Peter Herman Journalist Profile

Articles

Orwell meets safetyism in draft CSU policy (opinion)

2 months ago | insidehighered.com | Peter Herman

You have /5 articles left. Sign up for a free account or log in. filo/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images On Nov. 21, trustees of California State University, the largest and most diverse public university system in the United States ( students and ), heard an update on what Hayley Schwartzkopf, the associate vice chancellor for civil rights programming and services, called “a new vision” for addressing unprofessional conduct: “Other Conduct of Concern” (OCC).
Opinion: The Warning in Shakespeare's 'Measure for Measure' for Donald Trump and Judge Merchan

Jan 5, 2025 | timesofsandiego.com | Peter Herman

William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure is usually talked about in terms of sexual harassment. The plot revolves around a man condemned to death for having sex with his fiancé before marriage. His sister, Isabella, a would-be nun, appears before the sentencing magistrate, Angelo, to plead for mercy. We have little sympathy for Angelo, and for good reason. First, he is a cad (he abandoned his fiancé after her dowry was lost in a shipwreck).
Opinion: CSU's New 'Other Conduct of Concern' Rule Is Administrative Overreach

Nov 22, 2024 | timesofsandiego.com | Peter Herman

In 2022, the California State University system was rocked by . In response, the CSU system contracted with the law firm of Cozen O’Connor to conduct a full investigation of the CSU’s harassment policies, both system-wide and for individual campuses. The report on SDSU was thorough and made numerous recommendations, including (of course) hiring more administrators. But one recommendation especially stood out: “Responding to Other Conduct of Concern” (OCC).
Opinion: If Trump Wins, We Can Join John Milton in Mourning 'Paradise Lost'

Oct 26, 2024 | timesofsandiego.com | Peter Herman

It’s John Milton’s time now. In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election and afterward, Shakespeare was frequently invoked to help make sense of the Trump phenomenon. At least two popular books used the past to illuminate the present. Stephen Greenblatt’s best-seller, Tyrant: Shakespeare and Politics, used the Bard’s plays to tease out the range of motivations for supporting Trump by looking at why people supported the murderous Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Jeffrey R.
Institutional neutrality doesn’t go far enough (opinion)

Oct 1, 2024 | insidehighered.com | Peter Herman

You have /5 articles left. Sign up for a free account or log in. VladSt/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty ImagesIn the wake of the campus protests following Oct. 7 and the before a congressional committee by the presidents of Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania, more and more universities are adopting policies of institutional neutrality. This means the president of the university refrains from speaking out on the day’s issues.
Opinion: How Is it Right for SDSU Spend Millions to Join the Pac-12 While Slicing Other Funding?

Sep 17, 2024 | timesofsandiego.com | Peter Herman

On Sept. 3, San Diego State University’s chief financial officer, Agnes Wong-Nickerson, gave a report to the University Senate. The news was not good. While the CSU will receive the 5% increase in funding promised under the terms of the “Compact” between the state and the CSU system in 2022, in the following years, 2025-26, we can expect on 8% permanent funding cut. That’s a reduction of $252 million. At the same time, the state expects SDSU to continue to increase its enrollment.
First rioter to enter U.S. Capitol in Jan. 6 insurrection is sentenced

Aug 28, 2024 | stripes.com | Peter Herman

Michael Sparks, 47, was convicted in March of two felonies and several misdemeanors for his role.
The German Left’s Jewish Dilemma

Jul 24, 2024 | quillette.com | Gerfried Ambrosch |Josh Allan |Allan Stratton |Peter Herman

As anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment surges around the world, the German Left’s commitment to combating antisemitism appears to be fading—a troubling trend driven, in large part, by a myopic focus on “Islamophobia” and by the growing influence of postcolonialism. While this reflects a broader pattern among Western progressives, it has especially troubling implications in Germany, given our history.
The Return of Right-Wing Cancel Culture

Jul 24, 2024 | quillette.com | Josh Allan |Allan Stratton |Peter Herman |Liam Hunt

You can often infer more about the health of a society from the way it reacts to events than from the events themselves. When US presidential candidate Donald Trump was shot in the ear last Saturday while giving a speech at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania—a shot that would almost certainly have killed him had he not turned his head at the last second—the responses from most mainstream public figures were refreshingly civil.
Texas Porn Star Massacres

Jul 23, 2024 | quillette.com | Allan Stratton |Peter Herman |Liam Hunt |Thomas Doherty

There aren’t many writer-directors with the confidence to end a genre film with an eight-minute monologue delivered in a single unbroken close-up. Nor to have the same actor hold an excruciating smile throughout its end-credits. But these are the kind of risks Ti West takes in his X trilogy, a boutique horror franchise that began with X, continued with its prequel Pearl, and concludes with its recent sequel Maxxxine.