George Floyd, Black Lives Matter and the impact on HE
On 25 September 2020, with little more than a month to go in the United States presidential election, and, no doubt, blind to the irony that he was speaking not far from the national historic landmark that had been the home of the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King in Atlanta, Georgia, President Donald Trump delivered a blistering attack on America’s most visible and important civil rights organisation.
The president recycled many of the tropes from more than half a century ago used by racist politicians, such as George Wallace, who, upon becoming governor of Alabama in 1963, famously declared “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”, and J Edgar Hoover’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
KENOSHA â Even as first-year college enrollment nationwide plummeted by 13.1% in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carthage College brought in 6% more students in fall 2020 than the previous year.
The sigh of relief lasted only briefly. While Carthageâs belief in the power of a well-rounded education hasnât wavered, even a sturdy, 174-year-old institution has to take a long look in the mirror at a moment like that.
Actually, the college has engaged in some healthy self-reflection for quite a while. That exercise has led Carthage to expand its academic, athletic, and cultural options in line with student interests and job market trends.
For the Class of 2021, graduation may have felt like a long time coming, but the COVID-19 pandemic is leaving one last reminder of how little has been normal in their recent college years.
Across the state, colleges and universities have come up with myriad innovative and socially distanced ways to celebrate the accomplishments of college seniors. All are compromises made in lieu of what students, families and school officials were truly hoping for: a safe return to auditoriums and stadiums with teary-eyed grandmas, overzealous dads, silly string and champagne.
Some schools are limiting in-person ceremonies to students, with a livestream option for family and friends. Others are allowing between two and six guests per graduate. There are colleges taking a hybrid approach, with a virtual ceremony but an in-person diploma pickup or drive-thru celebration. And there are those who will spend yet another year celebrating graduates almost entirely virtually.
For the Class of 2021, graduation may have felt like a long time coming, but the COVID-19 pandemic is leaving one last reminder of how little has been normal in their recent college years.
Across the state, colleges and universities have come up with myriad innovative and socially distanced ways to celebrate the accomplishments of college seniors. All are compromises made in lieu of what students, families and school officials were truly hoping for: a safe return to auditoriums and stadiums with teary-eyed grandmas, overzealous dads, silly string and champagne.
Some schools are limiting in-person ceremonies to students, with a livestream option for family and friends. Others are allowing between two and six guests per graduate. There are colleges taking a hybrid approach, with a virtual ceremony but an in-person diploma pickup or drive-thru celebration. And there are those who will spend yet another year celebrating graduates almost entirely virtually.