Put On Your Mask Before Helping Others

It’s been quite awhile since I wrote something personal about the work I’m doing. I used to write regularly about being a mama prof. When I did that, I sometimes received feedback so ugly that it stopped me in my tracks. Today I felt I might write again, and I…

Moving Backward, Not Forward at Syracuse University

Ashley Smith, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Syracuse alumna, is the author of this guest blog.

Everything seemed to be looking up for students at Syracuse University — until…

Testimony on Postsecondary Institution Ratings System

On September 10, 2014 I traveled to Washington, DC to testify on the Postsecondary Institution Ratings System (PIRS) before the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance. I testified based on a set of notes, rather than fully…

The Upshot Gets it Wrong on College Costs — Again

I’m beginning to wonder who David Leonhardt is trying to help with his columns on college costs. One thing is for sure: it’s definitely not students from low or middle-income families.

Exodus, Ourselves

The paint was red and black, and I only understood some of the obscenities written on the walls, but I knew what the enormous swastika smeared on the front of my synagogue meant.

I was 11 years old, and standing in a wealthy community in Fairfax County, Virginia. Two…