President Donald Trump rebuffed the country’s health experts on Wednesday, saying their recommendations for schools to reopen in the coming weeks in the face of the surging coronavirus pandemic are too tough, expensive and “very impractical.” Trump, who on Tuesday pressed the country’s 50 state governors and local school officials to restart in-person classes in August…
Harvard, MIT Sue to Block ICE Rule on International Students
Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the U.S. government over a policy change that would require international students to be on campus in person for classes this fall or lose their immigration status. US Universities Brace for Big Decline in International StudentsLatest policy from immigration agency says…
Physician Named University of California’s First Black President
Dr. Michael Drake was chosen Tuesday to be president of the University of California, the first Black leader in the system’s 150-year history.Drake, a seasoned university administrator, replaces Janet Napolitano in overseeing a sprawling, 280,000-student system dealing with issues of accessibility for Blacks and other minorities along with slashed budgets and upended campus life because…
What Is Known about ICE’s Rule Change for Foreign Students
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced this week that international students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities that switch to online-only courses will have to leave the country or risk deportation. Here’s an overview of what is known about the most recent changes to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program during the pandemic. How many colleges and universities are planning online-only classes?Nine percent of 1,090…
Facebook, Others Block Requests on Hong Kong User Data
Social media platforms and messaging apps including Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Google and Twitter will deny law enforcement requests for user data in Hong Kong as they assess the effect of a new national security law enacted last week.Facebook and its messaging app WhatsApp said in separate statements Monday that they would freeze the review of…
US Universities Brace for Big Decline in International Enrollment
Universities preparing for big declines in international enrollment and revenues will be further depressed by a federal decision to strip students of their visa status if they do not attend college and university in person this fall. “Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures,…
Drastic Declines Expected in Foreign Students in US
Universities preparing for big declines in international enrollment and revenues will be further depressed by a federal decision to strip students of their visa status if they do not attend college and university in person this fall. “Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures,…
New Rules: Foreign Pupils Must Leave US If Classes Go Online
International students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall, under new guidelines issued Monday by federal immigration authorities. The guidelines, issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide additional pressure for universities to reopen even amid growing concerns about the recent spread…
40% of Harvard Students to Return to Campus for Remote Classes
Harvard University will allow 40% of its student population back on campus this fall, though all instruction will remain remote, the school announced Monday. Harvard had previously announced that all classes would be held remotely through the fall semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but on Monday announced it would welcome back to campus first-year students…
This Voter Group Could Sway 2020 Election
Ian Martens, a rising junior at Furman University in South Carolina, says President Donald Trump has “done a great job building our economy up,” and he likes the fact that Trump “stands up for Second Amendment rights,” or the right to bear arms. “Most importantly, he is the most pro-life president,” Martens told VOA, calling that political issue for him “a…
Immigrant Farmer Serves Up Organic Vegetables in Minnesota
May Lee is a certified organic farmer in Minnesota. …
Hmong Farmer, Minnesota Organic
May Lee is a farmer in Minnesota. With her daughter Mhonpaj, she operates Mhonpaj’s Garden, which produces a variety of vegetables, bedding plants and herbs for the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Bell peppers, cucumbers, sweet corn, tomatoes, onions and peas are just some of the vegetables on the farm. Lee says farming reminds her of her childhood.“I am…
Thinking Magically
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. The paintings of Jorge A. Yances evoke a mysterious interplay between past and present, reality and fantasy, a style called magical realism. “I paint first and foremost because it is a necessity for myself. It’s something that I have to do almost every day, even if I…
Thinking Magically
Jorges Yances art evokes a mysterious interplay between past and present, reality and fantasy a style called magical realism. …
Sculpting Chocolate
Juliana Desmond has a passion for chocolate, the product that is made from the fermented cacao bean. The bean comes from pod-like fruits from trees in places such as Mexico’s Chiapas, Tabasco, Guerrero and Oaxaca regions. Cacao pods The beans are often coarsely ground to make into a paste, or more thoroughly processed for truffles or…
Sculpting Chocolate
Juliana Desmond is a sculptor. She also has a passion for chocolate. During many of her travels to Mexico,Desmond became inspired to shape and form chocolate that looks like art. …
Dispensing medical marijuana
Aari Ruben is an advocate for marijuana legalization, drug policy reform and human rights. Ruben is the director and owner of Desert Bloom Re-Leaf Center. …
Dispensing Medical Marijuana
Cannabis is a medicinal plant, an herbal remedy to relieve symptoms or treat various diseases. In some U.S. states, marijuana is legal for treating specific health problems, but not at the federal level.Arizona is one of more than 30 US states where marijuana is legal for medicinal purposes. Aari Ruben lives in Arizona. Ruben is…
Beauty on the Wing
Over 3,000 butterflies fly freely at the largest conservatory for the insects in the United States, Butterfly Wonderland. The conservatory is located in Scottsdale, Arizona. More than 70 species of butterfly can be found there in 3,000 square meters of tropical paradise in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. Dayna Cooper is curatorial director. “The landscape design…
Beauty on the Wing
Butterfly Wonderland is the largest conservatory in the country. Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, more than 70 species of butterflies can be found there in 3,000 square feet there in 3,000 square meters of tropical paradise in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. …
Activist Leaves Hong Kong After New Law to Advocate Abroad
Prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law has left the city for an undisclosed location after testifying in a U.S. congressional hearing about a tough new security law imposed by mainland China on the semi-autonomous territory. Law, who declined to disclose his whereabouts for safety, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday…
Anti-Racism Protests Spark Conversations Within Chinese Immigrant Families
Twenty-year-old Eileen Huang is an English major at Yale University. Growing up in a Chinese immigrant family in a small town in New Jersey, racism in the United States was a topic she rarely discussed with her parents. But earlier this month, her open letter, Wally Ng, a member of the Guardian Angels, patrols with…
Identity Theft Offers Path to College for Well-Connected Chinese Students
Chunxiu Chen, the daughter of poor farmers, had set her heart on a college education that could lift her into the higher ranks of Chinese society. She studied hard and thought she had performed well on the all-important entrance examination but failed to earn a slot in a college or even the ability to see her…
Dreamers Happy But Wary About SCOTUS Ruling
Young undocumented immigrants, higher education groups and college officials praised the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects those young people from deportation. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has allowed young immigrants — who have been in the U.S. since childhood but lack legal status — to work and study without the threat of deportation since…
BLM Turns Inward to Ask About LGBTQ Bias
New hashtags are circulating in the #Black Lives Matter movement to include Black lives that have been historically marginalized within the community: #Black LGBTQ Lives Matter.“I hope when y’all are out here screaming ‘Black Lives Matter’ that you are talking about ALL black lives, and by all black lives, I mean black women, black men,…
Chinese Exchange-Student Valedictorian Becomes Backyard Prom King
China sends more students to study in the U.S. than any other country – over 300,000 a year. Some young Chinese attend U.S. high schools to be more prepared for a U.S. college or university. VOA’s Bronwyn Benito has the story of one student’s journey living and learning in America. …
Toughest Workout During COVID? Staying Motivated
Hannah Gjerde starts her day at her hot-mat yoga class on the front lawn of her parent’s home, right before settling onto the couch for the rest of the day. “Being home makes it hard because my dad will be in the kitchen working, or it’s too crowded in my room to do it,” says Gjerde. Because of…
During COVID, High School Students Find Other Ways to Celebrate End of Senior Year
They are an unorthodox generation. The class of 2020 was born while the United States was still reeling from the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Their world has been filled with unpredictability since day one.Members of the class of 2020 finish their senior year of high school after being confined to their…