[EL] Twitter EO

[Mark]

not sure of the connection to Citizens United either.  But, to place in
perspective, here is a sad story emanating from the private suppression of
speech.

Risky Strategy by Many Private Colleges Leaves Them Exposed

Chasing after a shrinking pool of wealthy students by increasing spending,
and now vulnerable to closure because of the pandemic.

By Kevin Carey

   - May 26, 2020
   -
      -
      <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?app_id=9869919170&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2020%2F05%2F26%2Fupshot%2Fvirus-colleges-risky-strategy.html%3Fsmid%3Dfb-share&name=Risky%20Strategy%20by%20Many%20Private%20Colleges%20Leaves%20Them%20Exposed&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F>
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      -
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Image[image: Mount Ida College in Newton, Mass., in 2018, the year the
college closed because of financial troubles. In the wake of the pandemic,
many private colleges may share its fate.]
Mount Ida College in Newton, Mass., in 2018, the year the college closed
because of financial troubles. In the wake of the pandemic, many private
colleges may share its fate.Credit...Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe, via
Associated Press

Will my college go bankrupt?

It’s something many prospective college students want to know, as Nick
Ducoff and Sabrina Manville learned when they founded a college advising
company in 2018.

The previous decade had been especially hard for private colleges. Fewer
students were enrolling in college
<https://www.wbur.org/npr/787909495/fewer-students-are-going-to-college-heres-why-that-matters>,
and some colleges responded by increasing spending to chase after the
smaller group of applicants. Every year, a handful of small and relatively
unknown colleges ran out of money, forcing students to search for a new
academic home.

Mr. Ducoff, a former administrator at Northeastern University, and Ms.
Manville, a former administrator at Southern New Hampshire University,
looked for a credible list of financially vulnerable colleges and couldn’t
find one. So they decided to create their own, using publicly available
information about trends in colleges’ revenues, expenses, debts and cash
reserves.

They assembled and were preparing to release a list of colleges that were
headed toward insolvency. But when Inside Higher Ed, working on a news
article to accompany the data, began to contact the colleges affected,
angry emails and phone calls started pouring in.

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<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/upshot/virus-colleges-risky-strategy.html?searchResultPosition=1#after-story-ad-1>

Making such information public would be “grossly irresponsible and would
cause great harm to the college,” one lawyer wrote, demanding that Mr.
Ducoff’s and Ms. Manville’s small start-up firm, called Edmit
<https://www.edmit.me/>, “refrain from publication.” Edmit didn’t have the
money to fend off multiple lawsuits. It put the list in a drawer
<https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/11/19/private-colleges-convinced-company-scuttle-release-list-projected-college-closures>
.

That was in November 2019, shortly before the first recorded coronavirus
victim began showing symptoms in China.

The higher education landscape is now in chaos. Last year, 419 colleges
were still accepting applications for the freshman class after the
traditional May 1 deadline. This year, the number is 754
<https://www.nacacnet.org/news--publications/Research/CollegeOpenings/>,
suggesting an enormous drop in demand. If campuses can’t open this fall, or
students don’t return, the private higher education sector faces a
financial asteroid strike. Edmit updated its projections
<https://www.edmit.me/collegefinancialhealth> accordingly and published a
less specific version of them this month. The numbers suggest many colleges
are now at risk.
DeVos Funnels Coronavirus Relief Funds to Favored Private and Religious
Schools
May 15, 2020
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/us/politics/betsy-devos-coronavirus-religious-schools.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article>
As Students Put Off College, Anxious Universities Tap Wait Lists
May 1, 2020
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/us/coronavirus-college-enrollment.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article>
The ‘Public’ in Public College Could Be Endangered
May 5, 2020
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/upshot/public-colleges-endangered-pandemic.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article>

Take La Salle University, a medium-size, 157-year-old Roman Catholic
institution in Philadelphia. La Salle does not fit the profile of a tiny
liberal arts college that most people don’t hear about until it expires,
like a minor celebrity you first encounter upon reading an obituary. La
Salle has more than 5,000 students, several Division I sports programs and
a business school that opened an 87,000-square-foot, $35 million building
in 2016.

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<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/upshot/virus-colleges-risky-strategy.html?searchResultPosition=1#after-story-ad-2>

But like many private universities, La Salle has struggled with shrinking
enrollment in recent years. Fall undergraduate enrollment declined to 3,900
in 2018 from more than 4,500 in 2012. Graduate school enrollment dropped 37
percent over the same time. The university has increasingly discounted
tuition prices for those who attend, a common trend.

Nationwide, the average tuition discount given to freshmen attending
private colleges increased every year since 2010, reaching a high of 52.6
percent this academic year. In 2018, La Salle sold paintings from its art
museum for $2.4 million to fund capital improvements, earning an official
sanction
<https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/arts/la-salle-art-museum-sanctioned-for-selling-art-20180525.html>
from
the Association of Art Museum Directors.
Latest Updates: Coronavirus Outbreak in the U.S.
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/us/coronavirus-live-news-updates.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-coronavirus-national&variant=show&region=MAIN_CONTENT_2&context=storylines_live_updates>

   - The tally of coronavirus deaths in the U.S. has surpassed 100,000.
   <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/us/coronavirus-live-news-updates.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-coronavirus-national&variant=show&region=MAIN_CONTENT_2&context=storylines_live_updates#link-119d822b>
   - Scientists are revising their timelines of how the virus spread.
   <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/us/coronavirus-live-news-updates.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-coronavirus-national&variant=show&region=MAIN_CONTENT_2&context=storylines_live_updates#link-30ec6ebb>
   - California is the fourth state with at least 100,000 known cases.
   <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/us/coronavirus-live-news-updates.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-coronavirus-national&variant=show&region=MAIN_CONTENT_2&context=storylines_live_updates#link-7ac8a264>

See more updates
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/us/coronavirus-live-news-updates.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-coronavirus-national&variant=show&region=MAIN_CONTENT_2&context=storylines_live_updates>
Updated 10m ago
More live coverage: Global
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/world/coronavirus-world-global.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-coronavirus-national&variant=show&region=MAIN_CONTENT_2&context=storylines_live_updates>
 Markets
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/business/stock-market-today-coronavirus.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-coronavirus-national&variant=show&region=MAIN_CONTENT_2&context=storylines_live_updates>
 New York
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/nyregion/coronavirus-new-york-cases-deaths.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-coronavirus-national&variant=show&region=MAIN_CONTENT_2&context=storylines_live_updates>

In 2018, La Salle reported $118 million in revenues, most of which came
from tuition, against $115 million in expenses, a margin of only 2.6
percent. The university has about $67 million in net assets after
subtracting debts from the value of its endowment and other reserves.

Edmit examined financial trends at 937 private universities and added a
conservative estimate of the Covid-19 impact: tuition losses of 10 percent
in 2020 and 20 percent in 2021, a 20 percent decline in endowment earnings,
and an offsetting 10 percent reduction in spending on salaries. Edmit did
not estimate reductions in housing revenue, but colleges face millions of
dollars in losses if dorms remain unoccupied.

Those assumptions increased the number of colleges ranked with “Low”
financial health — defined as being on track to run out of money within six
years — by nearly 50 percent, to 345, more than one-third of all private
colleges studied.

And that assumes all private colleges are affected equally. That’s
unlikely. Highly selective colleges and universities have leverage to deny
student requests to defer fall enrollment. They can also hold the line on
tuition prices. Many elite universities have billion-dollar endowments to
ride out the financial storm.

Less competitive colleges can’t just admit whom they wish and charge what
they want. Instead, they use complex statistical models to manage their
enrollment and pricing policies. La Salle, for example, typically admits
five students for every one who actually enrolls, relying on an analysis of
historical enrollment patterns to end up with the right number of students
paying a financially viable mix of tuition prices. It needs a certain
number of students paying full price, or close to it, every year.

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<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/upshot/virus-colleges-risky-strategy.html?searchResultPosition=1#after-story-ad-3>

This has become common industry practice. The financial solvency of many
private colleges now rests on a latticework of probability. But many of the
strategies colleges use to entice admitted students, like campus visits,
are now gone. If the probabilistic models collapse, revenue losses at some
colleges could be much more severe than Edmit’s assumptions, and the number
of private colleges in acute financial distress could be even larger.
The Coronavirus Outbreak
<https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/coronavirus?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>

   - Frequently Asked Questions and Advice

   Updated May 27, 2020
   - What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

      Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty
      breathing or shortness of breath.
      <https://www.nytimes.com/article/symptoms-coronavirus.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>
Some
      of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection
      difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The
      C.D.C. has also
      <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/health/coronavirus-symptoms-cdc.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>
added
      chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of
      taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to
      seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as
two days or
      as many as 14 days.
      - How can I protect myself while flying?

      If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to
      protect yourself.
      <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/03/travel/how-to-clean-your-airplane-seat-and-space.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>
Most
      important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face.
If possible,
      choose a window seat. A study from Emory University
      <http://emoryhealthdigest.emory.edu/issues/2018/spring/from_the_well/germs-on-a-plane/index.html>
found
      that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by
a window,
      as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick
      people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands
      are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat
      like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat
      back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or
      leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on
      upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather
      than killing them.)
      - How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?

      Over 38 million people have filed for unemployment since March. One
      in five who were working in February reported losing a job or being
      furloughed in March or the beginning of April, data from a Federal
      Reserve survey released on May 14 showed
      <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/business/economy/coronavirus-jobless-unemployment.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>,
      and that pain was highly concentrated among low earners. Fully 39 percent
      of former workers living in a household earning $40,000 or less
lost work,
      compared with 13 percent in those making more than $100,000, a
Fed official
      said.
      - Is ‘Covid toe’ a symptom of the disease?

      There is an uptick in people reporting symptoms of chilblains,
      <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/health/coronavirus-covid-toe.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>
which
      are painful red or purple lesions that typically appear in the winter on
      fingers or toes. The lesions are emerging as yet another symptom
      <https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-symptoms.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>
of
      infection with the new coronavirus. Chilblains are caused by inflammation
      in small blood vessels in reaction to cold or damp conditions,
but they are
      usually common in the coldest winter months. Federal health officials do
      not include toe lesions in the list of coronavirus symptoms, but some
      dermatologists are pushing for a change, saying so-called Covid
toe should
      be sufficient grounds for testing.
      - Can I go to the park?

      Yes, but make sure you keep six feet of distance between you and
      people who don’t live in your home. Even if you just hang out in a
      park, rather than go for a jog or a walk, getting some fresh air, and
      hopefully sunshine, is a good idea.
      <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/well/move/coronavirus-covid-exercise-outdoors-infection-fitness.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>
      - How do I take my temperature?

      Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as
      it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but
generally, keep an
      eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you
      don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other
      ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19
      complications.
      <https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-temperature-fever-thermometer.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>
      - Should I wear a mask?

      The C.D.C. has recommended
      <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/world/coronavirus-news-updates.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>
that
      all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is
a shift in
      federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is
      being spread by infected people who have no symptoms
      <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/health/coronavirus-asymptomatic-transmission.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>.
      Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people
      don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the
      reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who
      desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously
short supply.
      Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.
      - What should I do if I feel sick?

      If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have,
      <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/well/what-if-i-have-coronavirus.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>
and
      have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a
      doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be
tested, how to
      get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without
potentially infecting
      or exposing others.
      - How do I get tested?

      If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new
      coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare
      provider and explain your symptoms and fears.
      <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/well/what-if-i-have-coronavirus.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=STYLN_daily_question_block&region=body&context=storylines_faq>They
      will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s
a chance —
      because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for
      instance — you won’t be able to get tested.
      - How can I help?

      Charity Navigator
      <https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=7779>,
      which evaluates charities using a numbers-based system, has a
running list
      of nonprofits working in communities affected by the outbreak.
You can give
      blood through the American Red Cross
      <https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/coronavirus--covid-19--and-blood-donation.html>,
      and World Central Kitchen <https://wck.org/> has stepped in to
      distribute meals in major cities.

------------------------------

Private colleges continue to oppose the release of public information that
might show them in a negative light. The National Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), an industry trade group, has
called for the Department of Education to suspend publication of “financial
responsibility scores,” which are different from Edmit’s estimates and which
are meant to identify colleges at risk of bankruptcy.

Barbara Mistick, president of NAICU and former president of Wilson College
in Pennsylvania, says many private colleges serve large numbers of
low-income students. “We don’t want to hurt institutions unnecessarily,”
she said, noting that public colleges and universities aren’t penalized by
the Department of Education for the fact that state government funding is
on the verge of extensive retrenchment
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/upshot/public-colleges-endangered-pandemic.html?smid=tw-share>.
In addition to funding from the CARES Act, NAICU has called for a large
increase in money for the federal Pell grant program, to give students and
the colleges they attend more resources.

Of course, many colleges will find a way through the present crisis, and
universities like La Salle could rely on administrative savvy and deep
roots of alumni and community support. Modeling tools aren’t perfect, and a
worrisome trajectory doesn’t mean a college will stay on that trajectory.

Historically, colleges have been among the most adaptable and durable
institutions. A list of nongovernmental organizations that survived the
1918 pandemic and still operate today would include a disproportionate
number of private colleges.

Patricia McGuire is president of Trinity Washington University, a women’s
college founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Washington, D.C.
Trinity is not on the Edmit list of endangered colleges. The college has
kept its expenses and tuition low, Ms. McGuire says, by avoiding
unnecessary debt and focusing on academics instead of amenities.
“Frugality,” she notes, “is a habit we got from the nuns.”

But other private colleges used borrowed money and statistical leverage to
gamble on a strategy of spending more to compete for a shrinking pool of
wealthy students. For some of these colleges — if collegians desert or
delay higher education in large numbers this fall — that may prove to be a
fatal mistake.

On Thu, May 28, 2020 at 9:15 AM Sean Parnell <
sean at impactpolicymanagement.com> wrote:

> Not entirely sure why the views of defenders of *Citizens United* are
> sought, but here goes (with the acknowledgement that, not possessing a law
> degree, my views should probably not be mistaken as quality legal
> analysis): it’s stupid. The one redeeming quality I find in the EO is that
> it is not nearly so badly/incoherently written as the EO from a few years
> back “repealing” the so-called Johnson Amendment, so props for that.
>
>
>
> Sean Parnell
>
>
>
> *From:* Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> *On
> Behalf Of *Nate Persily
> *Sent:* Thursday, May 28, 2020 12:38 AM
> *To:* Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu>
> *Cc:* Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
> *Subject:* [EL] Twitter EO
>
>
>
> Attached is the draft of the Executive Order regarding removal of CDA 230
> liability for Twitter and other internet platforms as well as
> encouragement of investigations of the Silicon Valley platforms.  Gotta
> say, this is truly breathtaking.   Eager to hear reactions from defenders
> of Citizens United on this.
> _______________________________________________
> Law-election mailing list
> Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
> https://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election



-- 
Mark Rush
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