Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 2h

Well, conference travel just got interesting with this Nor’easter

Can’t seem to book anything that’s any more likely to get out of the east coast than my original flight, even if I was willing to pay more.

a woman eating something with the words " this is gonna be interesting " above her

ALT: a woman eating something with the words " this is gonna be interesting " above her

media.tenor.com

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Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 11h

Boston query: why are all your tour buses boats?

Thanks.

Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 14h

Questions you Google at the amazing panels…

Reposted by Dr. Megan Faragher

NPR @npr.org · 16h

Pope Leo XIV weighed in on U.S. politics, saying that Catholic politicians must be judged on the full range of their policy positions and suggesting that the country's immigration policy is "inhuman."

Pope Leo XIV says 'inhuman treatment of immigrants' in the U.S. isn't 'pro-life'

Pope Leo XIV weighed in on U.S. politics, saying that Catholic politicians must be judged on the full range of their policy positions and suggesting that the country's immigration policy is "inhuman."

n.pr

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Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 17h

Again, universal love of the town taqueria.

Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 17h

Saddened to be away and getting notices about raids at home.

But there’s an issue going after the only taquerias in Ohio small towns….

Everyone has an intimate relationship with the only taqueria.

Everyone goes there.

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Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 1d

Seems like the freeze is coming to Ohio tonight.

💜

Stay safe Midwest.

Stand with your neighbors!

Be your best selves.

Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 1d

Smart!

NightMar on Hicks Street, Part 4: The Rabbit’s Revenge @histoftech.bsky.social · 1d

The Virginia Senate just told UVA it’s not getting state funding if it accepts the compact since UVA exists to serve Virginia, its residents, & their interests—not be a tool of the federal govt. Scoop from our student newspaper, who’ve been doing vital reporting www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...

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Reposted by Dr. Megan Faragher

Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 1d

aaand we are officially in the hide-your-neighbors stage

Sophie Sherry @sophiesherry.bsky.social · 1d

During a military-style raid on a building in Chicago’s South Shore, one resident heard a knock on his door.   It wasn’t the feds — it was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for help.

He let them hide in his unit for the next 3 days.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’

During the Sept. 30 raid one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before th...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Reposted by Dr. Megan Faragher

unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 1d

Seen in Maywood, Illinois

Handwritten sign on parked car dash that reads ZIP TYING CHILDREN IS FUCKING WRONG

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Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 1d

OTOH it is fundamentally about working for free, so it’s a mixed bag.

Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 1d

So Spotify put “Lapance” on my algo.

You’d say it’s a bad idea, but honestly, the “politicians are sounding like strippers to me” is a surprisingly radicalizing lyric.

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Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 1d

My ancestors would be ashamed as all get out.

Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Podcast @gonebabygone.bsky.social · 1d

People are still doing “there aren’t going to be midterms” posts as we see these people struggle to handle a guy in a frog costume

Steve Buscemi as Nikita Khrushchev saying “You are accused of doomer behavior. The court finds you guilty and sentences you to be shot.”

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Reposted by Dr. Megan Faragher

Rebecca Colesworthy @rcolesworthy.bsky.social · 1d

"People are _losing_ their jobs for _doing_ their jobs." WHEW. @lisalmoore.bsky.social on the current attacks on Texas higher ed #SaveUT

Tita Chico @titachico.bsky.social · 1d

www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

After 35 years at UT Austin, I hardly recognize my university | Opinion

What was once a beacon of access and discovery is now fighting for its soul and mission as political attacks upend norms, rules and rights, Lisa L. Moore writes.

www.statesman.com

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Reposted by Dr. Megan Faragher

Joseph Rezek @rezekjoe.bsky.social · 1d

Leadership is, indeed, possible.

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 1d

MIT President Sally Kornbluth just issued a statement to the campus community saying NO to Trump’s authoritarian compact

“And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.”

Dear Madam Secretary,
I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters.
I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education.
As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges. We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples:
• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit.
Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute
was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.

• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available
to any American with an internet
connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly
10%.
• We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.

These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law.
The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific
funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that tree marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences.
Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.

As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the
U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people.
We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.
Sincerely,
Sally Kornbluth
CC
Ms. May Mailman
Mr. Vincent Haley

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Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 1d

Take your loyalty oaths and shove ‘em.

links.mit.edu/nl3/N5Jy2cKq...

Regarding the Compact

links.mit.edu

Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 1d

My derby teammate had a “tackle your small child” event and, yes,
she disappointed me by *obviously* putting on the brakes going in for the tackle.

Friend, you have make those 7 yos feel you take them to ground.

Only way they’ll respect you. 😂

Reposted by Dr. Megan Faragher

ProPublica @propublica.org · 3d

A former DOGE staffer developed an AI tool that hallucinated the size of Veterans Affairs contracts.

For example, it concluded that more than a thousand deals were each worth $34 million, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.

(Published June)

DOGE Developed Error-Prone AI Tool to “Munch” Veterans Affairs Contracts

We obtained records showing how a Department of Government Efficiency staffer with no medical experience used artificial intelligence to identify which VA contracts to kill. “AI is absolutely the wron...

www.propublica.org

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Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 3d

A friend asked if we’ll be safe from the feds skating in Chicago burbs next week and I’m like “sure!”

But then my family living in Elgin is like “the suburbs are 🧊 hell!”

So…. let’s see if I get abducted playing roller derby next weekend!

American life!

Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 3d

I still have my grad school ones! 😂

Ours had plastic binding so less ouchies!

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Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 3d

What higher ed workers wouldn’t give for a leader who even sounded vaguely like this.

Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 3d

If you come for my people, you come through me.

Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 3d

I MISS THESE!

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Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 3d

The state threw all this money at these centers. Four mil for ours. But we don’t have faculty or centers. So I guess it’s just grift and bribes!

Good use of taxpayer money.

AAUP-Ohio State @osuaaup.bsky.social · 3d

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Dr. Megan Faragher @meganfaragher.bsky.social · 4d

If you’re on the TT, I recommend Michael Foote.

His videos are everything right now in terms of the pathway to resisting darkness in these times.

Reposted by Dr. Megan Faragher

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · 5d

🚨Come work with me at @propublica.org!
We are hiring a reporter to cover higher education — the best beat there is. 🏫

job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j...

Higher Education Reporter, National

New York City, United States

job-boards.greenhouse.io

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