Harvey Young –

A student bows his head as he pauses next to an impromptu memorial set up outside Concord, New Hampshire High School, on Feb. 1, 1986, after a private service was conducted at the school for teacher Christa McAuliffe who died in the Challenger explosion. (Elise Amendola/AP)

Harvey Young: How the Challenger explosion shaped a generation

January 29, 2026 at 2:31 p.m.

The Challenger explosion was an awakening for people in the 1980s. It shook confidence in received narratives of safety.

A box of drink coasters sits on President Donald Trump's coffee table in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 24, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

Harvey Young: The cards are stacked against the humanities. How should colleges respond?

March 12, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

President Donald Trump's approach pushes universities to decide whether to stand up for their values or to fold to keep funding intact.

People protest June 29, 2023, outside the Supreme Court in Washington after the court the previous day struck down affirmative action in college admissions.

Harvey Young: Critics of affirmative action won a Supreme Court victory. But diversity unquestionably matters.

June 29, 2023 at 11:42 a.m.

The campaign against affirmative action has reduced the complicated process of college admissions to a simple and highly inaccurate sound bite: Black and brown students are being admitted over higher-achieving...

Mourners support each other while visiting a makeshift memorial outside of Tops Friendly Market on May 15, 2022, in Buffalo, New York.

Harvey Young: Recent shooting exposes Buffalo’s deep-seated history of segregation

May 16, 2022 at 1:29 p.m.

A true Buffalonian knows certain things. A good snowstorm brings out the best in a person. Strangers will dig each other out. There is no better sandwich than beef on...

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian presidential press office, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looks at a front-line position from a shelter as he visits eastern Ukraine, where the country's military has been locked in a conflict with Russia-backed separatists.

Harvey Young: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demonstrates the political power of performance

March 1, 2022 at 2:32 p.m.

John F. Kennedy may have written "Profiles in Courage" but Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shown us what courage looks like. The Ukrainian president's stand against Russia's onslaught is a reminder...

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