Author: Mark A. Ashwill

Entrapment Victims: 1; DHS: 0

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Remember the late great University of Northern New Jersey (UNNJ) created in 2013 by the US Department of Homeland Security "to target brokers and recruiters who sought to abuse the U.S. immigration system for financial gain", including unsuspecting international students, as if they don't have enough other work protecting Ze Homeland? Keep in mind that … Continue reading Entrapment Victims: 1; DHS: 0

A Trip Down Memory Lane: The Golden Graduate Assistantship

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Back in the day, when I was a Ph.D. student at the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB), I applied for a graduate assistantship in the Office of the President. This was a dream assignment because of the opportunity to work with Dr. Steven B. Sample, who assumed that position in 1982 at … Continue reading A Trip Down Memory Lane: The Golden Graduate Assistantship

Their Madeleine Albright Moment

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Stock Photo by ©kikkerdirk 73977253 Here's my response to someone who had some nice things to say about a recent essay of mine published by University World News and republished by CounterPunch. (Unabridged version here.)  Interestingly, and not surprisingly, I guess, I've received some pushback from intelligent people who are 'peaceniks' under normal circumstances but now find themselves … Continue reading Their Madeleine Albright Moment

Another Deal with the Devil, International Education-Style

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Life is full of trade-offs, some of which involve fatally flawed moral compromises and hefty doses of personal and institutional soul-selling. -MAA This image taken from CCTV video shows Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018. (Hurriyet via AP) MAA: Khashoggi's last few minutes of life. His fiancée, Hatice … Continue reading Another Deal with the Devil, International Education-Style

How Wealth Reduces Compassion

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Source: The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley I recently stumbled upon this 2012 Scientific American article that makes the point, using the results of various studies, that people's empathy for others is generally linked to their economic status, hence the subtitle, As riches grow, empathy for others seems to decline. … Continue reading How Wealth Reduces Compassion

Maskless US Colleagues Roll the COVID-19 Dice

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I was scrolling through my LinkedIn feed when I saw this photo, taken at the recent AIEA conference in New Orleans, and a colleague's comment: First time in my 40 year career to ever comment on how great it is to see maskless intl educators at work at a conference. My first thought was, Has … Continue reading Maskless US Colleagues Roll the COVID-19 Dice

A Call for Universal Empathy: We Are “The Other”

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Here's my latest essay for University World News. Below is an unedited version, including quotes that do not appear in the published version. Image: iStock While I was deeply gratified and moved to see the outpouring of support for Ukraine and its people on various social media channels in response to the Russian invasion, I … Continue reading A Call for Universal Empathy: We Are “The Other”

RootsTech 2022: Finding Distant Cousins

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That's me! 🙂 RootsTech, an annual virtual conference that rightfully bills itself as the world’s largest family history conference, is organized by FamilySearch (FS), a project of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). FS is an extensive database of records about millions of people in the US and many other countries … Continue reading RootsTech 2022: Finding Distant Cousins