Exclusive: Group of London toilet cleaners and attendants at court of appeal over legality of outsourced contracts
A group of toilet cleaners and attendants for London’s most famous parks could be about to make legal history in the court of appeal by arguing that their outsourced contracts amounted to indirect race discrimination.
While Royal Parks’ mostly white in-house staff were paid at least the London living wage, its outsourced cleaners, who were almost all black, only received the minimum wage until they went on strike in 2019.
Vanderbilt University is expanding its nationally recognized no-loan financial aid program, known as Opportunity Vanderbilt.
Dr. Daniel DiermeierDr. Daniel Diermeier, the university’s chancellor, announced the university’s commitment to offering full-tuition scholarships to admitted students of families whose annual income is $150,000 or less.
“We want everyone who has what it takes to get into Vanderbilt to be able to enroll, regardless of their financial background. If you’re admitted, you belong here,” said Diermeier. “And we want to help make sure you can be here.”
Scholarship recipient families also, typically receive Opportunity Vanderbilt awards greater than full tuition to support housing, food, travel, and other college expenses, according to Douglas L. Christiansen, vice provost for university enrollment affairs and dean of admissions and financial aid. For example, the median annual award is $70,350 for families in the income range of $125,000 to $150,000, and the median annual award goes up to $90,640 for families in the income range of $0 to $50,000.
Many families with incomes of more than $150,000 still qualify for financial aid. For example, for families in the income range of $150,000 to $175,000, the median annual award is $62,650. For families with an income of more than $200,000, the median annual award is $39,940.
Since its inception in the fall of 2009, more than 15,400 students have benefited from Opportunity Vanderbilt, and over 19,750 university alumni, parents, and friends have contributed more than $565 million in gifts toward the program’s endowment support.
Black LGBTQ+ youth face both racism and homophobia as a result of their intersectional identity. As a result, they also face hardships related to a number of facets in their lives, including school safety, religion, community support, and higher education, according to a new report from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation.Charleigh J. Flohr
The “2024 Black LGBTQ+ Youth Report” – which the HRC Foundation created in partnership with the University of Connecticut – examines data from their 2022 survey of more than 12,000 LGBTQ+ teenagers, ages 13-17, and suggests ways in which parents and educators can help.
“Black LGBTQ+ youth need allyship, support and resources tailored to their Black LGBTQ+ identities,” said report co-author Charleigh Flohr, associate director of public education and research for the HRC Foundation. “Those two identities are not separate, and while information for LGBTQ+ people and Black people are important, the information and resources for people who live at the intersections of those two identities can look very different.”
For the purposes of the report, respondents who are transgender, non-binary, gender nonconforming, and other non-cisgender gender-expansive are referred to as transgender/gender-expansive youth.
“This report reinforces the unfortunate disposition of many Black LGBTQ+ students,” said Chauna C. Lawson, associate director for HRC’s HBCU Program. “They are challenged with navigating racism within LGBTQ+ spaces while simultaneously being met with homophobia and transphobia within the Black community.
“While the landscape of inclusion at HBCUs has improved significantly over the past 10-15 years, there is still far too much stigma around LGBTQ identities. These students find themselves targeted/alienated by faculty and staff just as much as by their peers, if not more so.”
In general, higher percentages of Black transgender/gender-expansive youth reported hardships than Black LGBTQ+ youth, in the realms of race, gender/sexuality, family, and school.
Within the LGBTQ+ community, approximately three in four Black LGBTQ+ and transgender/gender-expansive youth reported having faced at least one form of racism in the LGBTQ+ community and around seven out of ten said they have heard white LGBTQ+ people saying racist things.
Respondents reported feelings of distrust and being misunderstood by white LGBTQ+ people, with more than 60% of both Black LGBTQ+ and transgender/gender-expansive youth saying that they cannot trust their white counterparts.
The numbers are higher by a few percentage points for those who said they felt misunderstood. And they are even higher for Black LGBTQ+ and transgender/gender-expansive youth who said they have to educate white people about race, adding more burden to the experiences of these Black teenagers.
Black LGBTQ+ youth mentioned instances of homophobia, transphobia, lack of acceptance, and dismissive attitudes from other Black people. More than 80% of Black LGBTQ+ and transgender/gender-expansive youth reported having faced one or more forms of homophobia/transphobia in the Black community.
Many said they felt misunderstood (72-75%), invisible (61-67%), or not accepted (54-57%) by those in the Black community, with more Black transgender/gender-expansive youth reporting as such than Black LGBTQ+ youth.
Levels of awareness and acceptance at home and at school for these young people varied, according to the report.
While most Black LGBTQ+ youth (81.9%) are out to at least one member of their immediate family, more than half (56.1%) of respondents are out to none of their extended family. And less than a fifth (18.8%) said they were out to all members of their immediate family, a percentage that is lower than that of the overall LGBTQ+ youth population, 26.4%.
Awareness does not equate to acceptance or support, however. According to the report, similar percentages of Black LGBTQ+ youth responded that they have felt supported by their parents (56.5%) or that they experienced some degree of parental rejection (58.6%), whether it be through mocking, negative comments, or being made to feel bad for their LGBTQ+ identity.
Again, more of the trans and gender-expansive respondents than LGBTQ+ youth reported these negative experiences, and less of them reported that their parents said they liked them as they were. But notably, a good portion more of trans and gender-expansive youth reported that their parents expressed pride of their child’s LGBTQ+ identity – 48.2% compared to 33% for Black LGBTQ+ youth.
The report’s authors urged parents and caregivers to do research on the Black LGBTQ+ experience, local LGBTQ+ communities, and role models and mentors for their child.
Harassment and bullying remain prominent enough as issues for Black LGBTQ+ youth in school, the report noted, given that more than half of respondents reported having faced harassment, physical or verbal. More so than for their race/ethnicity (32%), Black LGBTQ+ and trans/gender-expansive youth said they were bullied at school because of their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression (approx. 50%).
As these students progress through their schooling, more than 80% are thinking about college. Yet a good portion of them (28-32%) find themselves worried that them being LGBTQ+ could harm future college and higher ed opportunities.
Educators can take steps and create lesson plans to highlight Black LGBTQ+ figures and content that affirms Black LGBTQ+ experiences and identities, the report’s authors suggested.
Lawmakers can also contribute to support this demographic, Flohr wrote.
“Every policymaker should come out against any law or policy seeking to push LGBTQ+ people back into the closet,” said Flohr. “Across the United States, in state legislatures and elsewhere, laws and policies are being made to criminalize and dehumanize our community.”
Even when faced with all this hardship, 90% of Black LGBTQ+ youth expressed pride for being part of the LGBTQ+ community, though that’s not to say that this population does not feel sadness or self-criticism because of their LGBTQ+ identity, according to the report.
“The fact that so many Black LGBTQ+ youth are still proud of their identities in the face of adversity is a true testament to the resiliency and strength of Black LGBTQ+ youth,” said Flohr. “I ask everyone: If public officials and lawmakers were working to criminalize many of your identities, how would you feel?”
Amy GalleyThe college, a public community college serving nearly 3,000 students across a rural and remote five-county region, selected Boston-based Uwill to increase its existing counseling capabilities for all students. Uwill is a leading mental health and wellness solution for colleges and students.
“Uwill stood out among the rest for their innovative technology and ease of access,” said Amy Galley, director of wellbeing and accessibility/Title IX at Western Wyoming, noting the strength of competition among potential teletherapy providers. She said Uwill will be able to provide students with diverse, immediate, and effective mental health care.
The campus-wide teletherapy initiative is expected to help provide support for Western’s diverse student population of part-time, working, and adult students.
“Community college leaders have long understood that supporting student mental health and ensuring student success are two sides of the same coin,” said Uwill Founder and CEO Michael London. “Community and technical colleges in rural and remote areas are responding to increased demand for mental health support, and teletherapy solutions can help to close these gaps in treatment, ensuring that students have the resources needed to achieve their educational and career goals.”
Dr. Katie LynchKatie Lynch has been appointed provost and vice president of academic affairs at Brookdale Community College in New Jersey. Lynch holds a bachelor’s degree in English and history from Dartmouth College, a master’s in literary studies from the University of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. in literary studies from the University of Wisconsin.
Debbie MagyarDebbie Magyar has been appointed director of the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Magyar holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio.
Educators who train and prepare students to become teachers, gathered this weekend at the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) to call attention to the ongoing challenges that face K-12 learning.
AACTE officials said that this year’s theme, “Ascending New Heights: Propelling the Profession into the Future,” aligns with the association’s vision and mission “to revolutionize education for all learners by elevation education and educator preparation through research, professional practice, advocacy, and collaboration.”
In her opening keynote address, Susana Córdova, Colorado’s Commissioner of Education said that the challenge of recruiting and retaining teachers remains an urgent concern not only in Colorado, but across the nation.Susana Córdova, Colorado’s Commissioner of Education delivered the opening keynote at AACTE
“We’re all working hard to fill the gaps that exist,” said Córdova, adding that the mounting teacher vacancies—particularly in the wake of COVID-19—has been a top priority for school districts across the country.
She told education professors and deans that the work that they’re doing at the higher education level, is helping by preparing future teachers and ensuring that they’re ready for the demands of a future workforce ready to meet the challenging needs that face education today.
But many educators at the annual meeting expressed worries about the political climate that has made it more difficult to encourage college students to consider entering the teaching profession. They point to the grow number of states who have passed legislation —most notably Texas and Florida—that make it more difficult to teach about Black history for example.
Political propaganda and the ongoing culture wars have made life more difficult for teachers who try to help their students understand the importance of diversity and inclusivity.
“I think we’re still in the wake of the Brown decision,” said Dr. Leslie Fenwick, AACTE Dean in Residence and Dean Emeritus of the Howard University School of Education and a tenured professor of educational policy and leadership.
She said that the history of school vouchers and charters, which has since been codified in state charters, is the lingering resistance to the historic 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case that desegrated public schools.
Fenwick appeared on a panel discussion with other experts to discuss the future of American democracy.
Dr. Sigal Ben-Porath, MRMJJ Presidential Professor of Policy, Organizations, Leadership, and Systems Division at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, said that the polarization of K-12 education is not new. But the political climate, she added, has gone beyond just a critique of curriculum or ideology.
“Now, we’re not just polarized about policy but about each other,” she said. “Increasingly, this polarization is tearing us apart into two camps,” she continued, adding that the shift has created “a distant policy and attitudinal location where we cannot find much common ground.”
As such, the nation is witnessing what Ben-Porath and Fenwick called the “vanishing middle.”
“We see a divide. It’s a red-blue divide,” said Dr. Kevin Welner, director of the National Education Policy Center. He said that the legal protection for teachers across the nation are difficult.
“In many places, it’s a really difficult job right now,” said Welner. “And the smart thing for people who want to keep their job is to keep their head very low.”
Welner said that there is often a disconnect between educators and policymakers.
At the three-day convening, education professors like Dr. Kasey Johnson said that she had come to the annual meeting to network with other scholars who train teachers. But she said that she is also concerned about the lack of Open Educational Resources that would greatly benefit from low-income students who cannot afford to buy expensive textbooks.
“Why are we creating more barriers for students?” asked Johnson, who is also the chair of the Education Department at Ottawa University in Kansas. A former K-12 teacher who has been in education for 24 years, Johnson said that AACTE has been an important professional organization.
“Collaboration and encouragement is important,” she said. “I am not interested in reinventing the wheel.”
Pontins allegedly used names to compile a list of ‘undesirable guests’, while other appellations are lucrative brands. My advice is to withhold judgment
Every name tells a story. We assume we can guess someone’s background from their surnames. And sometimes we can. Last week, I was stopped outside London’s Liverpool Street station by a young man who wanted me to donate to a charity that helped teenagers in the city stay away from knife crime. He asked me my surname. I told him. “Nigerian?” he asked. I said: “Yes”. “Yoruba?” he further asked. I smiled and nodded. “Bawo ni?” he said, which in Yoruba means something like “How are you doing?”. This young man did not come from a Nigerian background. I was impressed enough to give him £20.
But names can also conceal. I recently met a man called Lee Elliot-Major. He is a professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter and used to be the chief executive of the educational charity the Sutton Trust. Lee told me that many people assumed he came from a middle-class background because he had a double-barrelled surname. In fact, he was the first person in his family to go to university.
G. Preston Wilson Jr.G. Preston Wilson Jr. has been appointed director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers at Fisk University in Nashville. Wilson, a former member of the ensemble, holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Fisk, a master’s in choral music education from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and a Ph.D. in music education from the University of Missouri.
Recently, conversation about the age of the 2024 presidential candidates has risen to a fever pitch. That’s the sign of a deeper problem with how our culture views aging.
