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*https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9146eed6fc5c4b7a9329dedce6200926.
Friday, May 8, 2026
Don't tell the governor
Straws in the Wind - Part 336
From the Chronicle of Higher Education: ...A 20-year-old freshman at the University of Notre Dame emailed the undergraduate population with an enticing pitch. “I built an AI agent that connects to your Canvas and sees everything,” Caden Chuang wrote in the email... “It figures out exactly where you’re falling short and gives you the precise roadmap to get an A with the least amount of work possible.” Within an hour, the university deleted the email from inboxes, Chuang said, and temporarily disabled his account. But more than 1,000 students had signed up.
Then Chuang posted a video on Instagram on Thursday saying he “might have just been expelled.” He said the university disabled his accounts and is investigating him for “creating an AI cheating tool” — a characterization he disputes. The episode marks at least the third time over the past year that an AI tool built by current or recent students has forced colleges into a scramble. Examples include the viral rollout of an “Einstein” agent that could autonomously complete coursework and a Columbia University student’s public clash with administrators over their discrete AI software to help students pass technical interviews. Universities are confronting the fast-moving reality that students are building systems they’re not prepared for.
But unlike Einstein and the interview app, Chuang says his tool, Kerra, is not a cheat code — it’s a productivity tool. The software reads assignments, grades, and uploaded materials from the learning-management system Canvas, then generates study guides, detailed notes, and even assignment drafts. It also tracks deadlines and sends reminder texts designed to keep students on track. Signing up for Kerra is free, but certain tasks and features — such as exporting a study guide or using the tool’s more aggressive iMessage accountability reminders — prompt users to pay a fee ranging from $9 to $20 a month.
Chuang’s broader argument for Kerra is blunt, and, to some instructors, provocative. Spending a lot of time in class is “not as valuable as it used to be in the past,” he told The Chronicle. Instead, the time students spend outside class doing extracurricular activities and networking with potential employers is more important to their future. Kerra lets students “spend more time taking advantage of all the opportunities at their university,” Chuang said...
Full story at https://www.chronicle.com/article/another-undergrad-is-trying-to-disrupt-college-with-ai-he-says-his-version-isnt-cheating.
Already Ahead - Part 2
Note that the governor's May Revise budget proposal is scheduled for May 14.
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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2026/04/already-ahead.html.
The Hacking
https://databreaches.net/2026/05/07/developing-shinyhunters-hacks-instructure-again-canvas-down/.
From an email to a particular UCLA school:
I wanted to give some guidance around the Bruin Learn outage announced below. As you are likely aware, the outage appears to be connected to a disruption to one of UCLA's technology vendors, which is used by hundreds of universities. Many schools are experiencing outages. However, our students and you likely care most about when service will be restored, and how you can best minimize the effect of the outage while it is ongoing.
On the first question, we simply don't know when service might be restored. As central campus updates us on the situation, we will let you know what we learn. Given this uncertainty, we advise that you plan on alternative arrangements for activities that you planned to carry out on Bruin Learn.
- To that point, we recommend you to be flexible in your approach. Some simple approaches that might help:
- We recommend you not try to recreate Bruin Learn/Canvas on another site, and keep things simple. This may mean making adjustments to certain aspects of your class.
- You can email the class directly on MyUCLA, much like a Bruin Learn announcement. You can also use MyUCLA to download a spreadsheet that includes the email addresses of all students in your class.
Students will appreciate frequent communication via email reiterating any adjustments you make to the class because of the outage. Please feel free to make your reminders repetitive, so that students are more likely to see them. You may want to let your students know your communications may be repetitive, but that you want to make sure everyone understands how the class will adapt to the outage...
We know this is disruptive, and the University is working very hard to restore access as soon as possible. Thank you for your flexibility as campus works through this challenge. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more...
Yours truly remembers the days when we used blackboards and chalk, and students got their readings from a thing called "the library." No one could hack into them.
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Assault at Royce and Young Research Library
The UCLA Police Department received a report of an aggravated assault, that occurred at Royce Hall on 05-06-2026 06:40 PM. Victim was seated on a bench outside of Royce Hall when an unknown suspect struck the victim with a closed fist, causing injuries that required medical attention. A second assault involving the same suspect was reported outside of Young Research Library, where the victim sustained minor injuries. UCLA PD has identified the suspect. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, approximately 40 years old, about 5'8" tall, and bald. He was wearing a black blazer jacket, black pants, and black shoes, and was carrying a green bag.
UCLA PD is investigating this crime. If you have information that might assist in the investigation, please contact the UCLA Police Department at 310-825-1491.
Legal Apology
From MSN: A free speech organization accused UCLA School of Law of “double standards” [last] Wednesday after an assistant dean told Federalist Society students that they could be punished for publicly identifying protesters who disrupted their event earlier this month. [Last] Thursday, a UCLA Law spokesperson told The College Fix that the university apologized to the students.
“UCLA does not discipline students for speech that is protected under the First Amendment,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “The initial communication was not intended to suggest otherwise, and we have apologized for any lack of clarity. UCLA School of Law also encourages students to engage one another with respect and care.”
The situation has to do with a group of protesters who were caught on video earlier this month hurling insults and making disruptive noises during a Federalist Society event with U.S. Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival. In an email... Bayrex MartÃ, assistant dean for student affairs, told leaders of the UCLA Federalist Society chapter that they could be punished if they name the protesters in the video, according to FIRE.
“First of all, identifying the names of people who attend a public event is 100% protected speech. You don’t have a right to anonymity in public,” FIRE Executive Vice President Nico Perrino wrote Wednesday on X. “Second, enough with these double standards. Threatening only one side with punishment for engaging in the same (protected) expression as the other side is viewpoint discrimination,” Perrino wrote...
Full story at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/free-speech-group-slams-ucla-for-double-standards-after-hecklers-disrupt-event/ar-AA227Ab5.
Straws in the Wind - Part 335
From The Dartmouth: At the end of April 2025, four federal grants funding Dartmouth research in the anthropology and health-related fields were canceled by the National Institutes of Health. While the College appealed all four cancellation decisions, only one grant has been reinstated. The College “continues to monitor the status” of the three remaining cancelled grants, according to an email statement from College spokesperson Morgan Kelly.
Two of the terminated grants were Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award F31 Individual Predoctoral Fellowships, which fund students from underrepresented groups in health-related studies. A third was a $2 million grant from the Initiative for Maximising Student Development program, which provides stipend support, mentoring and other community programming for Ph.D. students engaged in behavioral, biomedical and clinical research. The fourth was a $141,000 grant from Increasing Diversity in Evolutionary Anthropological Sciences that funds mentorship and training to reduce the underrepresentation of minority scholars in biological anthropology.
The other cancelled grants are “receiving or seeking,” support from “other funds,” Kelly wrote...
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