Today, 18 NYC Health + Hospitals facilities announced their “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC). The designation was awarded in the 16th iteration of HRC’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI). A record 1,065 healthcare facilities actively participated in the HEI 2024 survey and scoring process. Of those participants, 384 received the…
Get ready for an unforgettable evening as the Uptown Night Market returns on Thursday, June 13th, 2024. The event is promising a night packed with irresistible food, dynamic performances, and unbeatable community spirit! Hosted under the Arches of Harlem, this event, organized by MASC Hospitality Group (MHG), the creative minds behind the famous Bronx, Uptown, Brooklyn,…
The EB-1(A) visa is a coveted immigration pathway for those with exceptional talents in fields such as science, arts, education, business, or athletics. This visa permits individuals to reside and work permanently in the U.S. without a job offer or labor certification. The application process for the EB-1(A) visa is notably rigorous and competitive. It…
Finding the right medical facility among many options can be a challenging process. Thanks to clever innovations, undergoing surgery no longer inevitably results in pain and discomfort. The objective of this article is to present readers with a detailed roadmap by sharing eight wise pieces of advice to always strike the right balance in clinic…
By HWM (adaption) “Let’s Get It,” performed by American rappers Harlem’s P. Diddy, G. Dep, and Black Rob, is a track that resonates deeply with the Harlem community and beyond. Released on April 3, 2001, through Bad Boy Entertainment, the song served as the first single from P. Diddy & The Bad Boy Family’s The…
Last weekend, we unofficially kicked off the summer in New York City during Memorial Day weekend. Our beaches are open for the season, and our public pools will open June 27. New York City has so much to see and do that people forget that this is a beach town, with two of the best…
On June 4 at 7 p.m., House of Yes in Brooklyn will host a screening of the short film “Bodega.” This captivating story follows a young queer Black woman who experiences love at first sight, with social media content creator and model Ocean van Exel portraying the woman of her dreams.
Written and directed by Sharik Atkinson (she/they), “Bodega” is driven by Atkinson’s profound desire to bring more queer stories to both big and small screens that aren’t centered around the trauma of “coming out.” After the screening of “Bodega,” there will be a cast Q&A session moderated by Womxn in Windows.
While Atkinson makes her directorial debut with this short, she is no stranger to the film industry. She has contributed to major productions, including NBCU’s “Genie,” “’Law & Order SVU,” and Netflix’s “Manifest.” She has also produced commercials for renowned brands including Foot Locker, Apple, and Google. Atkinson currently serves as the social media director at a prominent production and development company.
In the role of the young woman’s crush, content creator, model, and actress Ocean van Exel delivers a sublime and memorable performance. Born in Amsterdam and now calling New York City home, this out and proud lesbian with Surinamese, Black, Asian, and Dutch roots is a fierce advocate for the LGBTQ community. Her content focuses on lifestyle, fashion, and the queer experience. Notably, she is known for her TikTok series, “Femme Talk Fridays” and “The Femme Dressing Room,” which highlight and uplift queer voices through fashion, storytelling, and community building. She has also modeled for brands like VS Pink, Lucky Brand, and Champion. Ocean van Exel is certainly one to watch.
Here is what Ocean van Exel had to share about stepping into her first short film “Bodega,” being a successful content creator, and why LGBTQ+ stories are so important.
AmNews: Who are you versus the person people on social media think you are?
Ocean Van Exel: I would like to think that I am similar online to who I am offline. I try to authentically show who I am and the things that I care about. Surprisingly, social media has taught me not to take myself so seriously. There are obviously parts of my life that people do not see, but at the end of the day, I am just a girl who loves to talk about queer things and look stylish while doing it!
AMN: What does it mean to be LGBTQ+ in 2024?
OVE: It means to be ourselves and to express ourselves fully without limits. Living in the digital era, we can connect in a way that is different from before, and it is so important to use our digital platforms to protect and stand up for each other. Being queer is to be yourself unapologetically, and I love seeing people having fun, living their truth, and I am rooting for every queer person, always.
AMN: Do you know your Queer history? If so, what’s the importance of young folks knowing it?
OVE: I believe that Queer history is such a huge and integral part of our culture. Living in NYC as a lesbian, it is almost impossible not to know the Queer history. Especially being surrounded by queer historical establishments like Stonewall Inn and some of the first lesbian bars in America like Cubbyhole and Henrietta Hudson—I feel privileged and empowered by the rich, deep history living in this city. The Herstory Archives in Brooklyn is one of my favorite places to visit because it showcases documented sapphic history which is beautiful to witness. The ability to access these historic spaces is truly amazing—but honestly, my favorite way to learn is through people. The queer people that have lived to tell the tales of their time and the way they have contributed to shaping our culture and have fought for our rights today is so impactful. Most importantly, I love hearing queer stories first hand because it is so inspiring to know where we came from to see how far we have come and where we are headed.
AMN: How do you keep yourself balanced? Do you balance your life away from social media?
OVE: Finding a balance can be a challenge, especially since getting sucked into social media is so easy. However, I was an athlete when I was younger—so fitness is a huge aspect of my life still, and I love to keep myself occupied through physical activities such as running, soccer, and dancing. I also enjoy picking up different DIY hobbies and learning how to create things with my hands like accessories and thrifting items that I can style.
AMN: Why did you say yes to this short film?
OVE: I said yes to being in “Bodega” because I loved the vision of seeing a POC lesbian love story unfold that wasn’t tied to trauma about coming out. Lesbian representation is so important, and we need to see more of it. Being able to be a part of anything queer in the media was super exciting but equally important to me.
East Harlem’s NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan today announced it has reached a significant milestone. Performing its 200th gender-affirming surgery on a patient from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Twenty-nine-year-old Euro Spiritty, who is non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them and he/him, underwent masculinizing top surgery earlier this year. Approximately 80 percent of the gender-affirming surgeries performed at the hospital are masculinizing…
The New York African Chorus Ensemble, NYP 30th Precinct, and Community Council presented the 15th Annual NYC Multicultural Festival at Jackie Robinson Park Bandshell in Harlem. Festival Founder and Director Joyce Adewumi with Wille Walker opened the Festival.
At 16, Katya Kondragunta has already lived through two disasters amped up by climate change. First came wildfires in California in 2020, when ash and smoke forced her family to stay in their home in the Bay Area city of Fremont for weeks.
Then they moved to Prosper, Texas, where she dealt with record-setting heat last summer.
“We’ve had horrible heat waves and they’ve impacted my everyday life,” the high school junior said. “I’m in cross country…I’m supposed to go outside and run every single day to get my mileage in.”
Kondragunta said in school, she hasn’t learned about how climate change is intensifying these events, and she hopes that will change when she gets to college.
Increasingly, U.S. colleges are creating climate change programs to meet demand from students who want to apply their firsthand experience to what they do after high school, and help find solutions.
“Lots of centers and departments have renamed themselves or been created around these climate issues, in part because they think it will attract students and faculty,” said Kathy Jacobs, director of the University of Arizona Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions. The center launched a decade ago and connects several climate programs at the school in Tucson.
Other early movers that created programs, majors, minors, and certificates dedicated to climate change include the University of Washington, Yale University, Utah State University, University of Montana, Northern Vermont University, and University of California, Los Angeles. Columbia, the private university in New York City, opened its Climate School in 2020 with a graduate degree in climate and society, and has related undergraduate programs in the works.
Just in the past four years, the public Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, Iowa State, Nashville private university Vanderbilt, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and others have started climate-related studies. Hampton University, a private, historically Black university in Virginia, is building one now, and the University of Texas at Austin will offer its version this fall.
The fact that climate change is affecting more people is one factor. The Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in U.S. history, and growth in climate-focused jobs, are also increasing interest, experts say.
In these programs, students learn how the atmosphere is changing as a result of burning coal, oil and gas, and the way crops will shift with the warming planet and the role of renewable energy in cutting use of fossil fuels.
They dive into how to communicate about climate with the public, ethical, and environmental justice aspects of climate solutions and the roles lawmakers and businesses play in cutting greenhouse gases.
Students also cover disaster response and ways communities can prepare and adapt before climate change worsens. Offerings require biology, chemistry, physics, and social sciences faculty, among others.
“It’s not just ‘oh, yeah, climate, global warming, environmental stuff,’” said Lydia Conger, a senior who enrolled at Utah State specifically for its climate science studies. “It has these interesting technical parts in math and physics, but then also has this element of geology, oceanography, and ecology.”
When higher ed institutions put their programs together, they often draw on existing meteorology and atmospheric sciences studies. Some put climate in sustainability or environmental science departments, but climate tracks have to go beyond those to satisfy some incoming students.
In Kennebunk, Maine, high school junior Will Eagleson has lived through storms that caused coastal destruction, and the sea level is rising in his hometown. As the 17-year-old considers college, he said to get his attention, schools must “narrow it down from environmental and Earth science as a whole, to more climate change-focused programs.”
For Lucia Everist, a senior at Edina High School in Minnesota who is frustrated at her own lack of climate education so far, schools need to go deeper on the human impact of climate change. She cited disproportionate impact on Black, Latino, Indigenous, and low-income neighborhoods.
“I looked a lot into the curriculum itself,” the 18-year-old said of her college search. Everywhere she applied, “I made sure (it) had the social aspect just as much as the science aspect.”
Climate students need to learn everything from healthcare to how to store clean solar and wind energy, said Megan Latshaw, who runs the Johns Hopkins University master’s programs in its Environmental Health and Engineering Department. The school has a graduate degree in energy policy and climate, and also offers two certificates that include the term climate change.
“It’s the flooding. It’s the heat waves. It’s the wildfires. It’s the air pollution that’s generated when we’re burning fossil fuels. It’s allergies. It’s water scarcity, and people who may have to flee where they’ve lived for their entire life,” Latshaw said. The university looks into weaving climate change into its schools of public health, engineering, education, medicine, nursing, and more, she said.
Another factor may be that many colleges around the country face declining enrollment and less public funding, pushing them to market new degrees to stay relevant.
Many small, private colleges have had to shut down over the last decade with fewer students graduating from high school and more opting for career-oriented training. The same pressures are affecting large public university systems, which have cut academic programs and faculty to close gaps in budgets.
“There is definitely some part of academia that just simply responds to consumer demand,” said John Knox, undergraduate coordinator for the University of Georgia’s Atmospheric Sciences program, who is considering whether the school should offer a climate certificate. “In the end, I’m worried more about our students succeeding than marketing something to somebody.”
