CMC In The News

A study conducted by CMC Prof. Jon Shields was referenced in an opinion piece in News-Press, disputing concerns that liberal college professors are influencing students and conservative colleagues with their beliefs. Shields conducted interviews with conservative professors in the humanities and social sciences from dozens of colleges and found that those professors did not feel discriminated against and were happy and succeeding in their careers. Naples Daily News also published this piece.

In a commentary in The Daily Star, CMC Prof. Minxin Pei describes the high “geopolitical stakes” for China if Russia invades Ukraine and how China could be affected depending on how the United States is involved in the crisis. The Japan Times also published this piece.

In an op-ed for the New York Times, CMC Prof. Jon Shields explores the rivalry between Congresswoman Liz Cheney and former President Donald Trump. “Even if Liz Cheney and Donald Trump understood each other better, their feud would still be impossible to resolve,” he writes. “They are wed to each other, captured by rival codes of honor that are remaking the American right."

In an essay for The Atlantic, CMC Prof. George Thomas examines “how unwritten ideas drive our readings” of the Constitution.

“My point is not to argue for or against any particular method of constitutional interpretation; it is, rather, to insist that a large majority of the issues faced by the Court cannot be resolved simply by appealing to constitutional text,” he writes. “Going outside of the text is essential to reading the Constitution.

Prof. Hilary Appel, director of CMC’s Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies, and Prof. Jennifer Taw wrote a piece titled “Will Russia’s Anti-NATO Gambit Succeed?” for Bangladesh’s The Daily Star. “On the surface, Putin seems to have unnecessarily boxed himself in by making unacceptable demands on an issue—Ukraine's NATO accession—that was unlikely to materialize anyway. But Putin has, in fact, made real gains by exposing the West's disarray and the weakness of its commitment to Ukraine.”

Prof. Minxin Pei was interviewed by Australia’s Defence Connect for a story on China’s stake in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The in-depth piece builds on Pei’s assessment that “Beijing may be 6,500 kilometers from Kyiv, but the geopolitical stakes for China in the escalating crisis over Ukraine’s fate couldn’t be higher.”

Prof. Jack Pitney was quoted in an article for The Paradise after Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement about how rare it has been in recent years for a Senate of one party to confirm a Supreme Court nominee from a president of the other party. Pitney expressed slight optimism about a future cross-party confirmation. “An opposing-party Senate might approve a nominee in the next several years, provided that the nominee is a moderate who would not shift the ideological makeup of the court,” he said. This interview was cited in a Politifact post, “Supreme Court nominees confirmed by opposite party in Senate are rare.”

Prof. Jack Pitney was interviewed by The Mercury News about proposed sports betting measures for the November California ballot. The revenue from some of these initiatives could provide financial relief for the state’s homelessness and mental health programs, similar to the California Lottery helping to fund public education. But according to Pitney, voters know that the Lottery has not fixed the education system, and homelessness is a hard problem to solve, which may make passing the sports wagering measures more difficult. “I wouldn’t take this as a sure bet,” Pitney said.

Prof. Minxin Pei wrote an op-ed for Bloomberg about why China can’t afford to decouple from the United States.

Prof. Minxin Pei wrote a piece for Nepal24Hours.com about how China views the Ukraine crisis. “While China obviously stands to benefit if a Russian invasion of Ukraine forces the United States to divert strategic resources to Eastern Europe, a peaceful resolution of the crisis will likely leave it worse off,” he said.

Prof. Andrew Busch wrote a guest editorial for Penn Live Patriot-News on the question of how contentious the battle over Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s replacement will be. “One thing is almost certain to be true: No matter who is nominated by President Joe Biden, there will be no 87-9 favorable vote—the tally when Breyer was nominated by Bill Clinton in 1994,” he said.

In an interview with The Atlantic, CMC Prof. Angela Vossmeyer explained how higher Federal interest rates might affect Americans in their everyday lives. In general, “individuals seeking bank loans or lines of credit to purchase a car, remodel their home, expand their business, or even purchase retail items with credit cards will see monthly interest payments higher than what we have seen in the last two years,” Vossmeyer said. “On the other hand,” she pointed out, “with interest rates going up, Americans will have safe and meaningful outlets for saving again.”

Prof. Jack Pitney was quoted in a Daily Beast piece recognizing the Jan. 6 Committee as “a model of congressional congeniality among members with differing ideologies.” Pitney said, “This is what grown-ups look like. You have Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who have very conservative voting records, but they understand this is different, that it’s separate from their policy differences with the Democrats. And their loyalty to country and the institution trumps loyalty to party.”

As members of the NCAA voted to ratify a new constitution, Inside Higher Education interviewed President Hiram Chodosh, who said the NCAA faces “a major question: How can we restore amateur athletics through effective measures?” He added that the changes in the constitution amounted to window dressing. “There’s no real transformative change in this document,” Chodosh said.

The New York Times interviewed Hiram Chodosh about the National Collegiate Athletic Association schools and conferences vote to adopt a new constitution, and take the first step in decentralizing.

Representing the joint Division III athletics teams from Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd and Scripps Colleges Division III athletics program, Chodosh said: “We’re just the virtual kale on the Division I burger.” He also noted that Division III carries the banner for the term student-athlete, adding, “without the rest of us, it may just start to look like a commercial enterprise.”