Laura Helferstay

Once again, my fellow nerds, I am begging you to remember that giving into bullies only guarantees they'll be back.

You've got to punch Biff Tannen in the face, McFly, or he'll rule over you forever.

This is good, but to make it even better specify what you'll be giving to instead. The hope that development offices have with something like this is that "you're pissed now, but the money is still there and we'll follow up in a year or two and get the donation back!"

Crush that hope.

I'm not giving any credit to the gangsters holding the well-being of children hostage, but I'm glad to have one less thing weighing on our schools.

i’m finding it requires more and more cognitive dissonance to enjoy indulgences as the fascism becomes increasingly omnipresent and suffocating

I don’t know how my UVA colleagues are faring this evening, but I’m trying to remind myself of this fundamental truth: the wealthy classes are neither invincible nor in full control.

States with constitutionally guaranteed education &/o those with robust public ed systems should invest in some sort of collaborative public nonprofit to serve as the national clearinghouse for education research, policy, and best practices. Withhold funds from the feds & divert them.

thinking about the dems who said we can't abolish ICE as the Department of Education gets wiped off the map

Lifting the District Court’s injunction will unleash untold harm, delaying or denying educational opportunities and leaving students to suffer from discrimination, sexual assault, and other civil rights violations without the federal resources Congress intended. The majority apparently deems it more important to free the Government from paying employees it had no right to fire than to avert these very real harms while the litigation continues. Equity does not support such an inequitable result. * * * The President must take care that the laws are faithfully executed, not set out to dismantle them. That basic rule undergirds our Constitution’s separation of powers. Yet today, the majority rewards clear defiance of that core principle with emergency relief. Because I cannot condone such abuse of our equitable authority, I respectfully dissent.

BREAKING: The Supreme Court allows the Trump administration to move forward with the abolition of the Department of Education. It gives no explanation for its order. All three liberals dissent. www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...

From Sotomayor's dissent:

The wholesale destruction of US science by this administration is a catastrophe.

Pretty sure it's a good sign when your employee wellness newsletter reminds you that you can endure and adapt. That's a totally normal thing, right?

So tired of Democrats in power reacting with anodyne bullshit to the most horrifying things imaginable. I don't care if Republican cruelty MIGHT lose them an election in 2026. The country is on fire right now, and you're bringing the energy of a shriveled up bit of gum hiding under a desk.

"This should be obvious, but let’s be clear: Neither the White House nor the U.S. Department of Justice has the authority to hire or fire university presidents. But if you claim a power and everyone acts like you really have power, you totally have that power."

Universities: you got stand up. If we believe in truth, knowledge, research, evidence, free inquiry, debate, pluralistic communities, we cannot stay in our lab or our library, hoping it will pass us by. They are coming for it all.

It's their go-to move, as we all know. Get one round of lunch money and then reform their bullying ways immediately.

Trump Forces UVA President to Resign in Shock Move—Civil Rights Probe Reveals the Real Motive 😳📚 In a stunning escalation of the Trump administration’s war on higher education, University of Virginia President James E. Ryan has resigned under pressure from the Justice Department, which demande…

BREAKING: University of Virginia President James Ryan has resigned under direct pressure from the Trump administration.

DOJ forced his ouster to settle a civil rights probe into the school’s diversity efforts.
Here’s what just happened—and why it’s terrifying for every campus in America 👇

University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration

Another red line crossed today, this time at UVA

From an alum: “It would be a symbolic surrender of the university’s autonomy & commitment to free inquiry that, if allowed to stand...would send a chilling message: that public universities in Virginia serve political agendas, not the commonwealth.”

It’s a good thing Congress isn’t alive to see this

What children in poverty could lose from the 'Big Beautiful Bill' Republicans want to change or reduce key social safety net programs that provide health care, food benefits and financial assistance for millions of children.

If you're wondering why all the pediatricians you know are feeling worried and angry - this is it right here. I really encourage you to read the article and use these facts to help advocate for our children.

www.npr.org/2025/06/20/n...

Really elevating the narrative out here

Most of us in higher ed in the US are going to lose something over the next four years (opportunities, or funding, or time). But if we believe universities exist, in part, to preserve historical memory and create a space for dissent, our primary job right now is to fight and take the hit.

URGENT! something you can DO! The need is tremendous and we are counting on you to help. We cannot file the necessary cases in federal court without the requisite bonds. Please help? secure.actblue.com/donate/ccfre...

"Masked security forces captured an opposition leader in the coastal province of New Jersey as regime officials continue their months-long crack-down against pro-democracy elements in the embattled United States. The arrest comes as the regime issued calls for summary detentions without trial."

1. This absolutely sucks
2. Jim Ryan promised to collaborate with CCS if UVa acquired the property. This is a great moment for UVa to be crystal-clear about what aspects of the CCS plans for the site that UVa will now facilitate as a good partner with the city

'We're citizens!': Oklahoma City family traumatized after ICE raids home, but they weren't suspects A woman says her family’s fresh start in Oklahoma turned into a nightmare after federal immigration agents raided their home, taking their phones, laptops, and life savings – even though they were …

Please highlight this story.

ICE stormed into the wrong house, trashed the place, and made women/girls stand outside in the rain in their underwear. ICE also stole phones, laptops, and cash savings from the family, who moved to OKC two weeks ago.

kfor.com/news/local/w...

Letter text available at delegatecallsen.com/apr22

Today, Senator Deeds and I penned a letter to Albemarle County requesting more information regarding the presence of plain-clothed Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents operating at the Albemarle County Courthouse.

if you can’t make it, please reach out to Sheriff Bryant to ask why her deputies allowed two people to be kidnapped out of the courthouse she is responsible for securing.

Phone: 434-972-4001
cbryant2@albemarle.org

Major Education Resource Set to Shut Down This Week The federal Department of Education maintains an open access database of more than 2 million documents dating back to the 1960s. It will cease operating Wednesday due to DOGE cuts.

Vale ERIC obliterated in another attack on freedom of information. www.governing.com/policy/major...

the only real discrimination period, for these folks, is against hard-right conservative christians, whose religious beliefs give them a kind of super-citizenship that allows them to either discriminate, opt out of common obligations or dictate to others

Also a third thing: even if people have received due process, they shouldn't be deported to random third countries (looking at you too, my own country)
And a fourth thing: nobody should be sent to concentration camps at all. Even if they were all the worst criminals alive, properly tried.

I'm incapable of processing the version of reality we've found ourselves in.