News You Might Have Missed: 9/19/25
A collection of news and updates relating to admissions and testing over the last week.
Multiple Faculty and Staff Members Have Been Fired for Comments About Charlie Kirk’s Death
In the wake of the killing of Charlie Kirk, a litany of comments were made online about his shooting, death, and the subsequent arrest of his killer. For some made by faculty and staff on college campuses, this led to being fired. The Chronicle of Higher Education has helpfully put together a list of faculty and staff dismissals at schools across the country.
The Chronicle is paywalled, but the basic fact is that this has happened nationally but not in all states. The comments also range from celebrating his death to wondering about the political fallout. Clearly, the second part was a good sense of what was to come. This is part of a larger right-wing backlash in the wake of Kirk’s killing. (And it isn’t just on college campuses. Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show was pulled from the air.) And some were suspended rather than terminated.
The irony is that Charlie Kirk supposedly championed free speech, which is why he went to Utah Valley University in the first place. Of course, there are also reasons faculty and staff should not be celebrating any killing on a college campus. Legitimate criticism of Kirk’s statements and the political fallout of his killing should be welcome on campuses.
Students Say They Would Pay More to Attend a College More Aligned With Their Political Beliefs
Speaking of politics on campus, a new working paper from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University shows students want to attend a college with people who share their political views. Both liberal and conservative students said they would be willing to pay a little more than $2,000 a year to attend a school that fit their political leanings slightly more.
Specifically, “liberal students are willing to pay $2,617 more to attend a college with a 10 percentage point lower share of conservative students (relative to moderate students), while conservative students are willing to pay $2,201 to attend a college with a 10 percentage point lower share of liberal students.” Functionally, that’s basically the same for both sides of the political spectrum. It also shouldn’t be too surprising. Students want to go to college with people they want to be around.
Ivy League Schools Give Money to Trade Schools in Deal With Trump Administration
One of the basic facts about Ivy League schools is that they have absurdly large endowments. With the Trump Administration going after the Ivy League’s grants, they have found new ways to force schools back into their good graces: trade schools.
Right now, there’s nothing concrete. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick quipped about a “Harvard Vocational School." Brown University has promised $50 million in funds for vocational programs in its home state of Rhode Island. How exactly that will work has not been specified.
Because of a clamor for “trade schools” and a desire to get in the Presidential Administration’s good graces, this is worth watching. But right now there is very little to it beyond talk.
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