I guess if you’re really, genuinely, truly, positively, ethically committed to slowing AI things down in the name of safety, the public good, etc. the only coherent thing to do is FORGO going public. Cause them public markets ain’t waiting for anything but the bottom line.

Folks, if you’re attending ASA, join us at the teaching preconference! The incredible Brian Powell is our keynote speaker this year (if you know, you know)!

In the past several years, Universities have gotten a lot of criticism for building shiny new food halls, dorms, and venues for recreational and athletic activities.

You read that right. On this question, Harvard is David and the political economy of higher Ed is Goliath. open.substack.com/pub/micheles...

@ucsandiego.bsky.social students: One of your peers, Victor Lomelli, has created an amazing tool that allows you to check if you’re eligible for CalFresh. And here’s the thing: it takes only 2 minutes, is totally free, and DOES NOT COLLECT ANY PERSONAL DATA.

Does anybody know of any good historical analysis of what happened to the American university under neoliberalism? Here’s the thing. The standard story is basically a combination of state defunding and corporatization (with yet another story about inequality between higher ed institutions).

Jonathan Haidt says that phones and social media are to blame for the stress and anxiety young people are experiencing today. As always, I decided to run this by the second most important source of wisdom in my life: my students (the first is my wife). They said, ‘uh-uh.’

“Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them” (p.11, Herbert, Dune). h/t Dylan Kane

In this week’s Substack, I argue that we should give Harvard a chance on its policy to cap A’s. Against the political economy of higher ed, Harvard is the underdog. 🔗👇 open.substack.com/pub/micheles...

Check out my latest Substack! I make the case for giving Harvard’s cap on A grades a chance. I know. I KNOW. But come on, at least read it before you start throwing tomatoes. 🍅🍅🍅 #GradeInflation #Harvard open.substack.com/pub/micheles...

Quantitative vs Qualitative Scholars. 🤷

I hate having a sore throat in summer weather. The heat just makes it so much worse. 🤧

Barring some sort of revelation that puts things in a different light, this strikes me as a failure of leadership due in part to being completely out of touch with your specific student population. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/m...

Good piece. I don’t think the rec is administratively or politically viable. Might be something you could try at this or that institution or program (not Harvard, though). Still, thoughtful piece worth reading. substack.com/home/post/p-...

This is an excellent summary of where things stand at the University of California with respect to the SAT. It’s written for high school students who might be considering applying, but it’s really clarifying even if you’re just generally interested in the topic. askmssun.com/is-uc-bringi...

This one really blew up in a totally unexpected way in another platform. #minefield My understanding is that part of the criticism of the trad wife archetype is that these influencers are, on the one hand, basically selling patriarchy under a new veneer,

My wife is part of a book club in which they’re reading a novel with this premise:

If grading is part of your job, this week’s Substack is for you. 🔗👇 open.substack.com/pub/micheles...

Man, so hard to see em-dashes now and not think AI. Sucks.

Ya’ll want to hear the internet slang translation of the “We Have Never Been Woke” argument? ‘Academics bank like a chud but talk like a woke.’ #DeepestDarkestCornersOfTheWeb #DontGoThere #SaveYourselfTheBrainRot

Just as a thought experiment, think about the parallels between these two stories:

What is a grade? Sounds like a simple enough question, right? Not so much. Check out my latests Substack for my 9 definitions! 🔗👇

This is a message for fitness influencers and cultural entrepreneurs (you know who you are): there is currently a shortage of whey protein in America. Please, I beg you, WE DO NOT NEED PROTEIN IN SODA AND DONUTS. I hope this message reaches across party lines. 🙏

In the age of AI and the right-wing backlash against higher ed (which includes the whole merit thing), if you’re fighting against the reinstatement of the SAT/GRE, you’re fighting an uphill battle.

A reminder that it was the Regents of the University of California, explicitly against faculty recommendation, which led to the SAT being dropped.

Told you. Matter of time for the rest.

The tea leaves say SAT is on its way back. Maybe even the GRE.

This is why we can’t have nice things. “caveats don’t launch movements: a recent study shows that public health messaging with too many disclaimers is largely ineffective.” Go read the whole piece. It’s great.

As a sociologist, this sounds about right.

Some univerisities around the country seem to be struggling to figure out their mission. At the University of California, our mission is crystal clear: to offer Californians a transformative and accessible educational experience.

Word on the street is that a good part of the knowledge workers fired recently is simply an attempt by executives to cover the deep costs of full blown access to AI tools. #TokensAintCheap

This week in my Substack: Why People Talk Past Each Other in the Debate About Grades, Why Your Engineer Friend is Super Religious But Your Friend With the Women’s Studies Degree Doesn’t Even Believe in God, and Why Capitalists Hate Capitalism #BetweenClasses #Substack #HigherEd

This week in Between Classes: Why People Talk Past Each Other in the Debate About Grades, Why Your Engineer Friend is Super Religious But Your Friend With the Women’s Studies Degree Doesn’t Even Believe in God, and Why Capitalists Hate Capitalism #BetweenClasses #Substack #HigherEd

My kids ten years from now. Only difference is they’d be calling me, not mom. Cuz at my house, mom also finds it weird that sometimes the towels just stay there. #LoveMyFamilyButImDefinitelyTheCleanAndOrganizedOne

Have you seen that video of RFK Jr. grabbing those two snakes with his bare hands? I don’t think I could do it. Sorry, masculinity. I’m a total disappointment. #snakes

Berkeley’s law school adopts strict ban on AI: “The use of AI is prohibited for aid in conceptualizing, outlining, drafting, revising, translating, or editing any work submitted for credit.” www.forbes.com/sites/michae...

I remember a Twitter fight a few years ago in which this one academic had published or was sharing someone else’s research showing that when Democratic candidates used the term “Latinx” they lost a certain percentage of Latino voters because the term just didn’t resonate with them.

PSA to all college and university faculty: for a while there, “Latinx” seemed to be the label of choice among college students. Per my students: Nope, not anymore. I’ve asked them a few times in class recently and they seemed to find it odd and overly academic. 🤷 #labels

Telltale signs of AI use: -Em dashes -“Vague, soft intensifiers such as “quietly powerful” and “deeply transformative”. -The word “delves.” (Who knew?!) www.theguardian.com/books/2026/m...

Any body else notice a precipitous drop in the quality of Siri’s answers on your Apple devices in the last couple of weeks? I can’t even get a straight answer about the weather anymore.

Imagine Harvard faculty turned their decision on themselves… An administrator, maybe the university’s president himself, comes out and says:

This is how you win elections. Well, knowledge workers were already going to vote for him. But still, I like ‘Let’s all own a part of the robots’ waaaay more than

This is today! Join us!

Join us tomorrow at 12:30pm in SSB 101 for our last colloquium of the year with our very own Richard Pitt! Undergrads welcome! #FreePizza #sociology #ucsd

In a 458 to 201 vote, Harvard faculty approve the measure to cap A grades and reject the measure that would have let courses opt out of this. #HigherEd

My students disagree with Diermeier, the Chancellor of Vanderbilt. I’m with them on this. More in my latest Substack. 🔗👇 open.substack.com/pub/micheles...

Folks in the #AI industry: You tell young people that entry level jobs will disappear. You tell future generations to just settle for universal basic income (at what? 20k/annually per person?).

The US has a progressive tax system for W-2s. And a feudal one for those whose wealth is built on owning assets.