Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 2d

justiceforwardva.com/blog/2025/9/...

Sentencing guidelines called for 1 day to 6 months, Shebri Dillon was sentenced to 30 years — Justice Forward Virginia

For Immediate Release:  Sentencing guidelines called for 1 day to 6 months of incarceration, yet Shebri Dillon was sentenced to 30 years in a Virginia prison.  Amicus brief highlights old m...

justiceforwardva.com

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 3d

Mi análisis del Informe de Derechos Humanos del Departamento de Estado de EE.UU. sobre El Salvador, en español: beta.elfaro.net/opinion/el-d...

El Departamento de Estado está mintiendo sobre El Salvador

Los reportes filtrados coinciden con el reciente esfuerzo de Rubio por "certificar" que El Salvador está implementando medidas para proteger el estado de derecho, una maniobra egoísta que también cont...

beta.elfaro.net

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 5d

Interesting analysis from Northwestern University's Dr. Elizabeth Shakman Hurd: newlinesmag.com/argument/ame...

American Support for Israel Is a Political Religion

US policies reflect the entangled destinies of the two countries — as if they were merged into one

newlinesmag.com

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 7d

Thanks to the @iwbcollab.bsky.social Immigrant Well-Being Scholar Collaborative for this interview, spanning my interests in rights, education, and well-being around the world!

iwbcollab.org/hablemos-wit...

¡Hablemos! With Dr. Mneesha Gellman - Im/migrant Well-Being Scholar Collaborative

By Sophia Benavente Dr. Mneesha Gellman is an Associate Professor at Emerson College and is the Founder and Director of the Emerson Prison Initiative. She is an expert on comparative democratization, ...

iwbcollab.org

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mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 11d

opiniojuris.org/2025/09/23/s...

Statehood and Resistance: Scholars Reflect on the West’s Recognition of Palestine(‘s Existence)

From Liberation in Algiers to Pacification in Brussels More than most disciplines, international law has found it difficult to escape the stability of its canon, a series of venerated doctrines and…

opiniojuris.org

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mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 16d

Powerful testimonial about #elsalvador journalists in exile because of #Authoritarianism by @NelsonRaudaZablah: www.csmonitor.com/World/Americ...

He reported on the rise of an autocrat. Then he had to flee his country.

Our reporter fled El Salvador after uncovering corruption. He’s one of many escaping authoritarian regimes.

www.csmonitor.com

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 20d

www.thenation.com/article/soci...

A Statement From US Jews Opposing Trump’s Attacks on Colleges and Students

The statement condemns Trump’s “disingenuous” weaponization of antisemitism to target universities and deport campus activists.

www.thenation.com

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 20d

www.wbur.org/news/2025/09...

30 years gone: Boston man leaves prison after landmark court decision

A Supreme Judicial Court ruling changed Nate Benjamin's life. In January 2024, the state’s highest court ruled that those under 21 who commit a crime cannot receive life without the possibility of par...

www.wbur.org

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 23d

As people are navigating deportation, these guides are resources: educationjustice.net/reentry-guid...

Reentry Guides – Education Justice Project

educationjustice.net

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 23d

commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/stat...

State commission to combat antisemitism misses the mark - CommonWealth Beacon

Education requires that teachers and students feel free to try out ideas without fear that they will immediately be accused of bias and prejudice. Yet teachers will be forgiven for thinking it is too ...

commonwealthbeacon.org

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 23d

Excellent analysis of Ecuador's politics by @eduardopages.bsky.social: www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclu...

Why Democracy by Referendum Seldom Works | Journal of Democracy

Ecuador’s presidents have a history of asking the public to back their initiatives rather than building political coalitions to accomplish their goals. The country’s current president is no different…

www.journalofdemocracy.org

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 25d

A fabulous Northwestern University reunion moment at APSA2025 in Vancouver with Dr. Will Reno, mentor extraordinaire, and Dr. Jackie McCallister!

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mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 25d

photos.app.goo.gl/cYNrL5Vcqa8k... So lovely to talk about the ethics of care in scholarship with the amazing Dr. Ronay Bakkan and Dr. Maria Mendez on our Interpretive Methodologies and Methods panel at APSA 2025! They are so inspiring!

New photo · Thursday, Sep 11 📸

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

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mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · 29d

There are other examples of how to handle population movement, and my former undergrad advisor Omar Encarnacion shows what Spain has figured out: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/o...

Opinion | Spain Is an Example to the World

www.nytimes.com

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · Sep 8

I'll be speaking at this CISPES/MA Peace Action event tonight on El Salvador and incarceration with social movement leader Lourdes Palacios, who I interviewed in 2024 about political prisoners in the country: masspeaceaction.org/event/the-us...

The US and El Salvador: Parallels on Political Persecution and Mass Incarceration

Presidents Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele are running parallel authoritarian projects that use national security to justify human rights abuses via mass incarceration. Platforms like MAGA and Bukele’s…

masspeaceaction.org

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mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · Sep 8

Author is one of the creators of IHRA, arguing against its codification now: knightcolumbia.org/content/a-ba...

A Bad Deal: By Adopting the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism, Universities are Sacrificing Academic Freedom

knightcolumbia.org

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mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · Sep 2

Congratulations to From Prison Cells to PhD and to Dr. Andrisse on tenure! www.chronicle.com/article/how-...

How I Went From Prison to Tenure

What if we saw incarceration not as a liability, but as a credential?

www.chronicle.com

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mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · Aug 25

Excellent podcast on #humanrights in #ElSalvador with a focus on #prison: open.spotify.com/episode/4hv2...

Mass Incarceration in El Salvador

open.spotify.com

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · Aug 25

My op ed in The Hill about the State Department's new distorted human rights report on El Salvador: thehill.com/opinion/inte... #humanrights

thehill.com

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mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · Aug 18

www.bbc.com/news/resourc...

The cemetery of living men: Trump deportees tell of abuse in secretive mega-jail - BBC News

Venezuelan migrants deported from the US to El Salvador's mega-jail speak of what life was like inside

www.bbc.com

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · Aug 14

The just-released 2024 US State Department Human Rights Reports on multiple countries grossly minimize or entirely edit out whole categories of human rights abuses. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

US: Rights Report Mixes Facts, Deception, Political Spin

The Trump administration’s omission of key sections and manipulation of certain countries’ rights abuses degrade and politicize the 2025 US State Department human rights report, Human Rights Watch sai...

www.hrw.org

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · Aug 13

Analysis of Palestinian sovereignty in context by Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff-Boston member Zinaida_Miller: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/o...

Opinion | The Promise of Palestinian Statehood Is Ringing Hollow

www.nytimes.com

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mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · Aug 11

Great interview with Lewis and Clark College historian Reiko Hillyer on the history of incarceration, based on her excellent book, A Wall is Just a Wall:
americancampuspodcast.buzzsprout.com/2396665/epis...

The “rise and fall” of prison education with Reiko Hillyer - American Campus Podcast

From Johnson’s Great Society to Clinton’s crime bill, Reiko Hillyer discusses the “rise and fall” of higher education in US prisons. Plus, she shares her experience as a professor who teaches in priso...

americancampuspodcast.buzzsprout.com

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · Aug 11

Sharing an excellent new article on education politics in The Conversation by Dr. HilaryLustick @yrBooHilary: theconversation.com/trump-has-pr... #education #democracy #politics

Trump has promised to eliminate funding to schools that don’t nix DEI work – but half of the states are not complying

Trump’s February 2025 ‘Dear Colleague’ letter instructed all schools that receive federal funding to rid their programming and policies of all DEI ideology, or else risk losing money.

theconversation.com

mneesha-gellman.bsky.social @mneesha-gellman.bsky.social · Aug 10

Already two months since the second cohort of @EmersonCollege Emerson Prison Initiative students graduated with BAs! I belatedly thank all the elected officials who attended: @JaimeEldridgeMA, @MichelleBadgerMA, @ErikaUyterhoevenMA, and @kerithompson, alongside EPI leadership!

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