Extremely true.

As a person who twice barely avoided getting kidnapped and sent to conversion therapy by my own family members it is very disheartening to hear that conversion therapy is still being discussed. Last i checked the only thing it converts is living kids to dead ones.

Literally welfare reform for public housing. Clinton opened this pandora's box in 1996 and this was always where it was headed - start with cash assistance and then use work requirements and time limits to gut every inch of the safety net.

"[T]he first major successful BDS campaign at an academic sociological association, as realized through the suspension of the Israeli Sociological Society." "The struggle for a free Palestine continues, and we call on all scholars to join us." #Gaza #Palestine #Israel #Genocide

The only thing with a chance of defending higher ed is a network of organized faculty and staff. We're the ones who actually believe in our mission. Most admin and trustees don't. Those who do are welcome, but they are rare. It's only us. And a lot of us are already active. So if you're not, join!

Read this whole thread. The EO is a huge regressive step. And Brian's not wrong to be worried about this point in particular. The major theme of Trump II social policy is old-style Poor Law thinking, down to the indoor versus outdoor relief distinction.

Academics, if you need a reason, in these urgent times, reminder that @workshops4gaza.bsky.social has set up a tab where you can redirect membership fees and conference costs from AHA, MLA, AWP & PEN to the Sameer Project, run by Palestinians open-books-a-poem-emporium.myshopify.com/products/w4g...

The Orwellian myth at the heart of industrial agriculture? That environmental destruction is actually conservation. This must-read essay traces how productivism – the obsession with yield – fuels ecocide & colonialism, while failing to 'feed the world'. 📖 spectrejournal.com/the-enduring...

We just dropped a completely new merch store, and we couldn't be more excited! 100% of proceeds go toward the strike fund for union Starbucks workers. ✊🔥 SHOP NOW - www.unioncoffeegear.com

Zohran Mamdani is saying things like “poverty is a policy choice and politicians have a duty to their constituents to make their lives affordable” and it is making a lot of politicians very very scared that they may actually have to start doing some actual service in their public service jobs.

Actual indoctrination in the classroom. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

if any other country suddenly moved to expel half a million - HALF A MILLION - nonwhite immigrants, reporters would call that a crime against humanity. forced transfer of population falls under that designation; it's also one of the defining aspects of genocide. i'm incandescently angry over this.

I am remembering a moment when Congress was up in arms about plagiarism charges that were no where near as clear cut.

Withdrawing the incredibly successful pandemic social welfare programs is one of the less talked about facets of our descent into overt fascism.

There is no need for Medicaid work requirements because almost everyone who can work is working. What we are getting instead is Medicaid work *reporting* requirements, where people lose coverage because of administrative burdens.

They are running the welfare reform playbook on SNAP - pushing funding onto the states adding work requirements. SNAP has become the safety net of last resort over the last 25 years and now they are shredding it while cutting $ for food banks. They are legislating hunger.

This student is so brave. And also - watch the faculty who cheer her on and those who squirm.

Here is a clip of the student's speech.

“Feeding yourself is protection, but it’s also declaring sovereignty. And in a prison geography, declaring sovereignty is declaring war.” Nylah Iqbal Muhammad on the struggle for food sovereignty while incarcerated in the latest @hammerandhope.bsky.social hammerandhope.org/article/food...

At least 12 students at Rutgers have had their visas changed, revoking their residency without explanation. This is happening at universities across the county. These revocations can lead to detention and deportation. This won't stop with students. This is a crisis. www.nj.com/education/20...

Good.

Since our administration would not fight the Trump administration in court, the faculty had to assume the responsibility of doing so to protect academic freedom. www.reuters.com/world/us/col...

UPDATE: Palestine Studies Search is back up! They could delay us and annoy us, but they could not keep us down. Please apply, share with friends, cannot wait to meet our new colleagues. hrsa.cunyfirst.cuny.edu/psp/erecruit...

as ever, nothing israel does in gaza happens without American complicity. this is our genocide too, never forget it

Chuck Schumer Helps Pull Democrats Back From Brink Of Courage

Hey @schumer.senate.gov - vote no on the GOP budget. As a constituent I am literally begging you.

This is really, really bad. Columbia made the mistake of thinking that placating the administration would spare them. Other universities made the mistake of thinking it would stop with Columbia. It won’t stop without disciplined pushback; it’s an existential question for American universities.

"Trump, McMahon, and Homan are looking for cowards that they can bully; for institutions whose first instinct is to apologize and comply rather than defending themselves and their students in the public square." YES. Helpful explainer of the seemingly random list of 60 colleges under investigation

Let's go Pittsburgh!!

Trump tells US farmers to grow for the home market Then he cancels local food purchase programs He says he 'loves farmers' but this latest move only benefits giant food corporations www.politico.com/news/2025/03...

For @truthout.org , @hebagowayed.bsky.social and I wrote about how universities have opened the door to Trump’s authoritarianism by suppressing pro-Palestine voices and how they must commit to the principles of academic freedom and free expression before it is too late.

Wow, @columbiauniversity.bsky.social . Selling out your Palestinian students is not going to save you - or any other university.

Tomorrow in NYC will be sunny & pleasant. This will be important.

Columbia has cracked down harder on 'antisemitism' (which both they and the current administration define broadly to include antizionism) than any other university in America. This is the clearest proof we have that doing the presidents' bidding *will not* spare your institution.

Every faculty who supported police on campus, every one who refused to sign letters of support for their brutalized students: you laid the bricks for politicians to believe they have the authority to crush student voice. Your racism against Palestine is corroding everyone's freedoms.

This is not law. It couldn’t withstand legal scrutiny. Don’t comply in advance university presidents. General counsel, don’t panic. Do law, not vibes.

Just want to remind a lot of folks that a lot of working-class journalists and #book critics TOLD YOU VANCE WAS A FRAUD. But you know, he confirmed certain views of the poor so you ate that terrible book up. www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

When the Trump administration escalates its attacks on academic freedom, don’t count on Democrats or university leaders to hold the line. They’re attacking it all on their own. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Instead of removing the corrupt mayor of NYC, the governor of NY has decided to use the power of her office to violate ACADEMIC FREEDOM and sow division. Immoral, reprehensible, and unnecessary. nypost.com/2025/02/25/u...

A very useful resource www.eater.com/24364171/ice...

Federal workers organizing across unions through the Federal Unionist Network (FUN) are connecting activists to make plans to fight back. If you’re a federal worker, you can get connected with them here: www.federalunionists.net/join-us

Congrats to all the Zionists who enabled attacks on DEI, ethnic studies, and people criticizing segregation and colonialism Look at how successful you were!

Weird how not a single one of the newspapers and magazines that have been breathlessly churning out "cancel culture" thinkpieces for the past four years have managed to use the word "censorship" at all to describe the most rapid and comprehensive campaign of mass-censorship in recent US history.

All I can really say at this point is if everyone isn't watching how trans people have lost basic rights and protections on a scale that hasn't been seen in decades in the span of 72 hours and realizing that even if you aren't trans there's nothing stopping it from happening to you, you're a fool

518-474-8390 Call Gov. Hochul and tell her to remove Eric Adams from office.

NEW: Nutrition programs SNAP and WIC will NOT be affected by federal freeze on grants and loans going into effect Tuesday, per a senior White House official. There's been a lot of uncertainty about this today. Here's what I have so far for @reuters.com:

BREAKING: Philadelphia workers have won the first Whole Foods union under Amazon with UFCW. Since Amazon bought the chain, workers have lost benefits and felt the squeeze. Now they're fighting back against the multi-trillion dollar giant and hoping this win will be the first of many.

I co-sign this as a parent of teenagers. That's not to say we can't go backwards, but it is good to remember how far we have come on basic standards thanks to decades of work by activists on multiple fronts.