Recently, a statue at West Point was unveiled honoring the service of the 9th and 10th Colored Cavalry, the famed “Buffalo Soldiers”. Earlier that week, the government of Richmond, Virginia, removed a monumental statue honoring the hero of the Confederacy, General Robert E. Lee. The statue of Lee was erected in 1890 and was the … Continue reading »
The Autocrats Playbook For Subduing Universities — What Can Be Done About It?
Neo-nationalism is on the rise–a term that describes the emergence, and in some cases revival, of extreme right-wing movements in key areas of the world, often characterized by anti-immigrant and xenophobic rhetoric; economic protectionism; constraints on civil liberties; attacks on critics, including journalists and academics; denial of science related to climate change, the environment, and … Continue reading »
The U.S. must not abandon its allies in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley
Our allies, comrades in arms, friends and confidants—men, women, and children alike—are being surrounded by ruthless Taliban fighters. America has a commitment to these allies, one that it must honor. We cannot—we must not—abandon our allies in this time of need. To do so is to betray the ideological foundations of America itself.
One World, in Flames, From California to Turkey
The politicization of wildfires across the world shows toxic commonalities in quite different contexts. Just like the partially common causes of the fires, these similarities of politicization require us to think outside the box. If disasters are not re-politicized in a transnational way, each of us will pay an increasingly high price. My experience … Continue reading »
California must defend protesters from the harms of tear gas, rubber bullets
The use of tear gas and rubber bullets against crowds often inflames tensions instead of calming them, and has led to serious injuries. California is taking the legislative lead in protecting the right to protest through AB48, which would create new common-sense requirements for the use of less lethal weapons for crowd control, including that their use is necessary to prevent serious injury and proportionate to the threat.
A GOP-majority Supreme Court shows cruelty toward the powerless
Republican-appointed justices, who now hold six of nine seats on the Court, are ready to overturn the Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, striking down anti-abortion laws across the nation as violating a woman’s right to privacy under the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution.
Biden Has Big Plans for International Education – Revisiting Some Recommendations
After decades of neglect, the Biden administration appears to be on the verge of developing a coherent federal strategy for promoting the international engagement of American higher education with the larger world. Thus far, and unlike many of our economic competitors, international engagement has largely been self-funded and pursued by individuals and by universities and … Continue reading »
Behind the absurd attacks on ‘Critical Race Theory’
The attacks on “CRT” reveal that most of the critics have very little idea what they are even aiming at. Rather than attacking CRT, some of the key phrases in the proposed statehouse bills are rather ideas or claims made in much more recent and mainstream writing or advocacy, such as things Robin DiAngelo has suggested or Tema Okun has circulated. If Robin DiAngelo and Tema Okun are CRT scholars, then I’m an astrophysicist.
California: Keep public meetings open through technology
Over the past pandemic year, life events and activities have moved online that we once believed must be held in person: weddings, classes, conferences, cocktail parties. Many aspects of government business also transitioned from requiring a presence in person to being facilitated through online platforms. California’s open meeting laws inscribed in the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting … Continue reading »
Refugee Responsibility Sharing or Responsibility Dumping?
This post was first published on Just Security, and is co-authored by Elena Chachko. World Refugee Day is an opportunity to focus attention on one of the most pressing refugee law and policy challenges: almost 9 out of 10 refugees are hosted in developing countries. Better distribution of responsibility for seekers of international protection remains … Continue reading »
Five ways to prevent child marriage in refugee communities: 280 girls speak out
By Julie Freccero and Audrey Taylor Just before global travel came to a halt with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we traveled some 700 miles by road from Kampala to Bidi Bidi and Palorinya—two refugee settlements near the South Sudan border that are home to nearly 400,000 South Sudanese refugees—to talk with girls about … Continue reading »
Our Responsibility to Refugees
Nearly 80 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide, including 26 million refugees and 4.2 million asylum seekers.* Writing in the wake of World War II, Hannah Arendt, herself a refugee, described the plight of refugees as involving not only “the loss of their homes” but also the loss of “a right to have rights…and … Continue reading »
George Floyd. Rodney King. We’ve seen it before
What changes are needed to end this seemingly never-ending cycle?
The University of California can legally require COVID-19 vaccinations
Government actors should not take lightly the power to conscript citizens into action against their will, particularly on matters of personal health and bodily autonomy. But as the law currently stands, it is within the University’s power to adopt the policy of requiring its students to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
How public pre-K education for all can worsen racial disparities
President Biden will soon detail his promise of free access to preschool for all young children, and the idea polls high among the nation’s parents. But research shows that poor children benefit the most from pre-K. Shouldn’t we focus aid on their families?
In the Beginning – Recalling the Legislation that Established the University of California
Today, March 23, marks the 153th anniversary of the 1868 legislation that established the University of California, also known as Charter Day. The following provides a reflection on the intent of that legislation and its initial organizational principles that remain relevant today for one of the largest and most prestigious multi-campus public universities in the … Continue reading »
Why Deb Haaland’s confirmation as interior secretary is so important to Indigenous communities
Secretary Deb Haaland (Pueblo of Laguna) is the first Indigenous woman confirmed as Secretary of a federal agency. She will the lead of the Department of the Interior (DOI). This historic day calls for a recognition of the resiliency, survivance, and fortitude Indigenous communities have led with since 1492. Secretary Haaland’s swearing in is important … Continue reading »
Trump is no longer president, but his army of supporters won’t just go away
Berkeley journalism professor Mark Danner gives his first-person perspective of what he witnessed in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, when pro-Trump supporters sieged the U.S. Capitol building to deter the election certification of Joe Biden.
Trump didn’t break our democracy. But did he fatally weaken it?
There’s no way to know whether damage to U.S. democracy will be permanent.
Here’s what it will take for America’s fraying democracy to survive
There may not be an immediate solution to America’s broken political system. Yet, there are reasons to be hopeful and optimistic about the future of the United States, given its strong democratic institutions and the primacy of the rule of law. In a national emergency like this, the foundations of the social contract are likely to prevail, but U.S. democratic institutions will survive only if the congressional leadership and the new administration prepare their constituencies for a pluralist and multi-racial society.