Good Monday morning. Meet yourself where you are. Our syllabus this week:
Conversation Starters
The Dialogue (Social Justice)
Future of Higher Education
Best of the Rest
Conversation Starters
START YOUR WEEK HERE: BOOMERS GOT THE VAX
HOW IS EVERYONE DOING?
We’re in a tricky spot right now, a moment of profound cognitive dissonance, as Frank Bruni put it this week. A significant fraction of Americans are already vaccinated and a majority of adults in this country will have received their shots soon. Spring has sprung, and vaccinated or not, America wants to party again. We can finally start relaxing, right? Not quite. While hope is in the air, so are variants of the virus. Yes, we’re turning a corner, but to do it clumsily will throw ourselves into reverse. Some thought-provoking pieces on the return to “normal” and burnout:
NEW ANXIETIES: “RE-ENTRY FEAR”
Their stories are emerging as the world begins to reopen — people secretly dreading each milestone toward normalcy, envisioning instead anxiety-inducing crowds and awkward catch-up conversations. Even small tasks outside the home — a trip to the grocery store, or returning to the office — can feel overwhelming. Psychologists call it re-entry fear, and they’re finding it more common as headlines herald the imminent return to post-pandemic life. Coming out of the cave: As life creeps back, some feel dread (AP)
Good compilation of a variety of anxieties on people’s minds: If The Pandemic Has Made You Anxious About Returning To “Normal,” You're Not Alone (Buzzfeed)
“The world's like boats waiting in the locks. Who knows, exactly, what any of us will be like after a lost year..." The Pandemic Is Ending. The Optimized Future Is Probably Back. (Buzzfeed)
BURNOUT: “WE HAVE ALL HIT A WALL”
Call it a late-pandemic crisis of productivity, of will, of enthusiasm, of purpose. Call it a bout of existential work-related ennui provoked partly by the realization that sitting in the same chair in the same room staring at the same computer for 12 straight months (and counting!) has left many of us feeling like burned-out husks, dimwitted approximations of our once-productive selves. We Have All Hit a Wall (NYT)
Related: Here’s What Readers Told Us About Feeling Burned Out (NYT)
Parents in Western countries report the highest levels of burnout (Science News)
“DEEP” DIVE: MEANINGFUL WORK
Highest recommendation: My brilliant friend (and future Dr.) Lorae Bonamy with an honest reflection on how the culture of student affairs work erodes productivity and leads to a lot of shallow work -- though this is applicable to ALL professions. She offers four strategies drawn from Cal Newport’s Deep Work that have changed her life, so that “instead of moving frantically between several tasks at once, you’ll be able to engage in individual tasks with renewed focus, energy, and productivity.” 4 Ways for #SApros to Banish Distractions and Dive into Meaningful Work (Presence)
WHICH NEIGHBORHOOD VOTED FOR WHO?
This NYT interactive/quiz is fascinating! It’s more difficult to pick which neighborhood voted for which candidate than you might expect. Do You Think You Can Tell How a Neighborhood Voted Just by Looking Around? (NYT)
THIS IS AN UNCLE VAX NEWSLETTER...
That simple white card: What you need to know about your vaccine card (NYT)
Hundreds of people on what it felt like to get the vaccine: Freedom, Hope, Relief: What The COVID Vaccine Means To You (Buzzfeed)
Vaccine passports and digital vaccination records, explained (Vox)
Photos: 12 Unusual Places Where Americans Are Being Vaccinated
The Dialogue (Social Justice)
TOP TALKER: DEI INDUSTRY
DEI has a decision to make: It can align itself with the penthouse or the people who seeded the ideas of justice at its core. In order to reach that destination, DEI must finally decide who it is and who it is for. The Diversity and Inclusion Industry Has Lost Its Way (Harper’s Bazaar) (h/t Timea Webster)
#StopAsianHate
Asian Americans Reclaiming Their “Other” Native Names (Buzzfeed)
I Thought I Knew How to Succeed as an Asian in U.S. Politics. Boy, Was I Wrong. (Politico)
BLACK LIVES MATTER
Kimberle Crenshaw: The Eternal Fantasy of a Racially Virtuous America (TNR)
Block by block, he aims to fight injustice and save the planet (WaPo) (h/t Harold Burgess)
Corporations seek help from racial justice leaders to avoid being 'canceled' (WaPo)
ON TRAUMA
Roxane Gay on How to Write About Trauma (Vanity Fair)
AMPLIFYING VOICES
100 Women Share Their Earliest Memories of Experiencing Racism (Oprah Daily)
Generational Wars between Boomers and Gen-Z Only Serve Capitalism (BitchMedia)
Future of Higher Education
TRENDING: CAN COLLEGES REQUIRE VACCINATION?
First mover: Rutgers will require COVID vaccine for students this fall (IHE)
Big picture legal analysis: Can Colleges and Universities Require Student Covid-19 Vaccination? (Harvard Law Review) (h/t Bob Infantino)
SURVEYS OF STUDENTS AND PRESIDENTS
Recommend perusing data: Student experiences during COVID and campus reopening concerns (IHE)
Quotes UMD prof Kimberly Griffin: Survey shows college presidents emerging from COVID-19 more confident their institutions can change and thrive (IHE)
AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN: HIGHER ED
The American Rescue Plan earmarks about $40 billion for both public and private colleges and universities. Schools are required to spend at least half on emergency grants to students. Schools cannot use the money on capital projects, like new buildings, and instead must use a portion of the funds to control the virus and expand their public health services.
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Covering less content may be a good thing: Our Slimmed-Down Pandemic Pedagogy (Chronicle)
Teaching: After the Pandemic, What Innovations Are Worth Keeping? (Chronicle) (h/t Leah Tobin)
“BLOWING UP COLLEGE SPORTS”
How Blowing Up College Sports Became a Rallying Cry for Some in Washington (NYT)
Sally Jenkins: The financial burden on NCAA sports wears wingtips, not sneakers (WaPo)
Maryland: Jordan McNair’s father hopes a bill named for his son gives athletes a greater voice (WaPo)
HOT TOPICS
What if our goal was creating social impact, not preserving the status quo? It's Time to Rethink Higher Education (Chronicle)
Netflix's “Operation Varsity Blues” Is A Compelling Anatomy Of A Scam (Buzzfeed)
Cleaning A College In A Pandemic: 'Without Us This Campus Shuts Down' (NPR)
The Well-Heeled Professoriate: Socioeconomic Backgrounds Of University Faculty (Forbes)
Best of the Rest
WELLNESS
"The food movement became the wellness culture, which is just diet culture rebranded by Gwyneth Paltrow." (Culture Study)
UNDER THE RADAR
The Antiscience Movement Is Escalating, Going Global and Killing Thousands (Scientific American)
The Power of Political Disinformation in Iowa (New Yorker)
FUN
HGTV Is Getting a Renovation (New Yorker)
42 Great Books To Read This Spring, Recommended By Our Favorite Indie Booksellers (Buzzfeed)
How "A Drive Into Deep Left Field by Castellanos" Became the Perfect Meme for These Strange Times (Ringer)
Secret Service Worry Major Biden's Behavior Influenced By Time Spent On Far-Right Dog Forums (The Onion)
Until next time (April 19), be strong and be well.