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New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Sanitation Department (DSNY) Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Incluging Director of Citywide Rodent Mitigation Kathleen Corradi released new data today showing a 20 percent decrease in 311 calls about rat activity across the city over the last two months, as compared to last year. The significant drop took…
BOSTON (AP) — Opening a new front in legal battles over college admissions, the U.S. Department of Education has launched a civil rights investigation into Harvard University’s policies on legacy admissions.
Top colleges’ preferential treatment of children of alumni, who are often white, has faced mounting scrutiny since the Supreme Court last month struck down the use of affirmative action as a tool to boost the presence of students of color.
The department notified Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit based in Boston, on Monday that it was investigating the group’s claim that alleges the university “discriminates on the basis of race by using donor and legacy preferences in its undergraduate admissions process.”
An Education Department spokesperson confirmed its Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation at Harvard. The agency declined further comment.
The complaint was filed earlier this month on behalf of Black and Latino community groups in New England. The group argued that students with legacy ties are up to seven times more likely to be admitted to Harvard, can make up nearly a third of a class and that about 70% are white. For the Class of 2019, about 28% of the class were legacies with a parent or other relative who went to Harvard.
“Qualified and highly deserving applicants of color are harmed as a result, as admissions slots are given instead to the overwhelmingly white applicants who benefit from Harvard’s legacy and donor preferences,” the group said in a statement. “Even worse, this preferential treatment has nothing to do with an applicant’s merit. Instead, it is an unfair and unearned benefit that is conferred solely based on the family that the applicant is born into.”
A spokesperson for Harvard on Tuesday said the university has been reviewing its admissions policies to ensure compliance with the law since the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action.
“As this work continues, and moving forward, Harvard remains dedicated to opening doors to opportunity and to redoubling our efforts to encourage students from many different backgrounds to apply for admission,” the spokesperson said.
Ending legacy preferences is “one of many steps that Harvard and other universities can take to increase access, diversity, and equity in admissions,” said Jane Sujen Bock, a board member of the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, which includes alumni, student and staff.
Last week, Wesleyan University in Connecticut announced that it would end its policy of giving preferential treatment in admissions to those whose families have historical ties to the school. Wesleyan President Michael Roth said a student’s “legacy status” has played a negligible role in admissions, but would now be eliminated entirely.
In recent years, schools including Amherst College in Massachusetts, Carnegie Melon University in Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland also have eliminated legacy admissions.
Legacy policies have been called into question after last month’s Supreme Court ruling banning affirmative action and any consideration of race in college admissions. The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years, forcing institutions of higher education to seek new ways to achieve student diversity.
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said he commended the Education Department for taking steps to ensure the higher education system “works for every American, not just a privileged few.”
“Every talented and qualified student deserves an opportunity to attend the college of their choice. Affirmative Action existed to support that notion. Legacy admissions exists to undermine it,” he said.
A study led by Harvard and Brown researchers, published Monday, found that wealthy students were twice as likely to be admitted to elite schools compared to their lower- or middle-income counterparts who have similar standardized test scores.
The study looked at family income and admissions data at the Ivy League and Stanford, MIT, Duke and the University of Chicago, found that legacy admissions policies were a contributing factor to the advantage high-income students have at these schools. Athletic recruitment and extracurricular credentials, which are stronger when students attend affluent private high schools, were the other two factors.
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Associated Press reporters Annie Ma and Gary Fields contributed from Washington, D.C.
The world’s largest historically Black college and university (HBCU) homecoming is returning to New York with a series of events, including a football game at MetLife Stadium, and an after-party headlined by DJ Envy on September 16th.
Raashaun Casey, popularly known as DJ Envy, is the co-host of the syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club” with Charlamagne Tha God. He will be headlining the after-party of the HBCU New York Classic, which will take place at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the second-largest mall in the country.
Casey, the Queens native and Hampton University alum, said he is glad to have attended an HBCU and wants to bring the southern HBCU spirit to his hometown.
“Let’s bring the HBCU atmosphere to New York (since) a lot of these students and people in the area don’t get to see it,” Casey said. “People in the south see HBCUs all day. They see the effects of the Morehouses, Spelmans, Clarks, FAMUs, and North Carolina A&Ts.But we don’t get to see that in New York, … we don’t get this experience of an HBCU. And with this classic, a lot of students and a lot of people who may not have seen (this atmosphere) before will get to really, really enjoy it and see it.”
The after-party for the Classic will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the genre of music that shaped Casey’s career. He said applying the skills he learned from his business management and marketing degree and coupling that with his passion for music led him to a fulfilling and fruitful career.
“As an iconic figure in the New York hip-hop scene, DJ Envy is the perfect person to help us celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and cap a full day of HBCU football and culture with style,” said Albert Williams, the HBCU New York Classic CEO.
Williams said the event will be the largest HBCU homecoming ever since all HBCU alums, future students, and football fans alike are invited and encouraged to come to the game and the events leading up to the Classic.
The events will begin on Tuesday, September 12, with a breakfast featuring New York City Mayor Eric Adams at Sylvia’s in Harlem. The week will host two high school education days in Newark, New Jersey, and Manhattan, NY.
The events will also include an HBCU-inspired debate at The Apollo, a career expo, a step show, and a pep rally before the main event of the Morehouse College Maroon Tigers against the Albany State University Golden Rams and the after-party.
Williams stressed the importance of these educational events and awareness of HBCU schools in the Northeast. He said he did not know about the existence of predominantly-Black institutions until after he graduated high school and attended St. John’s University for some years.
Williams and Casey hope to share the knowledge and power that HBCUs hold and encourage more young Black people to attend these universities.
“We did have a young man last year that decided he wasn’t going to college.. He spoke to our lady that runs our career fair. And lo and behold, he applied to (approximately) six schools, four of them were HBCUs, and he decided to go to Morehouse,” Williams said. “If you reach one mission accomplished, we want to reach many.”
Williams said the organization expanded its events compared to last year due to increased funding and awareness of the Classic. He said the sponsorships from Google, Walmart, and other large companies show a valuable investment of time and money into Black communities.
In terms of the game’s outcome, Williams said he thinks the scoreline will be interesting, regardless of which team wins. Morehouse is coming in with a lessthan-favorable record after their (1-9) overall record last season. The team was also held scoreless in the previous year’s inaugural game against Howard University, losing 31-0. Conversely, Albany State is coming off a 7-3 record last season and has dominated Morehouse over the past decade, winning 11 games straight since 2010 over Morehouse.
Caricom governments, most of them in the smaller Eastern Caribbean subgrouping, are on edge following a decision by the UK government to reimpose visa requirements for citizens of Dominica amid concerns that its cash-for-passport scheme is letting in “undesirables.”
London announced the move in the past week, saying it comes into immediate effect except for passengers who would already have confirmed tickets for travel until mid-August. Thereafter, they will also have to find a British embassy, most likely in nearby Barbados, to apply for a visa as the UK is unhappy that Russians and other nationals are obtaining Dominican passports and entering the UK as Dominican citizens.
Countries across the Caribbean from St. Kitts and Antigua in the north to Grenada in the south are nervous, fearing that they may be in the next phase of the plan by the UK to block what it calls an easy loophole for unqualified people to enter British ports.
Authorities in the subgrouping worry that the UK is punishing them because of their lucrative Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) which allows foreign nationals to apply for local passports and citizenship once they spend relatively small sums like $100,000, invest in local real estate, or start up a business employing locals. Those with active CIP schemes include St. Kitts, Antigua, Dominica, St. Lucia, and Grenada. St. Vincent has flatly refused to do so under current Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves who argues that “citizenship is not a commodity for sale.”
The UK and the European Union have been urging the CIP participating countries to abandon that scheme, saying it is a security risk as wealthy people with dubious backgrounds take advantage of visa-free travel to this part of the region to enter the UK.
CIP counters by arguing that the hundreds of millions generated from these schemes have replaced the exports of banana and sugar to the UK and the EU, which have abandoned duty-free and other preferential benefits for former colonies in recent decades. The shortfall in state revenues have to be made up elsewhere. Free trade in the 15-nation Caribbean single trading system has also resulted in a loss of import duties as well as other policy decisions made by western nations over the years.
Suella Braverman, the British home secretary for immigration, said in a recent statement that the move to reimpose visa requirements for nationals of Dominica, Honduras, Namibia, Timor-Leste, and Vanuatu has been taken solely for migration and border security reasons and is not a sign of poor relations with these countries.
Shaken up by the move, Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne warned his countrymen to brace for a possible negative impact in the coming months, being well aware of the opposition to the CIP scheme the west has maintained in recent years.
He told the Observer newspaper that “although the UK has said nothing about the other OECS countries, when your neighbor’s house catches fire, wet yours.”
Meanwhile, the acting British envoy to the Eastern Caribbean Charley Williams also weighed in. “The UK and Dominica enjoy a close relationship and our governments work together on a range of international issues. Today’s announcement is a response to our long-standing concerns about Dominica’s citizenship by investment program and the risk it poses to the UK. The changes will bring Dominica in line with many other visa national countries around the world with which the UK has strong and friendly relations. They do not change our commitment to the relationship between our countries or to Dominica’s future. Visas provide access to the UK while helping to secure the UK border,” he said.
Jamari Johns, 19-year-old Fresh Air alum, was killed last August while riding his bike in New York City. From the age of 7, Jamari, who grew up in Washington Heights. Visited the family of volunteer hosts Gina Perini and Peter Benedict in Westford, Massachusetts, and the families formed a strong bond of friendship. On July…
The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI), in partnership with the Friends of Art Park Alliance (FAPA) and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Is hosting its 5th annual AFRIBEMBÉ FESTIVAL: Black to the Future! on Saturday, August. 12, 2023. Offered to families in the New York City area for free, the daylong celebration of Pan-African artistry, intellectuality,…
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants settled on a contract for the star running back just in time for training camp, signing a one-year contract worth up to $11 million, a source close to the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Giants had not announced the signing of the player they had placed the franchise tag on in March.
The deal, which adds $909,000 in incentives to the $10.1 million Barkley will earn playing under the franchise tag, came on the day players reported to training came in New Jersey and a day before they started practice for the 2023 season.
The team and Barkley failed to come to an agreement on a long-term extension by the NFL deadline of Aug. 17. Since the former Penn State star had not signed his tender offer under the franchise tag, he would not have been able to attend training camp. There was speculation he might sit out camp and miss some of the season.
That ended with the signing.
The 26-year-old Barkley ran for a career-best 1,312 yards and scored 10 touchdowns last season in helping the Giants (9-7-1) make the playoff for the first time since 2016. He also shared the team lead in receptions with 57.
NEW YORK (AP) — The clock is ticking. As the deadline to reach a new contract nears, a potential UPS strike feels closer than ever.
Negotiations broke down earlier this month and unionized workers have been holding rallies and practice pickets across the country. The Teamsters, which represent more than half of the company’s workforce, will resume talks with UPS on Tuesday.
That leaves less than a week to come to an agreement before the current contract expires at the end of the day on Monday, July 31. The union has authorized a strike and Sean M. O’Brien, a fiery leader elected last year to lead the union, has vowed to do so if their demands aren’t met.
“We’re sending a message… all 340,000 of our members are united and ready to fight,” O’Brien told The Associated Press at a practice picket Friday in Atlanta, where UPS is based.
UPS’s unionized workers still seethe about a contract they feel was forced on them in 2018, and say that the company delivers millions more packages every day than it did just five years ago. The Teamsters are calling for better pay, particularly for part-time employees, and improved working conditions.
UPS has maintained that it already offers “industry-leading pay and benefits,” but says it’s prepared to increase that compensation. In a Friday update, the company said it aimed “quickly to finalize a fair deal that provides certainty for our customers, our employees and businesses across the country.”
If negotiations are unsuccessful the deliveries that Americans have come to rely on, particularly since the pandemic began in 2020, could be vastly disrupted. Such an impasse hasn’t been seen since 1997, well before delivery of everyday items from dog food to prescription drugs became the norm, when a walkout by 185,000 workers crippled UPS. Here’s what you need to know.WHAT ARE THE TEAMSTERS ASKING FOR?
Much on the union’s demands comes down to better pay and improved working conditions.
Annual profits at UPS in the past two years are close to three times what they were before the pandemic. The company returned about $8.6 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks in 2022, and forecast another $8.4 billion for shareholders this year.
The Teamsters say frontline UPS workers deserve some of that windfall. A sticking point in negotiations has been wage increases for part-time workers, who make a minimum of $16.20 an hour.
“People want their packages yesterday with the emergence of the e-commerce. So it’s a very demanding job,” O’Brien said, pushing back on the salary statistics that UPS shares. “Everybody doesn’t realize what it takes to get these packages on the truck. And a lot of our part timers… work for poverty wages.”
In addition to addressing part-time pay, the union wants to eliminate a contract provision that created two separate hierarchies of workers with different pay scales, hours and benefits. Driver safety, particularly the lack of air conditioning in delivery trucks, is also in the mix.HAS UPS AGREED TO ANY DEMANDS?
Before contract talks broke down on July 5, with both sides blaming each other for walking away from the bargaining table, tentative agreements were made on several issues — including installing air conditioning in more trucks. UPS said it would add air conditioning to U.S. small delivery vehicles purchased after January 1, 2024. Existing vehicles wouldn’t get that upgrade, but the union said they will have other additions like fans and air vents.
The union also said it has reached tentative agreements to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a full holiday for the first time, end unwanted overtime on drivers’ days off and get rid of the two-tier wage system for drivers who work weekends and earn less money.COULD A STRIKE BE AVOIDED? CAN THE GOVERNMENT INTERVENE?
The strike can be avoided if UPS and the Teamsters agree to a new contract before the July 31 deadline. There’s also a possibility of government intervention.
O’Brien said Sunday that he has asked the White House on numerous occasions not to intervene if workers end up going on strike. Last year, President Joe Biden intervened to avert a railroad strike to avoid disrupting the nation’s supply chain, and workers had accept an agreement that wasn’t broadly supported by union members.WHAT IMPACT WOULD A STRIKE HAVE?
The 24 million packages UPS ships on an average day amounts to about a quarter of all U.S. parcel volume, according to the global shipping and logistics firm Pitney Bowes. As UPS puts it, that’s the equivalent of about 6% of nation’s gross domestic product.
Higher prices and long wait times are all but certain if there is an impasse. A strike also threatens to extend lingering supply chain troubles.
“Something’s got to give,” Thomas Goldsby, logistics chairman in the Supply Chain Management Department at the University of Tennessee, told The Associated Press. “The python can’t swallow the alligator, and that’s going to be felt by all of us.”
UPS said this month that it will temporarily begin training nonunion employees in the U.S. to step in should there be a strike.
Beyond shipping and supply implications, a union win at UPS could have significance for organized labor across industries. UPS’s contract talks arrive amid other prominent labor campaigns at Apple, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s and other companies — as well as the current writers and actors’ strikes seen in Hollywood.
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Videojournalist Sharon Johnson contributed from Atlanta
