The Conversation

What we can learn from closure of charter school that DeVos praised as 'shining example'

Written by Claire Smrekar, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Education, Vanderbilt University

First lady Melania Trump, Queen Rania of Jordan and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos talk with students at the Excel Academy Public Charter School last April. Principal Dana Bogle, on left.AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

When Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and first lady Melania Trump visited Excel Academy Public Charter School last spring, DeVos...

Donald Trump doesn't understand Haiti, immigration or American history

Written by Chantalle F. Verna, Associate Professor of History and International Relations, Florida International University

After Haiti signed its Declaration of Independence from France, in 1804, the U.S. started a 60-year political and economic embargo that hobbled the young nation's growth.Wikimedia

Donald Trump’s denigrating comments about Haiti during a recent congressional meeting shocked people around the globe, but given his track record of disrespecting...

What activists today can learn from MLK, the ‘conservative militant'

Written by Christopher Beem, Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute of Democracy, Pennsylvania State University

A protestor holds a sign with a quote from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. at the South Carolina Statehouse.AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins

In the turbulent days following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, activists launched resistance movements: Greenpeace activists climbed a large construction crane near the White House and unfurled...

Craft beer is becoming the wine of New England by redefining 'terroir'

Written by Daina Cheyenne Harvey, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, College of the Holy Cross

Pouring Saison, a classic Belgian farmhouse-style ale, at Allagash Brewing in Portland, Maine.Allagash Brewing, CC BY

The U.S. craft beer industry is exploding. Although two companies – Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors – have produced more than 75 percent of all beer consumed in the United States for decades, America now has more...

Does defense actually win championships?

Written by Mark Otten, Associate Professor of Psychology, California State University, Northridge

New England Patriots defensive end Bobby Hamilton sacks St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner during Super Bowl XXXVI.AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Legendary football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant famously said, “Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships.”

Since Bryant’s retirement in 1982, his adage has been perpetuated...

What Jeff Sessions doesn't understand about medical marijuana

Written by C. Michael White, Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Connecticut

Patients in 29 states can legally use medical marijuana to treat their symptoms.SageElyse/shutterstock.com

On Jan. 4, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole memo, a 2013 document that limits federal enforcement of marijuana laws.

This opens the door for a crackdown in the nine states with legal recreational marijuana.

The Cole memo is one...

Thanks to the North Carolina case, partisan gerrymandering's day of reckoning may soon be upon us

Written by Christopher Beem, Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute of Democracy, Pennsylvania State University

The word 'gerrymandering' comes from the name of Elbridge Gerry, Massachusetts governor in the 1800s. AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Gerrymandering was already shaping up to be an important issue this year, with huge implications for American democracy. But after the ruling this week on the North Carolina congressional map, the stakes have been raised...

Quantum speed limit may put brakes on quantum computers

Written by Sebastian Deffner, Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

How fast can quantum computing get? Research shows there's a limit.Vladvm/Shutterstock.com

Over the past five decades, standard computer processors have gotten increasingly faster. In recent years, however, the limits to that technology have become clear: Chip components can only get so small, and be packed only so closely together, before they...

Beyond #MeToo, Brazilian women rise up against racism and sexism

Written by Alvaro Jarrin, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, College of the Holy Cross

Women’s empowerment recently got a big boost at the Golden Globes, but the United States isn’t the only place having a feminist revival.

In 2015, two years before the #MeToo campaign got Americans talking about sexual harassment, Brazilian feminists launched #MeuPrimeiroAssedio, or #MyFirstHarrassment. In its first five days, the...

Meet the theologian who helped MLK see the value of nonviolence

Written by Paul Harvey, Professor of American History, University of Colorado

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , chats with African-Americans during a door-to-door campaign in 1964.AP Photo/JAB

After this last tumultuous year of political rancor and racial animus, many people could well be asking what can sustain them over the next coming days: How do they make the space for self-care alongside a constant call to activism? Or, how...