Reader's Comment on "I’m Furious. This TV Show Understands Why."

"I've told this story before. At St. Olaf College, in 1979, a group of us freshmen women, who were just getting to know each other and our school, sat around our older RA's room, and she talked to us bluntly about sexual violence and being safe. Then, one of my new college friends suddenly started crying and shared what had happened to her just before her sophomore year of high school. And one by one, after that, we all went around in a circle and shared our experiences. Turns out that in our group of 20 or so privileged 18 year old white girls, each one of us of had already experienced being groped, followed, cat-called, propositioned, raped, chased, punched, choked, bitten or otherwise assaulted by a man or men.  That evening, each one of us sat, shocked, mouths open, hearing each others' stories. We each thought such things had only happened to us. And none of us had spoken up, except maybe to a friend. Fast forward to today. One of my daughters recently worked as a therapist in a domestic abuse sanctuary, helping women who came to them for treatment and healing. Ladies, there's a reason the show is called Furious. Things have not changed much since 1979. If anything, it has gotten worse. Much worse. We all need to be much, much angrier."

--Eva Lockhart, Minneapolis

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/opinion/furious-tv-show-epstein.html#permid=153913322

Hundreds of Colleges Are Sending Acceptance Letters to Kids Who Didn’t Even Apply [ WSJ ]

The flava:

Hundreds of colleges are sending students letters of admission—without even requiring an application.

Schools are increasingly agreeing to admit students based on a handful of criteria, like high school transcripts. Known as “direct admissions,” this expedited process is free and omits required essays, questions about extracurriculars and mandated standardized tests. 

In turn, the colleges—which are seeking ways to attract more students amid broader financial headwinds—gain exposure to prospects who may never have heard of them otherwise. They then woo the young people into enrolling.

Proponents call the approach a solution for both sides.

“Instead of a student applying to the institution, the institution applies to them,” said Angel Perez, chief executive of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. “It’s a way for students not to have to jump through hoops in order to get into college.”

Direct admission has ballooned in popularity, particularly among less-selective private schools vying for a shrinking pool of college-goers. On the Common App, the number of participating institutions has more than tripled since 2023-24, representing about a fifth of the app’s partners, said Chief Executive Jenny Rickard. More than a dozen states now have direct-admissions initiatives.

“We can no longer take a posture that expects our students to come to us,” said Karlyn Crowley, president of Kalamazoo College in Michigan, which added direct admissions this year through EAB’s Match platform. “We’re at a new moment.”

The article:

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/hundreds-of-colleges-are-sending-acceptance-letters-to-kids-who-didnt-even-apply-21d37dd9

A makeover for college: No gym, no meal plan and two years of work [ NPR ]

The flava:

The buildings that frame a grassy quad on a hill above Vermont's capital city are all red brick and white trim, dating from as far back as the 1870s.

This quintessential college campus from the 19th century is where a group of business, college and government leaders is working on the task of reinventing higher education for the 21st century.

An entirely new college is being planned here to change not only how higher education is delivered, but at what price. It also proposes to highlight ways the current business model no longer works, as evidenced by the 152 colleges and universities that have closed or merged since 2016, and the 442 others that a new projection says are at risk.

So deeply entrenched are the problems confronting higher education that a growing chorus of innovators says the easiest way to fix them is to begin again from scratch.

The Greenway Institute — "green" as in new — will adopt instructional methods proven to work well, such as real-world training under the supervision of faculty mentors, while stripping away such things as layers of administrators and nonacademic amenities that make college in the United States so expensive.

"It's not fancy. It's a place where you do have a meaningful relationship with your faculty members. But you also take out your own trash," said Mark Somerville, the founding president.

Even more unexpected than the location of this startup is that it comes at a time when so many colleges are closing. In Vermont alone, seven private colleges have shut down in the last 10 years.

But Somerville, the former provost of Olin College of Engineering in Massachusetts, said this "moment of mass extinction" makes it clearer than ever that "we need new models in higher ed."

Enough of these experimental higher education institutions are in the planning stages that they have been organized by Duke University into a Future Universities Alliance. Greenway is a member. . . .      

The article:

https://www.npr.org/2026/09/01/nx-s1-5935431/college-reinvented-vermont-work-experience

The SAT's 100-year grip on higher ed [ Throughline, from NPR ]