UVA President Out Over DEI, Climate.gov goes dark, and Pray for Refugees
PLUS: Social Media Screenings for International Students and Freshman Demographics Since 2010
Friends! If you are on social media or keep up with the news in any way, you may know that life feels very frightening or excited, triumphant or tragic and depending on where you sit in our country –– it may be both! Whatever you are feeling, may you make decisions out of your deepest values NOT your deepest wounds, whims or desire for ease. The Feeling Wheel can help you do that! So take a deep breath and let’s dive in.
Here are 5 things we believe are worth your time:
SCRIPTURE AND PRAYER
There are fewer things mentioned more clearly and consistently in the Hebrew scriptures, Jesus’ teachings, Paul’s letters and everything after and in between than the care for the foreigner, the poor and the refugee. But oftentimes it is difficult for those who have never experienced such hardships to pray, intercede, and posture ourselves to be ready to respond; and to motivate others to serve as well. This powerful video has been shown for years and I hope it centers you on growing in love, compassion, and empathy. These should be the motivators for our politics — how we organize and steward our power and resources.
STATISTICS
Freshman Enrollment by Race Since 2010
How we think about race, ethnicity and culture on campus is often too simple in a country as big and complicated as the United States. This map helps you drill down to each campus and state, how demographics have changed and just how populations across the country are choosing higher education. This highly informative, easy to use, interactive report is a must-read. Check it out!
STORIES
UVA President Forced to Resign
The Trump Administration, Project 2025, Project Esther and a Republican House, Senate and Judiciary are reshaping higher education in the United States around a political agenda. To be clear, that is not an opinion – just a description of what has happened since he took office. The president of the University of Virginia is another casualty in the fight against DEI and this article from Axios does a great job of collecting links and resources to tell the story of the last few months. So if you don't want to read previous issues of the Crux, this article is a great one to click through as private, public, large and small colleges and universities have been upended in this new political landscape.
Social Media Screenings and International Students
“The U.S. Department of State has begun screening the social-media accounts of all international students applying for student visas”. If you or someone you know is or is connected to an international student, this is important information to share with them. Also, you can check out our webinar on immigration that includes lawyer recommendations and advice to everyday advocates. Jesus was a refugee and He called us to care for the foreigner among us. May we do that by being and staying informed as a first step.
“Climate.gov, the gateway website for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa)’s Climate Program Office, will imminently no longer publish new content, according to multiple former staff responsible for the site’s content whose contracts were recently terminated.” It must not be lost on us that what we don’t study, we don’t understand. And teachers and students across the country are losing their primary resource for learning about the effects of our collective lives on the planet. We pray for a change in course and for scientists doing the radically important work of caring for the Earth we all call home.
The United States is involved in armed conflicts all over the world, refugees are fleeing instability on every continent except Antarctica, and bills in Congress and decisions from the Supreme Court leave me checking my phone so much that I’m ashamed. I need to lean into Jesus. I hope this helps you do that at the intersection of faith, education and politics. God bless you!
Let me know what you think! I look forward to the conversation and comments because our screens make us into lonely consumers but God made us to be a vibrant community.
In Christ and for His Glory,
jonathan
PS. PS. Pre-order your copy of “Beauty and Resistance: Spiritual Rhythms for Formation and Repair” to be released on November 11, 2025.
