Catholicism, Homosexuality, Hate Speech, and Incompetence Catholicism, Homosexuality, Hate Speech, and Incompetence
A morality tale at the University of Illinois.
Jul 13, 2010 / StudentNation / The Nation
UT Agrees to Re-Name Dorm Honoring Klansman UT Agrees to Re-Name Dorm Honoring Klansman
On July 9, Bill Powers, president of the University of Texas, announced that he would accept the recommendation of a 21-member panel to re-name a residence hall honoring William Stewart Simkins, an unapologetic Ku Klux Klan organizer who later became a law professor at the University of Texas, a job he held from 1899 until his death in 1929. The UT administration has been called on several times in the past few years to change the names of several of its buildings, but Powers made little headway on his promise to consider modifications until the Simkins story—and the protests of African-American groups on campus and in the community—garnered national attention. (For background, read this June 13 StudentNation report.) Dr. Greg Vincent, Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement and chair of the advisory panel, said that the renaming was recommended because the dorm’s current title “compromises public trust and the university’s reputation,” and because it was “inconsistent with the core values of [the] university”—which means, of course, that it was making the school’s diversity efforts and inclusiveness look bad. So, while it’s a good thing that Simkins will no longer have an exalted place on UT’s campus, the decision also raises inevitable questions about the other Southern heroes littering the lawns and the extent to which this particular renaming is only a capitulation to public outcry. Whether this qualifies as progress on the Texas campus—whether it will foster a more welcoming environment for minorities —will really lie in the narrative UT constructs for its incoming students and its future. Sara Haji, a Nation intern and freelance writer, is a recent graduate from the University of Texas, Austin.
Jul 11, 2010 / StudentNation / Sara Haji
Texas Fails High School Texas Fails High School
Without accurate reports and transparent outcomes, the urgent need to implement high school reforms could pass without notice.
Jul 9, 2010 / StudentNation / Sara Haji
More Than 1,000 Young People Gather in DC More Than 1,000 Young People Gather in DC
Coming together for Campus Progress's National Conference to develop ideas, networks and innovations that can help create a more progressive America.
Jul 8, 2010 / StudentNation / The Nation
France Tries to Diversify Higher Education France Tries to Diversify Higher Education
The US and French systems are vastly differrent, but if we're any example, the French have got their work cut out for them.
Jul 1, 2010 / StudentNation / Carrie Battan
BP Oil Spill on the Curriculum BP Oil Spill on the Curriculum
New course at the University of MN will address the gulf crisis.
Jun 29, 2010 / StudentNation / The Nation
College Cuts Hurting Low-Income Youth College Cuts Hurting Low-Income Youth
As the price of college keeps rising, the number of low- and middle-income students in schools keeps falling.
Jun 27, 2010 / StudentNation / Peter Rothberg
Puerto Rico Students Approve Strike Settlement Puerto Rico Students Approve Strike Settlement
Our friends at the StudentActivism blog report on the results of the first mass gathering of students from across the UPR system in the university’s history.
Jun 22, 2010 / StudentNation / The Nation
Leading Cornell Doctor Performing Genital Cutting Leading Cornell Doctor Performing Genital Cutting
Who’d have thought a celebrated Ivy League medical center would be practicing genital cutting on small children?
Jun 21, 2010 / StudentNation / Carrie Battan
Save Pell Save Pell
Implore Congress to maintain Pell Grant funding.
Jun 20, 2010 / StudentNation / The Nation