Fears Surrounding the Privatization of Campus Services Are Unfounded

Jul 11, 2016 · Martin Center Staff · No Comments

Last semester at my school, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, students protested the privatization of the campus bookstore through rallies and social media uproar. Such backlash seemed due to fear of change—change for the workers at the store and change for the Chapel Hill community. For many protestors, the bookstore represented a … Continue reading “Fears Surrounding the Privatization of Campus Services Are Unfounded”

Did You Know? Colleges Could Lose 1/3 of Students if Fall Classes Stay Online May 28, 2020
Higher ed leaders have bemoaned what they see as insufficient federal support during the coronavirus pandemic, but they might have a bigger problem: convincing students to enroll in the fall. A recent survey found that about one-third of high school seniors will defer or cancel starting their freshman year of college if classes are online-only. … Continue reading “Did You Know? Colleges Could Lose 1/3 of Students if Fall Classes Stay Online”
Still Believe That a College Degree Is a Great Investment? May 27, 2020
Recently, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden announced that he was in favor of a plan to make college education free–for most students at public institutions anyway. Why? Because too many students are supposedly being kept out of college due to its cost. Even though much of the expense of public higher education is already borne by … Continue reading “Still Believe That a College Degree Is a Great Investment?”
Young Americans Don’t Need College During a Crisis May 25, 2020
The American economy is deteriorating “with alarming speed,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said recently, signaling that the government’s response to COVID-19 put people in a difficult financial situation. Though Powell predicts this problem is temporary, a closer look at growing unemployment numbers shows that America might not bounce back quickly once the lockdowns … Continue reading “Young Americans Don’t Need College During a Crisis”

Did You Know? For Shape of Post-Virus Higher Ed, Watch Public Colleges May 14, 2020
Doomsday predictions for higher education are a dime a dozen. The grandest claims expect “a handful of elite cyborg universities” to reshape a college education. Less-dire guesses see an end to the “buffet” of programs, extracurriculars, and university revenues common today. And pre-coronavirus visions of the future expected a variety of disruptions that failed to … Continue reading “Did You Know? For Shape of Post-Virus Higher Ed, Watch Public Colleges”
As Budgets Tighten, Colleges Still Vulnerable to Ransomware May 6, 2020
Colleges and universities around the country are proving to be easy prey to hackers with ransom demands. In Massachusetts, Cape Cod Community College was defrauded of $800,000 last year, while Colorado’s Regis University paid an undisclosed amount to regain access to their files after a ransomware attack—and still did not get access back. Ransomware is … Continue reading “As Budgets Tighten, Colleges Still Vulnerable to Ransomware”
Look Beyond Citation Counts to Kickstart Scientific Innovation Apr 22, 2020
In scientific research, new ideas have become harder to find. Innovation has fallen compared to 50 years ago. Rather than a fear of “too much change,” many researchers worry about stagnation. One argument suggests that the low-hanging fruit of scientific research has already been picked. Older scientists made the major breakthroughs, and younger scientists now … Continue reading “Look Beyond Citation Counts to Kickstart Scientific Innovation”

UNC-Chapel Hill Creates Commission to Battle ‘Invisible Racism’ Jun 1, 2020
To say that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has experienced racial tensions in the last few years would be an understatement. The most visible source of conflict has been the fate of the infamous—and illegally toppled —Confederate statue, Silent Sam. But even after the statue’s demise, activists at Chapel Hill insist that … Continue reading “UNC-Chapel Hill Creates Commission to Battle ‘Invisible Racism’”
A War Against ‘Normal’ May 29, 2020
A question of power is at the heart of the new and interesting book by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay. The Anglo-American liberal duo did a tremendous service to the academy in 2018 by hoaxing several “grievance studies” journals that publish shoddy activist scholarship. Their book, “Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, … Continue reading “A War Against ‘Normal’”
Did You Know? Colleges Could Lose 1/3 of Students if Fall Classes Stay Online May 28, 2020
Higher ed leaders have bemoaned what they see as insufficient federal support during the coronavirus pandemic, but they might have a bigger problem: convincing students to enroll in the fall. A recent survey found that about one-third of high school seniors will defer or cancel starting their freshman year of college if classes are online-only. … Continue reading “Did You Know? Colleges Could Lose 1/3 of Students if Fall Classes Stay Online”