An out-of-work chef has turned his garage into a food pantry
/#GOODNEWS
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Guilt and Blame
/No one in a relationship problem is ever totally innocent or totally guilty. With this belief, people can always keep the door open to their own faults without engaging in excessive, guilty-provoking self incrimination. Holding back anger for even a short time and engaging in self-analysis in private has the effect of tempering the expression of anger. Confession alters our goals from changing others to changing the relationship.
Mark Cosgrove, Counseling for Anger
Happiness depends
/Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them. –Leo Tolstoy (born Sept. 9, 1828)
Articles of interest about Higher Ed - Sept 8
/***HIGHER ED & THE VIRUS
Colleges ask students to leave campus amid COVID-19 outbreaks, but experts advise the opposite
Hagerstown Community College turns off access for remote work
College towns around America are becoming coronavirus hot spots ($)
The Flagrant Hypocrisy of Bungled College Reopenings (opinion)
*** TESTING
This university has the most aggressive COVID-19 testing scheme in the US.
***OUTBREAKS AT SPECIFIC SCHOOLS
More than 900 COVID-19 cases reported at Michigan colleges and universities since August
University dismisses 11 students who gathered in same room amid COVID-19 pandemic
SDSU hits pause button as number of coronavirus cases grows
University of Iowa faculty hold 'sick out' to protest in-person classes
Hundreds of South Carolina college students busted at massive pool party
SUNY Oneonta Sends Students Home for Semester After COVID Cases Spike Over 500
***K-12
Is It Time to Reexamine Grading?
How Google Classroom became teachers’ go-to tool—and why it’s fallen short
Reinventing Education: How to fix the crisis in U.S. schools
Cape Henlopen student sues district over remote learning
***LAYOFFS & FURLOUGHS
Adrian College rescinds layoff notices, department cuts
Colleges furlough more employee
***HIGHER ED & THE LAW
4 Liability Trends Driving the Higher Education Coverage Crisis
Universities can't use privacy laws to withhold data on coronavirus outbreaks, experts say
***ONLINE CLASSES
Distance Learning Presents A Challenge For Students With ADHD
These students figured out their tests were graded by AI — and the easy way to cheat
How college students can make the most of remote learning
***ACADEMIC LIFE
University of Michigan faculty say administration has not been transparent
A White professor says she has been pretending to be Black for her entire professional career
Jessica Krug's Department Speaks Out
***ADMINISTRATORS
National U Holds Off on Name Change to Honor Donor Investigated for Child Porn
Lehigh University president to step down
Forced-out University of Kentucky dean details removal. Faculty expresses ‘dismay.’
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Taylor fires tenured professor over controversial video
***LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
Liberty tells staff to refrain from interacting with Falwell
How Jerry Falwell Jr. mixed his personal finances with his university's
***RESEARCH
Massive fraud investigation targets prominent Brazilian health researcher
There is an urgent need to improve peer review
***STUDENT LIFE
Student's refusal to wear anti-COIVD masks leads SDSU to confine them to their dorms
‘Nobody Likes Snitching’: How Rules Against Parties Are Dividing Campuses
Stanford University Students Flock to a Virtual Campus
University Of California, Santa Cruz, Rehires Student Assistants Fired In Spring
How on-campus college students can reduce their risks of getting covid-19 ($)
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Michigan State Employees Failed to Act on Sexual Misconduct
New Title IX sexual assault guidelines in effect on Oklahoma campuses
Washington Football Team Harassment Allegations Have Women In Sports Wondering, ‘Is This Worth It?’
***RACIAL ISSUES ON CAMPUS
Brown University Drops 'Plantations' From Lengthy Formal Name
"Hitler was right" neo-Nazi posters found hanging at Arizona university
Mizzou athletes march on campus to shine light on social injustices
Depression Lingers
/There is a chain of events follow the awareness of a loss that starts with mind-body chain of events that leads to depression. While it mind can resolve the loss, the body still needs time to recover. The biochemical changes accompanying the depression take time to return to normal. One may continue to feel depressed long after the problem seems to be resolved.
This is important to remember because many people who experience such temporary losses do not allow time for the body’s chemistry to heal. They are likely to interpret their continued low mood as a sign of failure, reject themselves, and create further loss and depression. Many depressions are perpetuated this way.
The healthiest way to deal with sadness following restoration of the loss is simply to accept it. Give the body time to heal after the mind is recovered.
Archibald Hart, Counseling the Depressed
Welcome to the Future
/The future will not be delivered like the morning paper; the future comes looking like something else. Don't be fooled. I think that even though you may not have told yourself yet in so many words, you know some very important things about the next chapter of your work life. Tell yourself whatever you know now.
William Bridges, Transitions
riddled with doubt
/Most people tend to overcompensate.. people who are riddled with doubts tend to be dogmatists who are never wrong –John Powell
Teacher finds and turns in backpack full of cash
/#GOODNEWS
Articles of interest about religion - Sept 4
/***RELIGION & THE VIRUS
COVID-19 Outbreak at Focus on the Family
Hundreds gather at Portland waterfront, without masks, to see controversial worship leader
***SURVEYS ON RELIGION
Half of U.S. Christians say casual sex sometimes or always acceptable
Women Read the Bible More Than Men. Why?
***OUTSIDE THE US
Researchers Find Christians in Iran Approaching 1 Million
Satellite Images Show China's Expansion Of Muslim Detention Camps
Outspoken Atheist, Arrested in Nigeria for Blasphemy, Hasn’t Been Seen Since
***JERRY FALWELL
Liberty announces investigation into Falwell's tenure
Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Departure Brings Relief on Liberty University’s Campus
The Jerry Falwell Jr. scandal, explained
Jerry Falwell Jr.'s fatal miscalculation
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
11,000 sign petition to remove Franklin Graham as charity's CEO after convention prayer
Christian radio show host Punches Protester After White House Speech
Evangelicals are looking for answers online. They’re finding QAnon instead
Political Conventions Show How Religion Is Playing A Role In Campaigns
Evangelical Voters Weigh In On What's At Stake In November's Election
Voter guides show the power and duplicity of American evangelicalism (opinion)
Christian author Eric Metaxas Admits Punching Protester In D.C.
***RELIGION & RACIAL ISSUES
American Christianity’s White-Supremacy Problem
How Black Lives Matter Is Changing the Church
22 experts on religion and race
***CELEBRITIES
Chadwick Boseman: Man of faith in real life, ‘Black Panther’ on screen
***DENOMINATIONS
Former head pastor at Texas Nazarene church indicted on child pornography charges
Northwest Nazarene University holding commencement for 2020 grads this weekend
***CATHOLIC
***MEGACHURCHES
L.A. To Evict Grace Community Church From Parking Lot
Megachurch pastor John MacArthur says there is no pandemic
Pastor John Gray accused of another inappropriate relationship; lawyers say he’s being blackmailed
Making friends
/We picture lovers face to face but friend side by side, their eyes looking ahead. That is why those pathetic people who simply “want friends” can never make any. The very condition of having friends is that we should want something else besides friends. Friendship must be about something, even if it were only an enthusiasm for dominoes or white mice. Those who have nothing can share nothing, those who are going no where can have no fellow-travelers.
CS Lewis, The Four Loves
Second Wind
/Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second. -William James
Bullet-riddled Fighter Planes
/During World War II, researchers from the non-profit research group the Center for Naval Analyses were tasked with a problem. They needed to reinforce the military’s fighter planes at their weakest spots. To accomplish this, they turned to data. They examined every plane that came back from a combat mission and made note of where bullets had hit the aircraft. Based on that information, they recommended that the planes be reinforced at those precise spots.
Do you see any problems with this approach?
The problem, of course, was that they only looked at the planes that returned and not at the planes that didn’t. Of course, data from the planes that had been shot down would almost certainly have been much more useful in determining where fatal damage to a plane was likely to have occurred, as those were the ones that suffered catastrophic damage.
The research team suffered from survivorship bias: they just looked at the data that was available to them without analyzing the larger situation. This is a form of selection bias in which we implicitly filter data based on some arbitrary criteria and then try to make sense out of it without realizing or acknowledging that we’re working with incomplete data.
Rahul Agarwal writing in Built in
7-year-old's tribute to Chadwick Boseman
/#GOODNEWS
Chadwick Boseman helped show people that "Black kids can be heroes, too," 7-year-old Kian Westbrook said CBS News reported.
7-year-old Kian Westbrook and the Avengers holding a memorial for his hero, Black Panther. ♥️ (📷: Twitter/@KingWestbrook7) pic.twitter.com/3xfVfqNPfH
— E! News (@enews) August 30, 2020
addictions
/Most addictions are a result of a lack of connectedness and shame. –Paul Myer
Articles of interest about the virus & higher ed - Aug 31
/***THE VIRUS
Social distancing six feet apart is based on 'outdated science,' scientists say - Study Finds
COVID-19 has changed the way people use their vehicles
Several have been reinfected with Covid-19. Here’s what that means
Exponential growth bias: The numerical error behind Covid-19
Exercise and COVID-19 Can Be a Dangerous Combination: Study
***HIGHER ED & THE VIRUS
How Universities Are Tackling The Spread Of COVID-19
College towns growing alarmed over outbreaks among students
Some central Ohio colleges refuse to publicly report COVID cases
Is it safe to go to college? Health experts weigh in
***THE FALL SEMESTER
Running Numbers or Running From Numbers?
Colleges need COVID-19 tests to reopen, scientists say. Some don't have much of a plan
***OUTBREAKS & TESTING AT SPECIFIC SCHOOLS
Hundreds more Colorado College students now in virus quarantine
Temple University suspends in-person classes due to COVID-19 outbreak
Northwestern Univ. announces it won’t have freshmen and sophomores on campus
Coronavirus outbreaks identified at 4 sororities at Kansas State University
San Diego State University students gather without masks as COVID-19 infections rise
University of Alabama orders faculty to keep quiet about outbreak
University of Notre Dame changes 'battle plan' after rise in COVID-19 cases
USC reports ‘alarming increase’ in COVID-19 cases
The Ohio State Univer. suspends 228 students for violating pandemic precautions before classes begin
***LAYOFFS & FURLOUGHS
Adrian College to eliminate humanities departments, faculty jobs
Colleges Turn to More Furloughs: Clemson, Winthrop, Portland, Tufts, And Nebraska
***K-12
Iowa has a new 'Don't ask, don't tell,' —it could allow COVID-19 to run roughshod at schools
***HIGHER ED & RACIAL ISSUES
Troy University to rename Hall for John Lewis
Some Christian schools are finally grappling with their racist past and segregated present
Columbia taking slave-owning doctor’s name off campus dorm
Faculty say higher education, research is ‘rife’ with discrimination
***HIGHER ED
Texas launching digital textbook repository for college students
Elite U.S. Schools Face a Rude Awakening With Asian Students Staying Away ($)
***HUMANITIES
***THE COST OF COLLEGE
A New Study Investigates Why College Tuition Is So Expensive
***CYBER ATTACKS
College of the Desert website is having issues for users due to malware attack
Cybersecurity Is Increasingly Challenging for Academia
***TEACHING ONLINE
Ed Dept. Issues Final Distance Learning Rule
How to Maintain FERPA Compliance remotely
The prisoner’s dilemma: To cheat or not in online classes?
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Yale Professor Jed Rubenfeld Suspended for Sexual Harassment
***ADMINISTRATORS
UC Berkeley chancellor calls reopening amid crises ‘hardest situation I’ve ever encountered’ ($)
COVID-19 thrusts college presidents in the hot seat
Frontline workers protest University reopening at UI President’s house
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Mike Pence won't speak at Wisconsin Lutheran College commencement
Notre Dame distances from Lou Holtz comments that Joe Biden is 'Catholic in name only'
Samford University President Retiring Next Year
400 Point Loma Nazarene University Alumni Denounce Fellow Grad Natalie Harp’s RNC Speech
***LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
She was the aggressor’: Former Liberty student alleges sexual encounter with Becki Falwell
***RESEARCH
Open is not forever: a study of vanished open access journals
Responsibility of Medical Journals in Addressing Racism in Health Care
***STUDENT LIFE
Empty US college campuses are making it harder for students to vote
College students' mental health worst-hit by COVID lockdown: Study
The Pandemic Is Making College Students Question the Price of Their Education ($)
'Nomophobia': 9 In 10 College Students Battle Fear Of Being Without Smartphone
Stanford to bar students on leaves of absence from VSOs despite remote learning
2 Ohio University Students Plead Guilty in Fraternity Hazing Death
***STUDENT MEDIA
Guidance on creating a policy about reporting in-person during COVID-19
During chaotic university reopenings, student newspapers are holding the powerful accountable
Student media sounds alarm on unsafe university reopenings
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Minnesota Settles With Student in Alleged Gang-Rape Case
California’s ill-advised attempt to circumvent new Title IX rules
Systems not just goals
/Every Olympian wants to win a gold medal. Every candidate wants to get the job. And if successful and unsuccessful people share the same goals, then the goal cannot be what differentiates the winners from the losers. It was only when they implemented a system of continuous small improvements that they achieved a different outcome.
Imagine you have a messy room and you set a goal to clean it. If you summon the energy to tidy up, then you will have a clean room—for now. But if you maintain the same sloppy, pack-rat habits that led to a messy room in the first place, soon you’ll be looking at a new pile of clutter and hoping for another burst of motivation. You’re left chasing the same outcome because you never changed the system behind it. You treated a symptom without addressing the cause.
James Clear, Atomic Habits
Rational people
/Rational people don’t risk what they have and need for what they don’t have and don’t need. -Warren Buffett (Born: Aug. 30, 1930)
Moral excellence
/Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. -Aristotle
Superforecasters
/They are called “superforecasters” and they make surprisingly accurate predictions about world events. Tara Law writes about these semi-professional forecasters in TIME magazine:
Superforecasters tend to share certain personality traits, including humility, reflectiveness and comfort with numbers. These characteristics might mean that they’re better at putting their ego aside, and are willing to change their minds when challenged with new data or ideas…they may also be more flexible than traditional scientists, because they’re not bound to a particular discipline or approach. Their predictions incorporate research and hard data, but also news reports and gut feelings. They tend to be actively open-minded and curious. They’re in “perpetual beta” mode—always striving to update their beliefs and improve themselves. A willingness to change your mind when presented with new information, contend with your biases, challenge one another’s ideas, and break down problems into specific questions are all desirable qualities in people who make big, important decisions.