Dani Wenner

Ralph Wiggem “I’m in danger” meme

*Academics in early August

oster, who is already wealthy, is now going to make bank by spreading right wing lies about public health. congrats to the big names in our field who helped legitimize her!

This is the thing about student course evaluations—they were never originally intended as measures of teaching quality. That purpose was stapled onto them later.

yes. and I have several specific people in mind

literally every time I post something about refusing to read people's substacks and telling academics (ethicists and political philosophers in particular) to get off substack, I get multiple replies of "why?"

this is why

Whatever you thought you’d be doing when fascism came knocking, you’re doing it now.

That includes asking your readers to walk into a Nazi garden to read the stuff you write.

That includes paywalling content on substack that can only be read if your readers pay your Nazi tithe.

Get off of SS.

I had a student tell me once that what he was at CMU to do is learn how to work 70 hour weeks bc that is what it takes to deserve the big bucks and I gotta tell ya that broke me a little. Letting billionaire tech bros control the cultural zeitgeist has destroyed us.

I’ll always be proud of the students I know who protested the US role in the Gaza genocide. And I’ll always be pissed at the uni administrators who went along with vilifying and punishing them.

Screenshot of article that reads: When looking beyond just Harvard and Columbia, one thing becomes clear, said Dominique Baker, an associate professor of education and public policy at the University of Delaware, the president is inciting an “outright attack” on higher education, and he has no plans of slowing down. From the political ousting of University of Virginia president James Ryan to the legislative termination of countless academic programs in Indiana with little to no faculty input, Baker identified one defining thread: curtailing the power of democratic institutions. “We are in a very dangerous time, both for U.S. higher education, but more importantly for our country,” she explained. “These types of outright attacks on colleges and universities are typically the moves of autocrats and dictators, often seen as signs of authoritarian takeovers.” She later added, “if one wanted to overthrow our constitutional republic, these are the types of moves you would make.”

Reporter: How do you feel about the Columbia settlement?

Dominique: Let me tell you about public universities in Republican-led states...

I appreciate that I get the kicker on a lot of these stories because I'm the most grim

www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Yes. Saying "well, Harvard is fighting" while Columbia and Penn cave, while UVa and Indiana U. use Trump as cover for kneecapping faculty and student freedoms is evidence that Prof. Cottom is correct, not that the institutions have stood. It's a matter of degree now. And it's only been 6 months.

super helpful! thank you

Also can we please keep talking about how the disappearance of data sets all across our federal government is a theft from the American people of science and knowledge that we paid for?

Hey #publichealth sky, did anyone happen to download the FDA's guidance on extended expiration dates for covid rapid tests before the FDA took them off their website (🙄)? Some Pittsburgh folks managed to secure several hundred from the govt to distribute, want to confirm how long they're good for

I'm going to try and publish my course materials on my personal website behind a password protected login. Anyone who came up with a simple, open source, plug-and-play template that profs can use for course schedules & assignments will be a low key modern edtech hero

But the parents are so lost they don’t even realize that it’s not the classes that changed your kid, it was separation from YOU. No gender studies, sociology, or history class could ever accomplish what three months of not having to live with your bullies will do.

I already try to outsource as little as possible to canvas, this may be enough to get me to ditch it altogether (with apologies to my graders for the extra file hassles)

I'm so proud of these students 💪

"Throughout history, authoritarian regimes have begun their crackdowns with an attack on universities — beacons of dissent and social progress. We can’t ignore the warning signs. Penn’s actions are exactly what it looks like to give in to extortion disguised as governance."

I've taught classes in rooms with these and had the lights turn off in the middle of class on multiple occasions

Gosh it sure would be awful if the message "no rapists on campus" were to be perceived as reflecting the views of the entire institution of our university, huh

ok but if my terrible family are still nazis ten years later I get to ostracize them again right?

No rapists on our campus

Can’t wait for the next call I get from Carnegie Mellon begging for a donation. The administration vandalized the Fence today, painting over this message, twice apparently.

www.reddit.com/r/pittsburgh...

Not least because small seminars are a major antidote to AI essays; it’s hard to hide behind superficial AI analysis and summaries of novels when there’s only 10 others in the room and you’re going to have to participate in conversation

Today, @cmu.edu will be hosting an "Energy and Innovation Summit". This event is organized by Sen. McCormick, who recently voted to gut Medicaid and empower ICE as an unaccountable fascist police force, and it hosts Donald Trump and some of the worst actors in climate and "AI".

I did an interview w/ Pittsburgh's NPR station to share some of my views on the topic of the McCormick/Trump AI & Energy summit at CMU tomorrow. Despite being hosted at the university, there will not be opportunities for our university experts to contribute viewpoints at the event.

The Supreme Court is out of control. To allow the president, without any explanation, to unilaterally dismantle agencies created by an Act of Congress is to endow the president with sovereignty. There is no justification, because they haven’t given one. Our country is in big trouble.

Stop fucking following the Pittsburgh post gazette. Stop liking their posts. Stop sharing their shit on your stories. Stop letting them write articles about you. Stop letting them into your events. The workers have been on strike for over two years. Stand in solidarity or get the fuck out.

I was so happy to see CMU colleagues standing up and loudly speaking out about this event, then so absolutely gutted to see yinz crossing the picket line to publish in the post gazette. we don't get out of this without solidarity - abandoning labor in this moment is not an option. So disappointing.

By aligning with an administration that’s actively dismantling scientific infrastructure, destroying climate research, and targeting immigrants who are the foundation of CMU’s and America’s power, the university makes itself complicit in these destructive actions.

Tomorrow’s “Energy and Innovation Summit” at CMU, organized by Senator McCormick with Trump attending, is a moral failure. The university is leveraging this event for institutional gain while it promotes fossil fuels as “innovation.” This is slap in the face to real clean energy researchers. 🧵