Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Sep 10

I appreciate how @lsiraganian.bsky.social is seriously engaging claims about "viewpoint diversity" and "intellectual pluralism" and how they're weaponized by the Trump administration and other actors to launch attacks against Higher Ed. A Well-researched, compelling, and important read. #academicsky

Lisa Siraganian @lsiraganian.bsky.social · Sep 9

www.aaup.org/seven-theses...

Seven Theses Against Viewpoint Diversity

Demands for “viewpoint diversity,” a pillar of the Right’s strategy to remake higher education, collide with the pursuit of truth.

www.aaup.org

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Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Jun 25

I love this so much.

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Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · May 30

MAHA report written by AI and includes hallucinations. So. On. Brand.

White House MAHA Report may have garbled science by using AI, experts say

The report, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was intended to address the reasons for the decline in Americans’ life expectancy.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Apr 7

Join us this Thursday at 6 pm ET for the next Center for Progressive Research webinar on US Empire & Global Justice, featuring Profs. Sa'ed Atshan and Sebastian Gil-Riano who discuss the place and future of the US Empire & the possibilities of solidarity www.progressiveresearch.org/events/event...

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Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Apr 7

#AcademicSky: consider adding your name to this letter of joined resistance for faculty from the 60 universities targeted by the Trump Administration--with around 5K signatures already. Faculty from other universities are also welcome to add their names as allies

Home

March 20, 2025 Dear Presidents, Chancellors, and Boards of Trustees of the 60 Universities that received a March 10th warning letter from the U.S. Department of Education: You are on the frontlines ...

sites.google.com

Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Apr 4

The Center for Black, Brown, and Queer Studies is recruiting for the 2025-2026 fellowship supported by the Mellon Foundation. It’s a great opportunity for BIPOC/Queer scholars to connect, seek mentorship, and work in a space of solidarity and community. Spread the word!

Apply to the Fellowship — The Center for Black, Brown, and Queer Studies

www.bbqplus.org

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Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Apr 3

Please consider signing this petition to university administrators urging them not to comply with or abet lawless violations of human rights by the federal government.

Please Sign This Petition on Behalf of Constitutional Rights

docs.google.com

Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Apr 3

DOGE is terminating NEH staff and cutting grant funding. Please contact your representative to urge them to stop this. This link makes it very easy for you to do that. #Savethehumanities

URGENT: Save the NEH

p2a.co

Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Mar 25

Thank you, MESA and AAUP!

US academic groups sue White House over planned deportations of pro-Gaza students

Trump administration is accused of inciting ‘climate of repression’ and stifling free speech on campuses, including Columbia University

www.theguardian.com

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Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Mar 25

Good news for Yunseo Chung!

Judge Orders U.S. to Stop Attempts to Deport Columbia Undergraduate

The administration has been seeking to arrest and deport Yunseo Chung, who immigrated from South Korea as a child, after she participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

www.nytimes.com

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Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Mar 24

Horrific

Oscar-winning Palestinian director attacked by Israeli settlers and arrested

No Other Land director Hamdan Ballal attacked by armed settlers in West Bank before being handed to Israeli military, witnesses say

www.theguardian.com

Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Mar 18

The horror resumes

Live updates: Hundreds killed as Israel launches airstrikes across Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the strikes because of a lack of progress in ongoing talks to extend the Gaza ceasefire.

apnews.com

Reposted by Soha Bayoumi

Simon Rosenberg @simonwdc.bsky.social · Mar 17

How can a country that does this host the World Cup next year? No person traveling to the US is safe.

bsky.app/profile/news...

News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · Mar 16

NEW: Photo released showing the treatment of 100s of people deported by Trump to El Salvador, in defiance of a federal judge ruling.

Remember, none of these individuals had any due process. They had no opportunity to contest any evidence, if is existed.

A grievous human rights violation.

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In this photo provided by El Salvador's presidential press office, hooded prison guards are seen marching detainees hunched over & handcuffed. They are transferring deportees from the U.S. Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (El Salvador presidential press office via AP)

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Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Mar 13

MESA Board Statement on the repression of academic freedom in the United States

Middle East Studies Association

In the current national climate, as institutions of higher education and their mission of critical inquiry face unprecedented attack, MESA unequivocally supports efforts to stand up for freedom of exp...

mesana.org

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Reposted by Soha Bayoumi

Max Socol @socol.bsky.social · Mar 10

Well, there it is folks. The official ADL position is support for Trump secret police to illegally detain and deport green card holders if they are part of pro-Palestine protests. If and when DHS starts doing this to citizens, count on the ADL to continue its support. This is who they are.

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Reposted by Soha Bayoumi

Tristan Snell @tristansnell.bsky.social · Mar 9

Donald Trump on eggs and other high-priced groceries:

August 2024: “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One."

March 2025: "Shut up about egg prices."

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Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Mar 1

🙄

Reposted by Soha Bayoumi

AAUP @aaup.org · Mar 1

“If academic freedom in teaching & in scholarship can be overridden by the dicta of politicians & administrators, then the right to learn will not survive our present moment.”

Read AAUP President Todd Wolfson’s full letter to Governor Hochul on CUNY interference here:

www.aaup.org/news/governo...

Governor Should Withdraw CUNY Interference

After New York governor Kathy Hochul earlier this week ordered the City University of New York to remove a job posting for a professorship in Palestinian studies, AAUP president Todd Wolfson is urging...

www.aaup.org

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Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Mar 1

And this is how the @nytimes.com chooses to cover this scandal. Shameful!

New York Times headline featuring Trump and Zelensky reading “Showdown Points to Trump’s Foreign Policy Revolution”

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Reposted by Soha Bayoumi

Lex Rofeberg @lexaphus.bsky.social · Feb 17

What a surreal encapsulation of anti-Palestinian racism.

A Jewish and pro-Israel man shoots and injures 2 people because he thinks they're Palestinian. They're actually Israeli. The two victims respond by assuming the shooter was Palestinian and an antisemite, with one posting "death to Arabs."

"Miami Herald article: Why were 2 people shot in Miami Beach? Suspect told cops that he 'saw 2 Palestinians' -- by David J. Neal"

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Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Feb 16

“If anyone should ‘not forget nor forgive’ one day, it will be the Palestinians, after 100 years of torment, including the prisoners who were released on Saturday,” writes Gideon Levy.

If anyone should 'not forget nor forgive,' it's the Palestinians

***

www.haaretz.com

Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Feb 10

I'm baffled by his confidence about the feasibility of this illegal ethnic cleansing plan. Egypt and Jordan have been adamant in refusing this, and so has Saudi Arabia. Is this now just for local consumption by his base (which I don't think cares that much about this), or is something else going on?

Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Feb 8

Photo of protests from different cities. Caption reads: There were 50 protests at all 50 state capitols yesterday and the media isn’t covering it. YOU ARE NOT ALONE

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Reposted by Soha Bayoumi

The Borowitz Report @borowitzreport.bsky.social · Feb 7

What corporate media aren’t showing you.

The Resistance is Here

What corporate media aren’t showing you.

www.borowitzreport.com

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Soha Bayoumi @sbayoumi.bsky.social · Feb 2

It is normal to feel demoralized sometimes by all the unfolding horror or not know where to start. But starting where you are most passionate or feel like you can make a difference, however small, however local, is the way to go!

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