Brooke Hauser

The liberal Western Mass. city where the left is eating its young — and old - The Boston Globe The personal has always been political in Northampton, but rarely has local politics seemed so intensely personal.

The personal has always been political in this city of around 31,000, but rarely has local politics seemed so intensely personal. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/23/m...

‘Not normal’: Cocaine sting, massive fire, and no-confidence rally test UMass Amherst - The Boston Globe It has been a rocky few weeks at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

It has been a rocky few weeks at the University of Massachusetts Amherst: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/m...

At least 10 Pioneer Valley communities helped fight fire near UMass Amherst - The Boston Globe The fire that displaced around 230 UMass Amherst students was the biggest and most destructive blaze in the town's recent history.

Amherst’s most destructive fire in recent history drew a mutual aid response that the fire chief calls “one of the success stories” of the night. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/11/m...

Displaced UMass Amherst students plan next steps after losing everything in blaze - The Boston Globe A building that once housed around 230 students near the University of Massachusetts Amherst is now a pile of rubble and ash; the university is trying to help those affected.

With an open investigation and many lingering questions, students were feeling unsettled Monday. One senior who didn’t want to give her name brushed tears away as she stood at the charred site. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/10/m...

In Amherst, Hotel UMass sets unlikely stage for major drug bust - The Boston Globe In the wake of LaMar Cook's arrest, a vaunted "teaching hotel" in the heart of campus is drawing attention as one setting in an elaborate cocaine sting.

The Hotel UMass is known for its prime location, stark Brutalist architecture, and prominence as a teaching hotel. Now it’s also drawing attention as one setting in an elaborate cocaine sting. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/05/m...

Meet the MIT risk analyst at the center of RFK Jr.’s vaccine offensive - The Boston Globe Retsef Levi, a professor of operations management, has been a vocal critic of COVID-19 vaccines.

Retsef Levi may not be a household name, but he is already impacting how every household in the United States will access vaccines, and it couldn’t be at a more consequential time. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/21/m...

At MIT, a new initiative is ‘the opposite of an academic boycott’ against Israel - The Boston Globe Kalaniyot, a faculty-led program, aims to strengthen US ties with Israeli researchers from diverse backgrounds.

The MIT model serves as a "cookbook." The main recipe: "Get together a faculty board, make sure they’re diverse, and stay out of politics." Of course, it’s hard to avoid politics when talking about Israel.

The Trump administration is suing states with tuition breaks for eligible undocumented students. Could that happen here? - The Boston Globe Two years ago, Massachusetts extended eligibility for in-state tuition, and financial aid, to undocumented immigrants. Now those policies are drawing legal fire in other states.

In Massachusetts, “This is not the time to panic. This is really the time to prepare,” said Miriam Feldblum, executive director of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/09/m...

MIT is targeted in vandalism and video - The Boston Globe The university is investigating graffiti found on the doors of the Stata Center, the university's computer science and AI lab.

“Death to the IDF” defaced the entrance doors of the Stata Center, the university’s computer science and artificial intelligence laboratory, along with the tagged signature DAMPL, which stands for the Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/07/m...

Conservative group targets Smith College in federal complaint alleging Title IX violations for admitting transgender women - The Boston Globe In a striking twist, the complaint also accuses Smith of ‘sex discrimination’ for not admitting self-identified transgender men.

The complaint characterizes Smith’s current policies as either violating or encroaching on the rights of “biological women” under Title IX, a depiction opponents say is a willful misinterpretation of the landmark civil rights law that’s gaining traction. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/27/m...

While the budget scenarios UMass Amherst administrators are requesting are only an exercise in financial planning at this point, professors are already thinking about what they may have to lose. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/19/m...

‘I would not have left’: An Indian student went home after the US terminated his status. Now he can’t come back. - The Boston Globe The 26-year-old PhD candidate had been studying in Boston and was halfway through his program this spring when the United States government suddenly terminated his legal status.

“I did all the things right. I was compliant. They asked me to leave. I left the country,” said the PhD student. In doing so, “I became a statistic to their self-deportation [initiative].” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/19/m...

In its battle against Trump, Harvard is taking a page from the PR playbook: ‘Never waste a crisis.’ - The Boston Globe In the months since it became a top target in the administration’s efforts to overhaul higher education, Harvard has activated an all-out media blitz to burnish its image.

Harvard's resistance to the Trump administration has been aided by an all-out media blitz, with the university helping to spotlight faculty whose research is in peril and dispatching Pres. Alan Garber on a rare national media tour. w/ @brookehaus.bsky.social www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/11/b...

“Alan Garber — bless his soul — was not trained, and our PR team was not trained, to launch defenses against authoritarian governments,” said Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard and the author of “How Democracies Die.” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/11/b...

International Harvard students are stunned by Trump’s latest edict. One doesn’t know what to say to his grandmother, who sold her farm to get him from Kenya to Cambridge. - The Boston Globe Trump’s mounting restrictions have upended the lives of students — and their families back home.

“I want Americans to know that we are not just statistics or pawns in a political fight. We are future leaders, scientists, teachers, and bridge builders. And we chose Harvard.”

With Trump’s latest threat against Chinese international students, academic exchange and tuition dollars are at risk - The Boston Globe Foreign-born students make up almost 18 percent of postsecondary enrollment in Massachusetts, more than anywhere in the country.

Boston University professor Min Ye sees Rubio’s “rejection” of Chinese students as “a strong signal that we want to go back to the ’70s,” she said, before “the whole global collaboration in science, technology, and education.”

How safe is the future for international students in the US? - The Boston Globe As Trump targets foreign students, the fear is palpable from Harvard Yard to UMass Amherst.

“Education is about opening your mind to different things, right… But in a situation where you cannot talk freely, or live freely, or travel freely within the safest part of the world — that is a psychological burden.”

International students: We want to hear your thoughts about the future. What happens next? - The Boston Globe Our higher ed team is also interested in talking to school faculty and staff who work with international students.

International students: We want to hear your thoughts about the future. What happens next? Our higher ed team is also interested in talking to school faculty and staff who work with international students www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/19/m...

UMass Amherst chancellor tells graduates to ‘keep defying gravity’ - The Boston Globe A year after pro-Palestinian protests disrupted the UMass graduation, there were no visible demonstrations or walkouts, but plenty of smiles and strappy heels under a glaring sun Friday.

Covered UMass Amherst commencement last night and heard a common refrain — graduates are worried about job security in the wake of federal cuts and funding freezes. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/16/m...

Graduates are feeling trepidation this commencement season, but ‘fear is what needs to drive change,’ says MIT class president - The Boston Globe The class of 2025 knows disappointment. It knows defiance. And now, four months into President Trump’s second term, it knows trepidation and dread.

Even as grounds crews begin to mow pastoral greens and put up graduation banners, there’s also a feeling of apprehension thrumming beneath the regular rhythms of college life. “It’s not really a secret that a lot of us are feeling some fear.” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/14/m...

I wrote about the midlife emotional mosh pit that is perimenopause and why, to quote a children's book, "a screaming song is good to know in case you need to scream." www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/15/m...

What makes a good commencement speech this year? - The Boston Globe The task for commencement speakers is a bit trickier than usual: They have to navigate a highly charged political landscape, all while inspiring the next generation.

The task for commencement speakers is a bit trickier than usual: They have to navigate a highly charged political landscape at a critical moment for higher education and the country, all while inspiring the next generation and not alienating their parents. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/14/m...

As Trump attacks on Harvard gain momentum, researchers scramble: ‘Everyone can read the writing on the wall’ - The Boston Globe What would Harvard University be without its research arm? That's the existential, $9 billion question facing the university and its researchers after the Trump administration's latest threat.

Rachel Petherbridge, fifth-year PhD candidate, likened the ongoing funding threats to “a slow-moving train.” With the threats on Monday, the train suddenly “jerked forward.” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/06/m...

How did Journalism get its name? What to know about Kentucky Derby horse Journalism is the favorite to win the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. But how did the horse get its name?

“Journalism isn't the first media-related named horse to run in the Kentucky Derby.” Also see: “Newsboy in 1882 (11th place finish); there was Editor's Note in 1996 (sixth place finish); Suddenbreakingnews in 2016 (fifth place finish).” www.usatoday.com/story/sports...

Trump’s vow to end Harvard’s tax-exempt status sparks immediate rebuke: ‘This is just textbook authoritarian behavior’ - The Boston Globe The Trump administration has demanded sweeping oversight over Harvard’s academic operation, a move actively opposed by President Alan Garber.

“This is just textbook authoritarian behavior,” said Steven Levitsky, professor of government and Latin American studies at Harvard. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/02/m...

Two reports, more than 500 pages: Here are 5 takeaways from Harvard’s self-examination of antisemitism and Islamophobia - The Boston Globe Each report combines historical context with emotional testimonies recorded during hours of listening sessions with students, faculty, and staff.

“There’s a fear of having conversations about anything related to Israel/Palestine because people don’t know enough to participate and don’t want to say the wrong thing,” said one student. “But they can listen.” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/30/m...

Harvard releases searing reports on antisemitism, Islamophobia. ‘I am sorry,’ president Alan Garber says. - The Boston Globe The reports found that both Jewish students and Arab and Muslim students said their peers viewed them with suspicion, leading them to play down their identities.

“Both reports show where Harvard failed to support students at a time when they needed it most.” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/29/m...

Lookout monkey at the Rock of Gibraltar. Very Oz.

Why are so many students in Mass. losing their visas? The answer lies in a little-known database. - The Boston Globe Federal immigration authorities are using a little-known database to find students and terminate their status, experts say.

“Nothing about this is normal." w. @samanthajgross.bsky.social www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/15/m...

Excited to share some news: As of Monday, I joined the Globe's stellar higher ed/Metro team as a full-time reporter. I'll also be keeping an eye on Western Mass. stories more generally. Please send tips, ideas, etc. my way at brooke.hauser@globe.com.