Travis
@travis-h-olson.bsky.social
I study the relationships between big data, trust, and higher ed governance.
travisheatholson.com
travisheatholson.com
Reposted by Travis
A college student complaining about a grade on a paper is not national news. Not even close. The details have minimal import outside the class itself.
Well-funded political activists targeting profs and TAs—in this case because they're trans—with the help of elected state officials? National issue.
Well-funded political activists targeting profs and TAs—in this case because they're trans—with the help of elected state officials? National issue.
December 1, 2025 at 5:31 PM
A college student complaining about a grade on a paper is not national news. Not even close. The details have minimal import outside the class itself.
Well-funded political activists targeting profs and TAs—in this case because they're trans—with the help of elected state officials? National issue.
Well-funded political activists targeting profs and TAs—in this case because they're trans—with the help of elected state officials? National issue.
Reposted by Travis
One of the things about trust is that it is efficient. It saves you having to invest a lot of time and effort in verification, and if placed in the right places, saves you a lot of pain.
"The diseases will do the education" is what we get when we don't trust.
"The diseases will do the education" is what we get when we don't trust.
December 1, 2025 at 2:57 AM
One of the things about trust is that it is efficient. It saves you having to invest a lot of time and effort in verification, and if placed in the right places, saves you a lot of pain.
"The diseases will do the education" is what we get when we don't trust.
"The diseases will do the education" is what we get when we don't trust.
Reposted by Travis
The original Dem demands were:
1) Permanent ACA subsidies
2) Medicaid funding restored
3) No more blank checks for the regime (rescission)
They dropped Medicaid immediately. Went silent on rescission. Cut back to 1 year of subsidies on Friday. And surrendered today.
The Senate Democrats!
1) Permanent ACA subsidies
2) Medicaid funding restored
3) No more blank checks for the regime (rescission)
They dropped Medicaid immediately. Went silent on rescission. Cut back to 1 year of subsidies on Friday. And surrendered today.
The Senate Democrats!
November 10, 2025 at 2:29 AM
The original Dem demands were:
1) Permanent ACA subsidies
2) Medicaid funding restored
3) No more blank checks for the regime (rescission)
They dropped Medicaid immediately. Went silent on rescission. Cut back to 1 year of subsidies on Friday. And surrendered today.
The Senate Democrats!
1) Permanent ACA subsidies
2) Medicaid funding restored
3) No more blank checks for the regime (rescission)
They dropped Medicaid immediately. Went silent on rescission. Cut back to 1 year of subsidies on Friday. And surrendered today.
The Senate Democrats!
Reposted by Travis
I cannot tell you how many tech journalists at prominent media organizations do not understand this
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
October 27, 2025 at 3:32 PM
I cannot tell you how many tech journalists at prominent media organizations do not understand this
Reposted by Travis
I'm always very open about the fact that I received SNAP benefits and Medicaid for a bit after I fled my abusive husband with my little kid in tow. I used it to help me start over in a new state and go back to school to get my BA. I now have a PhD.
SNAP benefits saved my life.
SNAP benefits saved my life.
October 21, 2025 at 8:54 PM
I'm always very open about the fact that I received SNAP benefits and Medicaid for a bit after I fled my abusive husband with my little kid in tow. I used it to help me start over in a new state and go back to school to get my BA. I now have a PhD.
SNAP benefits saved my life.
SNAP benefits saved my life.
Reposted by Travis
I'm just a simple country doctor, but maybe it was a bad idea to outsource so much of higher ed's infrastructure to private companies' proprietary technologies with single points of failure.
According to more than a dozen college and uni students, “the Canvas outage threw off their schedules, preventing them from not just submitting and viewing assignments but also from participating in-class activities, contacting professors, and accessing the textbooks and other materials…”
The AWS Outage Was a Nightmare for College Students
The outage impacted online learning platform Canvas, which is used by half of college students across the US, leaving many unable to access course materials or contact professors.
www.wired.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:11 PM
I'm just a simple country doctor, but maybe it was a bad idea to outsource so much of higher ed's infrastructure to private companies' proprietary technologies with single points of failure.
People don’t trust academia because its incentives have been warped by decades of poorly thought out and implemented “accountability” mechanisms.
“The ousting comes amid a critical dispute within academia about how to rebuild confidence in higher education in a politically polarized moment.”
This is such a tortured story frame it is functionally a lie. Greg Abbott is not trying to rebuild confidence, he is proudly conducting a purge.
This is such a tortured story frame it is functionally a lie. Greg Abbott is not trying to rebuild confidence, he is proudly conducting a purge.
Texas professor ousted from admin role over "ideological differences"
Art Markman had served as a senior vice provost for academic affairs since 2021.
www.axios.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:22 PM
People don’t trust academia because its incentives have been warped by decades of poorly thought out and implemented “accountability” mechanisms.
Reposted by Travis
Purdue to the rescue of IU student newspaper, whose institution was attempting censorship. Details in alt!
October 18, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Purdue to the rescue of IU student newspaper, whose institution was attempting censorship. Details in alt!
In the future being disconnected will be a luxury good. Elite universities will market themselves as places where you get to live without a phone and enjoy human connection and community. You’ll have the privilege of time to think. It’s an extension of the humanities being for rich kids only.
This feels like it should be so deeply obvious, and I don’t understand how an entire class of institutions obsessed with signaling prestige have not caught onto the fact that, e.g., one major way people now signal wealth is by their ability to consume and collect physical media.
In about three years the entire university pivot to AI curricula and schools and programs is going to be so deeply embarrassing. We will all pretend it never happened and I will be standing there, looking at people with a mirror in my eyes. This is all so embarrassing.
October 17, 2025 at 1:21 PM
In the future being disconnected will be a luxury good. Elite universities will market themselves as places where you get to live without a phone and enjoy human connection and community. You’ll have the privilege of time to think. It’s an extension of the humanities being for rich kids only.
Reposted by Travis
Remember the Year of the MOOC from a decade ago? The one where tech bros predicted the end of all but 3-4 universities because who needs campuses when everyone can just take MOOCs and learn everything? Hits a little different now after pandemic pedagogy, huh? The tech hype cycle is a helluva drug.
October 16, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Remember the Year of the MOOC from a decade ago? The one where tech bros predicted the end of all but 3-4 universities because who needs campuses when everyone can just take MOOCs and learn everything? Hits a little different now after pandemic pedagogy, huh? The tech hype cycle is a helluva drug.
Sometimes isomorphic institutionalism is a good thing.
Brown is out! They had to do more dancing in their letter because they previously capitulated and needed to reference their previous agreement but, at its core, this reiterates MIT's letter.
The clock is now on for all other institutions.
www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...
The clock is now on for all other institutions.
www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...
www.brown.edu
October 15, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Sometimes isomorphic institutionalism is a good thing.
Reposted by Travis
Buried in #VAGov story, a little media story.
Most gender/schools coverage in VA comes from one reporter for a Sinclair station in DC market, who works it as part of Sinclair's "Crisis in the Classroom" series. His job before news media? Trump admin spox www.semafor.com/article/08/2...
Most gender/schools coverage in VA comes from one reporter for a Sinclair station in DC market, who works it as part of Sinclair's "Crisis in the Classroom" series. His job before news media? Trump admin spox www.semafor.com/article/08/2...
Republicans turn Virginia into a test case for a bigger fight over civil rights in schools
The commonwealth is the only GOP-led state facing an Education Department investigation stemming from gender policies.
www.semafor.com
August 21, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Buried in #VAGov story, a little media story.
Most gender/schools coverage in VA comes from one reporter for a Sinclair station in DC market, who works it as part of Sinclair's "Crisis in the Classroom" series. His job before news media? Trump admin spox www.semafor.com/article/08/2...
Most gender/schools coverage in VA comes from one reporter for a Sinclair station in DC market, who works it as part of Sinclair's "Crisis in the Classroom" series. His job before news media? Trump admin spox www.semafor.com/article/08/2...
Reposted by Travis
I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. (🎥: Elias Eliahu)
September 25, 2025 at 6:03 PM
I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. (🎥: Elias Eliahu)
Reposted by Travis
You've likely seen the new $100,000 penalty on high-skill immigrant workers.
Here's the next, separate bomb the White House is dropping on high skill immigration, to be officially published *tomorrow*.
tl;dr: Most H-1Bs now inaccessible for entry-level jobs, e.g. new grads from US universities.
Here's the next, separate bomb the White House is dropping on high skill immigration, to be officially published *tomorrow*.
tl;dr: Most H-1Bs now inaccessible for entry-level jobs, e.g. new grads from US universities.
public-inspection.federalregister.gov
September 23, 2025 at 5:20 PM
You've likely seen the new $100,000 penalty on high-skill immigrant workers.
Here's the next, separate bomb the White House is dropping on high skill immigration, to be officially published *tomorrow*.
tl;dr: Most H-1Bs now inaccessible for entry-level jobs, e.g. new grads from US universities.
Here's the next, separate bomb the White House is dropping on high skill immigration, to be officially published *tomorrow*.
tl;dr: Most H-1Bs now inaccessible for entry-level jobs, e.g. new grads from US universities.
Reposted by Travis
Lemme be absolutely clear *every* H-1B visa employee at my (large cap) US firm was summoned back to the office from wherever they were in the world today for this crap. For some, it was utter panic. Appalling.
Oh my GOD. This is the first official confirmation that the new H-1B entry ban does not apply to people with current visas (despite the text not containing ANY exception for people with current visas), and it’s not even something on an official website, it’s a passive aggressive tweet!
September 20, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Lemme be absolutely clear *every* H-1B visa employee at my (large cap) US firm was summoned back to the office from wherever they were in the world today for this crap. For some, it was utter panic. Appalling.
Reposted by Travis
Critical part of the President's new $100,000 charge for H1-B visas: The Administration can also offer a $100,000 discount to any person, company, or industry that it wants. Replacing rules with arbitrary discretion.
Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.
Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.
September 20, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Critical part of the President's new $100,000 charge for H1-B visas: The Administration can also offer a $100,000 discount to any person, company, or industry that it wants. Replacing rules with arbitrary discretion.
Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.
Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.
Reposted by Travis
This has been baffling to watch as a reporter outside the WH. Standing up for your counterparts from other orgs is just something to do as a good person and also important to stand up for our profession generally. We’ve learned that being a quisling will not save you or your org!
It’s been sad this year watching how the White House press corps refuses to back each other up. Here a female journalist is insulted and denigrated and the next male reporter just moves on to a new question. You’re all in this together, folks. Time & again, they won’t stand up for their colleagues.
Trump to a female reporter who tries to ask him about his plans for Memphis: "Quiet. You're really obnoxious ... I'm not gonna talk to you until I call on you."
September 19, 2025 at 10:43 PM
This has been baffling to watch as a reporter outside the WH. Standing up for your counterparts from other orgs is just something to do as a good person and also important to stand up for our profession generally. We’ve learned that being a quisling will not save you or your org!
Reposted by Travis
here's a direct link to canceling your Disney+ account. post your cancellations in the comments.
www.disneyplus.com/commerce/acc...
www.disneyplus.com/commerce/acc...
Account | Disney+
Manage your Disney+ Account
www.disneyplus.com
September 18, 2025 at 12:08 AM
here's a direct link to canceling your Disney+ account. post your cancellations in the comments.
www.disneyplus.com/commerce/acc...
www.disneyplus.com/commerce/acc...
Reposted by Travis
I said something last week that is more broadly applicable today:
Calling for empathy is not neutral or apolitical when only one group of people have been socialized and brutalized into having empathy.
Calling for empathy is not neutral or apolitical when only one group of people have been socialized and brutalized into having empathy.
September 11, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I said something last week that is more broadly applicable today:
Calling for empathy is not neutral or apolitical when only one group of people have been socialized and brutalized into having empathy.
Calling for empathy is not neutral or apolitical when only one group of people have been socialized and brutalized into having empathy.
Reposted by Travis
'You Could Just Use an LLM to Analyze Those Texts' or 'Why Don't You Just Write a ChatGPT Prompt for That?': An Autoethnography of Presenting Interpretive Work at APSA in 2025
September 11, 2025 at 7:20 PM
'You Could Just Use an LLM to Analyze Those Texts' or 'Why Don't You Just Write a ChatGPT Prompt for That?': An Autoethnography of Presenting Interpretive Work at APSA in 2025
Reposted by Travis
When you publish a website that posts the names and photos of scholars who have written or said things you disagree with and encourage people to surveil and harass them, you are not, in fact, a “free speech” organization.
It is quite simply dishonest to describe TPUSA as a “free speech” organization and not even mention the “Professor Watchlist,” as NPR just did. Reporting on a crime does not entail adopting the victim’s views.
September 11, 2025 at 11:46 AM
When you publish a website that posts the names and photos of scholars who have written or said things you disagree with and encourage people to surveil and harass them, you are not, in fact, a “free speech” organization.
Reposted by Travis
This captures it perfectly. Don't click the article; don't tie yourself in knots over it. Just meditate on this.
I’ve been thinking about how the white moderate think about free speech. Where calling for violence and the dehumanization of entire groups of people is merely supposed to be pluralism at work rather than an a threat to that pluralism.
September 11, 2025 at 12:07 PM
This captures it perfectly. Don't click the article; don't tie yourself in knots over it. Just meditate on this.