Dear Commons Community,

The US Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. can obtain President Donald Trump’s tax returns for a criminal investigation but sent a second request by Congress for the records back to lower courts.  Here is a quick analysis courtesy of the Associated Press.

Dear Commons Community,

Yesterday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio joined workers and others in painting a “Black Lives Matter” mural on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower (see video above).  This did not go well with “the Donald.’

Tony

Governor Cuomo’s Press Conference – His comments about school re-openings start at the 10:40 mark.

Dear Commons Community,

Yesterday during his regular press conference (see video above),  New York State Governor pushed back strongly on President Trump’s stance to reopen schools.  I thought Cuomo’s messsage clear was that we do have to open schools but we have to be safe and smart about it.  Unfortunately when you are driven by polls and re-election, as is Trump, safe and smart does not always figure in.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Late last night, the counter on Tony’s Thoughts reached seven million visitors.  When I started this blog in November 2009, I never imagined that there would be such interest in what I had to say.  Actually I had assumed I would blog for a few months and then move on.  I still cannot fathom that in the past ten and a half  years, I have made more than 5,209 posts.  

I thank colleagues and friends who have made suggestions on topics and issues for my blog.  I thank Matt Gold and the staff at the CUNY Commons who have provided this wonderful resource for us to share our interests with one another.  I thank my wife, Elaine, who has to listen to me in the morning about what I might want to write and blog about.  Most of all, I thank all of you who have taken the time to stop by and read my posts.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

About four months after 1.1 million New York City children were forced into online learning, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced yesterday that public schools would still not fully reopen in September, saying that classroom attendance would instead be limited to only one to three days a week in an effort to continue to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

The mayor’s release of his plan for the system, by far the nation’s largest, capped weeks of intense debate among elected officials, educators and public health experts over how to bring children back safely to 1,800 public schools.

The decision to opt for only a partial reopening, which is most likely the only way to accommodate students in school buildings while maintaining social distancing, may hinder hundreds of thousands of parents from returning to their pre-pandemic work lives, undermining the recovery of the sputtering local economy.

Still, the staggered schedules in New York City schools for September reflect a growing trend among school systems, universities and colleges around the country, which are all trying to find ways of balancing the urgent need to bring students back to classrooms and campuses while also reducing density to prevent the spread of the virus.

“Everyone is looking to the public school system to indicate the bigger direction of New York City,” Mr. de Blasio said Wednesday.

Under the mayor’s plan, there will probably be no more than a dozen people in a classroom at a time, including teachers and aides, a stark change from typical class size in New York City schools, which can hover around 30 children.

The shift has also created enormous challenges for parents who have struggled helping their children learn even as they have had to maintain jobs from home or, if they are essential workers, had to scramble for child care.

Still, like New York City’s, many school districts around the country are planning on not reopening fully, and instead will use a mix of in-person and remote learning indefinitely.

President Trump threatened on Wednesday to cut off federal funding to school districts that do not reopen in person this fall. On Tuesday he said that the social, psychological and educational costs of keeping children at home would be worse than the virus itself. Education policy is largely controlled by state and local officials, so Mr. Trump does not have authority over whether systems reopen.

The details of reopening will vary widely between districts depending on the virus’ spread, which is why a return to school may look very different in New York, where transmission is currently low, than in Phoenix, where cases are increasing.

This is a wise and prudent decision on the part of Mayor de Blasio.  He is putting health and safety ahead of economics.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Ivy League college officials announced yesterday that all sports would be canceled at least until January amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The move to eliminate  games and matches in the fall is the first by a Division I NCAA conference, following in the footsteps of a handful of Division II and Division III schools. 

As CBS News noted, the Ivy League could still choose to move its football season to the spring of 2021. But a source told the network that such a change would prove challenging.

“You can’t move all the sports to the spring; the logistics don’t work,” the source said.

Other than football, several other sports will be affected by the league’s decision, including soccer, basketball and cross country.

In a joint statement, the Ivy League Council of Presidents said, “As a leadership group, we have a responsibility to make decisions that are in the best interest of the students who attend our institutions, as well as the faculty and staff who work at our schools. These decisions are extremely difficult, particularly when they impact meaningful student-athlete experiences that so many value and cherish.

“We are entrusted to create and maintain an educational environment that is guided by health and safety considerations,” it added. “There can be no greater responsibility — and that is the basis for this difficult decision.”

The Ivy League — comprised of deep-pocketed universities including Harvard, Yale and Princeton that rely less on their athletic programs to drive revenue compared with many other Division I schools — was the first conference to cancel its basketball league play March as COVID-19 began its rapid spread across the U.S.

Though that decision was initially met with some backlash, the NCAA, which organizes the athletic programs of many U.S. universities and colleges, soon followed suit. Observers believe the Ivy League’s decision to suspend sports for the fall could prove similarly influential.

I think we will see many other colleges and universities cancelling sports next year.  Because of financial issues stemming from the pandemic, some such as Stanford University have already decided to eliminate some sports permanently.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Scott Martelle has an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times this morning calling out the Trump administration for proposing that international students enrolled in U.S. colleges must attend in-person classes or leave the country.  If there’s a cruel way to handle an immigration issue, the nation can rest assured that the Trump administration will find it.  Here is the op-ed.

“The latest chapter in President Trump’s book, “How to Close Down a Nation to Foreigners” (and no, that’s not a real book), is a pending order that international students enrolled in U.S. colleges must attend in-person classes or leave the country. Never mind that the colleges themselves are still trying to figure out how to start the upcoming academic year as the pace of the coronavirus outbreak seems to be accelerating.

“The U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will U.S. Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States.” The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement announcing the rule. “Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status. If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.”

Colleges taking a hybrid approach must certify to the government that they are not relying solely on online courses, and if that changes during the semester they must alert the government within 10 days.

Before the pandemic the government barred international students from taking more than one online course per semester, presumably to keep people from obtaining student visas for courses that could be taken from outside the country.

The pandemic, though, forced massive campus shutdowns and shifts to online classes, leading the government to issue a temporary exemption to the one-course rule for the spring and summer sessions — which was the right thing to do.

But that will be going away for the fall, which is the wrong thing to do.

The administration has already used the pandemic to effectively shut down the asylum system, and the closing of visa processing offices here in the U.S. and overseas has significantly curtailed the granting or denial of visa applications. And new applications had already fallen off before the pandemic because of the administration’s efforts to reduce all immigration to the U.S.

In fact, the administration’s failure to process visas has threatened the viability of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services itself, which by law derives its budget from visa fees and other processing charges. No visa processing, no revenue.

The agency has asked Congress for $1.2 billion in emergency cash, though the request hasn’t gained much traction as members of Congress seek more information on the issue. But without the cash infusion, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says it will furlough some 13,400 employees when its current funding runs out around Aug. 3.

Telling international students they must be in class or out of the country pushes two issues important to the administration: Keeping foreigners out of the country and defying public health advisories on behaviors to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

In this case, the administration is telling colleges either to set aside concerns about how to conduct classes without undue risk of exposing students, faculty and employees to the coronavirus, or to sacrifice the lucrative cash flow provided by foreign students, who usually pay premium rates to attend U.S. colleges.

The administration has already moved to restrict access for students from China, part of the president’s persistent tussle over trade with the Chinese government and a further narrowing of entry doors to the U.S.

As it is, enrollment of foreign students in U.S. college has declined about 3%, from 903,000 in the 2015-16 academic year to 872,000 in 2018-19, according to the Institute of International Education. More significantly, new students dropped about 10%, from 300,743 new students in 2015-16 to 269,000 in 2018-19.

And they bring cash. Citing Commerce Department figures, the institute said international students added $45 billion to the U.S. economy in 2018.

Rather than adding yet another stressor to the economy, the administration ought to do the humane thing and extend the exemption for as long as the coronavirus is forcing such radical changes in how colleges educate students.”

Trump once again chooses a bullying tactic and disgraces his office!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Tom Friedman in his New York Times column this morning has excellent advice for Joe Biden advising him not to debate Donald Trump unless two conditions are met. 

First, Biden should declare that he will take part in a debate only if Trump releases his tax returns for 2016 through 2018. Biden has already done so, and they are on his website. Trump must, too. No more gifting Trump something he can attack while hiding his own questionable finances.

And second, Biden should insist that a real-time fact-checking team approved by both candidates be hired by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates — and that 10 minutes before the scheduled conclusion of the debate this team report on any misleading statements, phony numbers or outright lies either candidate had uttered. That way no one in that massive television audience can go away easily misled.

Debates always have ground rules. Why can’t telling the truth and equal transparency on taxes be conditions for this one?

Biden should listen to Friedman!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos launched a media blitz yesterday designed to push schools and colleges to reopen in the fall regardless of the coronavirus pandemic.  Earlier in the day, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos assailed plans by some local districts to offer in-person instruction only a few days a week and said schools must be “fully operational” even amid the coronavirus pandemic.  Anything less, she says, would fail students and taxpayers.

DeVos made the comments during a call with governors as the Trump administration launched an all-out effort to get schools and colleges to reopen. Audio of the call was obtained by The Associated Press.

“Ultimately, it’s not a matter of if schools need to open, it’s a matter of how. School must reopen, they must be fully operational. And how that happens is best left to education and community leaders,” DeVos told governors.

Later, President Donald Trump insisted that schools and colleges return to in-person instruction as soon as possible. Trump said that Democrats want to keep schools closed “for political reasons, not for health reasons.”

“They think it will help them in November. Wrong, the people get it!” Trump tweeted.  As reported by the Associated Press.

In making its case to reopen schools, the Trump administration has argued that keeping students at home carries greater risks than any tied to the coronavirus. Health officials say students need to be in school to continue their educational development and to access meal programs and services for mental and behavioral health.

But some are calling for greater caution as schools plan for the fall. Arne Duncan, who served as Education Secretary under former President Barack Obama, has said the focus should be on making sure students can return safely.

“We all want children to go back to school,” Duncan said on Twitter. “The question is whether we care enough about our children to ALLOW them to go to school safely. Our behavior, our commitment to shared sacrifice — or our selfishness — will determine what happens this fall for kids.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put out guidance for schools last month, including staggering schedules, spreading out desks, having meals in classrooms instead of the cafeteria, adding physical barriers between bathroom sinks and cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.

In the call with governors, DeVos slammed districts that plan to offer in-person instruction only a few days a week. She called out Fairfax County Public Schools, which is asking families to decide between fully remote instruction or two days a week in the classroom.

“A choice of two days per week in the classroom is not a choice at all,” DeVos said, contending that the district’s distance learning last spring was a “disaster.”

Her criticism of schools’ distance education efforts extended across the country. DeVos said she was disappointed in schools that “didn’t figure out how to serve students or who just gave up and didn’t try.” She said more than one state education chief told her that they also were disappointed in districts that did “next to nothing to serve their students.”

The same thing can’t happen again this fall, she said, urging governors to play a role in getting schools to reopen.

“Students across the country have already fallen behind. We need to make sure that they catch up,” DeVos said. “It’s expected that it will look different depending on where you are, but what’s clear is that students and their families need more options.”

At a later panel discussion, DeVos acknowledged that outbreaks may temporarily disrupt in-person instruction, but she said schools should be expected to provide five days of classroom instruction a week.”

This is a most difficult decision.  School administrations are caught trying to offer an education and at the same time provide an environment safe from the coronavirus.  Not an easy task.  I find it amazing that Trump cannot decide on requiring American citizens to wear masks – a simple but effective way to control coronavirus – but would require schools to reopen exposing tens of millions of students to the illness.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Just about every survey conducted since the beginning of March indicates that student distress is only going to get worse this fall. Those mental-health concerns will be exacerbated for Black and Hispanic students, whose populations are disproportionately harmed by Covid-19 and by the police violence gripping the nation’s consciousness. Asian American students, meanwhile, are dealing with racial slurs and jokes stemming from the pandemic’s origins in China.

What’s more, students of color often don’t get the help they need. About 45 percent of white students with mental-health challenges seek treatment, according to a 2018 study, but only a third of Latinx students do so. For Black and Asian students, the proportion is even lower — about 25 and 22 percent, respectively (see table above).

And this fall, they will return to colleges that look and feel very different. The Chronicle of Higher Education has an article this morning describing the plans of some colleges in dealing with supporting students of color.  Here is an excerpt.

“In the throes of dual national crises, students of color will need quick access to mental-health-care options that reflect their experiences, recreate their support systems remotely, and acknowledge the physical and emotional tolls the past few months have taken.

As Alexa Sass, a junior at the University of California at Los Angeles, was finishing up the spring term, George Floyd was killed in police custody in Minneapolis, and protests against racial injustice exploded nationwide. Processing the news was overwhelming and exhausting for Sass, who identifies as Black and Filipino.

She tried to get through her final exams as best she could. She turned to books on spirituality. She leaned on her communities within UCLA and back home in the Bay Area — virtually, of course. She has tried out some of the university’s online mental-health resources, but they’re not what she really needs.

Without much in-person interaction, she’s struggling emotionally. “The way that I process my mental health is through support systems,” said Sass, a leader in the campus chapter of Active Minds, a national mental-health advocacy group.

The pandemic and the racial-injustice crisis have caused fear, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness in Black students, said Kayla Johnson, a staff psychologist at Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black institution in Texas. But those students don’t often use mental-health services, because of stigma.

For some Black people, Johnson said, going to a therapist means that something must be wrong with you, or that you don’t have enough faith in God. There’s also pressure to keep problems to yourself, she said: “There’s kind of a level of secrecy about things that happen.”

Not only are there cultural barriers that discourage many students of color from talking openly about mental health, but they also encounter a staff of campus therapists many of whom don’t look like them, said Annelle Primm, a senior medical adviser at the Steve Fund, a mental-health-support organization for young people of color. Some students, she said, make the calculation that “it’s best not to seek help if they can’t seek help from someone with whom they feel comfortable sharing such personal feelings.”

At predominantly white institutions, counseling-staff members often don’t know how to talk with Black students, Johnson added. Sometimes, she said, students end up taking time out of their therapy sessions to explain social, economic, and cultural problems affecting Black families to their white therapists.

“Of course, when that happens, you don’t want to come back,” she said.

This fall, making sure students of color can connect with culturally competent mental-health providers will be key, mental-health experts say.

Before Stacia Alexander arrived at Paul Quinn College, in 2018, the historically black institution in Texas had a mental-health provider on campus for only a few hours each week, from the nearby University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Once Alexander took over as the college’s first mental-health-clinic coordinator, she tried a direct form of outreach: She handed out her cellphone number to students at orientation and told them to text her when they were having a bad day. One of the biggest barriers to accessing care, she said, is that students don’t know where to go.

It worked. And many students told her how excited they were to have a Black therapist to talk with.

But students were texting her all night, she said. So, earlier this year, Paul Quinn joined with TimelyMD, a teletherapy company, to ease the burden. Now students can reach a therapist 24/7 through the TimelyMD app, which offers access to providers from a wide range of cultural backgrounds.

Accessibility, experts say, should be another top priority for colleges trying to better reach students of color with mental-health resources.

Dozens of colleges, including George Washington University, Texas A&M University, and Mississippi State University, are offering quick drop-in consultations with therapists meant for students of color. The program, known as “Let’s Talk,” typically is set up at different locations across campus during a given week, often in student unions or cultural centers. For now, the drop-in sessions are happening virtually.

Brown University’s counseling center uses a flexible-care model, in which most students are served through 25-30-minute sessions that they can schedule just once, or as often as they want. Continuing 50-minute counseling appointments reflect a Western-centric care approach that doesn’t appeal to many students of color, said Will Meek, director of counseling and psychological services.

Since March, he said, no Brown student has waited more than a day to see one of the university’s campus therapists, a staff that Meek describes as culturally diverse. The university uses a third party to further expand access…

…Some colleges are turning to online platforms to try to reach students before they spiral into anxiety or depression. More than 120 institutions are offering You at College, which compiles mental-health and well-being resources tailored to campuses.

Nathaan Demers, a former campus psychologist who’s now vice president and director of clinical programs at Grit Digital Health, which worked with Colorado State University to develop You at College three years ago, said students’ use of the platform increased by 153 percent in the first five weeks of the pandemic compared with the previous three months.

The platform recently added resources that address the racial-injustice crisis, on how to make one’s voice heard effectively and how to maintain self-care as an activist. California State University at Fullerton conducted a study this spring and found that students of color used the You at College platform at a higher rate than white students did, Demers said.

Students can use You at College on their phones, and they can do so privately, which is especially important for students who are staying with their families and wouldn’t feel comfortable speaking with a therapist in that environment, he said.”

As colleges prepare for how they will re-open in the fall and strengthen support services for students, this article has a number of timely suggestions.

Tony