Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 4h

Commentary: A plea to protect our children www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/10/06/c...

Commentary: A plea to protect our children

Vaccination requirements kept our communities safe. Do not listen to anti-vaccine rhetoric. Do not gamble with your child’s health.

www.orlandosentinel.com

4 58 180

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 4h

@ryanenos.bsky.social and Steve Levitsky have been consistent voices against authoritarianism. Their latest: "American civil society has more than enough financial and organizational muscle to stop this authoritarian offensive. But it requires collective resolve."

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Harvard Must Take a Stand Against Trump’s Compact | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson

Harvard, rather than quietly pursuing its own appeasement strategy, should lead the way to preserve academic freedom and democracy.

www.thecrimson.com

15 49

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 15h

The acting CDC Director has no knowledge, training or experience in science/public health. Trump has no knowledge, training or experience in science/public health.

Both are calling to make the MMR vaccine into 3 separate shots, which makes absolutely no scientific or public health sense.

Acting CDC boss wants to break up MMR vaccine into three shots

Jim O’Neill joins President Donald Trump’s call for three distinct measles, mumps and rubella shots, claiming a separation would ‘reduce the risk of side effects’ and ‘maximize parental choice’

www.independent.co.uk

33 270 800

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 1d

Henry J Farrell: "It wanted to signal strength. Instead, it’s revealing its weakness. The administration’s need to break the academy is forcing it to make a desperately risky gamble."

Opinion | You Beat Trumpism by Banding Together. It’s as Hard and as Simple as That.

www.nytimes.com

8 50

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Bonnie Honig @bonniehonig.bsky.social · 1d

Game theory, democratic theory, feminist theory, the civil rights movement, and more all agree on this: unite for independence or lose.
Great piece by Henry Farrell

Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 1d

Henry Farrell on the Trump admin’s proposed “compact” for universities, arguing that the rollout signals weakness, and that academics need to band together to reject this authoritarian attack on university independence and academic freedom.

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...

12 43

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

RachelMarta @rachel99marta.bsky.social · 11h

As political theorists like Russell Hardin have explained, power is a “coordination game,” in which everything depends on what the public believes & does together. Even the most brutal tyrant does not have enough soldiers & police officers to compel everyone to obey at gunpoint.
#PersistInResisting

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 1d

@himself.bsky.social says it clearly. It is not rocket science. It is solidarity. Time for alums, students, faculty and staff at universities to stand together against Trump's wannabe-authoritarianism. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...

Opinion | You Beat Trumpism by Banding Together. It’s as Hard and as Simple as That.

www.nytimes.com

7 29

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 1d

@himself.bsky.social says it clearly. It is not rocket science. It is solidarity. Time for alums, students, faculty and staff at universities to stand together against Trump's wannabe-authoritarianism. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...

Opinion | You Beat Trumpism by Banding Together. It’s as Hard and as Simple as That.

www.nytimes.com

2 34 110

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 2d

More are united around a simple message: RFK Jr should not be HHS Sec. His decisions undermine our public health capacity and put lives and health at risk.

As 6 former Surgeon Generals argue:

"He has rejected science, misled the public and compromised the health of Americans."

🎁
wapo.st/3VTALll

Opinion | Six surgeons general: RFK Jr. is a threat to the health of Americans

It was our duty in office to warn of dangers when we found them. We’re doing that again today.

wapo.st

5 92 300

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 4d

I thought I'd put the administration's proposed "compact" with universities in context, so I wrote the blog post below.

It's especially for journalists covering this story!

Many details about how the compact itself works and why the administration has retreated to this strategy.

Balkinization: The Art of Replacing the Law with the Deal

A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics

balkin.blogspot.com

12 260 540

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Mychal Threets @mychal3ts.bsky.social · 1d

PRAY FOR DOLLY PARTON ❤️‍🩹

Freida Parton, sister of Dolly Parton, asks for prayers for Dolly’s health. She says with prayers she know Dolly is going to be just fine.

We all love you, Dolly! Praying 💛

people.com/dolly-parton-sister-was-up-all-night-praying-for-singer-amid-health-struggles-11826073

A happy Dolly Parton reads books aloud to happy kids

48 370 1.6K

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Threelittlekit6 @lafitton.bsky.social · 2d

@gregggonsalves.bsky.social
Thought you might want to see this if you have not already.
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

5 8

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 2d

I wrote about the “compact” for higher education

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

2 58 94

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

cvilledems.bsky.social @cvilledems.bsky.social · 2d

A magnificent tour force from @sivav.bsky.social.

Can we make sure that Paul Mahoney and every member of the Board of Visitors reads it?

Matthew Kirschenbaum @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 2d

This, from @sivav.bsky.social, is the mic drop reply to the “Compact” you have been waiting for. It won’t, but it should really just end the discussion and deliberations straight up. 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

3 4 14

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Mike Godwin @mnemonic.bsky.social · 2d

Siva Vaidhyanathan: "Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down" newrepublic.com/article/2013... via @newrepublic.com

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

8 18

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Deborah McDowell @dem8z.bsky.social · 2d

“Any university leader who signs on to this compact wld betray everything good and solid about the university & would do deep and permanent harm to the United States & the world.”

Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down newrepublic.com/article/2013... via @newrepublic.com

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

1 31 72

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 2d

#highered @wearehighered.bsky.social

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 2d

And Robert Post and Tom Ginsburg's piece here, if you haven't seen it. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

A Compact for Control (opinion)

No self-respecting institution of higher education should accept the Trump administration’s unconstitutional terms, Robert Post and Tom Ginsburg write.

www.insidehighered.com

4 10

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 2d

And now @acls1919.bsky.social speaks out. Just. Say. No. To Trump's compact on higher ed. It's extortion plain and simple. www.acls.org/news/acls-st...

ACLS Statement Regarding White House “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”

ACLS stands firmly against this latest White House effort to divide faculties by giving special privileges to students in “hard science programs” and its demand that institutions abolish “units that p...

www.acls.org

1 70 190

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2d

7/14

The indirect cost issue had demonstrated that pushing back works. The administration lost lawsuits, and Congress reasserted its authorities to determine indirect cost rate policies. Some individuals and groups did sue the government over the diversity and other grant terminations and won in the court of William Young, a veteran judge first appointed by Ronald Reagan. Judge Young ruled that the terminations were illegal and, in addition, made a powerful speech calling out what he saw as the worst discrimination he had witnessed in over 40 years on the bench. This ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court which ruled that these terminations were likely illegal but then stayed Judge Young’s order that the grants be reinstated, in a fragmented 5-4, shadow docket ruling that even Supreme Court justices called out as being nakedly partisan. The final outcomes for these grants remain uncertain.

1 3 15

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2d

6/14

In communicating with some of the scientists affected by grant terminations, it was striking (but not surprising) that many felt abandoned by their institutions and the scientific establishment at large. This was fueled, in part, by the contrast between this acquiescence and the rapid institutional responses, including lawsuits, after the administration had proposed a cap on the rate of reimbursement for so-called indirect costs of research. The scientific establishment had the capacity to push back vigorously when some of their values (financial viability) were threatened but could not seem to muster much energy when other principles were under assault.

1 5 16

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2d

5/14

The programs had very broad eligibility criteria that included being a member of a racial or ethnic group that was historically underrepresented in research, but eligibility also included those from disadvantaged educational or socioeconomic backgrounds and those with a physical disability or other factors, or just an interest in working on the biomedical workforce. These grants were not awarded through illegal, “racial preference” programs, but rather through highly competitive, merit-based processes. But rather than articulating and defending these goals and processes, many parts of the scientific establishment seemed to be rushing to violate one of the first tenets of historian Timothy Snyder’s important book On Tyranny: Do not obey in advance.

1 7 19

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2d

4/14

Early on, I was deeply troubled to learn that many grants awarded through NIH mechanisms related to “diversity” were slated for wholesale termination. I saw stunning reactions from many in the scientific establishment. Universities, scientific societies, and private funding agencies rapidly took down webpages with statements about the importance of diversity and representation in the scientific workforce, and some cancelled programs; others just remained silent or rebranded such programs with new language. I found this distressing because these programs are not motivated by vague “social justice” goals, but rather with specific objectives related to engaging scientific talent from across our nation, diversification of perspectives on research questions, and, in some cases, building capacity to understand and address health disparities.

1 4 21

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2d

3/14

It is not that I fail to understand the pressures such leaders face. I have served as a department chair at a major medical school, director of one of the NIH institutes, Editor-in-Chief of Science magazine, and as in a strategic leadership position at a major university. I recognize the risk that standing up for core principles might trigger retribution. But remaining quiet is, in my view, misguided. Silence may protect an institution from becoming an early target, but history shows that it increases the likelihood that that institution (and many others) will be become targets over time.

1 6 19

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2d

2/14

Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment
When the new administration came into power, I expected contentious discussions about specific policy issues, and the possibility of reorganizations and budget cuts at science agencies. However, I did not fully anticipate the disruption of time-tested grant review processes, mass termination of grants based on political considerations, large-scale firing of government staff without cause, and other assaults on science that have taken place. I also did not expect the striking silence from leaders of the scientific establishment.

1 5 21

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2d

I have been trying to get this published as an op-ed, but I am going to post it here since I think it is timely in light of the "consent" extortion events.

Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment

jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g...

1/14

jeremymberg.github.io

13 160 300