#higher education scrutiny

[townpostin]

Chancellor Orders Review of B.Ed College Teacher Qualifications

Kolhan University to scrutinize private institutions; unqualified staff to be removed The Chancellor of Kolhan University has mandated a review of teacher qualifications in private B.Ed colleges to address concerns and enhance educational standards. JAMSHEDPUR – Kolhan University’s Chancellor has ordered a comprehensive review of teacher qualifications in private B.Ed colleges to improve…

[eccentricallygothic]

Divorced Dad!Captain Syverson who experiences a real time brain short-circuit when he sees how well you get along with his kids during your first meeting with them… 

Warning(s): Breeding kink, size kink, old man!Sy, age gap, manhandling, groping, fluff, boob play, unprotected p-in-v, I added plot to it TT. MDNI.

. . . 

After the messy divorce that followed his turbulent marriage, Sy was not looking forward to any relations with the opposite sex, if possible. With his former profession a constant hurdle to his life as part of a unionized pair and marital bliss, what had started as a promising relationship had turned out to be one of those unfortunate marriages where children were sought as a last resort to perhaps save the remnants of the already rotten love between man and wife. Though being someone from a background that held family in the highest esteem and always having been fond of the idea of his own lot, Sy loved his children more than life itself and there was not a thing in the world he would trade for them. And that was the reason why he had preferred to opt for an early retirement so custody would not be an issue between him and his ex-wife who was more than eager to shed off everything affiliated with the name Syverson like an illness.

You, on the other hand, though not much experienced with the opposite sex were not too warm to the idea of children. Being a student in her last year of higher education and only so old as you were, your attitude hardly deserved to be subjected to scrutiny. That, and the fact that you hadn't really had many young ones around you while growing up as an only child, calling you a foreigner to the scene would not qualify as an exaggeration and hence it can be said that it is more indifference than contempt on your part. 

So naturally, when it happened, it was strictly unplanned. And very fateful. With a rather traumatized Sy in a sort of an emotional limbo who had more than enough reason to keep to himself, and a stressed with soon approaching future endeavors as well as disillusioned with the opposite sex you, the night you had bumped into each other outside the bar restrooms where Sy had been dragged to cheer up by his friends and you to loosen up by yours, the rather fast yet steady rate at which the two of you had woven into each other had been unexpected to say the least. 

But now, as Sy fires up the grill in his backyard to begin the little BBQ he has planned for today when you meet his children for the first time, the prided and much experienced grill expert nearly burns his hand because he is so busy inwardly fawning over how quickly his rugrats have warmed up to you. And you, Sy will swear on anything that you are just the most perfect woman— person alive. Everything is just right with you. Even on days when the world seems to press down on him, your mere presence is there to help his spirits back up and elate as well as support him in every sense.

Though he had been honest about his condition since the beginning, after his initial reluctance to get with you as you were so much younger and inexperienced compared to him, children weren't peculiarly a topic that came up between the two of you except occasions where Sy wanted to share a little victory or rant with you. So as you keep his toddler on one hip with a protective arm around her, your perfect body -Sy's words- clad in a bonny bright coloured sundress, and hold the hand of his 5 year old who excitedly shows you around the mini patio of the modern farmhouse, memories of his own mother scarce if any, your making conversation with the boy and giggling along to his lisp droning flutters Sy's heart in a way that he thought he had outgrown. 

It also excites him with a kind of boyish heat that the former military Captain had thought he had shed off with his adolescent youth.

And so he just has to have you by yielding to a similar impatience and desperation, the musical sound of your giggles faintly fluttering its melodies upon his flush and thumping ears as he gets to it.

“God, Sy!” The huff in your words fires him up even more and he cannot hold back any longer. “You’re such a brute!” His coarse and scarred paws heavily pull at your dress with a crazed desperation to help you find the restroom, as he had told one of the farm hands that he had left the children under. “Oof!” The whine you let out before instinctively craning your head to try and ease the way his thick beard tickles the tender skin of the curve of your neck makes him growl into your carotid pulse that he worships with his hot lips, the pressure of your pressing your face into his as well as the soft pants you let out, your chest bumping into his with each heave of your lungs, only lithifies his bulging erection even more. 

“Gon' fatten up your pretty lil’ pussy with my cum, baby” Sy's breaths scorch your clammy skin with their burning weight. His hands grope and expose you everywhere they can reach, and they can do so everywhere because of how much smaller hence ragdoll-like you are compared to him. “Wouldja like that, angel?” Your eyes roll to the back of your head when he boosts your thighs up his tall legs and around his waist, the fat and leaking tip of his cock grazing against your holes from how he is kissing you everywhere he can reach. “Me stuffing that cute tummy full of siblings for Tim and Bethy, huh?” You know he would never actually do something as serious so callously without a prior discussion so you breathlessly nod, pushing your oral muscles to gulp down the thick bile in your throat and tip your head against the wall to prepare yourself to withstand his intrusion of your pussy that thanks to his girth always feels like not only your first time with him but your very deflowering in general.

 “Yes” your mouth falls open as he reaches below the hold with which he has your whole body propped up. “Yes, please~” his balmy tip finds its destination in the tiny, drenched and quivering closed up band that leads to your reproductive cavern. “Please fimme with your babies, Sy~” when the stretch makes your tiny hole burn around his girth, your mouth lets loose all the obscene words of vulgar desire. 

“Yeah, baby?” Sy's fingers flex over your ass and caress their way up your side before coming down and repeating the action, his thumb stealing strokes of your nipples as he does. “Wanna make me a Daddy, yeah?” A hiss leaves your mouth and your back arches at the feeling of your walls sheathing him deep within themselves. His breathtaking urgency nearly puts a dent in your innards. “Want me to make you all round and heavy here?” Your pussy clenches around the hilt of his cock when he suddenly gropes your naval into a greedy handful.

“Yes, please, Sy!” Your whole form bounces up in the air when the man gives you a thrust so powerful that has you mewling and digging your nails in his shoulders. “Wanna make you a Daddy so bad, Sy!” His dick has always had a hypnotic effect on you, for the minute it's in the vicinity of any of your holes, you become a brain dead parrot for him. 

“Atta girl~” he cooes, tossing your body further up with a strong stab of his hips so he can clamp his teeth down on one of your boobs.

MASTERLIST

. . . 

I am MAD for this man. Like I am not even hot on kids. WHAT—

[jupiitersreturn]

Astrocartography Observations Part One: Sun, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter.

(Disclaimer: A lot of Astrologers use different orbs of measurements for Astrocartography. My limit is 200 km because I have seen lines that have influences up to that point, and depending on the planet, sometimes more.)

Planets:

Sun: Fame, Happiness, Vitality, Children.

Moon: Home, Roots, Family, Nostalgia.

Venus: Love, Beauty, Luxury, Desires.

Mercury: Lower Education, Communication, Knowledge, Friendships.

Mars: Passions, Action, Pain, Anger.

Jupiter: Luck, Higher Education, Religion, Beliefs.

Saturn: Karma, Restrictions, Discipline, Commitments.

Uranus: Unpredictability, Innovation, Rebellion, Technology.

Neptune: Illusions, Dreams, Spirituality, Intuition.

Pluto: Destruction, Transformations, Deaths and Rebirths.

Where your Sun lines are running through are places that you could gain or increase your fame or societal standing. And depending on the Angle of the Sun(DC, AS, MC, IC) it can also tell you what exactly it is that gives you that happiness.

☆ Despite being the daughter of a US Navy Pilot, Priscilla Presley gained her fame from being married to famous musician Elvis Presley. They got married at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Priscilla has her Sun DC line running through Las Vegas. Sun rules fame, DC rules partnerships.

☆ Blake Lively has her Sun MC line running through London, where she has expressed her love for on numerous occasions, AND where she has made meaningful connections with other celebrities that has contributed to her social status and public persona. (MC)

☆ David Beckham has his Sun IC line running through Miami and although he retired from soccer in 2013, he maintained and even increased his societal standing when he became the co-owner of the Inter Miami CF.

☆ Interestingly enough, Blake Lively also has her Sun, Venus, AND Mars MC lines running directly through London, which is a place that she loves to go and feels happy at (Sun). A few months ago, she and her partner (Venus) bought a house in London to live in while he finishes up his filming of the Deadpool Franchise (Sun MC) which is an action movie (Mars).

☆ Perrie Edwards has her Sun DC line running through London and she gained fame (Sun) from her role as 1/4 of the girl group Little Mix (DC)

Where your Mars lines are running through are places that you could experience or be subject to hate, pain (physical, mental, and emotional), and anger.

☆ Victoria Beckham's Mars AS line runs through Madrid. When her husband David Beckham transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid, they moved to Madrid. Victoria Beckham was singled out for hating Spain due to her remark of Spain smelling like Garlic and giving off a terrible scent. This one phrase basically ruined her life in Spain as the hate against her lasted for up to 4 years. She has said that it was the most unhappy she has ever been in her life.

☆ David Beckham has his Mars AS line running through Rio De Janeiro. In 2014 he was under a lot of fire from Brazilian locals after being accused of indirectly causing the prices of favelas to increase after buying a "slum-house" for $1M allowing gentrification to ensue.

☆ Charli D'Amelio's Mars MC is going straight through the center of the United States. We all know how disliked/hated she is amongst people in the United States. And with this being her MC line, it makes sense that the hate is largely due to and greatly affects her public persona and the way that she is portrayed by media.

☆ Monica Lewinsky has her Mars DS line running through California which we all know is Fame Headquarters (Hollywood). She was a hot topic in the entertainment industry and subject to a fuck ton of scrutiny and hate for a long time due to her intimate relationship with former president Bill Clinton (DS).

Where Your Venus lines are at, could be potential places that you may meet your life partner or long term relationships, and the lines that pass through it could tell you the circumstances.

☆ Blake Lively has her Sun AS, Mars AS, AND her Venus AS lines touching New Orleans. She met her Husband of 11 years in New Orleans (Venus rules Love) while shooting an Action Movie (Sun rules Movies and Fame, Mars rules Action)

☆ Victoria Beckham has her both her Venus MC and Jupiter MC lines going through London. She met her husband of over 20 years in London. Additionally, the Midheaven or Medium Coeli is the highest point of your chart and represents your Public Image and Success. The Beckham's are known to be one of Hollywood's longest standing marriages and have created a household name for themselves propelling both of them in their careers and future prospects. (Jupiter MC)

☆ (Also, I just thought this was interesting) Victoria Beckham had her start in the entertainment industry as a member of The Spice Girls. Her stage name was Posh Spice (Venus) which defined her Public Image (MC).

Where your IC lines are, could indicate your ancestry, or where and how you grew up or experienced your early life at.

☆ Selena Quintanilla's Saturn IC line runs through Mexico and she is Mexican. Although she became the biggest Mexican-American music artist in her 20's, when she was younger she had no connection to her Mexican ancestry (IC). She had to learn about her ancestry, AND learn Spanish before she was able to be labeled a Mexican American music artist. (Saturn represents restrictions and delays)

☆ Nicole Kidman's Mercury IC line runs through Ireland, and she has openly talked (Mercury) about her Irish ancestry (IC)

☆ Perrie Edwards has her Mercury DS line running through Scotland and she has Scottish ancestry.

☆ Hailey Bieber has her Mercury IC line running through Brazil. She has Brazilian ancestry as her mother is Brazilian.

☆ Charli D'Amelio has her Mercury IC line touching Italy. She is of Italian Descent on her fathers side.

Where your Jupiter lines are, could indicate where and how you experience luck.

☆ Charlize Theron has her Jupiter MC line running through California and it was there that she was discovered by a Hollywood agent while getting into an altercation with a bank teller.

☆ Anya Taylor Joy has her Jupiter DC line running through London which is where she was disocvered while walking her dog.

☆ Justin Bieber has his Jupiter AS line running through Canada which is where he was discovered by Scooter Braun completely by chance as he clicked on the wrong Youtube video and Justin's video came up.

[yourstardarling]

Scorpio Through The Houses: Part 2

Scorpio 7th house: You are married to death. This is the literal embodiment of corpse bride. You love relationship connections with people that transform you. There’s a deep need to want a partner that feels secure and powerful enough to defend you. While others may fear your partner, you find a deep sense of safety around them. There’s definitely an air of mystery surrounding your love life and relationships. People think you are closed off when it comes to speaking about your love life and you like to keep it that way. However, there may be a tendency to be very possessive and protective of your partner. Likewise you may want a partner that is obsessive over you. While this can be seen as negative, the truth is you just desire someone that you can share the chaos in your life with. You want your relationships secure because you want to feel like you can fully express the deepest parts of your emotions and share your secrets. A desire to be consumed by your connections with other people and be transformed to a whole new being. You want to be changed through the relationships you have. Other people may fear you because you can be seen as someone who is very picky about who you hang around. The truth is you value loyalty, so you’re very skeptical about who you want to lean on.

Scorpio 8th house: This one was a little hard for me to describe as the themes of the 8th house and Scorpio somewhat merge into one another. However, what separates Scorpio in the 8th versus other houses is that these individuals will strive for death. There is an innate understanding of the cycles of death and rebirth. They charge fearlessly into danger and deadly situations in order to become renewed. It’s probably because they have inherited a lot of trauma and dealing with difficult challenges growing up. Once they get down to uncovering the shadows that have plagued their past, they become very skilled at dealing with things that others are scared of. Unafraid at diving head first into the void and coming out transformed. Reckless behavior can be an issue though because of the idea that you’ve dealt with death before so you can do it again. Other people fear your ability to still remain unscathed and brave even through the darkest times. Scorpio here is really a reservoir of personal power and endurance. It’s a placement of building tough skin to deal with the pains of life.

Scorpio 9th house: Death is seen as something worthy to be revered. Scorpio on the 9th depicts how you deal with themes of faith and belief. These individuals believe that death is a part of life that we all must go through. Death is seen through a philosophical lens for them. Whatever belief system they have can help cope with the inevitability of death. They pursue and try to learn more about the darker themes of life. Higher education and travel are very important for you, as it transforms your understanding about the world around you. These are the people that come back after a trip and are a completely different human being. A deep desire to understand the pain and emotional complexities of humanity in a wider lens. This might lead you to pursuing psychology, diving into the occult and learning about things considered taboo. Some will fear your beliefs and the amount of knowledge you may have. Knowledge especially about things that aren’t usually spoken about. Others will think you are psychic for being able to point out the shadows in their own lives. Many will rally behind your beliefs and support as they believe you have valuable information to offer. The issue is when you manipulate the information you know and using knowledge for your own personal benefit.

Scorpio 10th house: Scorpio here shows that you meet death within the public eye. The way you have changed and grown over the years is put on full display for others to see. They are oftentimes viewed as someone who is deadly and can face a lot of demonizing scrutiny. I’ve noticed a lot of people can be obsessed with the transformations these people have made. You will probably have to deal with authority figures being threatened by you. Tendency to be called a liar and receive hate for not being the same person others believed you to be. When it comes to your career, you may face a workplace where your coworkers and bosses are afraid of you. So you will have to deal with these people alienating and trying to diminish you. The reason being is because they see the amount of potential you have. There is an innate ability to become someone that transforms the way things are done. Being able to change how the industry you are in functions and having radical ideas to push things further. The public view of you can be filled with people that are obsessed and protective over your business accomplishments. As well as, people that will try to not give you credit for all the hard work you have done. Whatever field of career you choose can involve you looking into the darker themes of that field.

Scorpio 11th house: Death is your best friend with Scorpio in the 11th. You have dealt with constant changes and challenges when it comes to your network of friends. A lot of your friend groups have significantly shifted over time. There is a tendency to keep company with people that have faced significant hardships in their lives. It’s because you like to make friends with people that will transform you. You learn a lot from them and become anew through them. Stagnant friendships and connections don’t sit right with you. There has to be an evolution involved in order to be your friend. This might make you secretive about the people you hang around. That’s cause others may view your friends as intimidating and scary. You personally have built deep emotional bonds with your friends that others can’t see. So you become protective and hide your friendships from facing scrutiny. Some of your friends though, can be shady people. You may have dealt with a lot of backstabbing in the past so you are very picky on who you like to keep company. A negative aspect of this would be not trusting the people in your community. Feeling like you don’t need friends or anyone to support your needs. This lack of trust can cause you to even become slightly manipulative and controlling over your friends. So be careful and remember that you will find friends that demonstrate loyalty.

Scorpio 12th house: In the 12th house, Scorpio symbolizes meeting death when you are alone. These people face death on their own. The constant internal battles and transformation they face are kept hidden behind the scenes. These are the type of people to have a fun and optimistic exterior, but once alone can become pessimistic. The reason being is when you are alone, that is when you can see your own shadow. All the deepest parts of yourself, traumatic events and wounds are brought up to the surface. It can be terrifying to some as it is parts of your psyche that has been kept hidden away. You can sometimes have random flashbacks of events that have been painful to you that you believed you outgrew. The issue lies when these people are afraid of being by themselves. Don’t be afraid as this is a great source of your power. You gain a lot of insight and knowledge when you are alone. Isolation is extremely transformative in order to help you become a better version of yourself. Treat your alone time with a lot of love and care. Learning to be a nurturing figure when no one is around is key for your self development. This is why others may fear your ability to withstand being by yourself and still retaining your personal power.

The End

[lightgriffinsect]

muslim things we need more of in media

teenage Muslim guys. we've all seen teenage/adolescent Muslim girls in media, how about more guys? give me a Muslim boy in high school who plays cricket and likes Atif Aslam. idk

Muslim parents and parent figures who are chill and not overly strict. half the time the "strict Muslim parents" are not even behaving in an Islamic way.

Muslims who aren't anti-feminist. Islam is a feminist religion. Women are highly encouraged to pursue jobs and higher education. Show more Muslim women in well-paying jobs in STEM and business fields.

Muslims who don't make up restrictions out of thin air. it makes no sense for a Muslim woman to go "oh i can't do [mildly secular thing], I'm a Muslim" BEHAN THERE IS NOTHING IN ISLAM THAT SAYS YOU CAN'T.

Muslim girls who keep their hijab on in front of non-mahram people at all times. yes, this post is about Samirah al-Abbasi and Ms. Marvel. can we get Muslim girls who actually take pride in their hijab and don't take it off for non-mahram men or insist that it's okay because "you're LIKE family to me"

accurate depictions of gatherings, especially weddings, in Islam. This may differ depending on nationality of the characters.

Accurate depictions of Muslims in relationships. Samirah al-Abbas from Magnus Chase is a horrible representation of this. The vast majority of Muslim girls do not get engaged at the age of 12. Most of us do not get engaged or married until we're in our 20s.

Muslims who don't get engaged to or marry their cousins.

adding onto that, Muslims who don't have boyfriends or girlfriends or romanticize the idea of having one.

Muslim women who don't have children and don't regret it.

Muslims who don't get engaged or married at all! It's Sunnah to get married, but it is not mandatory. You can still be a devout Muslim without getting married or having children.

Muslim MEN AND BOYS WHO FOLLOW THE HIJAB. the hijab is NOT just a head covering, it is a WAY OF LIFE that ALL MUSLIMS must follow. it is about MODESTY for both the sexes. Muslim men ALSO need to cover themselves to an extent. yes, the rules differ slightly from male to female Muslims, but they STILL EXIST FOR BOTH. I suggest reading up more on this topic if you don't know much about the hijab.

Muslims who are actively working to get closer to Allah and trying to stop any non-Islamic habits. Muslims who smoke, drink, eat non-halal food but are aware that this is haram and are actively trying to stop. Muslims who show that you don't have to be perfect, you just have to try to be better than you were yesterday. Muslims who are real in their struggles. No one criticizes Christians for being secular or not following their faith perfectly, why are Muslims subjected to so much scrutiny?

Muslims who are shown practicing their faith onscreen. Praying, making du'a, fasting, going to Umrah, even.

Add little bits of the Muslim faith in their everyday life. Instead of air freshener hangings in their cars, my parents have hangings with Islamic calligraphy and the du'a for traveling. We have a stack of prayer mats sitting in a corner of the living room. We have a bookshelf where the entire top shelf is copies of the Quran and other Islamic books. We always say the designated du'a before doing anything such as eating a meal, starting a trip, or even going to sleep.

AN ACCURATE DEPICTION OF ISLAMIC JIHAD. WESTERN PROPAGANDA HAS MADE USE OF YOUR IGNORANCE TO FEED YOU LIES AND DISTORT THE MEANING OF JIHAD.

There are three types of jihad: jihad of the heart, jihad of the mind, and physical jihad.

Jihad of the heart is the Muslim's internal struggle to be faithful and practice their religion wholeheartedly. It is the struggle against temptations of evil, of haram actions. It is the most important form of jihad and one that every Muslim partakes in every day.

Jihad of the mind is the struggle against misinformation about Islam. It is spreading education and information about the principles of Islam. It condemns forcing people to accept Islam. People are meant to be guided. They are meant to find their own path to Islam with the help of knowledge and resources to learn. this form of jihad is important as it keeps Muslims and non-Muslims informed about Islam.

Physical Jihad is an absolute last resort that a Muslim nation must partake in when there is a threat of war from another nation. Islam condemns violence and murder and always pushes its followers to resolve matters peacefully. In a situation where this is impossible, only then is physical jihad permissible. and it has strict rules about who the Muslims can fight. It is haram to kill anyone who is not actively fighting from the opposing army. It is haram to kill women, children, elderly people, and any civilians. It is haram to kill animals except for food. It is haram even to take from the land or damage it in any way. If an army calling itself Islamic is not following these rules, it is not partaking in Jihad. it is partaking in unnecessary slaughter and bloodshed. there you go.

sorry i went on a rant about jihad for a minute there lol, i've been meaning to do that though anyway.

please depict Muslims in media more. please depict us with respect, and with the proper amount of research and effort needed for accuracy. thanks. Ramadan Mubarak, free Palestine <3

[littjara-mirrorlake]

Daily Life in the Phyrexian Spheres (Dross to Seedcore)

Previous: Facade to Furnace, Maze to Bays

The Dross Pits, much like its previous incarnation in the Mephidross of Mirrodin's surface, is a sphere rife with intrigue, double-crossing, and back-alley deals. The social structure is feudal, with lords ruling over masses of serfs and slaves, and thanes make up the top of the social pyramid. Dark, towering citadels of flesh and bone rise out of the necrogen mists, which bathe the entire layer in an eerie green glow. Large swathes of territory are controlled by thanes, lords, and magical creatures such as blight dragons and archfiends.

This sphere is densely populated, with the vast majority of its inhabitants making up the servant classes that live and die under feudal lords. Compleated Mirrans begin at the very bottom and most have little hope of ever ascending past this station, as the Steel Thanes' obsession with Phyrexian purity leads to heavy discrimination against those who are not Phyrexian-born. This obsession extends to a scrutiny of every Phyrexian's pedigree--the further removed a person is from their last non-core-born ancestor, the purer their bloodline is considered, leading to a higher chance of social advancement. As such, first-generation core-born Phyrexians (born to compleated Mirrans) are only barely considered truly Phyrexian and share their parents' meager social standing. As Phyrexians are immortal and have no need for heirs, faction members produce scions to serve their own advancement, not to eventually succeed them. Of course, said scions are rarely happy with this arrangement, seeking to usurp their parents and seize their assets instead.

Magically and technologically, the inhabitants of the Dross Pits largely focus on emulating Yawgmoth-era techniques gleaned from scrying the glistening oil. Due to the heavy emphasis on ichor magic and intrigue, glistening oil from individuals of interest--and the intelligence it contains--is an invaluable commodity in the Dross Pits. Bloodsuckers like necrosquitoes and pistid swarms are often employed to this end, fueling an illicit trade of stolen bodily fluids.

Much like the Furnace, the Dross Pits do not have an overarching system of governance or standard of law, and political allegiances vary widely. Pockets of the Dross Pits are strongholds of the Phyrexian rebellion, though they are severely handicapped by the loyalist spheres blocking them both above and below. Every thane has at least nominally allied with either Elesh Norn or the rebellion, though they are ultimately beholden only to themselves and care little for the ideals of either side.

The Fair Basilica is the innermost inhabited sphere and the de facto capital of New Phyrexia, where Elesh Norn rules from her palace and the majority of the Phyrexian military is housed. In the heart of Norn's empire, every aspect of daily life is carefully regimented and monitored; people are marched in orderly rows down alabaster bridges, flanked constantly by armed enforcers and their swarms of patrol mites. Flights of angels keep constant watch in the skies. Staggering acts of brutality are committed against any who display signs of deviance, and commoners are all too used to keeping their heads down and trying not to watch as their peers' oil is scrubbed from the streets.

Every resident of the Fair Basilica is expected to devote a significant portion of their time to worship, and the rest to assigned duties like patrolling or working the flesh-vats. Those who need to sleep do so on strict schedules under the watchful eyes of supervisors. Newts are raised by the state, rigorously educated on the Orthodoxy's religious tenets, and often apprentice under cenobites, which continues after their compleation; Mirran aspirants commonly join them.

Though it relies heavily on other spheres for commodities like raw material and technology, the Fair Basilica is at least self-sufficient in growing its own porcelain metal, which spreads in a fungus-like manner on recently dead flesh. It is mass-produced in giant growth vats, alongside Basilica inhabitants' germ offspring and seedpod centurions for the invasion (often bodies without minds, hollow for puppeting via ichor magic).

Rebellion is most difficult in the Basilica due to its oppressive environment and authorities' vested interest in controlling the flow of information--and oil--into and out of the sphere. The news fed to residents is tightly curated, requiring workarounds to even hear of the rebellion's presence at all. That said, dissident spies have managed to infiltrate even the innermost of the loyalist spheres.

The Mycosynth Gardens form a natural barrier between the populated Phyrexian spheres and the Seedcore, and passage through them is controlled exclusively by Elesh Norn herself. The Gardens themselves are uninhabited by sapient Phyrexians, though fauna like inkmoths and skitterlings roam the silent lattices, and the mycosynth itself is known to create lures or other, more cryptic structures that mimic passersby.

The Seedcore, the innermost layer of New Phyrexia, is the domain of Elesh Norn alone, where she keeps the World Tree sapling Realmbreaker imprisoned and firmly subjugated under layers of mind-altering magic. Very rarely, Norn holds the most confidential of her audiences here with her inner circle or other crucial allies. The sphere is heavily warded against incoming divination, telepathy, and any other possible interference with Norn's plans, but here lays Norn's crucial oversight: there are no such protections against communication going out, allowing Realmbreaker's telepathic distress call to pass through into the Multiverse.

And that's it for overviews of the nine Phyrexian spheres, from the perspective of a far more average commoner Phyrexian than we're used to hearing about. There's always more to be said about each of them, of course, and I hope this helps get people started thinking about their own expansions, headcanon, or additions!

[rjalker]

I fucking hate it when people go "oh Progressive™ art gets so much more scrutiny than things Blatantly Made By Conservatives™~! How come my favorite Queer movie gets criticized for being racist so much? How come my favorite author gets criticized for being transmisic so much? It's such a double standard!"

Are you sure it's a double standard? Are you sure it's not just that you think any criticism is too much criticism? Do you understand the purpose behind pointing out criticism and telling people they've done something hurtful? Do you think it would be even remotely constructive to explain to conservatives that they're being racist? Do you understand why people are more willing to educate self-styled Progressives™ about the ways they're being bigoted?

Are "progressive" stories and creators actually "held to a higher standard" or do you just think they should be immune to criticism because the author appeals to people like you in particular?

Someone taking the time to explain in detail why XYZ "progressive" author is racist but not bothering to explain why ABC bigoted authors is racist is not "holding progressive creators to higher standards".

It's assuming that people who call themselves progressive actually care about learning from their mistakes and genuinely want to do good in the world, including unlearning bigotry they didn't notice.

If you're supposed to a be a good person, the thing you do when someone points out bigotry is apologize and do better in the future. Not bemoan the fact that no one sits down and writes a five thousand word educational essay telling the MAGA Don't Tread On Me Republicans where they've gone wrong and how it could be fixed.

I think you people are just insecure bigots who don't like seeing your favorite creators called out for bigotry, so now you have to pretend that they're being uniquely oppressed because other oppressed people are taking the time to educate people about the ways they're being bigoted and hurting people.

And again. You people need to aknowledge the fact that criticizing bigotry from people who say they want to be good people is a hell of a lot more likely to be productive than criticizing the bigotry of people who've openly and happily dedicated their entire personality to being racist and bigoted "to own the libs".

It's not a double standard. It's literally just people trusting that people who call themselves progressive actually want to be progressive.

[beardedmrbean]

Australia will introduce a cap on the number of new international students it accepts, as it tries to reduce overall migration to pre-pandemic levels.

The nation has one of the biggest international student markets in the world, but the number of new enrolments will be limited to 270,000 for 2025.

Each higher education institution will be given an individual restriction, the government announced on Tuesday, with the biggest cuts to be borne by vocational education and training providers.

The change has angered the tertiary education industry, with some universities calling it "economic vandalism", but Canberra says it will improve the quality and longevity of the sector.

Australia is host to about 717,500 international students, according to the latest government figures from early 2024.

Education Minister Jason Clare acknowledged that higher education was hard-hit during the pandemic, when Australia sent foreign students home and introduced strict border controls.

He also noted, however, that the number of international students at universities is now 10% higher than before Covid-19, while the number at private vocational and training providers is up 50%.

"Students are back but so are the shonks - people are seeking to exploit this industry to make a quick buck," Mr Clare said.

The government has previously accused some providers of "unethical" behaviour - including accepting students who don't have the language skills to succeed, offering a poor standard of education or training, and enrolling people who intend to work instead of study.

"These reforms are designed to make it better and fairer, and set it up on a more sustainable footing going forward," Mr Clare said.

The restrictions will also help address Australia's record migration levels, he said, which have added pressure to existing housing and infrastructure woes.

The government has already announced tougher minimum English-language requirements for international students and more scrutiny of those applying for a second study visa, while punishing hundreds of "dodgy" providers.

Australia to halve immigration, toughen English test

Enrolments at public universities will be pared back to 145,000 in 2025, which is around their 2023 levels, Mr Clare said.

Private universities and non-university higher education providers will be able to enrol 30,000 new international students, while vocational education and training institutions will be limited to 95,000.

The policy would also include incentives for universities to build more housing for international students, Mr Clare added.

But higher education providers say the industry is being made a "fall guy" for housing and migration issues, and that a cap would decimate the sector.

International education was worth A$36.4bn (£18.7bn, $24.7) to the Australian economy in 2022-23, making it the country's fourth largest export that year.

According to economic modelling commissioned earlier this year by Sydney University – where foreign students make up about half of enrolments – the proposed cuts could cost the Australian economy $4.1bn and result in about 22,000 job losses in 2025.

Vicki Thomson, chief executive of a body which represents some of Australia’s most prestigious universities, described the proposed laws as “draconian" and "interventionist", saying they amounted to "economic vandalism" in comments made earlier this year.

Mr Clare accepted that some service providers may have to make difficult budget decisions, but denied the cap would cripple the industry.

"To create the impression that this is somehow tearing down international education is absolutely and fundamentally wrong," he said.

[mariacallous]

Over the last 16 years, presidential administrations of both parties have wielded the power of the Education Department not to just carry out congressional legislative directives but also to make their own policies—reshaping the federal government’s role in higher education. They’ve retooled the rules for accreditors, added new accountability measures for for-profit programs, overhauled the student loan system and changed how colleges respond to reports of sexual misconduct.

Not all of the policy changes survived legal challenges, but the legacy of legislating via regulation has endured. As Congress struggled to pass meaningful legislation related to higher education thanks to partisan gridlock, presidents increasingly opted to use the rule-making process to leave their mark on America’s colleges and universities.

But future administrations likely won’t be rewriting regulations in the same way after the Supreme Court on Friday ended a 40-year precedent under which federal courts deferred to agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutes. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. wrote in the majority opinion that the deference to agencies known as the Chevron doctrine “cannot be reconciled” with the federal law dictating how the executive branch writes policies. Instead, federal judges should be empowered to determine whether a regulation complies with federal law.

“In one fell swoop, the majority today gives itself exclusive power over every open issue—no matter how expertise-driven or policy-laden—involving the meaning of regulatory law,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the dissent to last week’s ruling.

The court’s decision inLoper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo significantly weakens the Education Department and other federal agencies and could grind the gears of higher ed policymaking to a halt unless Congress steps up, experts said Monday, warning of chaos and uncertainty for colleges and universities.

“Almost every aspect of running a modern campus is dictated in some way by federal regulations or guidance—whether that’s how you make staffing, compensation, training or enrollment decisions all the way down to the level of what you put on your website,” Jon Fansmith, senior vice president for government relations and national engagement at the American Council on Education, writes in an essay for Inside Higher Ed today. “It can be burdensome or contradictory and in some cases nonsensical, but mostly it was ‘the law.’ No more.”

The Biden administration’s new rules on Title IX, debt relief, gainful employment and more could all face greater judicial scrutiny in a post-Chevron environment. Case in point: On Monday a federal judge presiding over a lawsuit challenging the new Title IX rule requested that the states suing and the administration’s lawyers file briefs addressing the potential impact of the Loper Bright decision. What could happen to the batch of rules negotiated in the spring that deal with accreditation, state authorization and textbook pricing is also uncertain.

Some policy analysts, though, question the significance of the court’s decision, given that the doctrine hasn’t been applied consistently across the judiciary and that the Supreme Court hasn’t relied on it since 2016. Jason Delisle, a nonresident senior policy fellow at the Urban Institute’s Center on Education Data and Policy, said agency actions are challenged in courts all the time and judges could still side with the department.

Delisle added that those bemoaning the end of Chevron seem to be supporting the idea that “Congress can pass vague laws and agencies can do whatever they want.”

“If it really is as big of a deal as people think it is, then there’s a really easy solution, which is Congress can just specify things in law more and don’t make bold moves in your regulation,” Delisle added. “What’s so bad about that?”

In a signal of what’s to come from Republicans in Congress, Dr. Bill Cassidy, a U.S. senator from Louisiana, sought more information over the weekend about how the Education Department plans to comply with the court’s ruling.

“Given your agency’s track record, I am concerned about whether and how the department will adapt to and faithfully implement both the letter and spirit of this decision,” wrote Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate education committee. “The department has flagrantly and repeatedly violated the law.”

Cassidy celebrated Chevron’s demise, saying in a statement that Chevron deference allowed unelected bureaucrats “to exercise power that exceeds their authority” and that the decision returns the role of legislating to Congress. The association representing for-profit colleges and universities also applauded the court’s decision.

“No agency has overreached more in exceeding congressional authority than the current U.S. Department of Education,” said Jason Altmire, chief executive officer of Career Education Colleges and Universities. “We are pleased that the Supreme Court has, once and for all, restrained the ability of the ideologically driven bureaucrats in the department to craft regulations based upon their own whims and biases, rather [than] what Congress had intended.”

Chevron Deference and Higher Ed

A 14-year project at the federal level to define what it means “to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation” is a case study in how agencies rely on Chevron deference to justify their actions.

When Congress first required some higher education programs to prepare their students for gainful employment in 1965, it didn’t define the term. Then, in 2010, the Obama administration’s Education Department rolled out a proposal to measure whether students were prepared for employment largely by looking at their debt load and earnings. Programs that failed the tests in the proposal would’ve lost access to federal financial aid, though that never happened.

The 2010 version of the so-called gainful-employment rule was struck down by the courts, but a district judge dismissed a challenge to the 2014 regulations, citing Chevron. The Trump administration later rescinded that rule, but the Biden administration resurrected the issue last year.

The latest version of the gainful-employment rule took effect Monday and applies to programs at for-profit institutions as well as nondegree programs in any sector, but the demise of Chevron could make the regulations more vulnerable to challenge.

Rebecca Natow, an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy at Hofstra University who researches federal higher education policymaking, said the end of Chevron will likely open the door to more lawsuits challenging administrative actions from regulations to guidance documents and the latest gainful-employment rule could be in trouble now.

“Without Chevron deference, courts can second-guess what agencies are deciding,” said Natow. “That’s problematic. The judges and federal law clerks are lawyers, not experts. They’re not living in the regulations the way the people that work in the agencies are … Just because agencies are unelected bureaucrats, it’s not a reason to take the deference away from them. They have all of that technical knowledge, all of that expertise.”

Barmak Nassirian, vice president for higher education policy at Veterans Education Success, an advocacy group, has participated in several rounds of rule making on gainful employment and other topics. He’s worried about giving judges the power to decide higher education policy—judgments that require an understanding of the technical details of regulations.

“We’re talking about taking challenges that make your eyes glaze over,” he said. “The notion that you can now take this to a judge who has never heard of gainful employment until the case has popped up—it’s hard to believe.”

Nassirian added that deference to agencies isn’t “always a happy thing,” particularly if you disagree with the party in power. But then when the politics favor your interests, he said, there are opportunities to change policies.

“That’s the nature of democracy,” he said. “This basically ends all of that.”

‘Congress Is a Mess’

For Rachel Fishman, director of higher education policy at New America, a left-leaning think tank, the fallout of the Loper Bright decision is hard to imagine in terms of the potential impact of new and future regulations. It won’t be good for students and taxpayers, she predicts, though other potential ramifications are unclear.

“It shows the importance of statute moving forward, and boy, does that worry me, because Congress is a mess,” she said. “It’s hard to envision good, thoughtful, smart bipartisan [legislation].”

The Higher Education Act of 1965, last updated in 2008, is long overdue for a refresh, and Fishman said that reauthorizing the legislation that governs federal financial aid programs and a range of other policies is going to be even more important post-Chevron.

Natow expects the end of Chevron to bring federal policymaking to a “near standstill” with a divided Congress and increasing political polarization that makes bipartisan compromise elusive.

“It’s really, really hard to get any meaningful higher education legislation through Congress, and I can’t imagine [this decision] is going to jolt Congress into, all of the sudden, wanting to have the two parties work together and pass legislation.”

Ending Chevron also means that when Congress does pass a law, the legislation will have to be more detailed and clear. But, Natow said, the more detailed the legislation gets, the harder it is to build consensus.

“Legislation has to be vague or it would never get through,” she said.

Nassirian is also skeptical of Congress’s capacity to step in and fill the void left by a potentially weaker Education Department.

“Congress, at some point, has to rely on the agency,” he said. “I just can’t grasp the notion of attempting to run the government through explicit legislative authorization. So it’s hard to do lots of details. There’s lots of things that are susceptible to change that cannot be chiseled into marble through legislative language. So there has to be some discretion, some interpretive discretion, for agencies to run the system … You really ponder how we can function as a country.”

[fenrislorsrai]

NOTE: in addition to dealing with systemic racism, this article also details a suicide. -

he focused his rage on one secret in particular: their handling of appeals sent to the court by prisoners who claimed they’d been unjustly convicted. Louisiana requires that a panel of three judges review all such petitions — known as pro se petitions, a Latin phrase that means “for oneself.” But Peterson wrote that the judges had instructed him to ignore the law and dispose of the appeals on his own. Defresne, he explained, signed off on the documents “without so much as a glance.” The implications were staggering. Over 12 years, the 5th Circuit, which is responsible for reviewing challenges from trial courts in four parishes, had disregarded at least 5,000 pro se petitions from Louisiana prisoners, according to the court’s records. The inmates ranged from people convicted of murder to nonviolent offenders sent away for life. Many had limited education and struggled to present their arguments in the language of the courts. If Peterson’s accusations were true, none of the judges had ever laid eyes on their claims.

-

-

There is overwhelming evidence that state courts routinely send innocent men and women to prison. Researchers estimate that at least 1% of those serving time for violent offenses have been wrongfully convicted — roughly 7,000 inmates in state prisons alone — though they believe that number is much higher. Louisiana law says that people sentenced to death are entitled to court-appointed lawyers for all of their appeals. Subjected to such scrutiny, an astounding number of the state’s prosecutions have fallen apart. Since 1976, 82% of Louisiana’s death sentences have been overturned by appeals judges after defense attorneys exposed serious violations that occurred at trial. Most sentences were reduced to life; some prisoners were exonerated. That statistic underscores a fundamental inequity. The people sentenced to lengthy or life sentences were arrested by the same police forces, prosecuted by the same district attorneys, represented by the same public defenders and convicted in the same courts as those on death row, but they are on their own. When they file a pro se petition asking Louisiana’s appellate courts to reconsider their cases, they are at a significant disadvantage. Those petitioning the 5th Circuit after that meeting in 1994 had no chance at all. To create the appearance of a proper review, former staffers said Dufresne formed a “pro se committee,” which included three judges who agreed to lend their names to Peterson’s rulings. Whenever a judge on the committee retired, Dufresne appointed someone new. The nature of the pro se committee was an open secret at the courthouse. “I knew what they were doing, and I knew it was unconstitutional,” said one former clerk. “Everyone knew about it.” In Louisiana, courts charge prisoners a fee for petitions — generally $50. Those costs are usually paid by parishes in which the defendants are convicted. By 1999, the 5th Circuit was charging $300. The money, paid by taxpayers, flowed into the 5th Circuit’s discretionary fund. In a period when the state’s criminal justice system was close to financial collapse, with some public defenders representing as many as 400 people at a time, records show that the 5th Circuit collected at least $1.7 million for the pro se petitions its judges did not read. Former 5th Circuit employees told me the judges spent the money on office furnishings, travel allowances — even for retired judges — and other perks the state didn’t cover. When asked about the fund’s expenditures, the 5th Circuit said it keeps financial records for only three years and could not provide an accounting.

THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT HAVE A HAPPY ENDING. JUSTICE IS NOT SERVED

[swiftsnowmane]

A former leader of the Iranian Baha’i community says the Islamic Republic gives them no chance of “leading a normal life” on account of their faith.

“For forty-five years, we Baha’is have been constantly disqualified from leading a normal life in our ancestral homeland,” Mahvash Sabet, a former member of the Baha’i community’s leadership group wrote in a letter from Tehran’s Evin Prison.

She reflected on the impact of the Islamic Revolution of 1979, stating, "Our ancestral homeland was abruptly taken from us, and we became 'the others'." Sabet recounted the misfortunes suffered by the Baha’i community, including the execution of nearly 250 of its members and the confiscation of assets belonging to many others.

The Shia clergy consider the Baha’i faith as a heretical sect. With approximately 300,000 adherents in Iran, Baha’is face systematic persecution, discrimination, and harassment. They are barred from public sector employment and, in certain instances, have been terminated from private sector jobs due to pressure from authorities.

In her letter, a copy of which was received by Iran International, Sabet has used the term “disqualified” (radd-e salahiyat) to describe Iranian Baha’is deprivation of civil and human rights including freedom of religion, the right to higher education, and most jobs.

In the context of ideological screening primarily carried out by security and intelligence bodies, Radd-e salahiyat means “found disqualified” for a position or status. Screening is conducted in a wide range of situations including higher education, civil service, participation in national sports teams, and elections.

Belief in the absolute guardianship and rule of a jurisprudent cleric (velayat-e motlaqqeh-ye faqih) and the Constitution of the Islamic Republic as a governing system are two of the fundamental requirements for being “qualified” in these situations.

Sabet, now seventy-one, was dismissed from her job as a school principal after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. She has been consistently denied the opportunity to publish her poetry in Iran, where books undergo scrutiny and rejection not solely based on their content, but often due to the authors' ideology, religion, or private lives.

In her letter, Sabet, who has spent nearly twelve years in prison for her faith, reveals that authorities appropriated a sand processing factory her husband had been constructing just a week before its launch. “He was disqualified, too!” she wrote in her letter.

In 2009, seven leaders of the Baha’i community, collectively known as Yaran (friends or helpers), including Sabet, were arrested. They were sentenced by a revolutionary court to 20 years in prison on fabricated charges, including "insulting" Islamic sanctities, propaganda against the regime, and alleged spying for Israel, for which the prosecutor had sought death sentences.

Some of the charges, including espionage, were dropped by an appeal court in 2010, resulting in a reduction of their sentences to 10 years. However, authorities reinstated the original 20-year sentences in 2011.

All members of the Yaran group were released from prison between September 2017 and December 2018. However, Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi, another female member of the group, were arrested again on August 1, 2022.

Both women endured months of solitary confinement while awaiting their trial. In December, they were handed another decade-long prison term for "forming a group to act against national security," a sentence they are currently serving.

[the-darkness-does-not-bargain]

Can you tell us more headcanons/thoughts from your transmasc!Ava AU? Without being too spoilery of course, if you want ;). It can be about Bea too.

Sure, you know I love to talk 😁

Some of this is technically spoiler-y, but I'm the author, so I decide which spoilers matter and which don't.

Since this is a No Powers au, there is no fantastical inciting incident that kicks things off. Beatrice is just a university student and Ava works in a bar. They meet when Bea and the girls go out drinking after finishing their winter exams.

Ava still grew up in the orphanage, but as a teenager he was accepted into a clinical program run by Jillian, receiving experimental surgery and therapies to restore his mobility. He never met Jillian in person, but he was inspired by her genius and contributions to science, and he hopes to meet her at some point to thank her for helping him. With his mobility restored, he was able to fight back against Frances, and actually succeeded in getting the authorities to investigate the orphanage. It still exists and is still run by the Church, but Frances and the worst of the nuns were all ousted and replaced, and there is significant public and legal scrutiny keeping them in line.

Diego is still in the orphanage, but in much better hands with Frances gone. Ava visits him often and regularly signs him out on the weekends. He's a very good big brother, and even keeps all of his tips in a special "Diego fund" that both pays for fun things and acts as a long-term safety net should Diego age out of the system without being adopted.

Ava didn't know he was trans when he first left the orphanage, and it was only after meeting JC and Chanel that he was given the space and support to realize he wasn't a girl. He dated JC for a bit before coming out, but they soon realized that they worked better as guy friends rather than partners. Chanel is his best friend by far, always only a text away for advice, fashion tips, and bullshitting. She helped Ava find get a job at the bar and let him crash on her couch until he could afford his own place.

Ava received basic schooling in the orphanage, but doesn't have the money to pursue higher education. He compensates by reading as much as he can, chasing whatever topics interest him. He has a passion and talent for languages, and becomes fluent in several. His tiny apartment is filled with grammar texts, vocabulary sheets, and books from all over the world, and he is a religious user of Duolingo. He's also interested in medicine and technology, and is always on the lookout for articles about Arq-Tech.

As for Beatrice, I haven't decided what she studies yet, but she plans to pursue a doctoral degree after graduation. Her backstory is pretty much the same (shit parents, boarding school, etc.) until she entered university and connected with the other girls. Being free from her parents and meeting her friends gave her the space to accept her sexuality and love herself, so by the time of her graduation she is much more open and willing to pursue her desires. Her goal is to get her advanced degree, start working, and then distance herself from her family. She might have siblings in this au, I haven't decided yet.

That's all I will reveal for now. Hope you like it! 😘

[eroticcannibal]

Elaboration on what i said about home ed and abuse statistics

According to the data released by local authorities following FOI requests, home educators are subject to social services investigations at a *higher* rate than other families. However these investigations result in continued social services involvement at a *lower* rate than other families, despite the higher level of scrutiny.

There is of course no data on the basis of continued involvement. However it is important to remember that social services involvement can continue on the basis of additional needs AND that there is a problem with social services interpreting additional needs as a failure in parenting, and that many special needs kids are home educated *because* they are special needs, which may suggest an even lower rate of abuse than the numbers would suggest.

ALSO there is a problem with social services involvement on the *unlawful* basis of viewing home education as inherently harmful, which is even more reason to think the rates of abuse are lower.

[adrianodiprato]

+ “To be great is to be misunderstood.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Misunderstood

In the intricate tapestry of human interactions, few things are as pervasive as the feeling of being misunderstood. It's a sensation that weighs heavy on the soul, leaving us grappling with a profound sense of isolation. But what if, instead of resisting this feeling, we embraced it as a catalyst for growth and inner peace?

There exists a breed of individuals who thrive on perpetuating their victimhood, absolving themselves of accountability for the havoc they wreak. They manipulate, they blame, and they play the victim with calculated precision. These are the architects of their own turmoil, yet they refuse to acknowledge their role in it. They're skilled in the art of deception, weaving intricate webs of falsehoods to shield themselves from scrutiny.

But when their grip on us begins to loosen, when we dare to break free from their grasp, they unleash a smear campaign designed to tarnish our reputation and silence our voices. They seek to control the narrative, to poison the well of public opinion against us. And in their quest to isolate us, they reveal their true nature as manipulative, abusive entities.

Yet, amidst the chaos they sow, there lies an opportunity for liberation. For it is in the acceptance of being misunderstood that we find solace. We realise that we need not waste our energy on futile arguments with those incapable of understanding us. Instead, we embrace the notion that everyone perceives the world through the lens of their own experiences, and thus, understanding is subjective.

To relinquish the burden of resentment is to reclaim our power. Every person we encounter leaves an indelible mark on our lives, whether through joyous moments or painful lessons. The key is to recognise the gifts they offer us—the good people in our lives give us happiness, the worst people in our lives give us lessons, and the best people in our lives give us glorious memories—and to cherish them without allowing bitterness to take root in our hearts.

In the face of adversity, we must strive for inner peace, refusing to be drawn into the maelstrom of negativity. We must cultivate a sense of empathy, understanding that each individual is fighting their own battles, navigating their own path toward enlightenment.

“Let us forge connections built on authenticity and compassion, rather than succumbing to the allure of manipulation and deceit.”

So, let us embark on a journey of self-discovery, embracing the beauty of being misunderstood. Let us forge connections built on authenticity and compassion, rather than succumbing to the allure of manipulation and deceit. And in doing so, let us reclaim our narrative, our truth, and our inner peace.

For in the end, it is not the understanding of others that defines us, but the strength of character with which we navigate the complexities of the human experience.

Adriano Di Prato is a best-selling author, broadcaster, co-host of the Game Changers podcast series, and the Academic Operations Manager at LCI Melbourne, a progressive art, design + entrepreneurship private institute of higher education.

[realhousewives-fan]

Was Annemarie Set Up with Esophagate?

Annemarie Wiley is in hot water after she interrogated Sutton Stracke about her small esophagus.

Crystal Kung Minkoff said that she and Garcelle Beauvais had to leave, because it was so awkward how she kept on about the esophagus for hours!

Annemarie wasn’t very happy that Crystal had called her a bitch, and when she twisted Crystal’s words to turn the group against her, Crystal clapped back:

“Says the woman who said she was a doctor when she’s actually a nurse.”

Annemarie then chose to make it seem like Crystal was belittling her profession and said that she was extremely proud of being a nurse.

But it was her condescending justification of calling herself an Anesthesiologist during the Aftershow that made things worse for Annemarie.

The American Society for Anesthesiologists (ASA) spoke out about her misrepresentation of the profession, and wrote on Instagram:

“The Real Housewives know a fake. Anesthesiologists are medical doctors with more than 12 years of higher education and up to 16,000 hours of clinical training. Title misappropriation has no place in health care.”

After the backlash from the ASA, Annemarie tries to turn the issue into a doctor vs. nurse conflict and called it a defamation campaign.

She thought for instance that it was unprofessional of Nicole Martin to criticize her and accused her of clout chasing to be relevant.

That was the same tactic she used when Crystal accused her claiming to be a doctor. She wanted a “thank you” since she had made her relevant.

Nicole responded to Annemarie’s accusation and said:

“I think to ‘chase clout’ implies that you’re going after a bigger fish, and Annemarie is in no way a bigger fish.”

Annemarie then goes to express her own dislike of the esophagus storyline.

“That storyline was unauthentically dragged on for far too long, and I’ve been dragged through the mud in the process.”

Kyle Richards was the one who started the scrutiny of Sutton’s esophagus, but Annemarie went out of her way to talk about it with Crystal and Garcelle.

I think she only has herself and her arrogance to blame.

[ausetkmt]

An exodus of Black women in academia hurts the workforce

The burden that Black people, particularly women, in academia carry is rarely recognized by the outside world.

But just weeks into 2024, it’s made national news. First, it was the resignation of former Harvard President Claudine Gay after a prolonged public campaign of harassment that culminated with plagiarism allegations. Now it’s the suicide of Lincoln University’s vice president of student affairs, Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey, who alleged she was “intentionally harassed and bullied” by Lincoln University President John B. Moseley after disclosing her mental health struggles.

To be sure, Gay created some of her own problems with her legalistic congressional testimony on antisemitism, which was roundly critiqued. The plagiarism allegations, which she’s addressed, also hurt her. But we would be remiss if we discounted the extent to which racist and sexist undertones, rooted in antagonism of what her appointment represented, played a role.

The public experiences of Gay and Candia-Bailey have compelled other Black Americans in higher education to share their own stories. Take a scroll through social media, and you’ll see Ph.D. candidates and graduates sharing stories of feeling depressed, being passed up for tenure, and leaving programs because they were mistreated.

It’s no wonder why only about 6% of all faculty in colleges and universities are Black (it gets lower as you go up the ladder). And it’s no wonder the number hasn’t moved much since the early 1980s, when it was 4.2%. Black faculty navigate the typical academic hurdles and many invisible yet consequential ones, such as managing implicit and explicit messages about their belonging and bearing a disproportionate responsibility for supporting students of color. Add unprecedented levels of public scrutiny to the already high invisible costs of leadership, and as Zaire Z. Dinzey-Flores notes, “This is how Black women leaders do not survive.”

As businesses reconsider their commitment to diversity and look to colleges and universities as partners to develop and recruit diverse talent, these troubling trends jeopardize their aims.

Not only does seeing Black leaders on campuses affirm that Black students belong and are a source of inspiration for what they can aspire to. But for White and non-Black students of color, it helps counter the default belief that leadership can only be synonymous with whiteness. This is a subtle impression, of course, but an important one. College plays an outsize role in educating and mentoring the next generations of the workforce and shapes their workplace expectations.

And since many US students have never had a Black teacher — much less a principal — throughout elementary and high school, encountering them as leaders in higher education is an opportunity to challenge unconscious biases with exposure. Yet our paucity of Black leaders at present inhibits this aim, and we risk a new generation of leaders witnessing this moment and sitting leadership out.

We must figure out how to attract and keep Black leaders in academia. A good place to start is acknowledging that the adage, Black people work twice as hard to be recognized half as much, is not from a bygone era. Sexism, for Black women, and racism have kept that expectation alive and, unfortunately, well. If you need proof, I’d start by considering how many reports you’ve seen in recent years that still include “the first Black woman to…”

But recognizing the uneven playing field without actively working to level it is, to borrow loosely from biblical scripture, faith without works. After organizations shed a race- and gender-blind approach to a gender- and race-specific reality, they must be prepared to offer support and guidance to ensure the success of the candidates they recruit.

When it comes to bringing Black women into predominantly and traditionally White male spaces, this means anticipating challenges that may stem from the change and not treating biased attacks as an opportunity for them to demonstrate that they can do their job.

If not, in addition to Gay and Candia-Bailey, we’ll have more stories like Lesley Lokko, who called her decision to step down as dean of the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at City College of New York “a profound act of self-preservation.”

In a public resignation letter, Lokko, who came from teaching in South Africa, wrote, “The lack of respect and empathy for Black people, especially Black women, caught me off guard, although it’s by no means unique to Spitzer.”

She left after only 10 months in 2020. Candia-Bailey’s passing was eight months into her role. Gay stepped down as Harvard’s president after six months — the shortest tenure in the university’s history.

But simply focusing on those who did not thrive in their roles would miss another crisis surrounding Black women’s leadership. Last year, JoAnne A. Epps of Temple University and Orinthia T. Montague of Volunteer State Community College died while in their roles. While their devastating deaths weren’t officially linked to the stress of their jobs, the untimeliness of their passing sparked conversations about the high cost of success.

If we want to turn the tide, we can no longer stand by and watch Black women suffer in silence — at the cost of their own well-being. We must acknowledge the load they bear and provide meaningful support to manage it. If we do not, an exodus of Black leaders is coming, and that will shape the lives of students — and, by default, our future workforce.