StudentNation

StudentNation is a program of the Nation Fund for Independent Journalism and is made possible through generous funding from the Puffin Foundation. StudentNation focuses on first-person accounts from student activists, organizers, and journalists and has helped launch the careers of contributors to The New York TimesVoxBusiness InsiderTeen Vogue, the Guardian, and more. If you’re a student and you have an article idea, please send pitches and questions to pitches@thenationfund.org. 

Illustration of Haymarket Riot in Chicago by T. de Thulstrup

Almost 140 Years After the Haymarket Affair, Will Workers Fight for the 4-Day Week? Almost 140 Years After the Haymarket Affair, Will Workers Fight for the 4-Day Week?

In the 1880s, labor leaders believed that the eight-hour day was one of the only demands that could unite all working people. Today, the four-day week could do the same.

May 5, 2025 / StudentNation / Andrew Berka

Venezuelan community leaders speak to the media as they protest against the suspension of Temporary Protected Status in Doral, Florida, on February 3, 2025.

As Trump Goes After Protected Status, Venezuelan Students Are “Terrified” As Trump Goes After Protected Status, Venezuelan Students Are “Terrified”

While those with TPS are safe on paper, the administration’s attempted revocation and ongoing legal battle has left many young immigrants—regardless of status—fearing detainment.

Apr 30, 2025 / StudentNation / Shandra Back

A Graduate School of Arts and Sciences flag on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

We Don’t Have to Hand It to Harvard We Don’t Have to Hand It to Harvard

The university’s lawsuit against the Trump administration was widely celebrated, but our school has been quietly complying with federal demands around Palestine for weeks.

Apr 28, 2025 / StudentNation / Christopher Malley and Nathaniel Moses

Cornell University student and pro-Palestine activist Momodou Taal.

A Pro-Palestinian Activist Lost His Case, but the “Fight From Below” Continues A Pro-Palestinian Activist Lost His Case, but the “Fight From Below” Continues

Cornell University student Momodou Taal self-deported just weeks after he sued the federal government in response to Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian protest.

Apr 7, 2025 / StudentNation / Benjamin Leynse and Avery Wang

Sophomore Kavya Racheetim looks through the first edition of The Retrograde.

Texas Student Journalists Are Being Censored, but That Won’t Stop the Presses Texas Student Journalists Are Being Censored, but That Won’t Stop the Presses

On University of Texas campuses, students have found other ways of newsmaking that free their publications from editorial control by their schools and state.

Apr 2, 2025 / StudentNation / Aaron Boehmer

A National Womens Soccer League match at Red Bull Arena on June 8, 2024.

Is the Sports Draft Obsolete? Is the Sports Draft Obsolete?

With the players association’s new collective bargaining agreement, the National Women’s Soccer League became the first major league in American sports to abolish the college draf...

Mar 31, 2025 / StudentNation / Takashi Williams

Hundreds of Cardinal O’Connor Conference attendees gather in Georgetown University’s Gaston Hall to hear from anti-abortion activists.

Inside Washington, DC’s “Pro-Life Super Bowl” Inside Washington, DC’s “Pro-Life Super Bowl”

Days after Donald Trump’s inauguration, hundreds of young anti-abortion activists gathered at Georgetown University for the annual Cardinal O’Connor Conference.

Mar 27, 2025 / StudentNation / Katherine Wilkison

Pro-Palestinian Jewish Americans gather outside the ICE headquarters on March 20, 2025, at the emergency rally to release Palestinian green-card holder and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil and reject the Trump administration’s mass deportations.

What’s Happening at Columbia University Won’t End There What’s Happening at Columbia University Won’t End There

The actions of the Trump administration have not made our campus a safer place, and their broader McCarthyite punishment of dissent is just beginning.

Mar 25, 2025 / StudentNation / Destiny Spruill and Jordan Weinstock

A visitor in silhouette at an art gallery.

We Need to Reengage My Generation In Art Appreciation We Need to Reengage My Generation In Art Appreciation

Art history, once a staple in every college humanities curriculum, is now seen as elitist and futile. With Donald Trump back in the White House, the arts are more at risk than eve...

Mar 24, 2025 / StudentNation / Allegra Devine Lief

Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2025.

Trump’s Order Dismantling the Education Department Continues His Attacks on the Agency Trump’s Order Dismantling the Education Department Continues His Attacks on the Agency

The president plans to sign an executive order directing officials to take all “necessary steps” to shut down the department, but a complete closure would require an act of Congre...

Mar 20, 2025 / StudentNation / Owen Dahlkamp

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