With school starting for many of you in the coming days and weeks, I have one question: What are you looking forward to?

Me? I’ve been anticipating logging off early this week (hence the short newsletter!) to spend some quality Southern California time with my niece — beaches, biking and hiking are all on the agenda.

I realize that with the chaos inherent in the start of a new semester, self-care takes a backseat, but I hope you’ve got something lined up you’re anticipating, whether it’s part of your work or part of your actual life. And if you don’t, now seems like a great time to throw something fun on the calendar. Don’t overthink it — just give yourself something to look forward to.

I’ll report back next week with photos from our adventures. Until then, happy Fall 2025!

Headlines

Gallup is out with new research that found young people are drinking less alcohol. So are Republicans. And Democrats. And the rich. And the poor … Turns out, everyone is drinking less! Ask students what this means for the university’s alcohol industrial complex. How will college bars, some of which are town anchors, react? (My offensively named old college haunt just celebrated 50 years in business.) What about stadium beer sales? Have the cops seen an impact? 

Possibly related story: Nicotine is hot, and not just at the tip of lit cigarettes. Is it time to check in on student rates of smoking, vaping and — while we’re at it — using marijuana? What does all this say about campus vices?

The University of Central Oklahoma’s leaders decided to kill the print version of the college’s 122-year-old paper despite protests from faculty and student journalists. 

Here’s a helpful database from Education Week, updated this week, that tracks universities being investigated by the Trump administration. Is your school on the list? Are your students reporting on it?

An interesting read on clippers, savvy folks who find viral-worthy moments in longer video content. Definitely some ideas for students in here.

I loved this well-sourced piece by Poynter intern and Duke student Sophie Endrud about the advice we give student journalists about establishing a personal brand.

A former Columbia Daily Spectator opinion editor writes for the ACLU about her experiences being censored over the past few semesters.

All those tricks you’ve been teaching to spot fake AI videos? Time to forget about them.

Classroom ideas

This semester, consider lessons/assignments on gerrymandering and redistricting to provide context to events in Texas and the seven other impacted states. (Also, a tip of my hat to you for once again being forced to teach college students basic civics lessons. Sigh.)

• Gerrymandering explained (The Brennan Center for Justice)

• Civics for Change: Redistricting 101 (The Andrew Goodman Foundation)

• All About Redistricting (Prof. Justin Levitt's Doug Spencer's Guide to Drawing the Electoral Lines)

One last thing

This summer, I’ve all but eliminated the paywall from my content.

I absolutely love this work, but I need your help to keep doing it.

Starting in September, I’ll be bringing the paywall back. 

Paid subscribers will have access to everything: industry headline roundups, the latest news from the college journalism world, student media updates, ethics and classroom discussion ideas, potential story assignments, and anything else I think will help you have a better week in journalism education.

Thank you for considering supporting my work with a paid subscription!

Feedback

While it’s a short work for me, I’m ready to dive in this semester to help you with any pressing issues keeping you up at night. You need your beauty sleep, I’m sure!

Book a free 30-minute consultation  or you can email me at [email protected] anytime. 

Have a great week!