On May 6, 2023, the California Reparations Task Force met at Northeastern University Oakland for a final discussion and vote on its full reparations report. Consisting of 40 chapters and a 104-page executive summary, the report offers sweeping policy recommendations on restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, and other forms of reparations. According to the taskforce, California, which […]
In late April 2023, twenty-nine scientists published a manifesto titled “In Defense of Merit in Science.” The authors (I will call them the “Twenty-Niners”) noted with irony that a defense of merit could only find a home in the Journal of Controversial Ideas. Merit is controversial? Never mind—the piece is a high-minded and vigorous defense […]
College and university presidents, along with their often-compliant governing boards, have presided over a decline in academic freedom during the past decade, as so-called DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) bureaucracies have multiplied in size and power. Mandatory diversity statements, cancel culture, trigger warnings, and bias response teams evidence this decline. It has come with a […]
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