Author: Jared Gould

Jared Gould is the Managing Editor of Minding the Campus. Follow him on X @J_Gould_

WATCH: Healthcare, a Generation’s Future, and the Role of Education

In the third episode of VAS News Chat, I join Teresa Manning, Policy Director at the National Association of Scholars and President of its Virginia affiliate, to examine the parallels between the healthcare and education systems, how generational differences shape perceptions of hardship, the anger many young people feel in response to the exponential rise […]

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When Taylor Swift Gets Engaged, Class Dismissed—What That Reveals About Campus Culture

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. At the University […]

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A Retrospective on DEI and the Decline of Medical Schools

Between late 2023 and early this year, I simultaneously juggled two roles: Managing Editor of Minding the Campus and Research Fellow at Speech First. Not to toot my own horn, but concurrently performing what were essentially two independent, full-time jobs was an experience easily characterized by insane intensity. Keeping publication editorial deadlines on track while […]

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The Crown Sees Rebellion

On August 23, 1775, King George III made it clear he was done with illusions about his American colonies. In his Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition, he stated that “many of Our Subjects in divers Parts of Our Colonies and Plantations in North America, misled by dangerous and ill-designing Men … have at length proceeded […]

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Young Americans Are Right to Be Angry—But Their Education Keeps the Cycle of Frustration Going

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. On Tuesday, I […]

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Short Take: Undoing Generational Damage Requires Generational Work

Back in April, in a piece titled “The Horse, My Contributor, Is Dead,” I warned that we at Minding the Campus risked treading water by hammering the same points about “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), wokeness, and campus anti-Semitism. Those truths are vital—but endlessly repeating them without fresh angles or deeper reporting amounts to beating […]

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Merit Means Nothing if Opportunity Can Be Bought

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. In March 2019, […]

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We’ve Reached the Summer of 1775

Our American Revolution series has reached the tense summer of 1775—a time when the Continental Congress was doing two things at once: sending polite petitions to King George III and loading muskets for battle. In our latest installment, we cover the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, which laid out why […]

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The Disappearance of Logic from Schools—and What It’s Costing Us

Logic was once a cornerstone of education. Before the 20th century, students studied logic as a standalone subject—a rigorous discipline that honed their ability to reason, spot contradictions, and dissect arguments. In early America, logic held a prominent place in the curriculum. Northern colleges like Harvard prioritized it, with figures like Benjamin Franklin authoring logic […]

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Why Are U.S. Lawmakers Lobbying for Foreign Students? IDK, Because Rep. Ross Wouldn’t Tell Me.

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. I didn’t think […]

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While We Argued About Who Belongs in the Bathroom, We Forgot to Fix the Bathroom

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. Liam Rappleye didn’t […]

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Presentation: A Libertarian Analysis of Law

In this 2008 lecture at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, economist Walter Block delivers a defense of libertarian philosophy. He outlines its core principles—the non-aggression axiom and private property rights rooted in homesteading—and applies them to various controversial issues, including blackmail, libel, insider trading, incitement, antitrust, hostile takeovers, the exclusionary rule, affirmative action, unions, […]

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Mackinac Island’s Workforce Offers a Preview of the Grim Job Market Facing American College Grads

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. On a recent […]

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Cut the Bloat, Graduate Faster

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. Students haven’t been […]

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WATCH: Title IX, China’s Cloud Wars, and the Bill That Could Save Higher Ed

In the third episode of VAS News Chat, Teresa Manning and I examine the mounting pressure on American universities from both legal and geopolitical fronts. Manning, who serves as Policy Director at the National Association of Scholars and leads its Virginia affiliate, unpacks a series of federal actions—from Title IX enforcement battles to investigations into […]

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How U.S. Universities Helped China Build Its Weather Warfare Program

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. For decades, weather […]

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To Die Free Men

On July 6, 1775, the Continental Congress issued a declaration—not of independence, but of necessity. With British troops already marching and colonial blood already spilled, Congress laid out its reasons for taking up arms. The declaration’s title was as direct as its purpose: A Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms. It […]

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July 4th Was the World’s Revolution. The Next One Starts Here.

Two hundred forty-nine years ago, a determined band of colonists didn’t just declare independence—they dismantled the old world order. They rejected the centuries-old belief that power comes from bloodlines, conquest, or divine right, and proposed something audacious: that legitimacy flows from the governed, not the governor. That moment was not merely the birth of America—it […]

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Welcome to the Unemployment Line, Graduate

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. “I’m 22 years […]

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WATCH: Science Bargains with Trump, Protesters Storm NSF, and Slugs Go Solar

In Episode 9 of The Week in Science, Director of Science Programs at the National Association of Scholars (NAS) Scott Turner takes us on a tour of scientific upheaval—political, bureaucratic, and biological. We begin with the five stages of grief—not for people, but for scientists, who are still grappling with the Trump administration’s supposed war […]

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The Mississippi Miracle Needs a Reality Check

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. “In order to […]

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WATCH: What Happened to the Liberal Arts? Plus Religious Revival, College Sports, and UVA’s Viewpoint Diversity Problem

In the second episode of VAS News Chat, I join Teresa Manning, Policy Director at the National Association of Scholars and President of its Virginia affiliate, for a conversation on some of last week’s most important developments in higher education. We begin with my recent article on the decline of the liberal arts—and how conservatives […]

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WATCH: Science Sells Out, Math Gets Political, but the Stars Still Shine

In Episode 7 of The Week in Science, host Scott Turner, Director of Science Programs at the National Association of Scholars, takes on how science strangled its own intellectual independence, why Trump-era budget cuts aren’t the end of the world, and what a new study says about boys, girls, and math. First up: Science magazine […]

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Ask Them About Their iPhone

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every week. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. In 2011, the […]

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Before the Flag, the Fight

On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress took its first bold step toward becoming a nation: it created a national army. Until then, each colony had relied on its own militia. But after the violent clashes at Lexington and Concord, it was clear that isolated efforts wouldn’t be enough. A unified defense would require […]

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WATCH: Turner on Science Funding Facts, Native Epidemics, and Dinosaur Calls

In Episode 6 of The Week in Science, host Scott Turner, Director of Science Programs at the National Association of Scholars, explores a trio of fascinating topics.  Science magazine decries “massive cuts” to the National Science Foundation (NSF) budget, slashing it from $9 billion to $3.9 billion—a 57 percent reduction. The chance of a research […]

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Trump Allows Chinese Students into U.S. Universities in Exchange for Rare Earth Minerals

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. Commentators have been […]

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Vedder’s Case for Creative Destruction

The United States has long been the gold standard for higher education. Its colleges and universities top global rankings and draw students from every corner of the world. But the shine is fading fast. Public support for these institutions is in free fall, and it’s not just a vibe: enrollment is dropping, even at some […]

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The Activists Graduate—and Influence Everything

Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. National Association of […]

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WATCH: Why Scientists Aren’t Really Leaving—and Why Chimps Aren’t 99% Human

In Episode 5 of The Week in Science, Scott Turner, Director of Science Programs at the National Association of Scholars, offers a timely critique of the growing media narrative around a so-called “Trump brain drain”—the claim that scientists are fleeing American institutions due to MAGA-led funding cuts. Turner says that what is actually driving scientists away […]

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