Nick Patricca

Freelance Columnist at Windy City Times

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Articles

OPINION Trump's war on higher education

4 days ago | windycitytimes.com | Nick Patricca

President Donald J. Trump is using the full force of the federal government to launch a bewildering barrage of legal attacks and funding suspensions on American institutions of higher education. The list of universities and colleges under attack grows daily. Some universities are fighting back to protect and affirm their historic independence from government control of governance and curricula. Most are silent because of fear of losing their vital federal funds for research and for student support.
Chicago Native Cardinal Robert Prevost elected first American pope, takes name Leo XIV

1 week ago | windycitytimes.com | Nick Patricca

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Chicago-born and -raised, was elected as the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church on the second day of the Vatican Conclave, May 8, 2025, which is the Feast of Our Lady of Pompeii. Naming himself Leo XIV, he greeted the people in St. Peter's Square in Italian and in Spanish. His historic election marks the first time a US citizen was selected to lead the Catholic Church.
Destroying DEI: The attack on 60 years of progress

1 month ago | windycitytimes.com | Nick Patricca

Fear and political pressure have forced Ohio State University to cancel Black History Month and Women's History Month events. Johns Hopkins University has had $800 million in public health research grants suspended because of its use of inclusive language in projects related to AIDS research in Africa and studies involving LGBTQ+ communities.
The war on the university: Attack on DEI the poisoned tip of the arrow

2 months ago | windycitytimes.com | Nick Patricca

The following by Patricca with Arthur J. LurigioThe attack on diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) is the poisoned tip of an arrow aimed directly at the heart of the university. Do not be distracted by the screeds and rants against “critical race theory” and “gender ambiguity.” The attack on DEI is the opening salvo in a war to control the narrative of our national identity that is safeguarded and nourished in our institutions of higher learning.
OPINION The Musk-Trump bromance domination

Feb 10, 2025 | windycitytimes.com | Nick Patricca

President Donald J. Trump has given the unelected Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, the keys to the U.S. Treasury and every other agency of the Federal Government of the United States of America. Without Congressional approval, Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] and appointed Musk the executive director with the mandate to oversee all federal government policies and expenditures.
OPINION A remembrance of things past and present in our queer journey

Jan 9, 2025 | windycitytimes.com | Nick Patricca

In this remembrance, I want to reflect on our efforts in Gay and Women’s Liberation in Chicago in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. I want to focus on the issues we collectively struggled with during those early ventures into queer power and liberation. The death of my long-time friend Kathleen Thompson in the last week of December 2024 prompted me to make this reflection.
OPINION Time to End the Two-Party Duopoly: It no longer serves our democracy - Windy City Times

Dec 1, 2024 | windycitytimes.com | Nick Patricca

It might come as a surprise to most citizens of the United States of America that our founding fathers were deeply suspicious of political parties and partisan politics. In his 1796 farewell address, George Washington warned that political parties inevitably lead to factions which always serve their own interests rather than the common good.
OPINION It can happen here—so vote! - Windy City Times

Oct 28, 2024 | windycitytimes.com | Nick Patricca

Hitler came into power with the support of many good citizens who were genuinely concerned about their country and its future. Catholics and other Christians were terrified at the prospect of a Communist takeover. They were also appalled at what they perceived as the collapse of moral values that seemed to permeate the entire fabric of the Weimar Republic. Patriotic Germans were angry at the way the international elites were treating their nation.
OPINION It’s time to abolish the electoral college - Windy City Times

Sep 15, 2024 | windycitytimes.com | Nick Patricca

Twice in the five presidential elections since 2000, two candidates for the U.S. presidency who won the popular vote lost in the Electoral College. In 2000, Albert Gore, Jr. won the popular vote against George W. Bush by 543,895 but failed in the Electoral College when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to recount disputed ballots in several Florida counties.
VIEWPOINT Women voters, especially Catholic women, will decide the 2024 presidential race

Aug 22, 2024 | windycitytimes.com | Nick Patricca

Women, especially Catholic women, may well be the key voting bloc to decide the 2024 presidential election between Donald J. Trump and Kamala Harris. That is the conclusion I have reached after analyzing in detail the results of the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and comparing them to the developing trends since Harris entered the race. Trump has a lock on the votes of white evangelical Christians.