Good Monday morning. One year later… Recognize and acknowledge that you’ve been dealing with hard things. Our agenda this week:
Conversation Starters
The Dialogue (Social Justice)
Future of Higher Education: a wealth of content this week!
Best of the Rest
Conversation Starters
START YOUR WEEK HERE: If 2020 and 2021 had a conversation (Trey Kennedy)
NO, I’M NOT READY
I don’t know what our grieving process will look like as we emerge from this pandemic, but I do know that it will require patience and grace with yourself and others. Not in the “forgive your anti-masking co-worker” sort of way — more in the “I still can’t concentrate, what’s wrong with me” or “why did I just bail on this party I really wanted to go to” or “I am so angry at this random person in the grocery store” sort of way.
You’re probably going to feel exhausted when you want to feel exhilarated, panicked when you thought you’d feel safe, combative when all you want is to feel soothed. Your social skills have atrophied and you’re probably going to get in some big fights that will seem like they’re about nothing but are actually about everything. You’re going to crave some of the parts of quarantine life you swore you never would. You’re probably going to over-plan and over-schedule and feel an alarming and unexpected need for solitude and have to pull back and re-evaluate.
It’s going to feel periodically awful in new ways, and it’s going to be a continuing struggle, but it’s also going to be amazing. And, most importantly, it’s not really going to happen for several months.
Read the whole thing by the brilliant Anne Helen Petersen: No, I’m not ready (Culture Study)
SOLUTIONS TO ZOOM FATIGUE
Four primary reasons why video chats fatigue humans:
Excessive amounts of close-up eye contact is highly intense.
Seeing yourself during video chats constantly in real-time is fatiguing.
Video chats dramatically reduce our usual mobility.
The cognitive load is much higher in video chats.
Read here for solutions: Four causes for 'Zoom fatigue' and their solutions (Stanford)
Related: E-mail Is Making Us Miserable (New Yorker) (h/t Marilee Lindemann)
DEATH THROUGH A NURSE’S EYES
Extraordinary journalism, and incredibly moving (15 minutes). It’s hard to watch, but a video made in Phoenix will give you a better idea of what’s happening in America — a firsthand perspective of the brutality of the pandemic inside a Covid-19 ICU. (NYT)
Powerful photos: In LA County, Covid Is Hitting Black and Latino Residents Hardest (NYT)
The Dialogue (Social Justice)
#StopAsianHate
Hate against Asian American Pacific Islander communities has risen during the pandemic. Stop AAPI Hate. We stand united against racism.
Asian Americans at UMD grapple with surge in violence against their community (DBK)
Asian and Asian-American families are choosing to keep their children learning from home (WaPo)
‘Nobody came, nobody helped’: Fears of anti-Asian violence rattle the community (WaPo)
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
BLACK LIVES MATTER
Don’t call me ‘resilient’ -- it covers up systemic racism (Toronto) (h/t Carlton Green)
Black People Need Better Vaccine Access, Not Better Vaccine Attitudes (NYT)
George Floyd’s killing started a movement. 9 months later, what’s changed? (Politico)
The Black Photographers Who Paved The Way For The World We Live In Now (Buzzfeed)
WHITE MEDIOCRITY
AMPLIFYING VOICES
Tressie McMillan Cottom: The Dolly Moment (essaying)
More young people identify as LGBTQ+ than ever before, poll finds (19th)
On queer elders: Elders (Roxanne Gay)
The Real Threat to Women's Sports Isn't Trans Athletes. It's Sexually Predatory Coaches (Mother Jones)
Sexual violence against boys is far more common than we think (WaPo)
Future of Higher Education
WAR ON WOKE
What's going on in state legislatures right now to suppress "woke" viewpoints in higher education should be getting more attention. Here's a sampling of the bills up for debate right now, as analyzed by Jeffrey Sachs:
In NH, profs would be banned from endorsing "divisive concepts."
In GA, a lawmaker asked public colleges to list courses that teach "white privilege."
In AR, a bill would prevent colleges from offering any course, event, or activity that “promotes division between, resentment of, or social justice for” a race, gender, political affiliation, or social class.
In IA, profs would be polled about their political affiliations.
And while most will likely never become law, Sachs writes, the sheer number and focus send a message. "If you are a teacher, professor, or university student and are in any way 'woke,' stop. Shut up. We are watching you." The New War on Woke (Arc Digital)
Censoring critical race theory: The Campaign to Cancel Wokeness (NYT)
Related: “UT needs rich donors”: Emails show wealthy alumni supporting “Eyes of Texas” threatened to pull donations (Texas Tribune)
RACIAL TRUST DEFICIT
A new report from the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University found that Black undergraduates trust college leaders significantly less than their white peers, and that the pandemic caused a slight drop in trust in administrators among all students. A Racial Trust Deficit in Higher Ed (IHE) (h/t Carlton Green)
HOT TOPICS
A College President Worried About the Risks of Dorm Isolation. So He Moved In (NYT)
A day in the life: 24 Hours in Higher Ed, One Year into the Pandemic (Chronicle)
George Washington University: Too Much for Students to Handle? Why One University Decided to Do Away With RAs (Chronicle)
The Covid Effect: Most Colleges Will Keep Test-Optional Policies for Good (Chronicle)
Business as usual won’t solve the existential challenges we face. Will anything? Can Higher Ed Save Itself? (Chronicle)
Luxury Amenities at Elite Colleges and Universities (Town & Country)
FEAR THE TURTLE
Priced Out of Town: A look at housing costs in the College Park area (DBK)
Workers and universities at odds as labor movements unfold on Maryland campuses (WaPo)
FACULTY BURNOUT
Pandemic Toll: More Than Half Of College Faculty Have Considered A Career Change Or Early Retirement (Forbes)
Faculty Members Are Suffering Burnout. These Strategies Could Help. (Chronicle)
How to Manage Through Emotional Exhaustion (Chronicle)
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Best of the Rest
WELLNESS
We’re having trouble recognizing each other in masks, and it’s getting awkward (WaPo)
Work-Life Balance Has to Include Friendship (Atlantic)
UNDER THE RADAR
Democrats Need HR 1 and the New VRA to Protect Voting Rights (Atlantic)
How the Public-Health Messaging Backfired (Atlantic)
Great visuals: In the Atlantic Ocean, Subtle Shifts Hint at Dramatic Dangers (NYT)
This review lists public social media posts from members of the House who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election: Social Media Review (Zoe Lofgren)
FUN
Fascinating 3D tool showing the evolution of the Oval Office over time (American Home Shield)
Dolly Parton Received A Dose Of The COVID Vaccine She Helped To Fund (Buzzfeed)
This Cat Enjoying A Spa Day Is How Relaxed I Plan To Be The Rest Of 2021 (Buzzfeed)
36 Podcast Personalities Recommend Their Favorite Shows (NYT)
A Plastic Surgeon Logged Into Traffic Court Via Zoom While Operating On A Patient (Buzzfeed)
Until next time (March 22), be strong and be well.
That New York Times video about ICU nurses brought me to tears.
The Petersen article totally speaks to me right now! So much rich content here in Parks and Wreck! Thanks Ben. Also - if you haven't watched City So Real yet - highly recommend. It was my weekend binge.