Articles

Articles



The Bates Motel of Higher Education

For decades, serious scholars of all races have been saying that the  obsession with diversity, equity, and inclusion that grips so many of our colleges has adverse consequences. Although it…



What I Learned Teaching Texas A&M’s Freshmen

For millions of college freshmen, their first course isn’t calculus, U.S. history, or English composition—it’s effectively “Introduction to College.” Indeed, more than 77 percent of universities surveyed by the National…



Michigan Thinks Grades Are the Problem

The University of Michigan plans to exclude first-semester letter grades from students’ transcripts to “curb the mental health crisis.” What would seem like a mundane university-level grading change has become…


Conservatives Need Not Apply?

While I was in graduate school, I regularly participated in a research program that paid students to taste test food. Many social science disciplines conduct research this way. While these…


Foreign Languages Are a National Interest

Ever since Benjamin Franklin wielded his fluent French to persuade Parisian elites to support the War of Independence, foreign language knowledge has enabled American diplomats and representatives—not to mention spies—to…


What Biology Can Teach Us About History

Stephen H. Balch’s Naturalizing History: A Biocultural Theory of Human Progress (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2026) is a grand synthesis of biology and history that articulates many of the concerns of…


The Pirates Are Pillaging Their Own Campus

East Carolina University is going through a bad stretch.  Sexual assaults. Hazing reports. Drunken student behavior. Religious-property vandalism. A dorm peeping case. Alleged drug and alcohol use among prospective members…