Photo courtesy of Hostos Community College
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR JULY 2-8, 2021 13
oped
Campaigns
should pay
kids to clean
up political
signage after
election season
An Andrew Yang for Mayor sign. Photo courtesy Facebook
BY LARRY PENNER
The 2021 NYC Democratic
Party Primary has
come and gone. This reminds
me of “The Outer
Limits,” a 1960’s television
show. With the end of round
the clock commercials by
politicians, political action
groups and pay-to-play special
interest groups, we now
return control of your television
back to you until the
November general election
cycle. No more candidates’
campaign mailings clogging
mailboxes and weighing
down our hard-working
postal employees. Finally,
some peace and quite!
Now if only all the winning
and losing candidates
would pick up all the thousands
of campaign signs
that litter our streets to
help clean up our environment.
All can use leftover
campaign funds to hire either
the Boy Scouts or the
Girl Scouts to collect this
litter. They could pay our
young people a nominal fee
which I’m sure would be appreciated.
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American dreams begin
in community colleges
BY FÉLIX V. MATOS
RODRÍGUEZ
It’s no secret that the City
University of New York’s seven
community colleges plays an
invaluable role in making the
American Dream a reality for
many New Yorkers, including
immigrants who are the first
in their family to go to college.
Our students never cease to
impress.
Just recently, three CUNY
community college students
received prestigious Jack
Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate
Transfer Scholarships,
given annually to top
community college students
in the U.S., which provide up
to $40,000 per year so students
can complete their bachelor’s
degree.
What’s more, 13 CUNY
community college students
recently accounted for the entire
cohort of this year’s Kaplan
Leadership Program,
which helps high-performing,
low-income students from the
New York metropolitan area
complete their associate degree,
transfer to a four-year
degree program, and provide
them with much-needed financial
support.
These are just a few examples
of what our community
college students can accomplish.
As the former President
of Hostos Community College,
I know from personal experience
the vital role such colleges
play in the lives of students.
Thankfully, so does the
Biden Administration. Our
First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, is
a lifelong educator, who has
spent nearly three decades
teaching at community colleges.
President Biden himself
is the recipient of a public
college education, while Vice
President Kamala Harris is a
proud alumna of a historically
Black university. This administration
understands the
value of a college education.
That’s why President
Biden’s American Families
Plan is so important. Under
the president’s plan, community
colleges would be free for
anyone who wants to attend —
including Dreamers — giving
students a financial lifeline to
make their educational goals
possible.
His plan would also expand
the maximum Pell Grant
award and aid many more students
enrolled in Historically
Black Colleges and Universities,
Tribal Colleges and Universities
and Minority Serving
Institutions — including
many in the CUNY system,
signaling his commitment
to making higher education
more accessible for Americans
of every background,
regardless of their family’s
financial circumstances or
immigration status.
That’s good news for CUNY,
particularly for students like
Lina Cruz, who I met when I
was president of Hostos. Years
ago, Lina left Colombia to attend
Hostos in the Bronx to
study English. Although she
never intended to stay in New
York, she quickly found a
home at CUNY.
“After enrolling in classes
I realized my future was
here,” she says.
Lina went on to graduate
from Hostos with her associate’s
before earning a bachelor’s
at Baruch, where she is
now finishing her Master’s
Degree. She’s earned three
CUNY degrees — yes, three
— in 12 years.
While at Hostos she interned
with the New York
Yankees in a program I
helped create. Lina turned
that internship into a career.
She now works as a team
manager, leading their multicultural
and Spanish-language
outreach efforts, and
supporting a variety of initiatives,
such as a new mentoring
program between the
Yankees and CUNY students.
For Lina, attending a
CUNY community college was
a game changer. And she’s not
alone:
Tens of thousands of our
students begin their educational
journey at a community
college, later continuing on
to one of CUNY’s 11 four-year
colleges.
At community colleges,
CUNY has pioneered initiatives
like ASAP, a nationally
recognized student success
program that has more than
doubled timely associate degree
graduation rates for participating
students.
President Biden’s American
Families Plan would be
a boost to our community colleges,
ensuring that CUNY
can help more students like
Lina, preparing them with
the necessary skills to thrive
in a dynamic, post-pandemic
economy.
It would also help make
higher education accessible
to all Americans, no matter
their financial situation, immigration
status or zip code.
Félix V. Matos Rodríguez
is the chancellor of The
City University of New York
(CUNY), the largest urban
public university system in
the United States.
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