ISSUES

Needed: A NATO Alliance For American Universities

“We need a NATO for universities,” said Lee Bollinger, president emeritus of Columbia University. “When one university is attacked, everyone commits to coming to their defense. We need less capacity of individual institutions to make decisions about where we should go in defending universities and more power in a system.” - InsideHigherEd

What, Really, Will Result In The Ticketmaster/LiveNation Verdict?

“I can’t wait for the judge to get hit with a $45 ‘Verdict Convenience Fee,’ a $30 ‘Gavel Processing Fee,’ and an $80 ‘Digital Print-at-Home Ruling Surcharge,” a Reddit user cracked. (After the verdict, Live Nation said in a statement, “The jury’s verdict is not the last word on this matter.") - The New Yorker

San Diego Proposes To Cut Its Arts Budget. A Big Mistake

While this may be framed as fiscal discipline, cutting arts and culture is not a serious long-term economic strategy. It is a short-term fix that reduces foot traffic, weakens neighborhood business districts, and chips away at the culture that makes people want to live, work, visit, and invest here in the first place. - San Diego Magazine

Nashville Reveals Plans For New Performing Arts Center

Construction on the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, in the redeveloping East Bank neighborhood, begins next year; opening is expected in 2030. The complex, with Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) as lead designer, will include a 2,600-seat hall for touring Broadway shows, a 650-seat dance/opera hall, a black-box theater and a cabaret space. - WPLN (Nashville)

Japan’s 1,200-Year-Old Record Of Cherry Blossoms Has A New Keeper

Last summer, Prof. Aono, who had meticulously updated the record year after year, died after a battle with cancer. That prompted supporters of his work to start looking for a worthy successor. - The New York Times

Seattle Nonprofit Buys Downtown Office Building To Convert To Artist Housing

This is happening through the city’s Office to Residential Conversion Program, which allows developers to take empty commercial buildings and turn them into living spaces. The program gives developers a tax deferral as long as 10% of the units in the building are sold or rented below market value. - KNKX

How Will Hungary’s Arts World Recover From 16 Years Of Viktor Orbán?

“A wave of leadership changes is widely expected across major museums and cultural bodies, which could lead to the return of (figures) who were previously sidelined. There is, however, reason for caution. Magyar is himself a former Fidesz party member and a conservative politician, and some analysts warn against expecting rapid transformation.” - Ocula

America’s 250th Birthday Is Here. Americans Are Worried

Increasingly, historians are asking if they need to do more to meet the public’s hunger for meaning and inspiration. - The New York Times

Faculty Are Exiting Texas Universities, Claiming Censorship

The University of Texas ordered faculty in February to refrain from teaching ill-defined “controversial” topics in class. Nearly all Texas public university systems have conducted some kind of course-review process that screens instructional materials for gender and sexuality content. - InsideHigherEd

This RAM Shortage Thing Isn’t Going Away

Yikes: “Everything from phones and laptops, to VR headsets and gaming handhelds have seen price increases due to the RAM shortage.” - The Verge

Some Companies You Probably Love Are Taking Trademarks Too Far

"If you have a granola group, seed society, cherry circle, or risotto ring, and a lawyer league owns a trademark on one of them, they might just airdrop cease-and-desist letters like leaflets over a city in World War II.” - Slate

Yale Report: Universities Themselves Are To Blame For Lowered Trust Of Higher Ed

High costs, murky admissions practices, uneven academic standards and fears about free speech on campuses, the committee said, are among the reasons for widening discontent over higher education’s worthiness. - The New York Times

Inside The Kennedy Center Dumpster Fire (OMG!)

Richard Grenell, told me to “get rid of everything” in the permanent collection because we needed all new art for the reopening. Although I had slow-walked this demand for several weeks by pretending I was waiting on another colleague for updates, I now had only two hours to tie up loose ends. - The Atlantic

New Hope For The Arts In Hungary After The Fall Of Viktor Orbán?

"A key question is what will happen to ... the 'ideologically burdened' Hungarian Academy of Arts, an institution given significant funding powers by (Orbán's party) that is seen as having been an instrument of the government’s conservative agenda. More broadly, members of the art scene hope to see increased institutional autonomy." - The Art Newspaper

The End Of The Internet As We Know It

Now, thanks to new A.I. tools, anyone can write code. Soon, bad actors could use those same tools to find out what’s wrong with code. The détente is over. - The New York Times

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