students-of-color

“Look at all those people,” a young woman, played by Lindsey Belisle, BC ’23, says, watching the bustle of a New York street from a park bench. “Who are they? Where are they from? And where are they going?”

Content Warning: This episode of The Ear discusses sexual violence and rape.

As Joe Biden secures the 2020 election, the shift in power to the Democratic Party signals forthcoming change to higher education policy. Among other initiatives, Biden’s current higher education platform promises to reinstate broader Title IX protections and support lower-income students’ attendance of public four-year programs and community colleges.

The miniature chapel is pushed into the river by the beach guardians. Standing inside, the animated character Sankyo watches as it quickly fills with water. “Is that normal?” he asks Cressidia, the chapel’s guardian, to which she replies, “No, Sankyo.”

Michael Rebell was growing frustrated. It was October, over 10 months after the trial had ended, and Judge William Smith still had not released a decision on the case. In the 50 years that Rebell had worked in education reform, he had never known a judge to take this long. His career had taught him that change often required patience, but that did not stop him from hoping that Smith’s decision would arrive sooner. The case he had presented, after all, was urgent: He believed democracy was on the line.

Avril Haines, a deputy director of Columbia World Projects, is slated for the role of director of national intelligence, announced President-elect Joe Biden alongside his intended nominations for five other key cabinet positions today.

“This country owes me. Its spine, its legs, its head—they belong to me!” George exclaims, disillusioned since returning from service in Iraq. “I was the big man, hell, I was the man. Nobody dared to mess with stone-cold George. Nobody knows how that feels.”

A few months after getting accepted into Columbia in 2017, I received a postcard in my letterbox—it was a simple “Welcome to Columbia! We’re so excited to have you join us!” written with a blue ballpoint pen. The idea that the small card had been handwritten by someone at Columbia for me, and that it had travelled across the Pacific Ocean to end up in my hands, thrilled me. No other university I had been accepted into had made such an effort, and as someone who wasn’t able to visit campus, each interaction I could have with the university paid dividends.

Hot on the heels of three similar lawsuits, the Department of Justice announced on Oct. 8 a lawsuit against Yale University, alleging illegal discrimination on the grounds of race and national origin during the admissions process. The DOJ found the university in violation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin.

Amid concerns about voter suppression, mail-in ballots, and COVID-19, Columbia University has created two early voting sites for the 2020 general election.