World News: Your weekend long reads 🗞

Saturday, April 2

Good morning, friends of The Short List. It's John, here again with some great reads from the USA TODAY NETWORK – starting with "the slap."

When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at Sunday's Oscars, it set off shockwaves that continued to reverberate with readers all week. These three stories, which take a step back from the initial shock of the incident, are definitely worth a second look.

•	Lots of layers: Why Chris Rock's hair joke was so problematic
•	Language can be violent, too: Words we use to mock and exclude cause lasting damage
•	Columnist Connie Schultz: Jada Pinkett Smith is the voice that matters most

But there was more news last week than just the Oscars – much more, including these in-depth projects from USA TODAY:

►Title IX: Falling short at 50: Despite the progress ushered in by the landmark Title IX law 50 years ago, colleges and universities consistently devote fewer resources to women's sports than men's, based on the results of a first-of-its-kind data analysis by USA TODAY in collaboration with the Knight-Newhouse Data project at Syracuse University.

•	'They've had 50 years to figure it out': Title IX disparities in major college sports too big to ignore
•	Funding of college sports falls short of law's promise to women
•	Data analysis: How colleges shortchange women's sports on recruiting, travel, equipment

►Imagining a debt-free future: For more than two years, 41 million Americans with student loans have had more room in their budgets to build homes, save money or pay off other debts – all thanks to the government's moratorium on federal student loan payments. USA TODAY asked borrowers how their lives changed without the payments – and what a future without student debt might look like. Meanwhile, Washington debates the future of student loans – with possible implications for the midterm elections.

Want more? There are lots of great reads below!👇 See you next week.