Straws in the Wind - Part 241

From the Yale Daily News: This academic year, some English professors have increased their preference for physical copies of readings, citing concerns related to artificial intelligence. Many English professors have identified the use of chatbots as harmful to critical thinking and writing. Now, professors who had previously allowed screens in class are tightening technology restrictions. Professor Kim Shirkhani, who teaches “Reading and Writing the Modern Essay,” explained that for about a decade prior to this semester, she did not require printed readings. This semester, she is requiring all students to have printed options. “Over the years I’ve found that when students read on paper they're more likely to read carefully, and less likely in a pinch to read on their phones or rely on chatbot summaries,” Shirkhani wrote to the News. “This improves the quality of class time by orders of magnitude.”

...Last semester, professor Pamela Newton, who also teaches the course, allowed students to bring readings either on tablets or in printed form. While laptops felt like a “wall” in class, Newton said, students could use iPads to annotate readings and lie them flat on the table during discussions. However, Newton said she felt “paranoid” that students could be texting during class. This semester, Newton has removed the option to bring iPads to class, except for accessibility needs, as a part of the general movement in the “Reading and Writing the Modern Essay” seminars to “swim against the tide of AI use,” reduce “the infiltration of tech,” and “go back to pen and paper,” she said...

Full story at https://yaledailynews.com/articles/english-professors-double-down-on-requiring-printed-copies-of-readings.

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From the Yale Daily News: University presidents from around the country gathered at Yale [last] Tuesday for an annual summit that included a presentation of awards to Harvard President Alan Garber and former University of Virginia President James Ryan ’88 — both of whom received national attention last year for their public clashes with President Donald Trump amid his crackdown on elite higher education.

Last year, as the federal government tried to pressure Garber and Ryan into reforming their respective universities’ policies, Yale comparatively flew under Trump’s radar. Amid Trump’s pervasive criticism of higher education, [Yale] University President Maurie McInnis — one of the presenters of Tuesday’s awards — prioritized behind-the-scenes advocacy in Washington, D.C., over issuing public statements, in accordance with the guidance she adopted in October 2024 that recommends administrators largely refrain from making public statements on current events...

Full story at https://yaledailynews.com/articles/university-leaders-convene-at-yale-honoring-two-who-clashed-with-trump.