Student law reviews are new front in protests

+ why journalists keep dressing up in blackface US Edition - Today's top story: Columbia Law Review article critical of Israel sparks battle between student editors and their board − highlighting fragility of academic freedom [View in browser]( US Edition | 12 June 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Why Dobbs inspired a voter backlash]( - [The physics of Olympic breakdancing]( - [Elephants have names too]( Lead story Not all clashes on U.S. campuses over Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip involve flags, tents and keffiyeh-clad protesters. The dispute is also causing upheaval at some law reviews – student-edited publications that showcase legal scholarship. After student editors at Columbia Law Review published a legal article by a Palestinian human rights lawyer comparing Israel’s displacement of Palestinians to apartheid, its board of directors took the website down. It relented a few days later but issued a statement accusing the editors of improperly reviewing the article – which students say it had tried to block – prompting staff to go on strike. While the incident hasn’t received as much attention as campus protests, “I believe the [controversy is worth paying attention to](,” writes Neal H. Hutchens, a scholar of academic freedom and free speech higher education. “If, as the students allege, there was inappropriate interference with the scholarly independence of one of the nation’s most influential law reviews, this incident has few, if any, precedents.” Hutchens explains what happened, the importance of law reviews and how incidents like these “could directly challenge institutional commitments to academic freedom and independence in scholarly inquiry.” [ [Science from the scientists themselves. Sign up for our weekly science email newsletter.]( ] Emily Schwartz Greco Philanthropy + Nonprofits Editor Pro-Palestinian protesters gather near Columbia University on April 30, 2024. AP Photo/Craig Ruttle [Columbia Law Review article critical of Israel sparks battle between student editors and their board − highlighting fragility of academic freedom]( Neal H. Hutchens, University of Kentucky It’s now clear that tensions in academia regarding concerns about Israel’s relationship with the Palestinian people aren’t limited to campus protests. Arts + Culture - [There’s a strange history of white journalists trying to better understand the Black experience by ‘becoming’ Black]( Alisha Gaines, Florida State University These endeavors end up turning the complexity of Black life into a stunt. Politics + Society - [American womanhood is not what it used to be − understanding the backlash to Dobbs v. Jackson]( Linda J. Nicholson, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis A historian of gender and women’s rights explains how women’s protests focused on their rights evolved from the 1960s through the present. - [Politics is still both local and personal – but only for independents, not for Democrats or Republicans]( Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz, University of Maryland; Joshua J. Dyck, UMass Lowell Independents’ political views and policy preferences reflect the economic and social conditions they see and experience every day. Democrats and Republicans have different sources for their views. 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Deception researchers investigate how the recipient and the medium affect telling the truth]( Christian B. Miller, Wake Forest University Researchers are interested in whether who you’re communicating with and how you’re interacting affect how likely you are to lie. International - [Can the US give cricket a lasting embrace – or will it always be dogged by comparisons with baseball?]( Richard Thomas, Swansea University The US may have beaten a cricketing giant in Pakistan, but moving the game forward will be an even sterner challenge. Trending on site - [How do you build tunnels and bridges underwater? A geotechnical engineer explains the construction tricks]( - [Eye exercises to improve sight – is there any science behind them? 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