HIGHER ED TODAY
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I was profoundly moved by the messages
of unity and compassion delivered by President
Joe Biden during his inaugural address
on Jan. 20.
Weeks after a violent insurrection in the
U.S. Capitol provided an inflection point in
the tumultuous and divisive chapter that has
marked our recent history, Biden spoke of the
need to heal.
The president urged Americans to embrace
the difficult process of engaging one another,
putting our differences aside and trying
to find even a small patch of common ground.
In that way, he said, we will begin repairing
the fissures and divisions that have roiled this
nation.
The City University of New York, the most
racially and ethnically diverse University in
the country and arguably the world, has long
been a home to such helpful dialogue and a
beacon to the honest exchange of ideas, a place
where students, faculty and staff are encouraged
to work together, find common ground and
forge a more civil and symbiotic community.
I’m proud that CUNY continues to develop
programs that foster a climate of openness and
mutual respect among people of different backgrounds,
perspectives and experiences. The
pursuit of tolerance and respect has always
been a key tenet of CUNY’s mission, and it has
fueled my own work as a professor, college president
and chancellor.
In 2016, when I was serving as president
of Queens College, I helped lead a Universitywide
committee that was formed to bolster the
University’s promotion of civility and its resolution
of on-campus disagreements. The group
was formed amid a troubling uptick in conflicts
that involved matters of race, religion, gender
and politics on college campuses across the
country.
Through the group’s assessment of those
incidents and issues, I was attracted to the
Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding
(CERRU), a program that has become
an effective driver of inclusivity and equity at
Queens College, where it is based, and on three
other CUNY campuses.
Today, thanks to financial support from
New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson,
CERRU is on track to double the number of
CUNY campuses it can reach. Through its Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Incubator,
CERRU is helping our campus communities
to promote anti-racist practices and cross-cultural
communication.
CERRU Director Sophia McGee said that
Caribbean L 26 ife, JAN. 29-FEB. 4, 2021
she, too, felt empowered by President Biden’s
stirring inauguration message to the country
earlier this month.
“It hit me on a visceral level, the importance
of what we’re doing,” she said. “If we can
engage enough people through our DEI training
and through CUNY’s continued commitment
to equity and diversity, we can create a
shift in the culture where eventually we can
become less divisive and start to work to effect
positive social change.”
The avenues are many in which CUNY can
generate awareness and fluency on a range of
equity-driven, social justice issues.
CUNY’s LGBTQI Student Leadership Program,
brings together motivated students for a
yearlong training experience in leadership and
personal development, civic and community
engagement, and social networking opportunities
with LGBTQI industry and community
leaders.
Our University-wide Black Male Initiative
supports the inclusion and educational success
of African, Black American, Caribbean and
Latino/Hispanic males, who are underrepresented
in higher education.
In 2013, CUNY began a Biennial CUNY
Faculty Diversity & Inclusion Conference that
aimed to help faculty constructively address
sensitive issues surrounding race and ethnicity,
sexuality and gender, age, disability, language
and religion, as well as those of cultural
competency, pedagogy for ESL students and
unconscious bias regarding economic status.
These valuable initiatives at CUNY are all
aimed at creating a more tolerant and inclusive
climate, an objective that is helpful on multiple
fronts. CUNY’s commitment to diversity and
access extends to all aspects of the University,
from its student enrollment efforts to its approach
to faculty hiring, and to the scores of
services that CUNY provides to advance and
sustain its community.
In addition to enabling all students to more
effectively pursue their academic goals, these
endeavors can impact our society in a broader
but no less valuable sense, evidence that higher
education can serve as a powerful engine of
change.
In his inauguration speech, President
Biden ticked off a litany of challenges the country
now faces, and it was a daunting list. Only
by showing respect and listening to one another,
he said, do we stand a chance of writing a
new chapter in the story of America.
That’s a prescription for healing and a recipe
for success. It’s one that CUNY strongly endorses
and has long practiced.
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KIDS & COVID
Get the facts about children
and the novel coronavirus
Metro Creative Connection
As 2020 unfolded, the world learned
just how quickly the novel coronavirus
COVID-19 could spread. The World
Health Organization noted that, by
September 2020, nearly 30 million people
across the globe had contracted the
virus, and that was before the resurgence
of the virus in mid-fall.
While the elderly and those with
pre-existing conditions are among the
people most vulnerable to COVID-19,
children are not immune to the virus
or its potentially deadly consequences.
The Mayo Clinic reports that children
of all ages can become infected
and ill with COVID-19, but most children
who are infected typically do not
become as sick as adults. Furthermore,
some may not show any symptoms.
The American Academy of Pediatrics
and the Children’s Hospital Association
says that children younger
than age 14 are less likely to become infected
with COVID-19. Nick Davies, an
epidemiologist and mathematical modeler
at the London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine, published a
study with other researchers in Nature
Medicine. Using data from China,
Italy, Japan, Singapore, Canada, and
South Korea, Davies found the risk of
catching COVID-19 for children and
teens (under age 20) was half that of
people older than 20. Still, contraction
rate models and corresponding ages of
children vary around the world.
Even though most children with
COVID-19 exhibit mild symptoms or no
symptoms at all, some can get severely
ill, requiring hospitalization and intensive
care. Some children have even
died after COVID-19 infection. That is
why doctors and other health professionals
urge parents not to minimize
the threat posed by COVID-19.
Development of MIS-C
The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention and other health partners
continue to look into a rare but
serious medical condition called multisystem
infl ammatory syndrome in
children (MIS-C),which is associated
with COVID-19. This condition can
cause infl ammation in various parts
of the body, including the kidneys,
heart, eyes, skin, lungs, and gastrointestinal
organs. Doctors do not know
what causes MIS-C, but many children
diagnosed with it also had the virus
that causes COVID-19.
Unwitting carriers
Children may not know they have
COVID-19 because they are asymptomatic.
Even if they do not feel or look
sick, they can still transmit the virus
to others, including vulnerable people
in their families.
Kids are more likely to transmit illnesses,
according to health experts.
They have a higher tendency to interact
with each other and touch different
objects and body parts, which only underscores
the importance of exercising
caution when letting children interact
with others outside their households.
Infants and health-compromised
children at risk
The CDC notes that babies under
age 1 might be more likely to have severe
illness from COVID-19. Children
of other ages with underlying medical
conditions might also be at increased
risk of severe illness. Underlying medical
conditions that can put children at
greater risk include diabetes, asthma
and heart disease since birth. In addition,
children who receive immunosuppression
therapies may be vulnerable
to severe illness from COVID-19.
Fever and cough are the most common
symptoms of COVID-19 in children.
Families must remain diligent,
learn to recognize symptoms and ensure
their children practice social distancing.
Education