Women’s Sports, Title IX, Biden’s Billions, A Tall Shortstack, Campus Mental Health Hurting, Real-World Lessons for Students
We welcome back Elizabeth Janice, our senior writer, start contemplating a fall fund drive to say goodbye to a hard year, think harder about what it meant, and look forward to a new year. –peter meyer
PURPOSE / Athletics
What Does the NCAA’s Antitrust Settlement Mean for Women’s Sports?
Women’s college sports have never been more popular. Yet the progress that’s been made could be stymied by a proposed $2.8 billion settlement that would allow the first revenue-sharing plan for college athletes. The NCAA and its major conferences agreed to the settlement to resolve a host of antitrust claims. The deal, which is subject to a federal judge’s approval, has two main components, both of which could invite scrutiny under Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school that accepts federal funding. One component would essentially allow for back pay of name, image, and likeness rights dating back to 2016. Under the proposed deal, this money would overwhelmingly go to athletes from the major revenue sports—namely football and men’s basketball—raising questions about its overall fairness to women. Schools would also be allowed to set aside $20 million per year, beginning in fall 2025, to pay both male and female athletes. There’s no clarity on how that money should be distributed or what happens if athletes win the right to collectively bargain and renegotiate. But if the money is not distributed proportionally, schools are “just asking to be sued,” legal experts warn.
---Elizabeth Janice
Sources
With Payments to College Athletes, Another Fight Looms for Women (New York Times)
No, College Sports Aren’t Over. But They’ll Never Be the Same. (Wall Street Journal)
Further Reading
MIT Hit with Civil-Rights Complaint over ‘Women of Color’ Mentorship Program (National Review)
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GOVERNANCE/Title IX
Red States Lead a Revolt Against President Biden’s New Title IX Rules
The Biden administration’s revision of Title IX was released in mid-April. Within a week, 16 states sued the administration. Since then, the number of states suing has climbed to 26—more than half the states in the nation. One of the most prominent red-state governors, Texas’s Greg Abbott, instructed multiple public universities and colleges in his state to ignore the revision, which goes into effect on August 1. Under the new regulations, sex discrimination will be extended to include discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. The revision will also roll back a Trump-era policy that requires live hearings and cross-examinations where students accused of sexual assault can question their accusers. Governors defying Biden’s new rules are taking a gamble. Schools in their states risk losing federal education funding—although it should be noted that the Department of Education has never revoked federal funding from a school for Title IX noncompliance.
—-Elizabeth Janice
Sources
States Lead a Happy Title IX Revolt (American Greatness)
Greg Abbott Instructs Texas Universities, Colleges to Ignore Biden’s Title IX Revision (National Review)
Red States Defying Biden’s Title IX Rules Is a Risk — and It May Be Worth Taking (New York Sun)
Further Reading
Red States Revolt and Roll over on Title IX (AEI)
As states roll back DEI efforts, U.S. ratchets up anti-discrimination pressure
(Chronicle of Higher Education)
Title IX Turned Upside Down (Capital Research Center)
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PUBLIC TRUST/Media
SHORTSTACK
Enrollment’s Up and Morale Down, a Black Scholar Opposes DEI, a Battered Faculty Faces a Long Summer, and more….
A Black Scholar Who Opposes the “Diversity” Mania: Carol Swain’s latest book takes DEI ideologues to task. (Martin Center)
New Honors Will Foster Free Speech: To counter the chaos on campuses, we need fresh thinking on how to stand up for ordered liberty. (Wall Street Journal)
Higher Ed Has a Progressive Disease. Can It Be Reversed? The prognosis seems grim, but I found signs of life as a proud father at Notre Dame’s commencement. (Wall Street Journal)
Colorado will ease path to college by paying back 2 years of tuition for lower-income students: HB24-1340 will pay out through refundable state income tax credit available to qualifying students (Denver Post)
Battered US faculty plan long summer of strategising: After nationwide failure to stop their presidents from arresting student demonstrators, college instructors ponder which approaches—and friends—they can turn to (Times Higher Education)
College Enrollment Up For Second Semester In A Row, Finds New Report (Forbes)
Why Is N.Y.U. Forcing Protesters to Write Apology Letters? The university calls it a “restorative practice”; the students call it a coerced confession (New York Times)
Pew Research: Is college worth it? Yes, with caveats (University World News)
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EMERGENT ORDERS/Student Debt
Navient’s Bold Move, Biden’s Billions, and the Call for Transparency
In the dynamic world of student loans, Navient, once known as Sallie Mae, has stirred excitement with its discreet launch of a groundbreaking forgiveness program. While borrowers celebrate, advocacy groups like the Project on Predatory Student Lending meticulously scrutinize the fine print, urging for transparency, while Senator Elizabeth Warren’s office amplifies calls for full disclosure. Against a backdrop of past controversies with for-profit schools, Navient’s unveiling of the “school misconduct discharge” program in 2022 offers a glimmer of hope. Simultaneously, recent revelations in The Wall Street Journal shine a light on the chaos engulfing FAFSA and the Education Department’s management of financial aid, highlighting pressing issues from processing delays to aid miscalculations. The chaos underscores the need for reform and transparency, echoing calls within the financial aid realm. This week, the Biden administration hit a whopping $167 billion in student loan discharges, but public awareness lags. Despite nearly 4.75 million borrowers benefiting, a disconnect emerges from polling by the Century Foundation and Morning Consult.
---Amy Genito
Sources
There’s a Program to Cancel Private Student Debt. Most Don’t Know About It. (New York Times)
How the Effort to Revamp Financial Aid Resulted in Chaos (Wall Street Journal)
Biden’s Unrecognized Successes on Student Debt Relief (The Century Foundation)
Further Reading
Unchecked student debt will affect all areas of the economy (University World News)
How FAFSA complications are disproportionately affecting Black students (NPR)
Mind on Money: Financial aid mess begs discussion of government’s role in higher education (nwi.com)
Biden Administration Transfers Another $7.7 Billion in Student Debt to Taxpayers (National Review)
Is College Worth It? Depends on the Student Debt. (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Colleges Are Swimming in Financial Uncertainty Amid the FAFSA Mess (Chronicle of Higher Education)
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PURPOSE/Community
PTSD Rates Skyrocket Among College Students
Crisis on Campus: Unraveling the Mental Health Surge
In a jolting revelation, as reported by New York Times columnist Ellen Barry, PTSD diagnoses among college students surged twofold from 2017 to 2022, a stark fallout of the Covid-19 era. According to data from the Healthy Minds Study (an annual survey assessing college students’ mental health), rates skyrocketed from 3.4 to 7.5 percent in just the last five years. Lead author Yusen Zhai underscored “broader societal stressors” like campus shootings, while Dr. Shannon E. Cusack from Virginia Commonwealth University questioned if pandemic hardships truly trigger PTSD. Meanwhile, Professor Stephen P. Hinshaw of UC Berkeley offered an intriguing insight: These challenges may corrode students’ emotional resilience. Adding to the turmoil, a recent Gallup poll exposed a burgeoning crisis, over half of students considering dropout cite emotional stress, a factor that nearly doubled from 2020 to 2023, with financial woes also casting a looming shadow. Enter Worcester Polytechnic Institute, thrust into action by a series of tragic suicides. With an emergency task force in motion, they dove headfirst into data analysis, pattern recognition, and targeted intervention proposals. Universities nationwide are heeding a similar call to arms.
---Amy Genito
Sources
PTSD Has Surged Among College Students (New York Times)
College students list mental health, stress as top reasons to consider dropping out: Gallup (The Hill)
Mental Health Crisis at a Small College (New York Times)
Further Reading
‘High-Functioning Anxiety Isn’t a Medical Diagnosis. It’s a Hashtag.’ (New York Times)
After a Suicide, What Information Does a College Owe Its Campus? (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Colleges Don’t Know Much About the Mental-Health Apps They’re Buying (Chronicle of Higher Education)
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PUBLIC TRUST / Jobs
Employers Are Increasingly Reluctant to Hire Campus Protestors
Even with a relatively low employment rate—currently 3.9 percent—the class of 2024 is facing a tough job market. And students who engaged in anti-Israel campus protests could find it even tougher, as not all employers look kindly on an encampment stint on someone’s resume. In November two dozen leading law firms wrote to top law schools implying that students who participated in what they called antisemitic activities, including calling for “the elimination of the state of Israel,” would not be hired. Since then more than 100 firms have signed on. Unlike the antiwar protestors of the 1960s and ’70s, today’s student protestors often wear masks or kaffiyehs. Some admit they do so to obscure their identity from potential employers; some as a sign of solidarity. Ohio’s attorney general recently warned student protesters wearing such coverings risked possible felony charges and prison time due to a little-known state law that says “no person shall unite with two or more others to commit a misdemeanor while wearing white caps, masks, or other disguise.” (The 1953 statute was originally written to go after the Ku Klux Klan.) Fifteen other states have similar anti-masking laws, including Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia.
---Elizabeth Janice
Sources
Why Can’t College Grads Find Jobs? Here Are Some Theories—and Fixes. (New York Times)
And Now, a Real-World Lesson for Student Activists (New York Times)
Campus Protesters, Unmasked (Wall Street Journal)
Further Reading