or any of the other things.

Ryan Enos@ryanenos.bsky.social · 3w ago

This is crucial and often unmentioned. Almost every single diagnosis of declining faith in universities fails to mention that it is runs in parallel to declining faith in almost all American institutions. Any failure to recognize this means it is really flawed or not a serious effort.

One of the strongest security features of U.S. elections is the fact that they aren't conducted at the federal level. America votes in more than 10,000 different election jurisdictions, each with different rules set by state and sometimes local governments. https://to.pbs.org/3T4duz3

Here's what makes American elections so complicated and secure

One of the strongest security features of U.S. elections is the fact that they aren’t conducted at the federal level.

pbs.org

Listen to an interview with Amy Sodaro—author of "Lifting the Shadow: Reshaping Memory, Race, and Slavery in U.S. Museums"—by Rick Derderian in a "Realms of Memory" podcast. realmsofmemory.com/p... #Museums

"'They survived it, but now we have nothing,' the chief said. 'The whole community burned down within less than an hour.'"

Aparna Nair@disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 3w ago

"After boarding a handful of boats — stuffed to the brim with people and pets — community members drove across the lake as their entire First Nation burned to the ground behind them. " www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

👏👏 “We can learn to work & speak when afraid in the same way we’ve learned to work and speak when we’re tired. For we’ve been socialized to respect fear more than our own needs for language and definition.” (Audre Lorde)

I’m finally going to listen to my doctor and eat more vegetables and get more fresh air