This week: Harvard teach everyone how to deal with a bully; an update on my writing; The Spike-related links; and refusing to give up when 2-4 down with six minutes remaining.
schooling_the_bully
Harvard University hit the headlines this week for being the first major US university to stand up to the Trump administration’s attempt to control them.
Despite being threatened with the withdrawal of their funding, totalling more than $2 billion, they rejected the demands made in a letter to the university’s president, Alan Garber, that included orders to reform their governance; remove all equality initiatives from their hiring and admissions policies; delete DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs, offices, committees, positions and initiatives; and submit to full monitoring by the government.
Harvard is a private institution. This is a textbook example of government overreach, something the Republicans claim to be against.
Garber responded:
“The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
I’m not going to claim they were completely pure on this – they may have done the calculations and decided long-term this would be the best strategy financially – but it’s good to see someone willing to take that chance.
Top law firms have buckled to Trump’s ridiculous demands instead of, I don’t know, fighting them in court. You’d think lawyers would know Trump is extending beyond his legal rights and would back themselves, but instead they’ve bent the knee.
I am aware I said I wasn’t going to regularly write about Trump, but this story ties into one of the major themes of The Spike Volume 1: bullying.
Trump is a bully. He has got himself into a position of strength and he’s throwing his weight around with no regard for anybody else.
Finally, people like Harvard’s president are realising you can’t stop bullies by submitting. You have to say no.
Yes, the bully might beat you up and take your money. But if you don’t oppose them, they’ll come back, and every time they will demand more and more. They will not relinquish their grip or go easy on you.
They want the control more than they want the money – the power is the point.
If you resist, eventually bullies will tire of the fight because they will have other victims they can extort for much less effort.
It takes everyone to stand together for a bully to lose their power.
The law firms, the universities, and the American people, need to unite and say no.
progress_report
This can’t continue, but I have again beaten my prior week’s word count: 5,741 words this week.
I’m on the cusp of the finale to part 3’s finale, and it’s been fun to write. The next few chapters will be full of tension and reveals, and I’m looking forward to working on them. Then, there’ll be tying of loose ends and preparation for the full finale that brings all three parts together.
I’m still on track to finish by the end of the month, but am not going to force it or beat myself up if I miss that target by a day or two.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 – draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 – draft 2 complete!
Part 3 – draft 2 written up to chapter 54; twelve chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 of part 3 by the end of April.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 – I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
Scientists find ‘strongest evidence yet’ of life on distant planet
Next generation computer chips could process data at the speed of light – new research
The U.S. is building a fuel depot in space
Cambridge University accused of bullying ‘cover-up’ as internal survey revealed
New technologies are helping to regrow Arctic sea ice
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that’s inspired my creativity.
This week, unusually, I wasn’t inspired by a creative act, but by a remarkable sporting achievement.
Manchester United were the dominant side in English football for two decades whilst Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge, but their decline has been stunning. At time of writing, they sit 14th in the Premier League table, and as one of the biggest clubs in the world, this is obviously not where they want to be.
Their last chance of silverware this season, and of qualifying for the lucrative Champions League next season, is to win the Europa League, and on Thursday night they were playing in the quarter finals against Lyon.
I won’t go into detail, but they were 2-4 down with 6 minutes of extra time remaining and were heading out of the tournament.
Somehow, they scored three goals, including two in the last two minutes, to win.
I don’t consider myself a Man Utd supporter, but there is something fascinating about the club. For someone who loves stories of all kinds, Man Utd have some of the best scriptwriters.
Their desire not to be beaten and their defiance fit in well with the anti-bullying theme this week.
What’s inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
Arrowmaker Books 