Helen Huiskes

Helen Huiskes is a senior at Wheaton College, in Illinois, and was a summer reporting intern at The Chronicle, interested in covering politics, religion, and mental health as they intersect with higher ed.

Huiskes has served as editor in chief of her college newspaper, The Wheaton Record, for the past two years and has interned at Willamette Week, an alternative weekly newspaper in Portland, Ore., that covers local politics, business, and transportation news. She has also contributed pieces about mental health as a freelancer for the magazine Christianity Today.

Follow her on Twitter @helen_huiskes.

Stories by This Author

Photo-based illustration showing students walking a cross-shaped walkway with snippets from Colorado Christian University's statement on critical race theory surrounding them.

Taking a Stand

In the Fight Over ‘Wokeness,’ Christian Colleges Feel Pressed to Pick a Side

By Helen Huiskes August 31, 2023

Talking about race has become a high-stakes decision for faith-based institutions.

Clocking Out

These 2 Colleges Are Closing. Or Are They?

By Helen Huiskes August 1, 2023

Alderson Broaddus University, in West Virginia, and the King’s College, in New York, aren’t enrolling new students for now. But technically they have not shut their doors.

Dan Ariely, professor of psychology and behavioral economics, speaks at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York, May 5, 2014. (Eduardo Munoz, Reuters)

Research Misconduct

Did a Star Researcher Fabricate Data in a Study About Dishonesty?

By Helen Huiskes July 28, 2023

A paper Dan Ariely, a Duke University professor, helped write was found to contain false data two years ago. Now new details raise fresh questions about his involvement.

illustration of a woman sitting on a bench with boxes, after leaving her job

Retrenchments Revisited

Here’s What Happened After 3 Colleges Announced Cuts to the Liberal Arts

By Helen Huiskes July 27, 2023

Some humanities faculty members saw unexpected reprieves, but many remain pessimistic.

Supporters of student debt forgiveness demonstrate outside the US Supreme Court on June 30, 2023, in Washington, DC. The US Supreme Court dealt President Joe Biden a significant political setback Tuesday when it overruled his key program to cancel the student debt of millions of Americans. The court said Biden had overstepped his powers in cancelling more than $400 billion in debt, in an effort to alleviate the financial burden of education that hangs over many Americans decades after they finished their studies. (Olivier Douliery, AFP, Getty Images)

Debt Relief Denied

U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Student-Loan Cancellation for Millions of Borrowers

By Sarah Brown, Helen Huiskes, Zachary Schermele June 30, 2023

The plan, which had been a priority for President Biden, would have forgiven up to $20,000 in student debt.

Pro Affirmative Action supporters and and counter protestors shout at each outside of the Supreme Court of the United States on Thursday, June 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. In a 6-3 vote, Supreme Court Justices ruled that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina are unconstitutional, setting precedent for affirmative action in other universities and colleges.

The Scene

On the Streets of D.C., Praise and Protest of a Landmark Ruling on Race in Admissions

By Helen Huiskes June 29, 2023

Here’s what it sounded like in the nation’s capital on the day the Supreme Court struck down race-conscious admissions.

Photo-based illustration of a man in a suit painting over a wall and the letters DEI

Law & Policy

A Widely Criticized Higher-Ed Overhaul in Ohio May Soon Become Law

By Helen Huiskes June 28, 2023

The state legislature’s budget deadline is Friday. In a rare display, college presidents have spoken out against the proposal.

University of Arkansas Chancellor Charles Robinson holds class in Fowler House with Honors students, discussing "Freedom of Speech".

A DEI 'Realignment'

This University Is Eliminating Its Diversity Office. Now What?

By Helen Huiskes June 15, 2023

The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville announced that diversity staff would be reshuffled across other divisions. Politics may have played a role, but some colleges have embraced a similar model.

Terrence Cheng is president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system. (Jason Edwards)

Spending Struggle

When a State Cuts the Higher-Ed Budget, Public Regionals Take the Hit

By Helen Huiskes June 8, 2023

A state-budget crunch in Connecticut could foreshadow cutbacks for public regional campuses across the country as federal stimulus money runs out.

Crown College President Andrew Denton. Photo courtesy of Crown College.

Law and Policy

A State Changed Its Dual-Enrollment Rules. It Sparked a Fight Over Religious Freedom.

By Helen Huiskes June 1, 2023

Two Christian colleges sued over a provision in Minnesota’s budget about campuses’ eligibility to offer free college credits to high-school students.