• Some universities have gone hybrid or canceled graduation ceremonies amid pro-Palestinian protests.
• During the Vietnam War, they did the same thing.
• One expert said colleges end the year earlier in the Spring now in part to avoid "protest weather."

April showers bring May flowers — and idyllic protest weather.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have erupted at universities across the country in recent weeks, prompting harsh responses from some college administrators.

The University of Southern California and Columbia University, most notably, called in the police to clear protest camps. Police this week also took back a lecture hall occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters at the Univerity of California, Irvine.

Some schools, including Columbia, canceled graduation and commencement ceremonies, citing security concerns.

Ralph Young, an expert on American dissent, told Business Insider that it's not the first time colleges have made major scheduling adjustments to avoid a protesting crowd.

While students nationwide protested the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 70s, colleges shut down their semesters prematurely — a decision that has impacted academic calendars to this day, Young said.

The change came after the National Guard fired on student protesters at Ohio's Kent State University on May 4, 1970, killing four students and wounding others.

"One of the interesting things about Kent State is that after that happened, almost all the universities in the country closed down for the rest of the semester," Young said. "It used to be that college semesters usually ended in maybe the third week of June, and now they all end in early May."

Before canceling its school-wide commencement ceremony, Columbia University also offered students a virtual learning option in late April. On Thursday, hundreds of faculty members passed a vote of no-confidence against university president Nemat Shafik, who previously authorized police to clear the student encampment on campus, The New York Times reported.

"One of the thinkings behind closing the schools early back then was that May and June are good protest weather," Young said. "They're nice days and it'll get more people out and protesting, and that was one way to try to put a break on all that."

• Billionaire entrepreneur Josh Kushner is married to supermodel and coding advocate Karlie Kloss.
• Kushner's brother is Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and a former White House advisor.
• Kushner and Kloss have each revealed they didn't vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

Model Karlie Kloss and venture capitalist Josh Kushner may seem like an odd pairing on the surface, but they've been together since 2012 and have become partners in both life and business.

The couple has kept their relationship under the radar since they first started dating. Kloss and Kushner got married in October 2018 and held a second Western-themed wedding eight months later.

Kushner also happens to be the younger brother of former White House advisor Jared Kushner, whose father-in-law is former President Donald Trump. Josh and Jared Kushner's father, real estate developer Charles Kushner, was also pardoned by Trump in 2020.

Charles Kushner pleaded guilty to tax evasion, retaliating against a federal witness, and one count of lying to the FEC in 2005 and served two years in prison. As chairman of Kushner Companies, Charles Kushner admitted to filing false tax returns and recruiting a prostitute to seduce the husband of his sister, who cooperated with authorities, and film the encounter.

Although Kushner and Kloss haven't publicly spoken out against Trump, they have said they didn't vote for him in the 2016 election.

Here's a look at the relationship between Josh Kushner and Karlie Kloss, including their ties to former president Donald Trump.

This story was originally published in March 2018. It was updated in 2020 and 2024.

Josh Kushner, 38, founded a venture capital firm called Thrive Capital in 2009 that helped make him a billionaire.

Thrive Capital has made some of its biggest investments in tech startups like grocery delivery service Instacart, stock-trading app Robinhood, and insurance company Lemonade, according to PitchBook.

Because of his investments, Kushner sits on the boards for shaving product maker Harry's and wedding planning platform Zola.

The firm has also invested in companies like Instagram, Stripe, and ClassPass.

Kushner's savvy investments have made him a billionaire with a net worth of $3.6 billion, Forbes reported. Thrive Capital is valued at $5.3 billion.

Kushner has also helped start two companies: He cofounded health-insurance startup Oscar in 2012 and real-estate investment company Cadre in 2014.

Oscar, which aims to use tech to provide a more consumer-friendly insurance option, secured $375 million from Alphabet, Google's parent company, in 2018. It is now the third-largest for-profit health insurance company in the US, Forbes reported.

Meanwhile, Cadre was valued at $800 million in 2019, according to Forbes. Kushner founded it with his brother, Jared Kushner.

Meanwhile, 31-year-old Karlie Kloss began working as a model in her teenage years and went on to become a coding advocate.

Kloss skyrocketed to prominence as a Victoria's Secret Angel and became one of the highest-paid supermodels in the industry, Forbes reported.

She also runs a free coding camp for girls. In 2015, Kloss started Kode With Klossy, a charity that encourages girls to get involved in coding and tech.

Kloss and Kushner met and began dating in 2012.

On June 8, 2016, Kloss shared a photo on X, formerly known as Twitter, of her and Kushner revealing that she had met Kushner exactly four years before, placing their first encounter on June 8, 2012, although it's not known exactly how they met.

Their relationship became public when Kushner was spotted on Kloss' arm at a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show after-party in November 2012, Us Weekly reported.

They have tried to keep their relationship relatively private since then.

In 2013, Kloss said she appreciates Kushner is "so not in fashion" in an interview with People.

"It's really refreshing to leave all the fashion shows and shoots and chaos totally behind," Kloss told People magazine.

Kloss deflected questions about her relationship in a 2016 interview with Elle.

Elle magazine's Lotte Jeffs asked Kloss if she and Kushner have a "no phones in the bedroom" rule. Kloss answered by shaking her head and saying, "I keep my phone pretty close to me." She added that she tries to digitally detox once a week.

When asked if technology ever causes arguments in their relationship, Kloss "deftly deflects the question," Jeffs wrote.

The couple has largely avoided talking about politics, which is notable given their ties to the Trump family.

Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law to former president Donald Trump and former senior White House advisor.

Josh Kushner told Forbes in April 2017 that he and Jared Kushner spoke every day, but refused to comment for an Esquire article about his brother in 2016 because he "did not want to say anything that might embarrass him."

However, the couple has publicly stated they didn't vote for Trump in 2016.

Kloss posted a photo of herself on Instagram in November 2016 filling out an absentee ballot. She included the hashtag #ImWithHer in support of Clinton.

Kushner's spokesperson told Esquire he's a lifelong Democrat and that he didn't vote for Trump.

"It is no secret that liberal values have guided my life and that I have supported political leaders that share similar values," Kushner told Forbes in 2017. 

Neither Kushner nor Kloss were present at Trump's inauguration in 2017. Instead, Kushner was spotted at the Women's March in Washington, DC, that weekend.

Kushner told other marchers he was there to observe, The Washingtonian reported.

Kloss also posted a photo on Instagram from the same Women's March, along with an Audre Lorde quote: "Women are powerful and dangerous."

In a 2018 interview with Vogue, Kloss made it clear she doesn't agree with the Trump family's conservative political views.

"At the end of the day, I've had to make decisions based on my own moral compass — forget what the public says, forget social media," Kloss told Vogue. "I've chosen to be with the man I love despite the complications."

Kloss also pointed out the sexism in the questions she's frequently asked about her relationship with Kushner. 

"It's frustrating, to be honest, that the spotlight is always shifted away from my career toward my relationship," she said. "I don't think the same happens in conversations with men."

Kloss and Kushner have also shown their support on social media for gun control.

The couple was spotted in March 2018 at the anti-gun-violence March for Our Lives protest in Washington, DC.

Kloss and Kushner didn't hide their presence at the march: They posted photos on Instagram from the March for Our Lives rally. A few weeks earlier, Kushner made a $50,000 donation to the anti-gun-violence group, Axios reported.

While Trump's presidency was unpopular in Silicon Valley, Kushner's proximity to the White House didn't appear to slow his career as an investor.

"There is a lot of discussion in the Valley about political tests on both who you'll take money from and who you'll work with," the venture capitalist Marc Andreessen told Forbes in 2017. "Having said that, I haven't yet seen an instance of anyone hesitating to take money from Josh because of the affiliation with his brother."

In July 2018, Kloss and Kushner got engaged after six years of dating.

Kushner proposed "during a romantic weekend together in upstate New York," People magazine reported at the time.

"I love you more than I have words to express," Kloss captioned a photo on X announcing their engagement. "Josh, you're my best friend and my soulmate. I can't wait for forever together. Yes a million times over."

Kloss converted to Judaism shortly before getting engaged to Kushner, who is Jewish.

Kloss confirmed she had converted to Judaism in a March 2019 appearance on Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happened Live."

The couple got married in October 2018 in upstate New York.

The wedding was a small Jewish ceremony with fewer than 80 people in attendance, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

"So much love for you both as you begin forever together," Ivanka Trump wrote in a post on X. 

Kloss wore a custom Dior wedding gown with lace sleeves and a flowing train.

"The wedding was intimate and moving," a friend at the ceremony told People magazine. "The couple was beaming with happiness."

 

In June 2019, the couple held a second wedding celebration at a ranch in Wyoming.

Kushner and Kloss' second wedding celebration was held at Brush Creek Ranch, an all-inclusive ranch resort near the Wyoming-Colorado border. The weekend included activities such as horseback riding, paintball, and off-road ATVing.

Photos shared from the wedding show that guests wore Western-themed outfits instead of traditional gowns and tuxedos. Attendees included Diane Von Furstenberg, Orlando Bloom, Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding, Princess Beatrice, and Ashton Kutcher.

Kloss and Kushner's relationship was publicly flamed on a 2020 episode of "Project Runway," which Kloss hosted for two seasons.

Brandon Maxwell, a judge on the fashion design reality competition show, criticized contestant Tyler Neasloney's creation. The assignment had been to design a look for Kloss to wear to a fashion event in Paris, but Maxwell told Neasloney that he couldn't see Kloss wearing the outfit "anywhere."

"Not even to dinner with the Kushners?" Neasloney replied, eliciting gasps from other contestants.

"Keep it to the challenge," Kloss responded. "You really missed the mark here, on all accounts."

When asked about the viral moment on "Watch What Happens Live" with Andy Cohen, Kloss said "the real tragedy of this whole thing is that no one is talking about how terrible that dress was."

She added: "Andy, I'm sure I'm not the only person in this country who does not necessarily agree with their family on politics. I voted as a Democrat in 2016 and I plan to do the same in 2020."

The couple has two sons, Levi and Elijah.

Kloss and Kushner welcomed their first child, Levi, in March 2021.

Kloss revealed her second pregnancy on the red carpet of the 2023 Met Gala while wearing a black Loewe dress designed by Jonathan Anderson. Their son Elijah was born a few months later in July 2023.

Kloss occasionally shares photos of Kushner on Instagram, where she has more than 12.6 million followers, but she doesn't show her children's faces.

Kloss has posted photos of the couple traveling the world and celebrating Kushner's birthday, but she doesn't share much else about their relationship. She also keeps the faces of her young sons hidden in photos.

"I know in my life what really matters to me," Kloss said in an interview with Harper's Bazaar in 2018. "I'm not trying to hide that from the world. I just really like having a more private life."

In 2024, Kushner and Kloss bought Life magazine and announced their plans to revive the iconic photography publication.

Kushner and Kloss bought the publication rights to Life magazine through Bedford Media, their media startup that also acquired i-D Magazine. They plan to revive the brand as both a print and digital publication.

"We see Life as an uplifting and unifying voice in a chaotic media landscape," Kloss, who serves as CEO of Bedford Media, said in a statement. "While Bedford is a new media company, we are deeply inspired by Life's iconic legacy and ability to connect diverse audiences with universal narratives of humanity."

• Elon Musk has a lot going on in China right now.
• Amid dwindling Tesla sales, he's building closer relations there and putting focus on robotaxis.
• It's a move that present a lot of uncertainty for his EV company.

Elon Musk has plenty on the line in China right now.

A global slowdown in demand for Teslas has been exacerbated in the country, where consumers have been presented with a parade of electric vehicles from domestic rivals like BYD and Xiaomi at a time when they're watching their spending.

China is Tesla's biggest market outside the US, which means dwindling interest has had a clear knock-on effect.

The company delivered about 387,000 vehicles in the first three months of the year, marking a 20% drop from its previous quarter. Tesla's earnings last month also raised concerns, as it reported a nearly 9% year-on-year drop in quarterly revenue to $21.3 billion.

So Musk's response in recent weeks — a seeming boost in focus on the Far East — is at least grounded in some logic.

A trip to Beijing last month to meet China's premier, Li Qiang, came along with news that the billionaire had managed to pull off a huge deal for Tesla to partner with Chinese internet giant Baidu on robotaxis.

The deal, which has been reported to give Tesla access to mapping and navigation software that supports full self-driving (FSD) cars, has clearly helped. Tesla's stock jumped 15% following news of a tie-up that supports Musk's fresh focus on autonomy.

It's a move that Musk now seems intent on doubling down on.

According to a Reuters report on Friday, Tesla is seeking to build a data center in China that could be used "to train the algorithm needed for more fully autonomous vehicles."

Musk's reasons for doing this are getting clearer. As the billionaire recently wrote on X, "Going balls to the wall for autonomy is a blindingly obvious move. Everything else is like variations on a horse carriage."

But in heading in this direction, Musk risks walking a fine line.

For one, self-driving technology has proven tricky to produce at a global scale. One of Tesla's main challenges is the brutal price war it's waging with Chinese competitors that are trying to win buyers with cheaper vehicles.

But by prioritizing a lofty goal of millions of self-driving Teslas cruising streets worldwide, Musk pursues a high-risk bet that might only pay off in the distant future.

Using China as a test bed for self-driving technology may spark anxieties in Washington, too. Competent FSD capabilities for Teslas globally could depend on using quality data transferred between the US and China — a complex proposition during times of heightened tensions.

Tesla has not shared any details about the reported tie-up, let alone how it would manage the security fears that could be triggered if Beijing gets oversight of the data being fed into its vehicles in the name of FSD.

What many investors have pleaded for instead is the long-awaited, sub-$30,000 Tesla model Musk has previously talked about as a means of opening up Tesla to the mass market.

Indeed analysts at Wedbush last month said it's "crucial" that Tesla delivers a more affordable model in the next 18 months, calling a pivot to robotaxis a "risky gamble."

But with China seemingly at the top of Musk's mind, Tesla is driving into an uncertain future.

• Google is one of America's most highly sought after companies to work for.
• But Google is also notoriously competitive and selective about employees.
• Google hires people with relevant job skills, intelligence, leadership abilities, and "Googleyness."

For years, Google has cultivated a reputation for being one of the best US companies to work for. 

With consistently high rankings in areas like compensation, office perks (the Googleplex famously boasts amenities like swimming pools, gardens, massage rooms, and more), innovative and meaningful work, and low stress, it's no wonder tech industry workers have clamored for roles at Google.

Google's parent company, Alphabet, had more than 182,500 employees as of 2023, and not all of them were tech jobs. Google also offers roles in sales, marketing, business strategy, finance, maintenance, legal, and more.

It's not all roses, though. Like much of the tech industry, layoffs at Google have become more commonplace in recent years. Alphabet laid off 12,000 employees in 2023, and CEO Sundar Pichai warned of more layoffs in 2024.

Still, the Google Careers website lists hundreds of job openings worldwide, across all sorts of divisions — some roles are specific to Google's search engine, others are for YouTube, and others are for projects within Google's suite of productivity apps, like Google Classroom.

Here's what you need to know to land one of Google's open jobs.

How to get a job at Google

Getting hired at Google is notoriously competitive.

One former Google recruiter said the company primarily uses an internal database to find candidates, but the second-most popular way to scout potential employees is LinkedIn — build out your profile and use it to connect with people who already work there and can give you a referral.

The recruiter said one of the best ways to stand out among Google's candidate pool is to network with a "giving approach." For example, job candidates should email hiring managers directly to make a connection and then steer the conversation to express interest in a specific role.

The recruiter also encouraged job applicants to tailor their resumes to individual job descriptions and, during the interview process, describe details of how they solved a problem in a past role.

Is it difficult to get hired at Google?

Google is known throughout the tech industry for having a lengthy, difficult hiring process, and for being ultra-selective about its candidates. Of the 2 million job applications Google receives each year, it hires roughly 4,000.

Google bases its hiring decisions on four key metrics: job-related skills, general cognitive ability, leadership abilities (even for non-managerial roles!), and what the company calls "Googleyness" — meaning how well your personality will fit in at Google.

Former Google executives and recruiters have defined "Googleyness" as a mixture of proactiveness, positivity, humility, playfulness, conscientiousness, and openness to learning.

Google also has a multi-step hiring process. It encourages people to start by self-reflecting on what they truly want out of a career. Then, search and apply for a job on the company's website.

Google suggests applicants build a job-specific resume that ties their skills and experience to the job requirements. Including data to illustrate your successes in managing projects will help your resume stand out. 

One Google engineer who shared the resume that helped him land a $300,000 job at the company recommended de-emphasizing educational credentials, emphasizing items that are more relevant, and adding a section for interests or hobbies — you never know if it could spark conversation and help break the ice.

Google's hiring process has been revamped in recent years to reduce delays, particularly for tech roles like software engineers and UX designers. Candidates used to labor through months of interviews, then fail at the stage where Google matches the candidate with a team.

Now, candidates are assigned teams much earlier, and some can skip over certain stages. It's common for applicants to undergo at least three or four interview rounds before receiving an offer, however.

Can I work at Google from home?

Like most companies, Google allowed employees to work remotely throughout the pandemic. But Google cracked down on remote work in 2023, and implemented a new policy requiring workers to return to the office at least three days a week on a hybrid schedule.

Google now offers remote opportunities by exception only. The company has even said it would tie in-office attendance to an employee's performance review. 

Do you need experience to work at Google?

The experience Google requires for job candidates varies by role, as does education. 

There's no one particular college degree that will get you in the door at Google — and, in fact, company executives have said they'll hire "exceptional" candidates who have no college degree at all. But don't get too excited; experts say college degrees are still the most reliable pathways to high-paying tech jobs.

If your goal is to become a software engineer at Google, it makes sense that a computer science degree might be beneficial. But Google does not explicitly require one for most software engineering roles.

Google offers jobs with a range of experience requirements, from interns, to mid-career, to executive level. Here are some examples:

• A data center technician role requires two years of experience in "operating systems and networking protocols," with maintenance and monitoring of server systems and troubleshooting servers and network hardware.
• A supply chain program manager requires five years of experience in program or project management and systems and hardware product design or manufacturing. A supply chain, manufacturing, or similar degree is also required.
• A staff software engineer requires a bachelor's degree, eight years of software development experience, five years of testing and launching software products and machine learning algorithms and tools, and three years of software design.