Dani Wenner
LightNews LightNews
banner
daniwenner.bsky.social
Dani Wenner
@daniwenner.bsky.social
3.2K followers 840 following 700 posts
political philosopher, okra & orca lover, nogoodnik
she/her/Dr
Posts Replies Media Videos
daniwenner.bsky.social
Not only an embarrassing decision for an institution of higher education, but also deeply dishonest to frame as "harmless" given the environmental and resource costs associated with this technology. Shame
triblive.com/local/region...
“The University of Pittsburgh is pioneering how institutions can responsibly integrate AI in higher education, and their approach aligns perfectly with our commitment to develop AI that is helpful, honest and harmless,” said Johanna Bowman, Education Partnerships Lead at Anthropic.
October 24, 2025 at 10:44 AM
daniwenner.bsky.social
had the occasion to reread Rawls on overlapping consensus and public reason this week and this passage stuck out to me in retrospect as rather prescient
Other great political values-the values of public reason-are expressed in the guidelines for public inquiry and in the steps taken to make such inquiry free and public, as well as informed and reasonable. We saw in 11:4.1 that an agreement on a political conception of justice is to no effect without a companion agreement on guidelines of public inquiry and rules for assessing evidence. The values of public reason not only include the appropriate use of the fundamental concepts of judgment, inference, and evidence, but also the virtues of reasonableness and fairmindedness as shown in abiding by the criteria and procedures of commonsense knowledge and accepting the methods and conclusions of science when not controversial. We also owe respect to the precepts governing reasonable political discussion.
October 9, 2025 at 6:23 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
zoom shows "recording" (and also informed me, audibly, that the session was being recorded when I logged onto the call)
September 10, 2025 at 8:11 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
As a Tulane alum I am angry and disgusted at this news. A university bowing to political interference to quash important work protecting the most vulnerable from the most powerful. An absolute disgrace @tulaneu.bsky.social
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Tulane University researcher resigned Wednesday, citing censorship from university leaders who had warned that her advocacy and research exposing the Louisiana petrochemical industry’s health impacts and racial disparities in hiring had triggered blowback from donors and elected officials. In her resignation letter, Kimberly Terrell accused the university of sacrificing academic freedom to appease Louisiana’s Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. Terrell, the director of community engagement at Tulane’s Environmental Law Clinic claimed the clinic had been “placed under a complete gag order” that barred her from making public statements about her research. Many of the clinic’s clients are located along the heavily industrialized 85-mile (137-kilometer) stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge commonly referred to by environmental groups as “Cancer Alley.” Marcilynn Burke, dean of Tulane’s law school, wrote in a May 4 email to clinic staff that Tulane University President Michael Fitts worried the clinic’s work threatened to tank support for the university’s long-sought efforts to redevelop New Orleans’ historic Charity Hospital as part of a downtown expansion. “Elected officials and major donors have cited the clinic as an impediment to them lending their support to the university generally and this project specifically,” Burke wrote.
June 12, 2025 at 3:21 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
That Cornell refuses to implement not just the full package of protections, but any of them, is extremely distressing. They won't commit to informing students when agencies are asking about them?

The article says these proposals were brought by student groups, where is the faculty on this?
text reads: The six recommendations in Resolution 37 that were rejected included Requiring notification to individuals when enforcement agencies request their information, designating religious buildings as ICE-free spaces under federal religious protections, mandating “Know Your Rights” training for all faculty and staff, funding a staff attorney in the university’s immigration law clinic, protecting students from visa revocation if they engage in First Amendment protected protests, and committing to institutional legal support for students facing deportation. In an email to students, Kotlikoff acknowledged the concerns raised by the resolution but ultimately declined to implement any of the resolution’s recommendations. (the second half of the last sentence is highlighted)
April 15, 2025 at 5:34 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
The bottom line for universities and colleges should be clear: they must maintain commitments to speech and associational rights on campus and to their due process and anti-discrimination commitments under employment law. Conclusory allegations of “alignment” with terrorism on the basis of speech should be unequivocally condemned and the basis of no action at all. Furthermore, universities and colleges should be aware that campus members may be accused of membership in sanctioned organizations, and these institutions must be prepared to stand firm against such accusations where the law does not require otherwise.
April 12, 2025 at 4:15 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
Important piece from Kevin Elliott. Yes, it's Actually Fascism.
It thus matters enormously whether the new Trump regime is fascist or simply authoritarian. Authoritarianism is mainly about the structure of power in government. That means government lacks effective checks & balances and, as a result, there’s an intense concentration of power in the executive. Whatever formal title the leader has—general secretary, prime minister, president—he (it’s almost always a he) can get his way over the will of any other actor or institution in government. Most importantly, however, state power in an authoritarian regime is unaccountable to the mass public, meaning for instance that incumbents can’t lose elections even if the people want them gone. The place to look for fascism is in the politics and program of a political movement; it’s about how they talk and what they aim to do rather than in the structure of power. Of course, they want the authoritarian structure of executive-focused unchecked power and seek to build it where it’s lacking. But this is in service of the core fascist mission: a cultural rebirth in which the nation, understood as its (racially) pure or ‘true’ people, is saved from destruction and its enemies are purged from within. The authoritarian agenda of the Trump regime is apparent in the unilateral abolition of federal agencies, illegal firings, the targeting of internal checks such as inspectors general and anti-corruption offices, intimidation of judges, general executive aggrandizement and unilateralism seen in the flood of Executive Orders, violation of court orders in spirit or substance, and, above all, the seizure of the power of the purse in impoundment. The fascist agenda of the Trump regime is found in its multi-front war on civil society—stretching from extortionate civil cases, official investigations, and sanctions imposed against the media, to the intimidation of powerful law firms, to stripping funding from civil society groups and universities, to targeting universities for alleged civil rights violations—its lawless deportation actions, and its total war on diversity and affirmative action initiatives not just in the federal government but among every federal contractor and grantee or grant applicant across American society. Jamelle Bouie identifies this latter part of the agenda as a concerted effort to impose resegregation, revealing the unique Americanness of this Trumpian variant of fascism.
April 11, 2025 at 6:37 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
fucking bleak
screenshot of the NIH job listings website showing that "unfortunately, there are currently no opportunities open at this time"
March 25, 2025 at 6:42 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
This is why I am concerned about how impactful today's SCOTUS decision will be. even if ordered to resume contractual disbursements, who's left at usaid too make sure that happens?
Following an outcry, Rubio issued a waiver for lifesaving humanitarian assistance on 28 January. With confusion over what was covered, including whether the waiver encompassed HIV medicines, he issued another waiver on 1 February, covering Pepfar treatment and care programmes, including prevention of and treatment for TB and other opportunistic infections, as well as prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes. But organisations receiving US foreign assistance funds needed to get individual approval to resume, and the administration had put much of USAid’s staff on administrative leave. USAid (along with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has a central role in administering Pepfar. Many others, including contractors embedded in USAid operations, have been furloughed or fired
March 5, 2025 at 9:33 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
Reposting with alt text
The memo, titled "Risks to US National Security and Public Health: Consequences of Pausing Global Health Funding for Lifesaving Humanitarian ASsistance," included a table of startling projections. The permanent halt of $7.7 billion in resources for lifesaving global health programs, Enrich projected, could lead to the following: - 12.5-17.9 million cases of malaria with an additional 71,000-166,000 deaths annually; - a 28 to 32 percent increase in tuberculosis globally; - an additional 200,000 paralytic polio cases a year; - and, in a worst-case scenario, more than 28,000 cases of Ebola, Marburg, or related diseases Enrich continued from there. The memo projected that nearly 17 million pregnant women would not be able to reach lifesaving services if US AID programs were permanently halted, and more than 11 million newborns would not get critical postnatal care. An estimated 1 million children would not be treated annually for severe acute malnutrition.
March 3, 2025 at 3:55 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
hey @wired.com please fix the search on your website, the ability to easily find your reporting is pretty essential right now. I'm getting this message no matter what I search for (and I'm logged in to my account)
Oops Something went wrong while processing your request. Status code: 502 GO TO OUR HOMEPAGE
February 11, 2025 at 7:52 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
Some silly photos from the final day of my seminar on structural injustice this semester (photos posted with everyone's permission)
4 women standing together. three have open arms like they're presenting something, while one is giving 2 thumbs up 4 women posing for a photo. 3 are giving peace signs and the one crazy white lady is sticking her tongue out and giving rabbit ears to the women on either side of her
December 6, 2024 at 9:04 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
The view from my office is particularly lovely today
trees of various colors from bright red to orange to deep purple to green on a quad with an academic building in the distance
October 29, 2024 at 2:38 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
Polling from AARP shows that over half of Americans believe that Medicare already covers long-term nursing home care or a home health aide. It does not, and many Americans are shocked to learn that when they need that kind of help for themselves or family members, it is not available except under specific and punishing circumstances. Currently, long-term care for people with disabilities and older adults is mostly paid for by Medicaid, a poverty program that requires recipients to have no more than $2,000 in their bank account at any given time, among other restrictions. Middle-class older adults who need intensive long-term care and who cannot pay hundreds of thousands out of pocket engage in what experts call a “Medicaid spend down.” Essentially, older adults have to sell off their possessions, empty their bank accounts and impoverish themselves in order to qualify for life-sustaining assistance with tasks like eating, using the bathroom and getting out of bed in the morning. “You have to get rid of all of their money before the government will help,” Umstead said. “It’s disappointing to hear that everything she worked for, the home, and she’s got grandkids that will now not benefit from any inheritance or even a life insurance policy.”
October 28, 2024 at 4:11 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
Reposting with alt text. An egregious and concerning escalation in the movement of universities to punish students for protest.
Students have accused Cornell University of discrimination after it moved to deport a British graduate student for taking part in a pro-Palestinian action on campus. Momodou Taal, a 30-year-old graduate student was suspended by the prestigious Ivy League instituiton on MOnday following a student action last week. Meeting with Taal on Monday, university authorities said they would inform immigration authorities of his suspension on Wednesday, after which he would have 48 hours to leave the country. It is thought to be the first time an American university has enacted deportation powers against a student in response to a recent groundswell of pro-Palestinian activism. Taal says he is being targeted because he is an international student and therefore at risk of deportation. He added that the university was using him as a scapegoat to shield it from criticism of its close academic and technical ties to Israel.
September 24, 2024 at 4:39 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
I don't know how helpful this is but here's what I've got. I spend some time on the first day of class talking with them about the pros and cons of using GenAI, with focus on environmental, economic, and social impacts (2nd image for rest of alt text)
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY, GENERATIVE AI, & PLAGIARISM Plagiarism refers to the use of any ideas or words from another person or source without appropriate citation. All sources used for course assignments should be appropriately cited, including information found on the internet, in course readings, or from class discussions. If you are unsure about whether or not to cite something, err on the side of caution. Large Language Models (LLMs, also often called “generative AI” or “AI”) like ChatGPT are trained on text stolen from the internet without authors’ permission, and as a result create plagiarized content. Submitting work produced by an LLM with or without attribution is a form of intellectual theft. Practicing every step of writing, including brainstorming, research, outlining, drafting, and revision helps you to develop your understanding of course material, yourself, and how you relate to the topics you will write about. Practicing writing also helps you to develop your creativity and and your original voice as a writer. For these reasons, among others, you may not outsource any step of your written assignments for this class to an AI tool. To do so will be considered plagiarism.
August 19, 2024 at 2:57 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
et tu, Roku?
email from Roku asking "Are you campus-ready?" in the subject line
August 6, 2024 at 8:44 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
it's the same picture.gif
a whiteboard absolutely covered with different colored scribbles of concepts from global justice course with lines going in every direction connecting things
April 25, 2024 at 4:24 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
Watching my Global Justice students concept map the semester and it's basically
White man in a short sleeved shirt and tie standing in front of a board covered in newspaper articles and other artifacts connected by red string and generally looking like a conspiracy theory adherent
April 25, 2024 at 3:41 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
Just seeing this cool photo from the 2023 WHO Global Forum on Bioethics Research for the first time today. You can spot me pretty easily, I'm the only one wearing a mask...
a large group photo of ~60ish people arranged in a semi-circle in a grand room with a big chandelier hanging overhead and a wall of windows looking over Lake Geneva in the background. In the back left you can spot a woman with an N95 on
March 28, 2024 at 5:44 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
Banning *concepts* from programming - this list would literally outlaw every class I teach within the Nebraska system. I'm not just talking about courses that sound DEI-ish, but also importantly central courses like "political philosophy," "health and human rights," and "philosophy of law."
screen grab from the story linked in the quoted post: "In another bill, LB 1330, a litany of concepts would be banned from programming and initiatives in public colleges and universities. The list includes: “Unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgenderism, microaggressions, microinvalidation, group marginalization, anti-racism, systemic oppression, ethnocentrism, structural racism or inequity, social justice, intersectionality, neopronouns, inclusive language, heteronormativity, disparate impact, gender identity or theory, racial or sexual privilege” – and “any concept substantially related to any of these theories.”"
February 12, 2024 at 10:10 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
a bsky user posts: "I hit ‘Discover’ and every single post Bluesky shows me is gloating over the death of a Jewish centenarian. Not sure this is a much better place than X."
November 30, 2023 at 2:44 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
CMU students painted the fence in protest of the genocide happening in Palestine
A view of a college quad. In the foreground is a manicured lawn, in the background is a large academic building with lots of glass windows. In between is a fence, painted at either end in the colors of the Palestinian flag, and the middle is white with the words "STOP THE GENOCIDE"
October 23, 2023 at 8:26 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
South Africa was bullied by pharmaceutical companies into paying more for COVID vaccines, and with fewer guarantees, than high-income countries, per an investigation by the Health Justice Initiative
“This deference to — and fear of — powerful pharmaceutical companies in the middle of a crisis and in a Constitutional democracy is incredibly concerning. It shows how much power was put into the hands of private sector actors and how few options governments had, when acting alone, in the middle of a pandemic,” said Fatima Hassan, who heads Health Justice Initiative, in a statement. “In our scramble for desperately needed vaccines, South Africa was forced to hand over unimaginable sums of money for overpriced vaccines doses. We were bullied into unfair and undemocratic terms in contracts that were totally one-sided. Put simply, pharmaceutical companies held us to ransom. And we must ask: did they do it to other countries, too?”
September 7, 2023 at 1:58 PM
daniwenner.bsky.social
it was really too much to ask for them to just permanently improve air filtration in all of the campus buildings, huh.
For the academic year 2023-24, the Board of Trustees approved an overall 4.0% increase to the undergraduate cost of attendance. Undergraduate tuition will be $62,260 with a rate of $10,400 for a standard double room and $7,068 for a traditional first-year meal plan. Approved rates for other associated fees may be found on the Student Financial Services website. Please note that graduate tuition rates are set by individual schools and colleges at the program level.
August 23, 2023 at 7:02 PM