News and updates

Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.

October Surprise -Clinton’s FBI investigation is being reopened. Read more in The Hill. 

Double Down –  Professor Allan Lichtman has correctly predicted three decades of presidential candidates. He says Trump is going to win. Read more in the Washington Post. 

Challenges – It is harder than ever for young scientists  to compete for grants as federal dollars are stagnant and young faculty are under historically high pressure to publish, secure funding and earn permanent positions — leaving precious little time for actual research. Read more in Science. 

Down Ballot Money – Republican Party’s biggest donors has begun to flow down to Senate and House races in the final days of the 2016 campaign. Read more in The New York Times. 

Money as Motivator – Incentivizing students to get good grades is something parents have done for years, but what happens when the schools themselves to it? Not as much of a success. Read more in The Science of Us.

That Extra 10 – Student debt may be exacerbating inequality. A college graduate with an extra $10,000 in student loans will achieve the nation’s median net worth 26% slower than a college graduate without that debt. Read more at Market Watch. 

Scapegoat – Patient 0 became Patient Zero and that became Gaetan Dugas. The only problem is, that the story isn’t true. He isn’t Patient Zero. Read more in The Science of Us. 

For Profit$$$ – Many ambitious yet disadvantaged students still end up in schools where they’re most likely to drop out and accrue lots of debt. Read the in-depth piece in the Atlantic. 

Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.

Vast Benefits of Destruction – Donald Trump has not paid taxes for the last 19 years. In 1996, he declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial, it has allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes since. The losses stem from the financial mismanagement of three Atlantic City casinos, his experiment in the airline business, and his ill-timed purchase of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. The total losses would wipe out more than $50 million per year in federal taxes since reporting the loss. Read more in The New York Times. 

Reshape – Longwood University, which hosted the vice-presidential duel, is restructuring classes with a focus on civics to teach students to be good citizens. Read more in The Atlantic. 

Pocket Change?  – This week Harvard University announced that its endowment lost $2 billion from investments. While the institution and the endowment continue to flourish (with $35.7 billion), Harvard’s endowment returns have lagged behind all other Ivy League universities, except Cornell. It has caused the university, and the Harvard Investment Company some significant scrutiny into how and what it invests. Read more The Chronicle for Higher Education.  

Be a Role Model – Helping teenagers make the transition from high schoolers in their parents’ homes to college students balancing the freedoms of an unchaperoned social life with the load of academic expectations has always been a big job for R. A.s, most of whom are no older than 21 themselves. Added to this are the complications about sex and sexual assault on campus, and the role of the university in prevention, awareness and disciplinary measures. Read more in The New York Times. 

Food Wizard – Danny Meyer, who is a restaurant guru on the East Coast (Ed. Note: Shake Shack is AMAZING), is integrating the iWatch into the eating experience. At the reopening of his flagship restaurant Union Square Cafe in NYC,  every manager will have an iWatch. When a VIP walks through the front door, someone orders a bottle of wine, a new table is seated, a guest waits too long to order her or his drink, or a menu item runs out, every manager will get an alert via the tiny computer attached to their wrist. Read more in Eater.