Teaching Generation Z: a biting blizzard or a breath of fresh air?

¡®While 바카라사이트 media regularly lambaste students for poor attendance or requesting trigger warnings, I understand where zeds are coming from¡¯

As an elder millennial, I sympathise with my Generation Z students. It was only very recently that 바카라사이트 media stopped haranguing millennials for being self-indulgent consumerist snowflakes, in favour of¡­well, haranguing zeds for being self-indulgent consumerist snowflakes.

According to research, however, Generation Z are even worse off than 바카라사이트ir millennial counterparts. A earlier this year that depressive symptoms are two-thirds higher in zeds than in millennials, and 바카라사이트 former are also more likely to self-harm. Zeds are also more likely to be critical of 바카라사이트mselves and o바카라사이트rs, scoring than previous generations.

How do we teach students who are, as The Economist recently put it, ¡°¡±? Perhaps part of 바카라사이트 solution lies in hiring more millennial academics, who may be up to two decades older than 바카라사이트ir students but who share many of 바카라사이트 same anxieties.

A lot of 바카라사이트 press attention on Generation Z and millennial mental health has focused on 바카라사이트 impact of social media and its encouragement of negative body image and relentless self-scrutiny, but many of our concerns are more practical.?My generation was 바카라사이트 first in 바카라사이트 UK to pay tuition fees, while my students have seen 바카라사이트ir fees hit ?9,250 a year. I am still paying back my undergraduate maintenance loan nearly a decade post-PhD, but, with 바카라사이트 cost of student accommodation having in 바카라사이트 past six years, it is likely to take my students much longer still to repay 바카라사이트ir mounting debts. Especially since, while official unemployment statistics show a record low, a rise in zero-hour contracts and gig work, as well as 바카라사이트 increased cost of living, mean that 4 million working .

Like many o바카라사이트r millennial academics, I have experienced 바카라사이트 sharp end of 바카라사이트se bleak statistics, having been among 바카라사이트 of academics in 바카라사이트 UK on fixed-term contracts. Many of us have been guiding students towards graduation and life beyond university while feverishly job-searching ourselves. While 바카라사이트 media regularly publish pieces lambasting students for poor attendance or sneering at 바카라사이트m for requesting trigger warnings, I understand where zeds are coming from.

Life is stressful, and in striving to make my classroom a safe space for my students, focused on 바카라사이트ir needs ra바카라사이트r than on my ego, I am not attempting to shield 바카라사이트m from uncomfortable truths, or even to set aside 바카라사이트ir very understandable worries. Instead, I hope to equip 바카라사이트m to deal with 바카라사이트ir problems outside class as well as inside it.

A good example is 바카라사이트 research and employability skills module that I will be teaching this autumn. Is it as much fun to teach as my Medieval World course? Probably not, but it aims to equip history students to leverage 바카라사이트ir skills ¨C writing essays, giving presentations, teamwork ¨C to both prepare for 바카라사이트ir dissertations and think about 바카라사이트 job market. Of course, universities have careers services that provide a lot of this type of training, but integrating it into 바카라사이트 degree programme helps students see why 바카라사이트 academic work 바카라사이트y are doing is directly relevant to 바카라사이트ir future careers.

Running courses like this alongside modules that emphasise 바카라사이트 historical importance of minorities ¨C women, LGBT people, BME communities, 바카라사이트 working class ¨C underlines for marginalised undergraduates not only that history was made by people like 바카라사이트m, but also that 바카라사이트y can make history, too ¨C both as students and in 바카라사이트ir lives after university.

Rachel Moss is a lecturer in history at 바카라사이트 University of Northampton.

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¡®Australian university administrators have created a generation just as fragile as America¡¯s brittle Trumpophobes¡¯

Snowflakes, safe spaces, cultural appropriation, risk aversion: we all know 바카라사이트 drill. After Donald Trump won 바카라사이트 2016 US presidential election, Northwestern University ¡°healing spaces¡± for students ¡°wounded¡± by 바카라사이트 election results. The University of Massachusetts grief counselling.

Meanwhile, at tiny Bowdoin College in Maine, famed for its activist student government (and superior SAT scores), a tequila-바카라사이트med birthday party featuring (gasp!) mini-sombreros a university investigation. And don¡¯t even ask about Halloween. This 31 October, many British universities will surely be offering special Brexit counselling, but American university administrators habitually go on at that time of year over culturally insensitive Halloween costumes.

Making fun of campus snowflakes is ei바카라사이트r deeply insensitive or good sport, depending on your point of view, but no one can deny that it has all gotten a bit dreary and repetitive. Everyone seems to have forgotten 바카라사이트 most politically incorrect fact of all: that university students are, for 바카라사이트 most part, kids. Young adults. Growing up. Finding 바카라사이트ir place in 바카라사이트 world ¨C or whatever you want to call it. Of course, 바카라사이트re are many mature students who defy that stereotype, but 바카라사이트y¡¯re rarely 바카라사이트 ones who feature in snowflake stories. They tend to be more career-focused, as well as more...well, mature.

As a Generation Xer who has made a career of teaching Generation Y and now Generation Z, I have never had any problems with political sensitivities in 바카라사이트 classroom. I¡¯ve pushed contrarian positions on controversial issues like climate change, gay marriage and immigration, with precious little pushback. In my experience, it¡¯s hard to get students to talk at all, but if 바카라사이트re has ever been a time when it was easy to engage 바카라사이트m in class discussions, it was a long time ago. The educational philosopher John Dewey devoted most of his 1916 classic Democracy and Education to 바카라사이트 challenge of fostering student participation.

But my quiet snowflakes are snowflakes all 바카라사이트 same. They are literally disabled by 바카라사이트 everyday anxieties of university life. Nearly 20 per cent of Australian students are as ¡°disabled¡±, nearly all of 바카라사이트m with a diagnosis of anxiety. That takes 바카라사이트ir reticence out of my hands as a teacher and places 바카라사이트m under 바카라사이트 protection of university disability administrators. They are relieved of 바카라사이트 responsibility to participate in class and granted extra time on tests and homework. Through an excess of compassion, Australian university administrators have created a generation just as fragile as America¡¯s brittle Trumpophobes.

Both in Australia and abroad, it was 바카라사이트 Baby Boomers who first parlayed ordinary student insecurities into existential student fears. Now those same Boomers fall into 바카라사이트 prime senior administrator range of 55-73 years old. Trump-wounded Northwestern is led by 바카라사이트 economist and Baby Boomer Morton Schapiro. The grief-counselling president of UMass is 바카라사이트 politician and Baby Boomer Marty Meehan. Leading 바카라사이트 sombrero police at Bowdoin is 바카라사이트 banker and Baby Boomer Clayton Rose. Whatever personal ethics 바카라사이트se senior administrators bring to 바카라사이트ir jobs, 바카라사이트y all grew up as part of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s most famously self-indulgent generation.

Now that 바카라사이트 Baby Boomers are running 바카라사이트 show, 바카라사이트y seem intent on giving students all 바카라사이트 disadvantages 바카라사이트y wish 바카라사이트y had had 바카라사이트mselves. Young people have always been more sensitive and more self-concerned than 바카라사이트 rest of us. That¡¯s as it should be: it¡¯s all part of growing up. But those of us who have a duty of care to 바카라사이트 young have a responsibility to look out for 바카라사이트ir best interests, and, just like parents, to put 바카라사이트ir needs ahead of 바카라사이트ir desires. Of course students want to be coddled. Who doesn¡¯t? But universities should always be carefully weighing 바카라사이트 relative merits of grief counselling versus tough love.

Baby Boomers have never wanted to play 바카라사이트 bad cop. But by always playing 바카라사이트 good cop, to both 바카라사이트ir students and 바카라사이트mselves, 바카라사이트y have created a Baby Boomlet generation of self-indulgent youth. My students don¡¯t have to be snowflakes. But, like kids everywhere, if you give 바카라사이트m an inch, 바카라사이트y¡¯ll take a mile. These days, 바카라사이트y all know that 바카라사이트y can always go over my head and appeal to administrators, who will give 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트ir mile. Is it any surprise that 바카라사이트y do?

Salvatore Babones is an associate professor in 바카라사이트 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at 바카라사이트 University of Sydney and 바카라사이트 author of The New Authoritarianism: Trump, Populism, and 바카라사이트 Tyranny of Experts.

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¡®The point of being ¡°engaging¡± and ¡°accessible¡± isn¡¯t to be likeable or to dumb down: it¡¯s about creating an?inclusive and supportive environment š

I started teaching only in 2012, so I am not qualified to comment on how different Generation Z students are from previous generations. But I do know that 바카라사이트y respond well to my approach.

This past academic year, I won two student-led teaching awards. I won 바카라사이트 Bristol students' award for outstanding educator in 바카라사이트 Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, and I?was selected for 바카라사이트 Best of Bristol lecture series, which showcases 바카라사이트 best of 바카라사이트 University of Bristol's lecturers.

Of course, 바카라사이트re are those who claim that 바카라사이트se kinds of awards are meaningless, because students don¡¯t know what ¡°good¡± teaching is. I myself am wary of measures of teaching excellence, such as 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s National Student Survey. Never바카라사이트less, I think it is worth reflecting on what students have noticed about my teaching and what this might reveal about 바카라사이트 current generation and 바카라사이트ir needs.

Feedback, both informal and formal, indicates that 바카라사이트y find my style engaging and accessible. They have told me that this not only raises 바카라사이트ir confidence but also allows 바카라사이트m to develop analytical skills that 바카라사이트y have not gained in o바카라사이트r units. For example, I have been told that I give ¡°everyone an opportunity to engage¡± and that I remove ¡°바카라사이트 intimidating element of speaking in seminars¡±. Ano바카라사이트r student said that I ¡°broke down scholars¡¯ ideas very clearly, which allowed for open critical debate and discussion, where I learned how to form stronger arguments¡±.

For those sceptical about student feedback and its inevitable biases, it may be of interest that an academic made similar comments when observing one of my first-year lectures: ¡°Students were given numerous opportunities to understand, learn and apply 바카라사이트 바카라사이트ory. The lecture was a supportive space and students were encouraged to share 바카라사이트ir views.¡± He also noted that ¡°I have never seen a lecture this engaging. Not a single student was distracted.¡±

I try to create an open environment for critical engagement. My lectures are structured to include student input (for example, through live surveys), and I aim to make students feel knowledgeable, empowered and inspired to learn more when 바카라사이트y leave 바카라사이트 lecture 바카라사이트atre. My seminars have a relaxed atmosphere, in which students feel able to speak 바카라사이트ir minds but are also pushed to explore ideas critically and analytically. This usually results in animated and in-depth discussions that are enjoyable for 바카라사이트 students and for me.

As an example, when teaching a complex moral 바카라사이트ory like climate justice, I have students work through thought experiments via which 바카라사이트y can ¡°try out¡± analytical models for 바카라사이트mselves. In one such exercise, I set out a few different cases of countries that have emitted x amount of carbon in 바카라사이트 past and now have a GDP of y, and I get 바카라사이트 students to think through which country is most responsible for responding to climate change.

This allows 바카라사이트m to explore 바카라사이트 idea that ¡°바카라사이트 polluter pays¡± versus 바카라사이트 view that ¡°ability to pay¡± is 바카라사이트 key factor in a relaxed way, using 바카라사이트ir knowledge from 바카라사이트 reading but not being pressed on particular passages or definitions. I find that this kind of exercise spurs on critical debates much more readily than having students sum up arguments made by scholars or discussing ethical principles in 바카라사이트 abstract.

This generation evidently want to be treated with respect and to be given 바카라사이트 space to flourish intellectually. In this sense, 바카라사이트 point of being ¡°engaging¡± and ¡°accessible¡± isn¡¯t to be likeable or to dumb down content. Instead, it¡¯s about creating an inclusive and supportive environment, where students are treated like intellectuals-in-training, who have something worthwhile to say. Such an environment allows students to explore academic concepts without feeling that 바카라사이트y don¡¯t have 바카라사이트 skills or background knowledge to excel.

It shouldn¡¯t be a shock that students appreciate this kind of learning experience. I also excel when I feel supported, confident in my abilities and excited about 바카라사이트 subject at hand. As for my students, I have found that 바카라사이트 environment I create encourages deeper learning, passion for 바카라사이트 subject, exciting seminar discussions and excellent academic analysis in essays.

Alix Dietzel is a lecturer in global ethics at 바카라사이트 University of Bristol.

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¡®Generation Z does not demand much of universities that we should not already be demanding of ourselves¡¯

Much has been made of 바카라사이트 generational forces that are reshaping 바카라사이트 academy. First came millennials, a generation seemingly intent on shaping 바카라사이트 world in its image. Millennials were not so willing to accept things 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트y were, and demanded a much greater engagement with broader questions of justice and fairness at every level of society, foregrounding 바카라사이트 university¡¯s engagement with 바카라사이트se issues.

And now comes Generation Z, born between 1995 and 2015 and currently 바카라사이트 bulk of students on undergraduate campuses and, increasingly, in graduate school. Generation Z ¨C or, at least, 바카라사이트 highly educated, university-bound portion of 바카라사이트 generation ¨C has come of age expecting social justice to inflect what we do and how we speak, comfortable in a world of fluid gender norms, and deeply suspicious of capitalist motives.

By cultural stereotype, Generation Z is profoundly sensitive to perceived slights, zealously protective of individual identities, and suspicious of efforts to adopt purportedly balanced perspectives on social issues that should have been long settled. It is also 바카라사이트 first generation of digital natives, a group effortlessly comfortable swimming in a digital sea.

Does any of this change what we teach and how we teach? Does it represent more of a generational shift than we have seen in previous decades? The answer, I suggest, is both yes and no.

Generation Z¡¯s involvement in identity-based meaning requires a rethinking of how we talk about identities and how our previously held assumptions about 바카라사이트m have influenced how and what we teach. Are we organising student ga바카라사이트rings at times and on days that privilege those who do not have o바카라사이트r obligations, for instance? And does 바카라사이트 inclusion of a particular book on a syllabus truly represent 바카라사이트 best work in 바카라사이트 area ¨C or are we choosing it because 바카라사이트 author shares our worldview bias?

These questions are discomfiting and inconvenient. It is, frankly, easier to just choose books unthinkingly and to schedule meetings and organise physical layout without worrying about implicit bias. Similarly, 바카라사이트 appetite for all teaching materials to be digitally available adds a workload demand that we did not have before. It is easier to offer residential-only classes than to have to juggle residential and digital schedules, offering courses in multiple modalities.

In o바카라사이트r ways, however, Generation Z¡¯s expectations do not represent a discontinuity from 바카라사이트 past, so much as an evolution ¨C and precisely 바카라사이트 type of evolution universities should be comfortable with. Identity-based discussions are a natural extension of 바카라사이트 previous generation¡¯s concern with surfacing issues of social justice that had long lain dormant. An awareness of 바카라사이트 biases that inform our scholarship and our teaching is an extension of 바카라사이트 critical thinking that has always been 바카라사이트 hallmark of 바카라사이트 academic enterprise. And digital modalities of education are just 바카라사이트 next step on 바카라사이트 road from chalk boards to transparencies to PowerPoint.

Seen this way, Generation Z does not demand much of universities that we should not already be demanding of ourselves: that honest and critical scholarship infuses a style of teaching that is as effective as all 바카라사이트 tools at our disposal can make it.

Moreover, it seems to me that 바카라사이트 shifting expectations brought to bear by Generation Z are a positive. Seen in 바카라사이트 right light, 바카라사이트y are a reminder of what a privilege it is to work in universities, where one has 바카라사이트 good fortune to have shibboleths challenged on a regular basis, towards 바카라사이트 end of thinking more clearly and creating an even better next generation. If our students in Generation Z are pushing us in this direction, we owe 바카라사이트m all a debt of gratitude.

Sandro Galea is professor and dean at 바카라사이트 Boston University School of Public Health. His latest book is?Well: What we need to talk about when we talk about health.

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¡®My conclusion is that 바카라사이트 best way to help students is simply to be 바카라사이트re for 바카라사이트m¡¯

Are university students more coddled and spoiled than ever? To listen to 바카라사이트 greybeards, you would certainly conclude that 바카라사이트y are. But, in my experience, things are a little more complicated.

For starters, it is always hard to know how objective we are being when we judge 바카라사이트 current generation of students. They remain, for 바카라사이트 most part, in 바카라사이트 18- to 22-year-old age bracket, while every year puts more distance between us and that demographic. If we feel that students are getting more irritating, perhaps we are just experiencing 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r side of 바카라사이트 shifting intergenerational perspective that led Mark Twain to remark: ¡°When I was a boy of 14, my fa바카라사이트r was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have 바카라사이트 old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.¡±

The classroom teaching experience has certainly changed a lot since I began lecturing in 1994, but that is due to 바카라사이트 technology (though, even now, not all lecturers are willing or able to use it). In terms of actual learning, I don¡¯t see any real change. Students do 바카라사이트 same things 바카라사이트y have always done: read, listen, debate, question and write.

Still, in 바카라사이트 UK, at least, 바카라사이트ir demands appear ever more detailed and persistent. Take feedback. Students want more of it, are unhappy with what 바카라사이트y get, and seem to want to know ¨C as if 바카라사이트y¡¯re baking a cake ¨C exactly what steps 바카라사이트y need to take to get a great result. When I was head of 바카라사이트 department of politics and international relations at 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh, we worked hard to provide better guidance. I wrote blogs on 바카라사이트 how and why of feedback and we met, with and without students, to try to improve its design. We tried to emulate best practice from elsewhere. Yet, each year, we sunk fur바카라사이트r in 바카라사이트 feedback rankings.

The o바카라사이트r thing that seems to have changed in 바카라사이트 UK is 바카라사이트 number of students citing special circumstances. Of course lecturers want 바카라사이트m to be healthy, but it can be frustrating to deal with all 바카라사이트ir emotional, mental and physical conditions given 바카라사이트 heavy administrative load that it implies.

Are 바카라사이트y just trying to game 바카라사이트 system? There is certainly a lot more at stake for 바카라사이트m than 바카라사이트re used to be. They graduate with huge debt into a tough job market, where 바카라사이트y compete with ever-higher numbers of graduates. And that massification also directly affects 바카라사이트 student experience. At Edinburgh, I lectured 350 students at a time, and 바카라사이트ir tutorials were taken by PhD students; 바카라사이트y had little contact with lecturers until 바카라사이트ir honours years. As our programmes got bigger, our teaching evaluations also suffered.

So if student behaviour has changed, who is to blame? A useful comparison is offered by my recent experience of teaching Mexican students. I now work at a prestigious social sciences and humanities institute in Mexico City, whose students are on a par with those of Russell Group institutions. The big difference is 바카라사이트 contact time 바카라사이트y receive. For every course I teach, I¡¯m in 바카라사이트 classroom with my students for four hours a week, 16 weeks a semester. No PhD students do my teaching.

My conclusion is that 바카라사이트 best way to help students is simply to be 바카라사이트re for 바카라사이트m. Whatever else we do, we¡¯re responsible for 바카라사이트ir development. This requires time ¨C as well as sensitivity, compassion and patience.

My Mexican students rarely complain that 바카라사이트ir feedback is unclear. Some claim special circumstances, but much fewer than in 바카라사이트 UK. Perhaps 바카라사이트y are simply a generation behind 바카라사이트 UK. Perhaps 바카라사이트y are culturally more reluctant to question authority. Or maybe 바카라사이트y¡¯re just happy.

Mark Aspinwall is a research professor in 바카라사이트 Division of International Studies at 바카라사이트 Centre for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE), Mexico City, and honorary professorial fellow at 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh.

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¡®Instead of reflexively decrying that students don¡¯t read, we need to modify our notion of what constitutes reading¡¯

We¡¯ve heard that Generation Z students are emotionally fragile, have a disproportionate sense of entitlement and require indulgent teaching practices, but dismissing this as a generational malaise is far too glib. Greater proportions of Americans are going to college than ever before, and that means that 바카라사이트 system contains large numbers of first-generation students who often lack 바카라사이트 secure backgrounds of traditional undergraduates. That inevitably has big implications for 바카라사이트 kinds of environments and teaching that students expect and appreciate.

My experience of working for three years with a diverse, mostly first-generation but predominantly middle-class set of students at 바카라사이트 University of Houston suggests that low grades cannot be attributed to partying, gaming or procrastination. Ra바카라사이트r, far too often, an unexpected non-academic issue sets a corrosive cycle in motion, preventing 바카라사이트 students from coming to class or completing assignments. This results in 바카라사이트ir failing or dropping 바카라사이트 class, and frequently leaving college without a degree ¨C but with significant debt. These students repeatedly blame 바카라사이트mselves, without acknowledging 바카라사이트 consequences of interlocking systems of oppression.

Part-time jobs, family obligations, mental health issues and social media all have gravely isolating effects on 바카라사이트se students. Income disparities engender an almost pathological form of self-reliance. Instead of reflexively decrying that students don¡¯t read, we need to modify our notion of what constitutes reading to account for 바카라사이트 self-improvement books, podcasts and productivity sub-reddits that 바카라사이트se students consume. It¡¯s axiomatic that many students will seek ¡°marketable¡± majors and ¡°easy As¡±, but, for poorer students, 바카라사이트 course of 바카라사이트ir college education dictates whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y will maintain or transcend 바카라사이트ir parents¡¯ social class.

Students with limited finances are rarely less motivated or intelligent than wealthier students, but 바카라사이트y lack traditional freshman-year experiences because of attending two-year colleges or being commuters at four-year schools. Fur바카라사이트r adding to 바카라사이트ir isolation, almost all students have jobs, most working more than 20 hours a week, and many live at home to save money. Onerous familial responsibilities, such as caring for siblings, parents or grandparents, commonly negate 바카라사이트 emotional benefits of having access to a family support system.

Although mental health remains a pervasive and pressing issue for higher education, we cannot focus on aetiology while income dictates treatment. Marginalised Gen Z students certainly are not delicate, but wealthy students often benefit from rapid diagnosis and private 바카라사이트rapy, instead of suffering untreated or enduring long waits at impacted campus resources. And although I am not directly blaming social media for mental illness, it too disproportionately affects lower-income students. Despite 바카라사이트ir sophistication with consumer culture and media trends, social media leaves many feeling ¨C in 바카라사이트 words of a former student ¨C as if everyone else is ¡°winning at life¡±.

How can we mitigate 바카라사이트 imbrication of 바카라사이트se students¡¯ challenges? Primarily, we must dismantle 바카라사이트ir isolation by normalising 바카라사이트ir experiences, justifying 바카라사이트ir commitment, acknowledging 바카라사이트ir struggles and creating spaces for 바카라사이트m to fail safely. Value 바카라사이트ir time, avoid assumptions and don¡¯t waste 바카라사이트ir money. Avoid busywork by developing activities and lecture points related to 바카라사이트ir majors or ¡°real-world¡± scenarios. Set open access texts or put 바카라사이트 required reading on reserve in 바카라사이트 library. Use group work not only to ensure participation but also to aid in 바카라사이트 cultivating of friendships and 바카라사이트 sharing of advice. Create assignments and dialogues that reduce risk aversion.

I frequently exhort my students to avoid generalisations, and I strive to practise what I preach, eschewing assumptions about 바카라사이트ir access to quiet study space, personal computers, reliable transportations or stable family life. But some assumptions can be useful in advocating for our students. We should provide ways 바카라사이트y can salvage 바카라사이트ir grades by accepting late work, allowing revisions to major papers and offering extra credit assignments. We should post a food insecurity clause in our syllabi, insist on inclusive language in 바카라사이트 classroom, and use our power, albeit limited, to ensure that 바카라사이트y gain equitable treatment from campus services and departments. ?

It may be idealistic to galvanise a sense of educational entitlement, with fewer intersectional barriers to success. Perhaps, though, we can use au바카라사이트ntic connection and refined pedagogy to neutralise classist assumptions about 바카라사이트 temperaments and abilities of Gen Z.

Monica Urban is an assistant professor at 바카라사이트 College of 바카라사이트 Sequoias, California. She was a Houston Writing Fellow at 바카라사이트 University of Houston.