It’s the Little Things…
By 
Just a ridiculous thing that doesn’t really matter by itself but is nonetheless indicative of the direction we’re headed:
For the Spring 2025 semester, final grades are due by noon on Monday, May 12, 2025. This is a change from 5 p.m. as it has historically been.
Submission of final grades impacts various important processes within the Office of the Registrar, including accurate GPA calculation, accurate determination of academic status and certification for graduation, among others. Additionally, other offices rely on this information for their work related to financial aid progression, scholarship renewal and more.
The UK Senate fought for years against moving the deadline from 5pm to 12pm. As most of you recall the Senate was dissolved last year and replaced by Staff, Faculty, and Student Senates that have advisory roles but no real oversight power. This change purportedly serves the interest of students but in reality simply constitutes a power play by administration, and a particularly petty one at that. It’s a small thing, but as you watch your ability to control your professional circumstances crumble bit by bit, it feels endemic of a greater trend. Students, look forward to getting your grades at 11:59am on Monday, May 12.
Oh and Trump has decided to destroy Harvard and Princeton. The small favor here is that the real strength of the American system of higher education is in the land grant institutions that remain under the control of the states, many of which are red and thus have some degree of protection from federal punishment. I don’t know how it all shakes out in the end, but the GOP fixation on elite private institutions could leave the most important parts of the overall system intact, or at least afloat.