By Karen Gross. I am short in height -- 5' 2" on a good day. I wear size 6 clothing; size 6 shoes. My ring size is 6. In a family of relative giants, I stood beneath them. Physical size does, unfortunately, affect how we are viewed -- bigger is better in America. It is not a coincidence that our recent presidents and many presidential candidates are 6' or more (Obama; Clinton (Bill); Bush (all three); Romney; Kerry). Tall usually wins although that may change with women candidates. More...

By Conor Friedersdorf. Having argued that Marquette University is wrong to strip Professor John McAdams of tenure, setting precedents that are likely to undermine academic freedom, I'd like to set aside the debate about whether or not he should've been terminated and take up the question of how disagreements on campus ought to unfold.
For those just coming to the story, McAdams published a blog post last November criticizing a Marquette graduate student in her capacity as an instructor of undergraduates. More...

By Rhett Allain. What is the goal of a university? Why do humans get college degrees? Here are some common options for why a human should go to college and earn a degree.

• Humans should earn a degree so that they can get good grades. You might think this is a joke of a reason, but it’s not. Many people actually think this way.
• Get a degree to get a job.
• Get a degree to prepare you for a job (this is slightly different than the previous).
• Go to college to learn to think – critical thinking skills.
• Graduate from college with a degree to boost the university’s graduation rate.
• College is all about the party and fun times. Meet some people too.

But what do I think is the reason to go to college? I pretty much agree with Chris Lee in this very insightful post about higher education. We like to say that the structure of courses in a university degree program are designed to promote critical thinking, but this isn’t always true. More...