The Conversation

College can be confusing for first-generation students – but it doesn’t have to be

Written by Blake R. Silver, Associate Professor of Sociology, George Mason University

Many college students are reluctant to ask for help even when they know they need it.Ariel Skelley/DigitalVision via Getty Images

In his new book, “Degrees of Risk: Navigating Insecurity and Inequality in Public Higher Education,” sociology professor Blake R. Silver examines some of many ways that college students can slip through the...

Self-forgiveness is more than self-comfort − a philosopher explains

Written by Mordechai Gordon, Professor of Education, Quinnipiac University

Forgiving yourself can be a sign of moral growth − but only if you put in the work.Stephanie Verhart/E+ via Getty Images

As the Jewish High Holidays approach, which begin with Rosh Hashanah and continue with Yom Kippur, the theme of forgiveness keeps coming to my mind.

The 10 days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur are referred to in the Jewish...

Nepal’s revamped truth commissions will need to go beyond ‘ritualism’ to deliver justice to civil war victims

Written by Tracy Fehr, Sociology PhD Candidate, University of Colorado Boulder

Nepal’s attempt to deliver justice and accountability following the country’s decade-long civil war froze more than two years ago with little progress – but a recent development has raised hopes that it could soon be revived and revamped.

In August 2024, the country’s parliament passed a long-awaited bill that sets the stage...

Rare Florida fossil finally ends debate about how porcupine jaws and tails evolved

Written by Natasha S. Vitek, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York)

A porcupine fossil recovered in Florida was the key clue in solving a paleontological mystery.Jeff Gage/Florida Museum, CC BY-ND

A rare, nearly complete fossil of an extinct North American porcupine helped me and my colleagues solve a decades-long debate about how the modern North American porcupine evolved from its ancestors.

Published in Current...

Pager attack on Hezbollah was a sophisticated ‘booby-trap’ operation − it was also illegal

Written by Mary Ellen O'Connell, Professor of Law and International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

Medics collect blood in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2024.AFP via Getty Images

The operation that used pagers and walkie-talkies to kill members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was ingenious – but was it legal?

Certainly, there are those who will argue that it was. That thinking goes like this: Hezbollah has been attacking Israel with rockets,...

Immigrants are unsung heroes of global trade and value creation

Written by Bedassa Tadesse, Professor of Economics, University of Minnesota Duluth

In nearly every country that hosts foreign-born citizens, immigration emerges as a lightning rod for controversy. The economic realities of immigration, however, are far more complex than the negative sound bites suggest.

Far from being a burden, as critics claim, immigrants play pivotal roles in driving innovation, enhancing productivity and...

How Israel’s Netanyahu survives in his job

Written by Shai P. Ginsburg, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Duke University

Demonstrators at an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages on Sept. 12, 2024, in Tel Aviv. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

After several tumultuous weeks in Israel, mass demonstrations increasingly depict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as directly responsible for the fate of the hostages still held...

Why the cost of water for poor Black Detroit voters may be key to Kamala Harris winning – or losing – Michigan

Written by Ronald Brown, Professor of Political Science, Wayne State University

Protesters in Detroit rally to support the 2020 election results and other causes.Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The threat of violence was in the air at the TCF Center in Detroit on Nov. 5, 2020, after former President Donald Trump claimed that poll workers in the city were duplicating ballots and that there was an...

Invasive caterpillars can make aspen forests more toxic for native insects – a team of ecologists explains how

Written by Richard L. Lindroth, Vilas Distinguished Achievement & Sorenson Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The aspen forest where our team conducted our recent study. Mark R. Zierden

When we walked with a colleague into an aspen forest near Madison, Wisconsin, in the early spring of 2021, we expected to finalize our plans for a research project on several species of insects that live and feed on the trees. Instead, we found a forest laden with fuzzy,...

TRUTH in Labeling Act would heighten the warning for shoppers looking to cut sugar, salt and saturated fat intake

Written by Kimberly Baker, Food Systems and Safety Program Team Director, Clemson University

Only about 40% of consumers frequently read the nutrition label.demaerre/iStock via Getty Images Plus

With rising rates of obesity in the U.S. and increasing attention being paid to the health harms of processed foods, it’s clear that far more could be done to help consumers make healthy food choices.

A bill known as the TRUTH in Labeling Act h...