On June 2, 2021, Joe Biden, the President of the United States, released a brief praising the U.S. effort in vaccinating America and declared that America is heading into the summer of freedom from COVID-19.

The White House planned to invite 1,000 essential workers and military families to watch overhead fireworks on the Fourth of July.

With the constant reassurance that progress is being made, people are getting back to work and vaccination rates are climbing, it is difficult to tell there is a storm brewing on the horizon.

The government has succeeded in, albeit temporarily, suppressing the anxiety, fear and growing frustrations of the American people. After the previous 4 years of political turmoil, it is an automatic reaction for the new administration to become suspiciously positive, quiet, boring and dismissive.

In honoring the 244th anniversary of Independence Day, people ought to remember the most revered sentence of the Declaration of Independence, “That to secure these rights [life, liberty and pursuit of happiness], Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form.”

Credited to the fiasco of the previous administration, there has been a rapid increase in political participation amongst the population.

According to the Pew Research Center, turnout in the 2020 presidential election rose to near two-thirds of eligible voters casting their ballot for president. That was a 7% increase from the 2016 election and a staggering 12.4% increase from the 2000 presidential election.

It is clear the voter population is becoming more involved with their governance. That is why legislation is being passed to prevent equitable access to voting for millions of Americans. It is disguised under the sentiment that through mail-in ballots, fraud will increase, but, really, it’s the thought of expanding voting to every eligible American — which may even out the playing field — that drives these modern Jim Crow laws. 

Not limited to the ballot box, participation in civil disobedience has spiked across the country. Something not new to the U.S. or to the Black people living there, police brutality has called for unrest that has been compared to the 1992 LA Riots.

Every week there was a new Black person being killed or maimed by the police in the name of law and order, and it has been met with fiery demonstrations each time. The police departments, the district attorneys’ offices, and the governors’ offices issue apologies and point fingers, but ultimately do nothing to address the fundamental concerns of the people. 

Since May 8, 2020, there have been many protests against police brutality. The George Floyd protests resulted in $500 million in property damage in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. This does not count the supportive protests that broke out in cities across the nation, including the one here in Salt Lake City that resulted in a police car being burned.

These protests do not count the previous teacher demonstrations, where teachers across the nation held out for better wages. It does not count the protests for COVID-19 safety precautions for businesses, schools and hospitals, where health service members called attention to policies that left them exposed to and unprotected from COVID-19.

The current cult of personality has forgotten about inmates protesting for their rights and Amazon workers striking for hazard pay and safety precautions in their warehouses. 

Indeed, Americans are increasingly organizing to fight for what they believe is a right to pursue.

Happiness, and, what the government realizes but does not want you to know, is that organization. People organizing is a power that a government cannot suppress, and, to preserve the current status quo, they will pull out all the stops to prevent change from occurring.

The ruling class will divide the people, using old tools like racism and propaganda, and they will find a way to twist new tools, like data collection, to figure out where they can be the most effective. 

In a recent surprise, President Biden signed legislation into law establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day. He even acknowledged the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 and visited the memorial, to speak to living survivors. Although it is refreshing to see a standing U.S. President create accountability, it is hard not to see the dismissive pattern. 

It is a stark contrast to the picture being painted by the White House: to shock the economy and put the people back to work, while the picture painted by the people is organizing to fight the indifferences set upon them. Concessions are made here and there to quell the rebellion that grows, but there is something in the air that calls for a break in the chain.

To honor the growing civil disobedience, especially shown by the Black community, there are two quotes of interest, one being from the legendary Langston Hughes’ poem, Harlem: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?… Or does it explode?” and the other being from the late John Lewis’s original written speech given on August 28th, 1963: “In good conscience, we cannot support the administration’s civil rights bill, for it is too little and too late… There is not one thing in the bill that will protect our people from police brutality… We cannot depend on any political party, for both the Democrats and Republicans have betrayed the basic principles of the Declaration of Independence… The time will come when we will not confine our marching to Washington. We will march through the South, through the heart of Dixie, the way [General William] Sherman did. We shall pursue our own “scorched earth” policy and burn Jim Crow to the ground — nonviolently… We will make the action of the past few months look petty. And I say to you, WAKE UP AMERICA!”

So, is the United States heading into a summer of freedom and joy, or are we heading towards a summer of rebellion? One can only speculate, but, from observation, it seems the balance will favor the rebel voices of the new generation. 

— Chandler Peterson, University of Utah student

Submit a Letter to the Editor. 

The post Letter: Summer of Rebellion appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

In 1969, it was illegal for many states to not only employ LGBTQ+ individuals but also to serve them. On the night of June 27th and into the morning of the 28th, the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a well-known gay bar and club. Police began arresting drag queens and those who were transgender as it was also illegal to “masquerade” as the opposite sex.  

However, on this particular night they fought back against the police. Marsha P. Johnson, a transgender woman of color has been said to have thrown a brick at the officers, beginning the riot. With the crowd fighting back the police eventually barricaded themselves into the Stonewall for safety. Despite all of this occurring the Stonewall opened for business the next night. Again though, police came and began tear gassing and beating those who were there.  

These two nights of riot made the Stonewall a place for LGBTQ+ activists to rally. These activists demanded newspaper coverage of what was happening and rioted for change. While the riots did not last long the impact of them has been ginormous. On June 28th, 1970, a year later, gay activists rallied at the Stonewall and began the very first Pride Parade, lasting fifteen blocks and involving thousands of people.  

Now we celebrate Pride Month during June for all LGBTQ+ individuals, whether out or not. While there has been significant progress since 1969, such as gay marriage being legalized in the U.S. in 2015, there is still a long way to go. Especially with the recent controversy currently happening over whether those who are transgender should be allowed to participate in sports, and the discussion on whether health professionals should be allowed to deny services to those who are transgender.  

 Something that has been shared an excessive number of times on various social media platforms is the question of ‘why do we need to support pride?’ Many people complain that by having a pride month it is shoving it down their throats, it is creating a divide between LGBTQ+ and cisgender heterosexual individuals. Yet, fully support the transgender sports ban and for healthcare providers to deny services due to their personal beliefs.  

Pride Month is not a month centered around shoving pride down others’ throats, nor is it a month that is centered around making heterosexual and cisgender people uncomfortable. The main focus is not to show that those celebrating are better. LGBTQ+ individuals have had to and continue to fight for the same rights those who were born cisgender and heterosexual already have. So yes, pride month is important to celebrate, and it is important to continue to celebrate. 

Pride doesn’t last just a month, we need to continue supporting the LGBTQ+ community, educating others about why Pride is important, and advocating for equal rights. We must continue to educate and advocate for a safe and inclusive society. As long as LGBTQ+ individuals are still being denied access to basic human rights and decencies and are still being attacked for who they are, we will not have equality. So yes, Pride matters and will continue to matter. 

UC Berkeley announces return of in-person services before fall semester

Kavya Narendra/File

In-person services at UC Berkeley are to begin before the start of the fall 2021 semester.

As UC Berkeley prepares to return to its first in-person semester since spring 2020, many in-person student services will resume before the fall.

Beginning July 12, fully vaccinated students will have unrestricted access to certain facilities and services, including parts of the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union Building and certain libraries.

Students with a vaccine mandate exception may access in-person services but must wear face coverings inside any campus building in addition to being tested weekly.

“We are optimistic about our return to primarily in-person instruction this fall, even as we remain prepared to pivot to meet public health needs,” a campuswide email from Student Affairs reads. “If pandemic conditions worsen, the campus is prepared to return to remote instruction and operations, based upon advice or direction from public health officials.”

Within the ASUC Student Union, students may access the Amazon Hub+, Bank of the West, Cal Student Store, Berkeley Art Studio and the Food Pantry, the email adds. Certain Cal Housing, Cal Student Central and Cal 1 Card services will also be accessible to students beginning July 12.

The ASUC Student Union will fully reopen to the campus community Aug. 9, and students may currently make space reservations. In addition, the Berkeley International Office will open Aug. 4 and Cal Student Central will resume in-person advising Aug. 16, among other services.

“We want to acknowledge once again the profound effect this past year has had on all members of our campus community and recognize the disproportionate impact it has had on many communities,” the email reads.

During the fall semester, patrons will be able to return to all campus libraries with modified hours of operations, and the Student Technology Services help desk will also resume in-person services Aug. 23.

Beginning Sept. 7, students may also make in-person and virtual appointments with the Disabled Students’ Program.

“Our outlook is hopeful as we see these announcements as beacons of a return to normalcy,” the email reads. “We are thrilled to be welcoming you back to campus soon with a wholehearted, Go Bears!”

Aditya Katewa is the executive news editor. Contact him at akatewa@dailycal.org, and follow him on Twitter at @adkatewa1.

The Daily Californian

Having a kid does not mean you have to give up on your style or get rid of your fancy tableware or coffee table. Admittedly, it takes natural talent to design a sophisticated and suitable space for adults and fun and comfortable for children.

Being a mother entails that you have to think about your kid every step of the way; it’s just human nature. For this reason, the information below consists of the importance of improving your home so that you can better protect your child, the five tips when working on your house, and what home improvements you should do to your home.

Importance of Home Improvements for your Child’s Safety

As an adult, you have developed the necessary reflexes in your body to avoid danger compared to children who are still learning about what is safe and unsafe for them. But as a mother, you think about the possible hazards that can endanger your child.

Children are still learning to differentiate right from wrong, safe from unsafe, etc.; designing your home to be a child-friendly environment can lessen the injuries that may or may not come in the future.

Tips when Making Home Improvements

1. Calculate how much time it will take.

The responsibilities of a parent are not an easy job. You have to constantly oversee your child if they’re safe and away from harm; as such, consider purchasing usa cabinets. Being a full-time mother and renovating your house entails that everything has to have good quality and fast. Cabinets from the Kitchen Cabinet Kings are precisely that and more. They are easy to construct, which means more time for you to look after your child.

2. Let your kids plan what part of the house to renovate as well.

Please explain what you plan on doing, why they can play with the walls for a while, and discuss what color they want to change the walls into. Your kids must have a room that best reflects their personalities. Let your eight-year-old girl spread some glitter on the wall if they want to.

3. Make the renovation fun and safe for your kids! 

Most kids love drawing on the walls with markers and crayons and if you plan to repaint the walls of your home, give your kids coloring materials. They can color the walls and explore their creativity.

4. Safety first!

Children are just children, and sometimes they’re too stuck in their bubble that they forget what you nag them about. For this reason, explain to your contractor that they have to clean after working on a particular section of the house. Messes can attract your children to do more damage, or a scattered nail can find its way under your toddler’s foot, so beware of these things.

5. Time of the Year

If your kids have school and vacations are the only time they can relax, consider renovating your home when it best fits your family. Avoid renovating during Christmas when all your family wants to do is sit down and enjoy each other’s company.

Home Renovations for your Home

1. An Efficient Kitchen

Sure, vintage kitchens are attractive, but for how long? If you’re getting tired of the appearance of your kitchen, then it’s time to renovate this space. Consider changing the cabinets entirely for a sturdier and clean-looking look. Most kitchens are white, but for a good reason. It looks cleaner and advocates efficiency.

Especially when you have a child in the house, baby proofing the cabinets and changing the handles can save you from trouble. Change the handles to something your toddlers can’t reach.

2. A Clean-looking Bathroom

Having kids in the house is a huge responsibility that parents must embody; decorating a home to fit a child is necessary. Lay down new floor tiles and rugs that can be safe for a naughty child. Additionally, place the handle for the bathroom cabinets where your child can’t reach until they reach a mature age. Children love being active, so you have to be careful of your sink, shower, cabinet handles, placement, etc. when renovating.

3. A Bedroom, Another You

Change the lighting above and consider adding floor lighting so that you won’t trip over something when you carry your child to bed. Add a cozy area for your child where you can read to them, or where they can color their coloring books, and so much more. A plant has so much to contribute to your child’s health and overall happiness.

4. Repaint your Home

You want your child to be safe and away from harm; if your child has been experiencing trouble breathing, then you must repaint the walls of your home. Old paint often stores allergens, dust, and dirt, all the things that you wouldn’t want your kids to be around for. Repainting your home refreshes the room and the atmosphere of a space. Kids can help paint the walls, and this will be a fun experience for them.

Takeaway

Mothers are always looked up to because of how they can handle anything and everything at once. A mother knows best, but you can combine the knowledge you acquired in this article with your instincts with the information stated above.

The post A Mother’s Perspective: Protect Your Child by Home Improvement appeared first on The Emory Wheel.

Tender ‘I Carry You With Me’ is confounded by documentary dreams

Population Films/Courtesy

Grade: 3.0/5.0

There’s no denying Heidi Ewing is a magnificent storyteller. Her latest directorial effort is the impressionistic “I Carry You With Me,” which sees her jump from documentary to narrative. It’s an absorbing story of love separated by a border — she doesn’t linger long enough for an excess of weepy victimization to stall her engine, telling a story of complicated gay love. 

Ewing’s visual style is so smooth, so beautiful, it’s easy to fall into the trap of calling it simple. It is not. “I Carry You With Me” wraps us in, alternately sensually, alternately bracingly, but always with an eye for its characters. Ewing swaddles us in neon glows and full frames so that, when tragedy strikes, it’s not completely tragic. It’s disappointing, then, that “I Carry You With Me” can’t pick between character and subject. 

Ewing’s latest tries to split the difference between documentary and narrative — a worthwhile endeavor for the true story of gay, undocumented immigrants Iván García and Gerardo Zabaleta, but one that pans out in floundering, bizarre tonal shifts along three timelines. The beginning is dreamy enough, but with a twist conjured only by a documentarian. The camera is loose. Place is ingrained: A subway serves its function, but the film defines it by the dark green pillars, tracks, empty late-night station and, most of all, the reflection in the window. 

Just as the place is ingrained, the people are unforgettable. We find Iván (Armando Espitia), our mostly closeted bachelor, in 1994 Puebla, Mexico washing dishes at a restaurant, taking out the trash, grabbing whatever the cooks need. This is fine. The camera swoons after him, unsteadily with swooping movements, eventually to a rendezvous with his friend and confidant Sandra (Michelle Rodríguez). This is better. And then the film finally drops its documentary pretense for a playful, glowing scene at a gay bar, where Gerardo (Christian Vazquez) flirts with Iván via some laser-lit cat-and-mouse. An improvement, for sure, but lodged in a mixed bag. 

They talk about their homophobic fathers, their homophobic hometowns. The narrative is blunt, but the camera, at its best, is not. “I Carry You With Me,” describing their budding relationship, occasionally runs too close to cliches. 

The film moves on, turning tense as Iván makes his way across the border, through the desert with Sandra, searching for the American Dream. His journey makes a trade: Acceptance as a gay man at the price of xenophobia. And then bam: 20 years flash by, all while Iván’s son grows up in Mexico without him, prompting him to reconsider the move. Meanwhile, Ewing turns to a true documentary approach, following the real-life Iván and Gerardo, but loses the sense of self that defined the previous two-thirds of the film. 

If Iván goes back, is it regression or homecoming? What, precisely, is he rejecting? Looming large is a question of which dream he internalizes. “I Carry You With Me” raises questions that its latter shift to documentary — including one scene with the sentimental hue of archival footage — doesn’t do justice. Ewing, with the heart of an educator, taught us so much about who Iván and Gerardo used to be. Who they are now is much less clear. 

Above all, that’s because very little is at stake — formally — as the film goes on. There’s a scene where Sandra, crossing the desert on her last legs, collapses, but Ewing’s style isn’t comprehensive enough to convey the full tension of the scene. The scene, jumping haphazardly, largely cuts out Sandra, focusing with tunnel vision on the generic human consequences of the U.S.-Mexico border. Ewing is unable to sew the politics in, detracting from her visual magnificence. 

In the first half of the film, the question is when something will interrupt the melodramatic, hyper-digestible reverie. It takes about 50 minutes for us to get to the border. There is plenty that goes down later, but “I Carry You With Me” crumbles under the weight of time: one hour and 51 minutes to tell a decades-spanning story. Come the end, we’re forced to realize how much Iván has changed and how, like the film, we don’t know him anymore. 

Dominic Marziali covers film. Contact him at dmarziali@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

According to their website, the Kansas Polymer Research Center’s mission is “to promote economic interests by delivering advanced technology unique technical services in chemistry and material science.” Thanks to grants, the future of environmental science is already being built at Pittsburg State University. 

A group of seven high school students and two undergraduate students from around the state of Kansas are working alongside researchers at the Kansas Polymer Research Center (KPRC) to study carbon emissions. The students taking part in the internship are funded by scientific grants from a variety of different sources including from the polymer chemistry program at Pittsburg State, the NASA Kansas Space Grant, and grants from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The students also receive a wage of eight dollars an hour and a 20-hour work week. 

The students include Isabella Earp of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, Parker Neely of Columbus High School in Columbus, Ashlan Brooks, Anjali Gupta, Madeline Ellis, and Cassia Allison of Pittsburg High School, Kamilla Frevele of Southeast High School in Cherokee, as well as Peyton Klamar, an undergraduate student at Pitt State, and Edilawit Mehari, an undergraduate student at Cottey College in Nevada, Mo.  

“It’s pretty amazing what’s happening here,” Ellis told the PSU marketing and communication department. “It’s exciting to be a part of it.”  

The students are working with scientists who have come from around the world to work at the KPRC. Scientists at the KPRC regularly collaborate with industry partners, corporations, environmental organizations, state and federal agencies and departments, and production associations to help develop innovative intellectual properties. The KPRC works with Cargill, Cessna, Raytheon, Honeywell, the United States Department of Energy, CertainTeed, Samsung, the United States Department of Agriculture, the United Soybean Board, the Kansas Soybean Board, and the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council. 

The students’ research this summer primarily concerns fuel cells used in electric cars. Electric cars currently count for less than two percent of cars on the road in the United States, but recent movements suggest that electric vehicles could be more common in the future. 

“Reducing the cost would make them more affordable to the masses, while improving their charge would make them more travel friendly,” associate professor Ram Gupta told the PSU marketing and communication department.  

In addition to their research, the students learn about accomplishments of researchers at the KPRC. For example, two students during last year’s summer research internship assisted associate professor Ram Gupta in developing new methods of converting biowaste, such as plant materials and scraps, into energy containers. Other students have helped develop safety technologies such as flame-retardant foam used in construction and vehicles. 

The students learn practical skills that can be used directly in the polymer industry. The state of Kansas has approximately 1.2 million jobs in the polymer industry.  

“It feels like I’m doing something valuable to fix things,” Neely told the PSU marketing and communication department.  

The University of Minnesota is now eligible to apply for state funding to address food insecurity and receive designation as a “hunger-free campus” after Gov. Tim Walz signed a revised version of the Hunger Free Campus Act, originally passed in 2019, into law on June 26.

As part of Walz’s group of bills dedicating funding to higher education, all public and nonprofit private colleges in Minnesota are eligible to apply for up to $8,000 in grant funding to start programs to combat food insecurity on their campuses and receive the “hunger-free campus” designation. Schools with the highest number of Pell Grant-eligible students will take priority to receive funding.

Schools are considered for the “hunger-free” designation if they meet five criteria. They must have an established food pantry on campus; inform likely eligible students that they qualify for benefits such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); hold a hunger awareness day or event each academic year; have an emergency grant program to help students with food insecurity; and establish a hunger task force.

The designation was originally drafted in 2019 by LeadMN, a student-led organization that represents two-year college students in Minnesota. The designation passed, but only included state community and technical colleges and did not include funding to help schools start programs.

“What was really interesting about not having the money was we actually saw that [the designation] was still effective,” said Matt Gutsch, the director of government relations for LeadMN.

Through follow-up assessments, LeadMN found that schools were opening food pantries, creating basic needs coalitions and holding educational events to meet the five requirements to be “hunger-free,” even without funding. The designation outlined tangible steps for colleges to follow to address food insecurity, Gutsch said.

In March, Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud, reintroduced a revised version of the bill into the Minnesota Senate, asking for all public and nonprofit private colleges to be eligible for the designation.

Along with student activists from organizations such as LeadMN and Swipe Out Hunger, an organization dedicated to addressing food insecurity on college campuses nationwide, Putnam also asked the State Office of Higher Education to include funding for schools to start and sustain programs to help meet the five criteria to be considered “hunger-free.”

The revised bill now includes appropriations — over $300,000 — for schools across Minnesota to apply for grants.

“In the state legislature it is like a drop in the bucket in their budget, but it is a win because you can work from there,” said Rebecca Leighton, a health promotion specialist at Boynton Health and the founder of the Nutritious U food pantry at the University. “You are not starting at zero now. In future years, we can go back and say, ‘Look at the success of this, can we get more money?’ And so you grow it.”

The revised bill also changes the language around food assistance programs, giving direction to schools to notify students employed in work-study programs that they may qualify for programs such as SNAPs. Fewer than 40% of SNAP-eligible college students receive the nutrition benefits.

In 2019, Leighton implemented a program to screen students for SNAP eligibility and connect them with resources at the University. Since the start of the program, Leighton and her team have connected almost 2,000 students to SNAP resources.

Funding impact on Minnesota colleges

According to Boynton Health’s 2018 College Student Health Survey, 17.4% of University students reported worrying about whether their food would run out before they had the money to buy more.

However, due largely to Leighton’s work to start programs at the University such as Nutritious U, the University already meets the criteria outlined in the Hunger Free Campus Act, according to Sam Parmekar, a recent graduate of the University and the outgoing state government coordinator for the Minnesota Student Association.

Parmekar also said he is hoping that the financial incentive will encourage institutions to apply for the designation.

“We are hoping that [the funding] will encourage more schools to meet the criteria, and, of course, with the funding available that means a lot of smaller schools like our community, technical and tribal colleges will have some of that financial assistance in order to meet those criteria requirements,” Parmekar said.

It is also important that many Minnesota colleges are now eligible for the funding because many students transfer from two-year to four-year institutions, according to Gutsch.

“That food insecurity transfers with them,” Gutsch said. “It does not matter if they are at Normandale Community College and go to St. Cloud State or the [University]. If they were food insecure before they are probably still going to be food insecure.”

Leighton also said that she is hopeful that the bill will start conversations around food insecurity and pave the way for future legislation.

“It’s the logistical — it’s just money that is good, but it also means that state legislators understand that students are hungry. That is, to me, the bigger win here,” Leighton said. “The money is important, it needs to grow, we need more resources, and one of the ways to get there is to have state legislators recognize that this is an issue. It’s a first big step into addressing this problem systemically.”

Juana Garcia/ The Cougar

Sha’Carri Richardson’s Olympic suspension shows the world should normalize and legalize recreational marijuana. 

Recently, track and field sprinter Richardson was disqualified from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics because she tested positive for the marijuana chemical THC. She was sure to be on the U.S. team after THC, she’s out. This is awful as she used the marijuana in Oregon, a state where recreational marijuana use is completely legal. 

Nothing she did was illegal and yet she is being kicked out of the Olympics. Of course, this has nothing to do with legality but rather, policy. Still, the stigma of marijuana needs to die out and marijuana itself should be legalized nationwide.

It makes sense for some drugs to be banned from the Olympics as many drugs can be performance-enhancing. However, marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug. The World Anti-Doping Agency bans a drug if it can harm athletes, enhance performance or go against the spirit of force. The latter is completely subjective and one could definitely make the argument that alcohol and tobacco are just as harmful as marijuana, both of which are not banned. 

Marijuana has a lot of medicinal purposes now, being used to treat anxiety, chronic pain, migraines and other ailments. It’s a substance that isn’t chemically addicting or performance-enhancing, so it really should not be on WADA’s ban list. 

In fact, it really shouldn’t be on any list, including the list of drugs outlawed in the U.S. Marijuana should be legal nationwide. Police should not have to waste their time arresting people for smoking or selling marijuana.

Additionally, marijuana needs to be destigmatized. Many people accept alcohol use as normal. It’s normal to hear about people getting wasted and drunk every weekend. Many people drink alcohol but look down on marijuana users. Even though many people use marijuana socially just like alcohol at parties. Marijuana affects a person differently than alcohol, but they’re still both substances. 

Richardson apparently used marijuana to cope with her mother’s death. This really isn’t much different than someone getting drunk after a family member’s death. It’s normal for people to use alcohol to cope with sad things. 

Richardson is only 21 years old. She is a young girl who was mourning her mother. She should have the chance to show off what she’s worked so hard for. It’s a shame the stigmatization of marijuana will prevent her from doing that. It’s time to legalize and destigmatize marijuana. 

Anna Baker is an English senior who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

—
“It’s time to legalize, destigmatize marijuana” was originally posted on The Cougar

Colorado State University is updating its mask policy on campus as the fall semester approaches. In an email update to the campus community, the CSU Pandemic Preparedness Team said that starting Monday, July 12, masks will no longer be required on University grounds.  The Pandemic Preparedness Team also said that masks are still strongly encouraged […]

The University will distribute $6.29 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to students by the end of this month, according to a July 7 letter from Provost Richard Locke P’18 shared in Today@Brown. Eligible first-year students will receive funding after their arrival at Brown in September. 

This federal funding is part of the American Rescue Plan, which was passed by Congress in March, and makes up the third round of funding of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.

The University received official notification of the funding on June 10 and has since been “moving quickly to complete a comprehensive analysis of the financial need of its enrolled students for the fall so that distribution to eligible students can begin by the end of this month,” wrote University Spokesperson Brian Clark in an email to The Herald.

These preparations have included assessing the requirements the University will have to abide by when accepting the funding, which are distinct from previous rounds of funding, and identifying eligible student populations, Clark wrote. This process coincided with the University’s financial aid analyses, which allows for awards to be based on the “most up-to-date financial information provided by students.”

An additional $6.29 million was granted to the University to support institutional costs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. This can be used for reimbursing expenses or lost revenue, technology costs to support remote education, payroll and faculty and staff training, according to the HEERF III FAQ. The institutional portion can also be used to provide additional emergency financial aid grants for students.

These funds will help pay for the University’s COVID-19 testing program, which has cost more than $30 million, Clark added. They will also help the University cover the $7.3 million spent in direct COVID-19 support to students through travel grants, E-gap funds, summer earnings waivers, increased financial aid and student payroll for those unable to work campus jobs remotely, the $10 million spent to provide on-campus students with single-occupancy rooms and personal protective equipment and the $9.5 million in financial aid used to support remote students with housing and meal costs. 

“The institutional portion of relief funding will be essential to Brown’s budget given the University’s efforts to enhance support for students, financial and otherwise, while simultaneously contending with the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which both reduced revenues and required major new investments to protect the health and safety of the Brown community,” Clark wrote. 

The University expects a total Fiscal Year 2021 deficit of $70 to $80 million, Clark added. “These federal funds help to offset the impact of that deficit and of the continued financial impact of the pandemic in the months ahead.”

The University plans to reconvene the group of students, faculty and staff that advised the University on how to disburse HEERF I and II funding in March, and it hopes to provide funding at levels “equal to or greater than” the first disbursement, Locke wrote. The University does “not expect significant changes” to the disbursement model from earlier in the year, but the University is consulting with students on “some questions related to specific populations of eligible recipients,” Clark wrote.

Administrators have also worked to outline steps for notifying students based on the same model from the first round of funding, Clark wrote. 

The University distributed funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act — HEERF I and II, respectively — in March following public pushback from students about the extended disbursement timeline and what they described as an opaque process. 

This most recent round of funding differs from the previous round because it expanded student eligibility to include non-U.S. citizens and residents, Locke wrote. Eligible students include “U.S. citizens and permanent residents, undocumented and international students, asylum seekers, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients and other DREAMers.”

Students eligible to receive funding will receive communication from Student Financial Services by the end of July. 

“As we look forward to the next academic year, we will continue to work to support students with the resources they need to thrive,” Locke wrote. “If you have unmet needs, I strongly encourage you to seek out the significant resources available here at Brown designed to support academic progress, intellectual growth and overall health and wellness.”