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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

ProPublica @propublica.org · 6h

The Education Department has hired at least 9 people from the America First Policy Institute, co-founded by Secretary Linda McMahon.

The think tank’s listed goals include ending the separation of church and state and “plant[ing] Jesus in every space.”

These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.

Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of publ...

www.propublica.org

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Angela Sutton (she/her) @drangelasutton.bsky.social · 5h

It was a great moment to witness.

Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 7h

Yesterday, Vanderbilt's faculty senate enacted a resolution condemning the Trump "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" as an illegal, unconstitutional infringement on civil rights and academic freedom, and an unacceptable infringement on institutional independence.

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

WPLN News - Nashville Public Radio @wpln.bsky.social · 11h

Vanderbilt is one of the colleges sent Trump's Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. Those who agree get preferential access to student loans, research funding and approval of student visas.

Professors don't want the university to sign on: wpln.org/post/vanderb...

Vanderbilt professors recommend against signing Trump higher ed compact

Professors at Vanderbilt University have recommended against an agreement calling for the university to comply with directives from the Trump

wpln.org

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Anita Wadhwani @anitawadhwani.bsky.social · 17h

Vanderbilt campus groups push back against Trump administration higher ed ‘compact’ tennesseelookout.com/briefs/vande... @tennesseelookout.com

Vanderbilt campus groups push back against Trump administration higher ed ‘compact’ • Tennessee Lookout

A demand that Vanderbilt University sign onto a “compact” with the Trump administration is drawing pushback from some campus groups.

tennesseelookout.com

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Angela Sutton (she/her) @drangelasutton.bsky.social · 17h

To your point, there's nothing quite like living in a historically Black city. I do, though we market ourselves as aggressively white.

Angela Sutton (she/her) @drangelasutton.bsky.social · 18h

What racists will say to me is different from what they'll say to you, but in my experience racists and hypocrites are in every corner of our country. Down here, they are more dangerous to POC, but we also have wonderful movement builders, and I think more whites willing to do the hard work.

Angela Sutton (she/her) @drangelasutton.bsky.social · 1d

Dr. Mark Bray, a Rutgers University expert on antifa, was fleeing the U.S. with his family in the wake of death threats that followed President Trump’s push to characterize the movement as a domestic terrorist organization.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/n...

Rutgers Expert on Antifa Tries to Flee to Spain After Death Threats

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 1d

Love this. “NATO for nonprofits.”

www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

'NATO for nonprofits': Groups organize to band together if targeted by Trump

Nonprofit organizations took lessons away from law firms and universities that largely decided to act in isolation after finding themselves in the administration's crosshairs.

www.nbcnews.com

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Deborah McDowell @dem8z.bsky.social · 1d

www.nashvillescene.com/news/pithint...

Campus Crowd Demands Vanderbilt Reject Trump Deal

Students, faculty and professors marched on Wednesday as Chancellor Diermeier mulls funding deal with Trump administration

www.nashvillescene.com

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

NEH Union - AFGE L3403 @nehafge3403.bsky.social · 2d

"What I do know is that we need the #humanities now, perhaps more than we have ever needed them, because we live in a time when so many of us have forgotten this crucial truth: We are a fangless, clawless, furless species, & we survive only in community." - @margaretrenkl.bsky.social #NEH #Tennessee

Opinion: With humanities funding vanishing, stories and those who protect them remain our greatest hope

www.sltrib.com

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 1d

I'll be updating next week's current-state-of-state-higher-ed-policy slides.

Left is an article about the VA senate dems telling UVA their state funding will be in question if they agree to that odious compact. On the right is the key part of the senate letter.

www.cbs19news.com/news/state-s...

Screenshot from the top of the article. Title is "State Senate Democrats tell UVA to not consider education compact." Published today.

Main text reads "RICHMOND, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- The University of Virginia could lose state funding if it signs onto an education compact it received from the federal government last week."

Screenshot from the letter from VA dems which reads "Therefore, we call upon you to immediately cease all consideration of signing this compact.
Furthermore, we want to be explicitly clear: if the University of Virginia signs this compact, there will be significant consequences in future Virginia budget cycles. As the leadership of the Senate with responsibility for appropriations affecting higher education, we will work with our colleagues to ensure that the Commonwealth does not subsidize an institution that has ceded its independence to federal
political control."

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 1d

The “compact” for higher ed is an unserious document written by unserious people from a position of spectacular ignorance. No one should take it seriously. Sadly, my bosses are taking it seriously.

newrepublic.com/article/2013...

Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down

How Linda McMahon’s latest “compact” would do deep and permanent harm to American higher education

newrepublic.com

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Archiving The Black Web @atbw.bsky.social · 3d

Calling journalists and media professionals interested in digital preservation and information integrity! We are excited to announce the ATBW/Onyx Impact @theonyximpact.bsky.social
Information Integrity & Web Archiving Fellowship. Sign up to know when applications open. tinyurl.com/atbw-iiwa

A digital poster with information and a link about the Information Integrity and Web Archiving Fellowship, a 2026 collaborative fellowship offered by Archiving the Black Web and Onyx Impact for journalists and media professionals. tinyurl.com/ATBW-IIWA

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 1d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Evan Narcisse @evnarc.bsky.social · 1d

Y'know, when people have asked me about my dream game, I've always said a runaway slave + Underground Railroad project or something set in or around the Haitian Revolution.

Someone somewhere is already taking this on and infusing the work with all the courage that the subject matter deserves.

Stephen Totilo @stephentotilo.bsky.social · 1d

SCOOP: Last year, Ubisoft cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set during Reconstruction. Was to feature a Black Assassin who, among other things, fought the rise of the Klan

Sources: Leadership nixed it over concerns re: U.S. political climate, backlash to Yasuke

www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...

Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year

Company leadership deemed the project too controversial for the moment, sources tell Game File

www.gamefile.news

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Angela Sutton (she/her) @drangelasutton.bsky.social · 1d

Oof I feel this.

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Matthew Kirschenbaum @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 1d

Virginia State Senate Dems just brought down fire and fury regarding the “Compact,” notifying the President and Rector that UVA would lose ALL STATE APPROPRIATIONS if it signs and cedes the University to “federal political control.” Notably, their letter directly restates points made here by @siva.

Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 1d

The “compact” for higher ed is an unserious document written by unserious people from a position of spectacular ignorance. No one should take it seriously. Sadly, my bosses are taking it seriously.

newrepublic.com/article/2013...

Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down

How Linda McMahon’s latest “compact” would do deep and permanent harm to American higher education

newrepublic.com

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Angela Sutton (she/her) @drangelasutton.bsky.social · 1d

Oooh, take a look at the economic impact of higher education and what Tennessee stands to lose with this Compact for Higher Education.
It's ah...not looking good.
thedig.howard.edu/all-stories/...

ACE Tool Showcasing Higher Ed’s Economic Power Launched at Howard

The Education Economic Indicators Tool showcases higher education’s nationwide impact on jobs, research, equity, and economic growth.

thedig.howard.edu

Angela Sutton (she/her) @drangelasutton.bsky.social · 1d

Vanderbilt University Code of Bylaws. Does the proposed Higher Education Compact fit?
www.vanderbilt.edu/about/univer...

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Angela Sutton (she/her) @drangelasutton.bsky.social · 1d

I'm in the South because I want to be.
This is where the history is.
This is where the good work and good trouble is.

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 1d

This appraisal and suggestion from @joshtpm.bsky.social seems important for higher ed folks to keep in mind, too. Trump may seem invincible to his followers & minions, but his second term is full of failures once it hits reality. talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-s...

The Shutdown, Zombie Politics and How Trump Stumbled Into Not Being All-Powerful

It’s always a complicated matter to say who is “winning” a shutdown...

talkingpointsmemo.com

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 1d

"If the University of Virginia agrees to the terms dictated by a memo sent last Wednesday by Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, then this essay you are reading could cost the university all of its federal support—research funds, financial aid, everything."

Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 1d

And my take:

newrepublic.com/article/2013...

Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down

How Linda McMahon’s latest “compact” would do deep and permanent harm to American higher education

newrepublic.com

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Nashville Banner @nashvillebanner.bsky.social · 1d

Despite claims that community engagement is a priority for the project, residents of one South Nashville neighborhood were taken aback when they learned that The Boring Company had purchased property within a stone’s throw of their homes. “I don’t want the tunnel nowhere near us,” said one.

Boring Company tunnel project sparks neighborhood concern - Nashville Banner

Residents in South Nashville are concerned about how The Boring Company's planned tunnel connecting the airport to downtown will impact their lives and neighborhood.

nashvillebanner.com

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Angela Sutton (she/her) @drangelasutton.bsky.social · 1d

This isn't just about the Compact for Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Texas Austin, University of Arizona, Brown University, and University of Virginia.

We ALL need to brush up on governance.

Angela Sutton (she/her) @drangelasutton.bsky.social · 1d

On the proposed Higher Education Compact: READ your Higher Education Institution and Board's bylaws & charter/establishing documents to understanding where the governance lies. Remember that fiduciary duty isn't purely financial. It's about the best interest of the institution in perpetuity.

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Reposted by Angela Sutton (she/her)

Tim Steller @timsteller.bsky.social · 2d

The University of Arizona's faculty senate has voted to ask the UA president to reject the Trump administration's proposed compact. It's among an accumulation of voices who say not to be tempted by the good things in the compact due to its more fundamental threats.
tucson.com/news/local/e...

U of A Faculty Senate opposes Trump compact; provost says no decision yet

The University of Arizona Faculty Senate approved a resolution calling on the UA to reject the White House’s compact requiring ideological, political and financial commitments in return for federal fu...

tucson.com

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