Perspectives

Healing starts with seeing these monuments as sites where both visible and invisible harms are actively perpetuated. If harm reduction and accountability are the goal, the statues should be removed immediately. This ought not be up for debate, writes Chelsey Carter.

In a time of quarantine – when comparisons often involve who has the best version of being alone – dwelling with envy can open our eyes to ourselves and the world, writes Jessica Rosenfeld.

And so the growing hope that builds as we draw closer to vaccine development should be tempered by the sobering thought that, while some will benefit, the gap between them and the people who are currently suffering disproportionately will continue to widen, writes Matifadza G. Hlatshwayo.

If Clearview AI were to get its way, the only winner would be Clearview AI. And our privacy, our free speech, and American industry as a whole will be the losers, writes Neil Richards.

Chancellor Andrew D. Martin writes on his blog about the process by which administrative leaders decide when the university will — or won’t — offer comments on matters of public policy. He said decisions are based on the mission of education, research and patient care as well as the WashU community’s interests.

Michal Grinstein-Weiss, director of the university’s Social Policy Institute, co-wrote an op-ed published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the importance of keeping people safe during the COVID-19 pandemic — and how certain jobs, often those held by Black and Hispanic workers, are deemed “essential” and carry higher risks.

This episode of the “Show Me the Science” podcast highlights an effort led by Washington University scientists to use computing power from around the world to identify vulnerabilities in the coronavirus.

Beth Martin, interim director of the university’s Climate Change Program, writes in Missouri Humanities Magazine about how the humanities can help answer big questions of those who work in climate change, such as ‘How are we understanding each other?’ and ‘What are our individual and collective responsibilities?’

Now more than ever, the nation must have an opportunity to build a more resilient and inclusive workforce. By addressing longstanding inequalities that have undervalued essential workers, these measures would ensure that no one is put in a position of choosing health over a paycheck, writes Michal Grinstein-Weiss.

Michael Kinch, associate vice chancellor and director of the Centers for Research Innovation in Biotechnology and Drug Discovery, writes an opinion piece in Stat about the race toward a COVID-19 vaccine and concerns that medical professionals are raising.