What universities owe students, politics and perception, and May Day: Weekend reads for May 4, 2024

Some writing worth your attention

Wednesday was May Day, the international labor holiday that began in the United States only to be abandoned in favor of the more capital-friendly Labor Day. What observance there was this week largely took up the banner of the ceasefire movement, supporting student protesters as university administrators cracked down on them. Police were called in, dismantling encampments, breaking up occupations, and making thousands of arrests nationwide. Even so, the House Committee on Education stepped up its war on supposed antisemitism and called another round of college presidents in for hearings. A few universities have done the right thing, protecting and even striking deals with demonstrators, but for the most part the week’s political rhetoric recalled the McCarthy era, with stories of “outside agitators” and dangerous bike locks and textbooks igniting outrage — and further distracting Americans from the actual war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the New York criminal trial of the former president went on, with damning evidence from former associates piling up and — in another first for a president — Trump was held in contempt and fined. And in a long interview conducted pre-trial and published this week, Trump outlined a clearly authoritarian vision for his second term. At least we have clarity on that now.

In economic news, the latest evidence suggests that as the economy continues to cool, the very rich are getting even richer, now controlling a greater share of the national wealth than their counterparts of the Gilded Age ever did.

We’ve been tracking these issues and more, and, as we do every weekend, we’ve put together some great readings that we think are worth your time and reflection, and that we hope will help you step back and take the bigger view.

In case you missed it

• We talked to policy expert, author, and activist Heather McGhee about her vision of what a fairer America might look like if racial economic injustices were righted — and what Democrats need to do to convince voters.

• After a week of upheavals on campuses across the country, Anand went on Morning Joe and had a civil conversation about the right to — and need for — civil disobedience.

• Author and organizer Natalie Foster talked to us about her new book, The Guarantee, and outlined her vision for how government can deliver the good things the American people deserve.

• And we brought you an excerpt from philosopher Daniel Chandler’s new book, Free and Equal, which looks back to moral philosophy to draft a way forward after the collapse of neoliberalism.

---

We hope the articles we’ve collected below for our subscribers to read challenge you to see the world in new ways. Thanks, as always, for reading The Ink and continuing to support us.

A request for those who haven’t yet joined us: The interviews and posts that we share here take research and editing and much more. We work hard, and we are eager to bring on more writers, more voices. But we need your help to keep this going. Join us today to support the kind of independent media you want to exist.

And today we’re offering you a discount of 20 percent if you become a paying subscriber. You will lock in this lower price forever if you join us now!

---

What universities owe their students

These students are risking their futures to demand that universities divest their holdings from Israel and weapons manufacturers, and that their leaders act in an ethical manner — in how they invest, how they relate to their own neighboring communities, and how they treat students, faculty, and staff.

In other words, they are doing what you should be doing: leading. [Boston Review]