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 [email protected]

Displaced Palestinian teacher Dina Ukkashi gives courses in the damaged halls of the Islamic University in Gaza Strip in May 2025.

“We Deserve Life”: Students Speak Out From Gaza “We Deserve Life”: Students Speak Out From Gaza

Hours once used to write essays or prepare for exams are now spent waiting in line for food and water. But many students still cling to their books and laptops.

Sep 9, 2025 / StudentNation / Tareq AlSourani and William Liang

Demonstrators gather to protest against a travel ban announced by US President Donald Trump.

The “Refugee Pipeline” Has Been Abandoned The “Refugee Pipeline” Has Been Abandoned

Since Trump took office, assistance for refugees has largely been revoked or suspended, with many recent arrivals from Afghanistan unable to bring their families.

Sep 8, 2025 / StudentNation / Ava Menkes

A member of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee holds a sign during a protest.

How Young Kashmiris Shape the Struggle for Self-Determination How Young Kashmiris Shape the Struggle for Self-Determination

Silenced and sidelined and between nation-states, young people are organizing for an independent Kashmir.

Sep 4, 2025 / StudentNation / Khadeejah Khan

Employees with Project Weber-Renew in Providence, Rhode Island.

This Overdose Prevention Center Isn’t Giving Up on Harm Reduction This Overdose Prevention Center Isn’t Giving Up on Harm Reduction

Over the past decade, overdose protections and programs like Project Weber-Renew have expanded, but with Trump back in office, this trend may be short lived.

Sep 2, 2025 / StudentNation / Fareed Salmon

Ken Martin, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who leads a counter-resolution to Allison Minnerly’s proposal.

A DNC Member Is Calling for an Arms Embargo on Israel. Will the Party Leadership Listen? A DNC Member Is Calling for an Arms Embargo on Israel. Will the Party Leadership Listen?

Allison Minnerly speaks about her upcoming resolution urging a ceasefire, an arms embargo on Israel, and recognition of Palestine as a state.

Aug 26, 2025 / Q&A / Zoya Alam

Dan Golden watering his marijuana plants on his farm in Humboldt County, California.

California’s Small Cannabis Farmers Have Been Left High and Dry California’s Small Cannabis Farmers Have Been Left High and Dry

Humboldt County helped fuel the rise of the marijuana industry, but after the plant’s legalization, its farmers are struggling.

Aug 25, 2025 / StudentNation / Colin Warren

The Harvard Graduate Student Union–United Automobile Workers during a rally in 2021.

Trump’s War on Higher Ed Comes to the Bargaining Table Trump’s War on Higher Ed Comes to the Bargaining Table

As two of the nation’s largest private graduate student unions fight for new contracts, their members have been among the most vulnerable to the president’s attacks on universitie...

Aug 21, 2025 / StudentNation / Amann Mahajan

A volunteer in Greece unrolls a firehose in preparation for a wildfire.

The Volunteers Fighting Greece’s Intensifying Wildfires The Volunteers Fighting Greece’s Intensifying Wildfires

As climate change brings unprecedented levels of heat and drought, the country’s unpaid fire brigades are bracing for the worst in the absence of state support.

Aug 14, 2025 / StudentNation / Megan Cameron, Annalisa Jenkins, and Maggie Stewart

Doug Rebout’s soybean farm in Janesville, Wisconsin.

How Trump’s Tariffs Shocked Wisconsin Farmers How Trump’s Tariffs Shocked Wisconsin Farmers

The administration’s tariff policies have thrust soybean farmers into economic chaos as they navigate higher input costs and shifts in global trade.

Aug 12, 2025 / StudentNation / Ava Menkes

Young People Are Using ChatGPT for Therapy, but the Conversations Lack Privacy and Protections

Young People Are Using ChatGPT for Therapy, but the Conversations Lack Privacy and Protections Young People Are Using ChatGPT for Therapy, but the Conversations Lack Privacy and Protections

Therapy is now one of the leading uses of AI. But unlike traditional therapy notes, which are privileged, transcripts with chatbots carry no such shield.

Aug 8, 2025 / StudentNation / Chelsea Lubbe and Ray Epstein

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