humanities students

Three Egyptian security officials have been convicted in absentia over the kidnapping of Giulio Regeni, the Italian Cambridge University student found tortured and killed near Cairo in 2016. The verdict, handed down by an Italian court, is seen by human rights advocates as a rare step toward accountability, though none of the convicted men is likely to be extradited or serve prison time.

Mexico is preparing to announce new findings in the investigation into the 2014 disappearance of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa rural teachers' college in Iguala, Guerrero. The case remains one of the country's most notorious human rights scandals, and families of the victims have long demanded accountability. Any new revelations are expected to draw close scrutiny from victims' relatives, rights groups and the public.

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has dismissed concerns that widespread use of AI tools is eroding people's skills, arguing that AI should be treated as a tool that augments workers rather than replaces their abilities. His remarks come amid ongoing debate in the tech industry about whether reliance on AI systems, from coding assistants to chatbots, is weakening critical thinking and expertise among workers and students.

A Harvard study reports that students learning physics with an AI tutor outperformed peers in a traditional classroom setting. The findings suggest personalized, interactive AI instruction can deliver greater learning gains than standard lectures, reigniting debate over how AI should fit into education and what it means for the future of teaching.

A Harvard study has concluded that an AI tutor outperformed traditional in-class physics teaching. The findings suggest students using the AI tutor achieved better learning outcomes than those in conventional classroom settings. The result is drawing attention as educators debate the role of artificial intelligence in higher education and whether such tools should be adopted more widely in science courses.

A guest commentary argues that artificial intelligence can genuinely benefit students, but only when treated as a learning tool rather than a companion. The piece warns against students forming emotional attachments to AI chatbots, arguing the technology should support study and problem-solving without replacing human relationships, teachers or peer interaction in schools.

Princeton University's physics department has wrapped up an experiment using artificial intelligence to grade student work and published its findings. The results were mixed, with AI grading showing promise but also clear limitations compared with human assessment. The report is drawing attention as universities weigh how far AI should be allowed into academic evaluation.

The University of Toronto has launched a new Office of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion, a dedicated body to handle human rights matters and advance equity across the institution. The student newspaper The Varsity reported the launch. Details about the office's mandate, staffing and how it will differ from existing university services are not yet clear.

Student groups at Indiana University are calling on the university to divest from countries accused of human rights abuses, explicitly invoking the anti-apartheid divestment campaigns of the 1980s as a precedent. The push follows a broader wave of campus divestment activism, and the students argue the university's endowment should not be invested in governments credibly accused of rights violations.

Peter M. Ray, a biologist remembered for his research and his enthusiasm for winemaking, has died at the age of 94. The Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences announced his passing, paying tribute to his contributions to plant biology and his life beyond the laboratory. Colleagues and former students are honoring his legacy in science and in the vineyard.

A New York Times opinion piece argues that artificial intelligence is set to fundamentally reshape the medical profession, from how medical students train to how doctors diagnose and treat patients. The article contends that the changes underway will permanently alter what it means to practice medicine, sparking debate about the future role of human physicians alongside increasingly capable AI tools.

A human rights lawyer has argued that lethal injections 'get botched all the time' while discussing the case of Christa Pike, a death row inmate in the United States. Pike was convicted of the 1995 murder of fellow student Colleen Slemmer in Tennessee and remains one of the few women on death row in the US. The comments have renewed debate over the reliability and humanity of execution methods.

The Department of Health and Human Services has announced a $10 million challenge to promote the Presidential Fitness Test in schools across the United States. The program aims to encourage student participation in physical fitness testing, a longstanding but recently scaled-back tradition. The move has drawn attention as part of a broader push to restore emphasis on youth fitness and physical education nationwide.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has launched a Presidential Fitness School Innovation Challenge aimed at improving youth fitness in American schools. The initiative invites schools to develop new approaches to physical education and student health, reviving the long-running presidential fitness program tradition.

University World News argues that even as artificial intelligence reshapes teaching, research and administration, higher education must continue to prioritise human connection between staff and students. The piece stresses that mentoring, trust and interpersonal relationships remain central to learning and cannot be replaced by automated tools, whatever efficiency gains AI brings to the sector.

A documentary about Umar Khalid, the Indian student activist jailed under anti-terror laws since 2020, is being screened in Washington, DC, in an event organised by the advocacy group Hindus for Human Rights. The screening highlights ongoing concern over Khalid's prolonged detention without trial and free-speech issues in India, drawing attention among human rights advocates and the Indian diaspora.

Students at the University of Oregon have brought the Human Rights Coalition to their campus, establishing a new chapter of the advocacy organisation. The student-led initiative aims to organise around human rights causes, though specific campaigns and goals have not yet been detailed publicly.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has launched a school fitness challenge in Austin, Texas. The initiative aims to promote physical activity among students, though details about its scope and duration were not immediately available. The move aligns with Kennedy's public health focus in his role as Health and Human Services Secretary, and it is drawing attention from local media and residents.

Bucknell University's student newspaper, The Bucknellian, has published a piece arguing that art is inherently human, making the case that creativity and artistic expression cannot be separated from human experience. The article reflects an ongoing debate about the value of human-made art at a time when artificial intelligence can generate images, music and writing, prompting many writers and educators to defend art as a distinctly human pursuit.

The Channels, the student news outlet at Santa Barbara City College, has put out a call asking readers to submit human-generated art. The appeal positions original, people-made creative work against the growing flood of AI-produced images, and invites artists to share their pieces with the publication for possible publication.

The Department of Health and Human Services has announced a $10 million challenge aimed at increasing participation in the Presidential Fitness Test, the long-running school fitness testing program. The funding is intended to encourage more schools and students to take part. Reaction so far has focused on the size of the investment and what it means for physical education in schools.

A doctoral student at the University of Cincinnati is researching the human brain and how scientific findings about it move from basic study into laboratory practice. The university is highlighting her work as an example of graduate research in neuroscience. Little further detail about her specific findings has been reported.

The Alexander Grass Humanities Institute at Johns Hopkins University hosted political theorist Teresa Bejan for a book lunch focused on her work First Among Equals. The event gave students and faculty a chance to discuss Bejan's arguments about equality and its role in political thought, continuing the institute's programming that brings scholars together for informal academic conversation around new books.