Afternoon Update: Student group for discussing Middle East says peers and colleges hold it back

College is worth it if loans are not needed, survey finds; fixing peer review; North Carolina system will gut DEI; teaching reading; and more. ADVERTISEMENT [Afternoon Update Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS [These Students Want to Talk About Oct. 7. They Say Their Peers and Colleges Hold Them Back.]( By Erin Gretzinger [STORY IMAGE]( A student-founded organization called Atidna offers a space to discuss what’s happening in the Middle East. It’s an uphill battle to persuade their peers to participate. ADVERTISEMENT DATA [Is College Worth It? Depends on the Student Debt.]( By Audrey Williams June [STORY IMAGE]( Just 22 percent of respondents to a new Pew Research Center survey said the cost of a four-year degree was worth it if a student had to take out loans. TEACHING [Can You Teach Students to Read Effectively?]( By Beth McMurtrie [STORY IMAGE]( Instructors share what has worked for them in the classroom. ADVICE [3 Ways to Fix Peer Review]( By T.J. Thomson, Lesley Irvine, and Glen Thomas [STORY IMAGE]( A new study of a year’s worth of peer reviews aims to improve how academics assess one another’s work. ATTACK ON DEI [U. of North Carolina System’s Board Approves Policy Gutting DEI Efforts on Campus]( The Board of Governors voted on Thursday to repeal a policy that encourages diversity, equity, and inclusion. That means DEI-related jobs and programs are closer to being [eliminated or revamped]( across the 16-campus system, following [similar steps]( in many other [Republican-led states](. The new policy emphasizes equality and nondiscrimination over DEI. (The News & Observer, The Chronicle) CAMPUS CUTS [Facing ‘Existential Threat,’ Columbia College Chicago Revamps Curricula and Schools]( Threatened by declining enrollment and budget deficits, the college’s board on Monday approved cutting requirements, a dozen faculty jobs, and 50 percent of some administrative posts. Further cuts could come from a review of 28 “programs of concern.” Columbia has already laid off a third of its professional staff and [increased endowment spending](. (Higher Ed Dive, The Chronicle) LEADERSHIP & GOVERNANCE [Trustees’ Decision to Terminate President Was Supported by Just Cause, Judge Rules]( Northeast Iowa Community College’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously in November to fire Herbert H.J. Riedel after a [leadership feud exploded]( between the board chair and the president. The board said the dismissal stemmed from performance problems. Riedel, who has been on paid leave, said he was considering his next step. (Telegraph Herald, The Chronicle) CAMPUS UNREST [Pro-Palestinian Protesters Leave Drexel U. After Police Are Called to Clear Encampment]( The university’s president, John A. Fry, said he had summoned campus and Philadelphia police officers to remove the tents early Thursday after tolerating an “unauthorized” and “illegal” protest largely run by outsiders. Given advance warning, the demonstrators departed. Protest organizers said they had made a “strategic retreat” from “the liberated zone.” (Associated Press) PUBLISHING [Mass Resignation of Editors Hits Major Philosophy Journal]( The executive, associate, and advisory editors and all editorial-board members of a top journal in moral and political philosophy, Philosophy & Public Affairs, have resigned and plan to start an open-access competitor. They said such journals were “not well-served” by commercial publishers. The journal, once produced by Princeton University Press, is now published by Wiley. 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