Dispatches from the Academic Trenches

February 19, 2026 Greetings from the Swamp. Ever since Florida became ground zero for the attacks against public higher education roughly five years ago, many misconceptions circulate regarding how academic freedom functions down here and the ways in which it is being compromised. A recent job candidate confided to a search committee member during a campus visit: “My advisor suggested I scrap my talk regarding gender and sexuality since he heard that you aren’t allowed to dis

January 2, 2026 Greetings from the Swamp.   As the new year takes hold, the attacks against public higher education continue. Those with their student loans in default could face having their wages garnished (though, The Debt Collective offers some helpful advice to avoid doing so).  Harvard continues trying to negotiate a settlement with the Department of Education but keeps running up against an administration that seems more intent in holding the university in its crossh

October 19, 2025 Greetings from the Swamp.   I bike to the beach in a weekly attempt to temporarily clear my mind of the increasing political tumult that has swept over our swamp and increasingly engulfs the nation. Sitting on the sand, book in hand, listening to the waves lapping upon the shore grounds one. The sun’s heat kneads into one’s skin where humidity, flesh, brine filled breeze, and sand enfold into one another. But as the suns’ weight builds, one has the ocean clos