There is a particular kind of dissonance that settles over Edinburgh’s Old College when the chanting starts. The grand neoclassical courtyard, with its hushed corridors and portraits of long-dead scholars, seems an unlikely backdrop for industrial picket lines. Yet that is exactly where the university found itself on the day Sir Peter Mathieson chose to announce he would not seek a third term as principal and vice-chancellor. Outside, students and striking staff were making their feelings known, their voices rising in unison against a wave of cuts that has already reshaped the institution. Inside, Mathieson sat before the University Court,…

The Eiffel Tower Controversy: What Really Happened When a Hindu Delegation Visited Paris In early September, a firestorm of controversy erupted in France when a delegation from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, better known as BAPS, visited the iconic Eiffel Tower. The visit was tied to celebrations surrounding the inauguration of the organization’s new temple in Bussy-Saint-Georges, a suburb of Paris. Almost immediately, reports began circulating that something deeply troubling had occurred: female employees at the Eiffel Tower had been instructed to leave their posts, avoid certain areas, or be replaced by male colleagues during the delegation’s visit. The…