AKA Review– February 11, 2022

From Times Higher Education:
Professional sanctions are perfectly compatible with academic freedom
By Daniel Carpenter
Using the case of Amy Wax, a University of Pennsylvania professor whose many public statements have been decried as racist, the author argues that social and professional sanctions can be applied to a faculty member without violating principles of academic freedom. Sanctions short of firing, such as censure by a faculty senate or removing a professor from non-essential positions, are "a virtue of our system, not a jeopardy." Sanctions should be appropriate to the behavior, and there should be both limits to social media fueled shaming and actions that attempt to restrict potentially offensive pedagogies. Read this article

From The New York Times:
I Am Not Proof of the American Dream
By Tara Westover
If this column pulls at your heartstrings for the author’s grit, then you’ve missed the point. Her vivid descriptions of a life defined by "costly trade-offs" among tuition, food, and medical care echo what we hear from low-income students today. A $4,000 Pell Grant check changed the course of her life. But with increases in college costs and a Pell that has not kept pace, "the path I took through education no longer exists" for poor students today. The solutions are multitude, she concludes, if we prioritize national resilience and the institutions that support it rather than mythologizing individual determination. Read this article

From The Atlantic:
What College Students Really Think About Cancel Culture
By Jennifer Miller
While many worry that free speech is in peril on college campuses, students do not share this perception. Some students have created on-campus organizations focused on encouraging their peers to speak freely with each other about controversial topics. These organizations expose students from all political backgrounds to different opinions, creating a space for students to speak freely. These clubs seek to provide students an opportunity to "Seek to understand and not to convince" and "Challenge the idea, not the person." Read this article

From The World Economic Forum:
4 trends that will shape the future of higher education
By Diana El-Azar
The changes brought to higher education by the pandemic, while important, do not address the major issues facing universities today. The author argues that institutions should enable students to learn from everywhere rather than anywhere and students are not being properly prepared to enter the workforce. A recent survey reported 96% of Chief Academic Officers believe they are adequately preparing their students for the work force, while only 41% of students and 11% of business leaders share this notion. The author emphasizes the importance of reevaluating how skills taught in colleges and universities prepare students for success. Read this article

From WIRED:
Finally, a Good Use for NFTs: Preserving Street Art
By Suhita Shirodkar
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a form of digital art that can be sold or traded online and are a controversial development in the art world. But for street artists, transforming their works into 3D VR experiences to be uploaded on the Blockchain enables their work to live forever. Because of street art’s innate impermanence, it has been overlooked as a true art form but preserving it in the Metaverse could change that. NFTs could also broaden the audience for street art and further legitimize it. Read this article