Afternoon Update: As Chapel Hill's chancellor placed one foot out the door, pleas filled his inbox

A university tries to make scooters safer; slouching toward sensitivity; the thin line between knowledge and magic; and more. [Afternoon Update Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. 'SAY IT ISN'T SO!!!!' [As a Chancellor Placed One Foot Out the Door, Pleas Filled His Inbox]( By David Jesse [STORY IMAGE]( Trustees, faculty, and donors made personal appeals to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill leader after news broke that he was a finalist for the Michigan State University presidency. ADVERTISEMENT RISK-BENEFIT ANALYSIS [Can This University Make Scooters Safer?]( By Maggie Hicks [STORY IMAGE]( They’re annoying and sometimes deadly — yet highly useful. Spin and Virginia Tech conducted a $400,000 study to find a middle ground. THE REVIEW | ESSAY [Slouching Toward Sensitivity]( By Janet Burroway [STORY IMAGE]( Content warning: This essay contains obscenities, slurs, sex, bullying, child abuse, alcoholism, pregnancy, addiction, murder, suicide, religion, culture, opinions, politics, language, and academe. THE REVIEW | ESSAY [The Line Between Knowledge and Magic Is Thinner Than We Think]( By Colin Dickey [STORY IMAGE]( Anthony Grafton’s alternate history of the Renaissance. VIDEO [One Woman’s Journey From Incarceration to Entrepreneurship]( [STORY IMAGE]( Amber Crowder, a college graduate incarcerated for federal mail fraud, felt overwhelmed after her release. A career-development program helped her re-enter society. PANDEMIC LITIGATION [Indiana Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Class-Action Suits Over Colleges’ Covid Policies]( The unanimous decision affirms a state law prohibiting such lawsuits. The ruling concerned students’ effort to force Ball State University to refund tuition for the spring of 2020, when BSU — like colleges across the country — shifted from in-person to remote instruction. The students may still sue individually, just not as a class. (Indiana Public Broadcasting) CAMPUS SPEECH [Arizona GOP Threatens to ‘Gut’ University Funding Unless Campus Speech Is Controlled]( At a hearing on Monday, the Legislature’s Ad Hoc Committee on Freedom of Expression at Arizona’s Universities, citing an [earlier dispute]( said it wanted “guardrails” on free expression to protect conservatives at universities overseen by the state’s Board of Regents. Democrats appointed to the panel boycotted the hearing, calling it a waste of time. (The Arizona Republic, The Chronicle) ACADEMIC LABOR [U. of Southern California and Graduate Students Reach Deal, Averting Campuswide Strike]( Under the tentative three-year contract, the students’ pay would rise 4.5 percent in the first year and 3 percent in each of the next two years. The deal, if approved by members of the newly formed Graduate Student Worker Organizing Committee-UAW, follows a [recent surge]( in [student unions]( academic-labor [organizing]( and [gains]( [strikes elsewhere](. (LAist, The Chronicle) THE WAR ON CAMPUS [Presidents of Penn, Harvard, and MIT to Testify About Antisemitism on Campus]( Liz Magill of the [University of Pennsylvania]( Claudine Gay of [Harvard]( and Sally Kornbluth of the [Massachusetts Institute of Technology]( will appear next Tuesday before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. [Colleges]( have [struggled]( to [respond]( to [antisemitism]( and [Islamophobia]( since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last month. (The Daily Pennsylvanian, The Chronicle) NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. Virtual Events: Tune In Live STUDENT AFFAIRS [Supporting Student Success: Staff and Roles]( [STORY IMAGE]( UPCOMING: December 5, 2023 | 2 p.m. ET: Colleges prioritize student success through advising and performance-tracking programs, but staff burnout and turnover present a challenge. Join us to discuss it. With Support From Mongoose. [Register here.]( STUDENT SUCCESS [Starting a Program for Incarcerated Students]( [STORY IMAGE]( UPCOMING: December 6, 2023 | 2 p.m. ET: With federal aid now available for students in prisons to take courses for credit, many colleges want to start or expand programs for them. Join us for advice on doing so. With Support From Ascendium. [Register here.]( ACADEMIC PROGRAMS [Data Science Unbound]( [STORY IMAGE]( UPCOMING: December 7, 2023 | 2 p.m. ET: Experts will explore rising student demand for data science in the liberal arts and the challenges the trend presents, including faculty shortages and course sharing. With Support From Microsoft. [Register here.]( SPONSOR CONTENT | University of Bath [The Two-Minute Test That Will Enhance Early Alzheimer's Diagnosis]( FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [The Unionized Campus - The Chronicle Store]( [The Unionized Campus]( The number of graduate-student unions has increased more than four-fold since 2019. [Order your copy]( to learn what’s at stake as union membership grows, and explore effective strategies for colleges to build relationships with new and existing unions. NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK [Please let us know what you thought of today's newsletter in this three-question survey](. This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2023 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037