Weekly Briefing: Conservative Lawmakers Go After 'Social Justice' in the Classroom

Conservative lawmakers are clashing with colleges over teaching social-justice issues. Some colleges are wary of defending themselves. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( [logo] [Read this newsletter on the web](. Conservative state lawmakers clash with public colleges, again. [image] Jon Krause for The Chronicle Welcome to the rodeo. It's the classic duel between state lawmakers and public colleges. You may have seen the show before. This time, conservative lawmakers in some states are clashing with institutions over how to teach social-justice issues and privilege. In the backdrop of this face-off, Republicans and Democrats remain divided on how they perceive higher education. Student protests aren't drawing the same attention that they did four years ago, maybe because the coronavirus pandemic has sent most campuses online. Instead, lawmakers are clashing over how colleges teach and remember history. And public colleges, regulated and funded in part by state legislatures, are torn between wrangling or pacifying the big bull (state lawmakers, if you're following the metaphor), given the pandemic and the recession. Lawmakers in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Iowa have introduced state legislation that focuses on campus culture. In Arkansas, for example, [House Bill 1218]( proposes barring public colleges from holding classes, activities, or events that group students based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or social class. This is a classic debate. In 2017, the hot topic in many statehouses was campus protests, [students shouting down speakers]( and [free](. Two years later, then-President Donald Trump signed an executive order [to protect free speech]( college campuses. Why do we keep returning to this debate? Ben Trachtenberg, associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Missouri School of Law, and a scholar of higher-ed law, told our Lindsay Ellis that these bills create a false hysteria. They speak to the stereotype that college campuses are liberal havens run amok. We all know how this rodeo ends. There may be a skirmish or two; sometimes the free-speech bills will become laws, and other times they'll be vetoed by the governor or killed in committee. And soon enough, back to the rodeo we'll go. [Read Lindsay's full story here.]( Your named furniture and rooms. Last week, in an effort to build an online community out of you, our newsletter readers, I asked: Do you have a name or name-worthy piece of furniture in your room? I received many delightful responses ([read more here](. Here are a few: Sheri L. Boyce has a Chair of Death. When she first met her husband, they named the chair because "it was ugly as sin but so comfortable that as soon as you sat in it, you slept like the dead." Now that travel is limited, J.D. Bowers uses airport codes to refer to rooms in his home: The office is OFC, the bathroom is BTR, and KIT is the kitchen. Emily Fogel Conway's laptop stand, like all good Ikea furniture, came named. Unlike many of the hard-to-produce names, this one stuck: Dave. For years, H. Scott Matthews, admired his economics professor's two-sided bankers desk. W. Robert Dalton had snagged it as part of his severance package when Gulf Oil — where he was the chief economist — shuttered. Matthews went on to TA for Dalton and write a recommendation letter for Dalton's promotion to senior lecturer. There, he wrote that he knew the secret of Dalton's success: "Whenever he needs a real-world example for class, he just has to reach into a drawer of his desk and pull one out. When you've got a desk like that, and a lifetime of experience, teaching must be pretty easy." When Dalton retired, he gave Matthews the desk. There was a letter in one of the drawers from Dalton, saying that the secret wasn't the desk. It's the person who sits behind it. Paid for and Created by Ellucian [Advancement in Uncertain Times]( Now more than ever, is the time for institutions to foster a culture of philanthropy and empower advancement teams to help reengage their communities. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( Subscribe to The Chronicle The Chronicle’s award-winning journalism challenges conventional wisdom, holds academic leaders accountable, and empowers you to do your job better — and it’s your support that makes our work possible. [Subscribe Today]( Lagniappe. - Learn. When you have too many farmers' market cherries, you make cocktail cherries. It's February, and fresh cherries aren't available in most of the U.S. [This is an essay with]( two guides: one for canning boozy fruit and the other for enduring winter. (Defector) - Read. Two brothers were torn apart by their politics on the Arab Spring. [Did they reunite?]( (The Washington Post) - Listen. This week's episode of the podcast You're Wrong About is on [the origins of the anti-vaccine movement](. It's a must listen, especially if anyone in your life has autism. (Apple Podcasts) - Watch. There's something magical about a New Yorker cartoonist [revealing her secrets]( and creating something clever before your eyes. (YouTube) Cheers, —Fernanda This Week‘s Top Reads THE PANDEMIC [The Fight for the University of Kansas]( By Ani Kokobobo [image] The Board of Regents is working to weaken tenure. But all is not yet lost. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( THE ATTACK ON THE CAPITOL [‘The Cops Won’t Touch Me’: Student Who Joined Capitol Mob Faces Federal Charges]( By Michael Vasquez [image] Donald Trump’s lies about a stolen election became a call to action for a 31-year-old Gallaudet University student. ADVICE [Are You Working? How to Stop Writing From the Weeds]( By Rebecca Schuman [image] An academic-writing specialist answers your questions on time management and productivity. Job Announcement Faculty openings at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.[Visit jobs.chronicle.com]( for more details. Paid for and Created by Utrecht University [‘The world does not benefit from scientists being ‘one-trick-pony’s’]( A catalyst for change, Utrecht University aims to stimulate collaboration, exchange and co-creation across borders of academic fields to find solutions to complex, societal challenges from multiple perspectives. Burned Out and Overburdened: How to Support the Faculty Professors are anxious and burned out. They’ve been pivoting. They’ve been juggling work and child care. They’ve been worried — about Covid-19, the economy, social justice, the nation’s divisive political climate. This collection includes many of The Chronicle’s essential reads on how colleges can support their faculty members — and how professors can help themselves — during these stressful times. [Order your copy today.]( Job Opportunities [Search the Chronicle's jobs database]( to view the latest jobs in higher education. What did you think of today’s newsletter? [Strongly disliked]( // [It was OK]( // [Loved it](. [logo]( This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2021 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037