Northeastern Blot

This is our Latke-Hamantash debate.

It's a real shame it's during the summer. You know Jesuit schools would have a field day with it.

The big question is if Dems can polarize their voters against it the way the GOP has theirs.

There's legitimate changes to be made at the NIH. Like hell we should let *any* changes be made under this administration and I think people will be very worried about them for years to come.

The Indian side has long tried to downplay external involvement in conflicts with Pakistan because of their diplomatic position that Kashmir is a bilateral issue.

Side note, I have always found it funny that the only modern Catholic theologians we read at my Jesuit high school were formally condemned by the Vatican as heretics (which is quite difficult nowadays!).

I feel that I recognize those ideals from back when the Jesuits educated me. It's something I don't want to lose as a society.

And it's made more difficult by the fact that laws are blunt instruments.

No, I agree, it's difficult. I certainly don't think it's a clear question.

I think Yeshiva should be allowed to have its religious policies for its undergrad programs, but I'm uncomfortable with the idea that their merger with New York Medical College might make some NYMC students retroactively subject to their religious rules.

Something that isn't really possible to address in law but relevant to my feelings, as it were, is that effect on opportunity matters. Nobody is harmed by a Notre Dame policy for undergrads because you have tons of other options. Your options for medical school are far more limited.

I suppose, but does this only apply to universities? Could a hospital refuse to treat Catholics? Could a business refuse to serve them?

They do. In my view they probably shouldn't.

When the Ivies were Protestant, their refusal to take Catholics had real effects on our opportunities in life. I've met people who faced that firsthand.

I guess the issue is what the broader societal effects of that are. If we accept the idea that it's harder for a trans person to become a doctor because some medical schools will reject them for being trans, isn't that a harm?

It's a hard line to draw. Of course a Jesuit institution will favor Catholics in hiring for some roles (given that Jesuits are in administration!) but there seems to be a limit. I don't think it would be right for federal funds to go to an institution that only admitted Catholics, for example.

I think it's different if the school tries to impose that vision on its students. In that case, at the very least they don't have the right to federal subsidy of that view where it means federal funds go to institutions that not everyone has access to.

I think that recipients of federal funds should be required to adhere to antidiscrimination law to an extent they don't already. It's wrong that a gay person trying to go to medical school can't apply to schools like Liberty even though they get federal funding. They have less opportunity.

The problem is that these universities have charters from the 18th or 19th century, that aren't designed for a modern research university.

In the end while donors might be a necessary evil, there's no reason that they need to have legal authority over the running of the university rather than the faculty.

There's probably a dozen religious R1 schools that are top research institutions.

The State should look at revoking their authority to issue degrees or just directly amending their charter to take power from the Trustees and hand it to the faculty. The City should look at violations of anti-discrimination law.

Scientists should not be bossed around by private equity CEOs who donated a new climbing wall.

It's depressing that their incredible work is tied to the scum that call themselves trustees.

I genuinely wonder what would be right to do if I were a professor or student working on a cure for a disease.

This isn't a hypothetical. I know people who face these choices now. If they quit, people will die. If they don't, their values are toast.

New York State has tons of legal tools here. They can threaten Columbia's right to award degrees or its tax exempt status. The Legislature can amend the charter.

Turning all our private R1s into a national system controlled by their faculty and students rather than billionaires is a dream.

We need to use state power now. Why wait? New York State can investigate if this violates their charter. The Legislature can amend the charter. They can threaten their tax exempt status or their ability to award degrees. They can investigate trustees for any offenses in connection with this.

We can also punish the trustees now or use the State Legislature to amend the charter (or take away their tax exemptions and right to award degrees if they refuse).

Every single trustee involved in this should be investigated for potential violation of state or local law starting tomorrow. We don't need to wait for the next Dem administration.