Hundreds of young women chatted in excitement late last month as they waited to hear the experiences and advice of successful female business owners, lawyers and politicians.

Georgetown University hosted its seventh annual OWN IT Summit, a daylong conference that aims to bridge the gap between female leaders and college-age women. The day was filled with female-led panels and breakout sessions that addressed topics ranging from women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) to self-defense.

This year’s event began with a panel on changing workplace culture to be more gender-inclusive. Moderated by Georgetown University Law Center professor Dr. Jamillah Williams, panelists Maya Raghu, Jessica Grounds and Patricia Porter shared their thoughts on the current state of workplace cultures.

The panel encouraged young women to “see if there is concern within the company to make room for innovation” and to “listen to their gut” when applying for jobs.

“It may not feel like that at certain points in your life, or early on in your career,” said Raghu, the director of workplace equality and senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center. “But you are and can be a leader and you have the power and the ability to sort of transform your job workplace or community.”

Spreading these messages to young women has been the mission of the OWN IT Summit since its founding in 2014. OWN IT was started by Georgetown students Helen Brosnan and Kendall Ciesemier to address the leadership gap and provide young women with an opportunity to connect with female leaders.

“We believe that by creating this space our speakers can give real advice on how to navigate the complicated road to leadership as a woman to the next generation of leaders,” Emma Turner, the executive director of OWN IT, said.

However, OWN IT isn’t just having a big impact on Georgetown students. The summit is now being held at eight other schools and has cultivated a diverse network of female students and leaders.

“It's so important for women to come together to talk about the challenges we still have, what we need to do to get to the next level,” said Grounds, the co-founder of Mine the Gap, an organization that trains industries and organizations to create and sustain gender-inclusive environments.

Georgetown sophomore Aida Ross, who attended and volunteered for the event, said OWN IT is “a great opportunity for young women to meet amazing people.” While attending the event last year, she met a panelist who later became her mentor.

“I think [OWN IT] really stood out to me because it shows how much of an impact that conferences like this have on young girls,” Ross said. “It creates a dialogue surrounding women's participation and highlights role models for strong female leadership.”

To its leadership team, the OWN IT Summit is thought to have a strong connection to International Women’s Day, which is Sunday. International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and calls for increasing gender parity around the world.

“Women face challenges, but women have conquered them,” Turner said. “OWN IT celebrates the potential and great impact that women already have in our world."

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

Read the full story here. (January 2025)

US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)