University presidents backed into a corner

+ what banning TikTok won't do US Edition - Today's top story: College administrators are falling into a tried and true trap laid by the right [View in browser]( US Edition | 27 April 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( With police called in to crush protests and hundreds of students arrested, the scenes this past week on college campuses from coast to coast were eerily reminiscent of anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. Last year, historian Lauren Lassabe Shepherd published a book detailing how conservative activists in the 1960s and 1970s exploited those anti-Vietnam War protests to punish students, attack university administrators, empower campus police and shape higher education policy. [Now Shepherd sees those same forces coming to the fore](, with right-wing activists and politicians using the pro-Palestinian protests to smear all activists as antisemitic, while depicting college students as “coddled elitists” set out to “sow discord” and “destroy America.” “The purpose then, as it is now, is to intimidate administrators into a false political choice,” she writes. “Will they protect students’ right to demonstrate or be seen as acquiescent to antisemitism?” This week, we also liked articles about [bird flu infections in dairy cows](, [lawsuits teachers have filed]( after refusing to raise grades, and the history of [passenger rail in the United States](. [ [Get a global perspective on the news, with the best of The Conversation’s journalism from around the world, twice weekly.]( ] Nick Lehr Arts + Culture Editor A student is arrested during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the University of Texas at Austin on April 24, 2024. Brandon Bell/Getty Images [College administrators are falling into a tried and true trap laid by the right]( Lauren Lassabe Shepherd, University of New Orleans Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, conservative activists led a counterattack against campus antiwar and civil rights demonstrators by demanding action from college presidents, the courts and the police. An Acela, the flagship train of the Northeast corridor, moves through Connecticut. AP Photo/Michael Dwyer [How trains linked rival port cities along the US East Coast into a cultural and economic megalopolis]( David Alf, University at Buffalo Love it or hate it, the ‘Acela Corridor’ has developed a widely recognized identity thanks to the trains that link it together. It’s not just TikTok. Solen Feyissa/Flickr [Banning TikTok won’t solve social media’s foreign influence, teen harm and data privacy problems]( Sarah Florini, Arizona State University TikTok is hardly a model social media platform, but it’s also far from an outlier when it comes to threats to Americans. - [How bird flu virus fragments get into milk sold in stores, and what the spread of H5N1 in cows means for the dairy industry and milk drinkers]( Noelia Silva del Rio, University of California, Davis; Richard V. Pereira, University of California, Davis; Robert B. Moeller, University of California, Davis; Terry W. Lehenbauer, University of California, Davis; Todd Cornish, University of California, Davis Five livestock experts who study infectious diseases in the dairy industry explain the risks. - [Teacher lawsuits over forced grade inflation won’t fix unfair grading – here’s what could]( Laura Link, University of North Dakota Not all teachers comply when asked to adjust student grades. An education scholar takes a look at what happens when they don’t. - [What is ‘techno-optimism’? 2 technology scholars explain the ideology that says technology is the answer to every problem]( Seyram Avle, UMass Amherst; Jean Hardy, Michigan State University Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen is one of this concept’s biggest enthusiasts. - [A coral-bleaching event is devastating reefs globally − threatening tiny creatures whose beauty and biology have shaped human cultures for centuries]( - [The US is one of the least trade-oriented countries in the world – despite laying the groundwork for today’s globalized system]( - [Philadelphia has a lot more deadly shootings than expected for a big city − and NYC is much safer, new study says]( - [When the Supreme Court said it’s important to move quickly in key presidential cases like Trump’s immunity claim]( - [Trump trial reveals details about how the former president thinks about, and exploits, the media]( - [The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup]( - [Under the influence and under arrest − what happens if you’re drunk in the interrogation room?]( - [Nearsightedness is at epidemic levels – and the problem begins in childhood]( - [Gender-nonconforming ancient Romans found refuge in community dedicated to goddess Cybele]( - [What cities can learn from Seattle’s racial and social justice law]( - [Do implicit bias trainings on race improve health care? Not yet – but incorporating the latest science can help hospitals treat all patients equitably]( The Conversation News Quiz 🧠- [The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz]( Joel Abrams, The Conversation Here’s the first question of [this week’s edition:]( If everyone on Earth got in the ocean and submerged themselves underwater at the same time, about how much would the world's sea level rise? - A. The width of a human hair - B. The diameter of a baseball - C. The height of Herbert Hoover - D. The height of the Empire State Building [Test your knowledge]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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