It's August and the dog days of summer are coming to a close. And although school is just starting back up, the stories in higher education haven't come to a stop.
First, we'll take a look into student housing, both in Boston and beyond. First, we'll re-visit the On Campus's trip to Barcelona earlier this year to look into how that city is dealing with finding homes for that city's large student population.
Then, we'll take what we learned there and apply it to Boston's own struggle to find affordable housing for undergraduates. We'll talk to Emma Goodwin, a recent grad from Emerson College, who wrote an op-ed in The Boston Globe railing against the housing situation in the city for students and the wide-spread perception that college kids are the problem.
We then hear from Alicia Modestino, an economist at Northeastern University who breaks down what's driving the housing crunch in the city, how college students play into it and potential solutions.
Then, we're going to get out of Massachusetts for higher education stories around the country you may have missed.
We speak to Claire McInerny, the education reporter for KUT, the NPR member station in Austin, Texas. She tells us how a new law in Texas aims to get all graduating seniors to apply for federal or state student aid and what it will take to implement that legislation on a large scale.
Then, we'll go to the only state larger than Texas in landmass, Alaska, where the higher ed community has been on edge after the governor announced large cuts to the budget for the state's university system. We'll talk to Wesley Early, a reporter at Alaska Public Media, about how the situation has evolved and what it could mean for the future of education in the state.
Finally, we'll speak to Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan University. In his new book, “Safe Enough Spaces: A Pragmatist's Approach To Inclusion, Free Speech And Political Correctness On College Campuses,” Roth tries to make sense of very confusing, polarizing times in American higher education.
On Campus Radio airs the last Sunday of each month at 8 p.m., only on 89.7 WGBH. Tune in Sunday, August 25.
