Samara Schiffman

Armed black student activists leaving Willard Straight Hall on Cornell University's central campus. At 2:00 a.m. on April 18, 1969, a group of primarily Black students, who were members of the Afro-American Society, joined some of their Latino peers in deciding to stage an occupation of Willard Straight Hall on Cornell University’s central campus. These protesters sought to highlight the university’s bias against students of color, criticize its judicial system, and denounce the lack of...

A sign reading “Welcome to Oklahoma. Discover the Excellence.” In September 2020, Republican Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma named Ryan Walters as Secretary of Public Education, placing him in charge of the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE). As a former Executive Director of Oklahoma Achieves, an education initiative within the State Chamber of Oklahoma, Walters describes himself as empowering parents, teachers, and community leaders to better the state’s education system for...

A Problem of Their Own Design? Universities have always been hotbeds for political discourse and disagreement; however, in the past few...