California Votes to Continue Affirmative Action Ban

A public vote to reinstate affirmative action in admissions at public universities in California failed in this week’s elections.Supporters of Proposition 16 hoped the state would return to allowing race and gender to be a factor in admissions at public universities, but the measure was defeated 56% to 44%.Ten U.S. states have banned such a…

US Youth Vote of Color Highest for Democrats

While the 2020 U.S. presidential election remains undecided, data show that the youth vote— specifically youth of color — in most states widely supported Democratic candidate Joe Biden.Citing data compiled by the National Election Poll exit polls and AP VoteCast data from the Associated Press, the youth vote in key states the morning after Election…

US Among Top Contributors to Ocean Plastic Pollution

The United States contributes much more to ocean plastic pollution than previously estimated, according to a In this April 23, 2019, aerial photo, plastic bottles and other garbage float in river Drina near Visegrad, eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina.In 2016, the U.S. recycled just 9% of its total plastic waste. About half of this was recycled domestically and…

Record Turnout Expected Among US Millennial, Gen Z Voters

Millennial and Generation Z voters are expected to turn out in record numbers for the Nov. 3 presidential election, experts say, continuing a trend of increased participation since the midterm elections in 2018.  “A lot of students are back in their hometowns, so they are more likely to be able to vote easily,” said Josh…

COVID-19, Race, Climate Change Dominate Youth Vote Issues

Health care and racism dominate the issues important to young people in the presidential election, according to poll trackers.Climate change is also among the top three issues to young voters, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (FILE – Ashley Nealy waits in line to cast her ballot during early voting…

Record Numbers of Millennials Run for State, Local Office

Millennials comprise a large, diverse and important part of the U.S. electorate this year. But they are also an increasing portion of candidates for local and state elections.According to the Millennial Action Project (MAP), an organization tracking young people running for office across the country, record numbers of people under 45 are running for office…

Gender Gap Seen in US Youth Vote

Since the 2016 presidential election, more than 15 million people have turned 18, making young people a critical voter bloc for the 2020 presidential elections this November. Like their elders, the youth vote is not a monolith or a unified voting bloc that aligns on all issues and demographics. Gender, like race, will impact youth voting in its own way.  Among millennial…

Biden, Trump Offer Remedies for College Woes

While student debt and the affordability of a college education as a youth voter issue has been overshadowed by COVID and race events, it remains a top concern for many.“I’ve been paying whatever the minimum is for well over a decade,” said Victor Varadi, senior program manager at Disney/ABC, to VOA. Now 47, he has…

America’s Youth Mull Potential High Court Changes Over Abortion

A possible challenge to Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States in 1973, has young people considering how it might impact their lives.Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative judge from Indiana who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court Monday evening, has previously disagreed with the decision, as…

America’s Youth Mull Court Changes Over Abortion

A possible challenge to Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States in 1973, has young people considering how it might impact their lives.Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative judge from Indiana who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court Monday evening, has previously disagreed with the decision, as…

Young People Mull Court Changes Over Abortion

A possible challenge to Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States in 1973, has young people considering how it might impact their lives.Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative judge from Indiana who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court Monday evening, has previously disagreed with the decision, as…

Thai Protest Leader: ‘Our Demands Are Supremely Clear’

On Monday, the Thai parliament will open a special session called after protests swelling since August moved Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to declare a weeklong state of emergency in the Bangkok area.Police say they are prepared to handle flare-ups during the session from protesters demanding Prayuth’s resignation and reform of the monarchy. Prayuth has described…

Harvard Sees Steep Decline in Revenue

Harvard University lost $10 million in operating expenses at the end of the fiscal year in September, compared with a $308 million surplus last year.Revenue declined $138 million, mostly in the final quarter of the fiscal year that ended the last day of June 2020, according to the University’s Annual Financial Report. Refunds costlyThe biggest toll…

Scammers Scare Students Into Giving Up Personal Information

The call comes late at night, waking up a student with an angry voice that issues a threat about the student’s visa status.Your visa is out of compliance, the aggressive caller says, and instructs the student to send thousands of dollars to an account that he says belongs to “U.S. Immigration and Customs Services.”When the…

Thai Parliament Recalled Amid Ongoing Protests

Thailand will recall its Parliament from recess to discuss ongoing pro-democracy protests in the country, the cabinet announced Tuesday.Lawmakers are expected to meet for a non-voting session October 26 to October 27, a move that embattled Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha said he approved. Protests, largely led by students, have called for Prayuth’s resignation and several other…

Foreign Students Could Buoy Cash-strapped US Universities 

International students might be a boon for many colleges and universities to offset losses during the coronavirus pandemic, say experts.  “U.S. education is an extremely valuable service export, roughly equivalent to total exports of wheat, corn, coal, and natural gas,” according to the FILE- People walk on the Stanford University campus beneath Hoover Tower in…

Chinese Company Offers Coronavirus Vaccine to Students

A Chinese drug developer is offering an experimental coronavirus vaccine to students going abroad in a strategy that health experts say raises safety and ethical concerns. China National Biotech Group has two vaccine candidates out of five from Chinese developers that are in the final stages of clinical trials. They are part of a global race…

Young People Tire of Coronavirus Stereotypes

Darla Veitch, a 19-year-old student attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is not the stereotypical college student, gathering in crowds at the beach or in bars. The farthest she strays from home, she said, is her backyard. “The last time I went out was probably three months ago, to Home Depot to get some plants to…

College Revenues Shrinking During Coronavirus Pandemic

U.S. colleges and universities are bearing a greater financial impact from the coronavirus pandemic than anticipated, education officials say.And they are asking for help.The schools received $2.9 billion in federal support through the FILE – A building at the University of Maryland’s Baltimore campus is seen after sunset, Aug. 19, 2019, in Baltimore.The University of…

University Students Room in Chic Hotels, Apartments During Pandemic

Cristina Lozano, a junior at New York University (NYU), has been staying at the chic W New York Hotel, a 1911 beaux arts-style building that overlooks Union Square Park and offers a short walk to the Empire State Building.The hotel is booked until next summer, when prices are advertised from the $400s to the $600s…

University Students Room in Hotels, Apartments During COVID

Cristina Lozano, a junior at New York University (NYU), has been staying at the chic W New York Hotel, a 1911 beaux arts-style building that overlooks Union Square Park and offers a short walk to the Empire State Building.The hotel is booked until next summer, when prices are advertised from the $400s to the $600s…

Youth Voting Trends Vary by Race

Voters under 30 are a keenly watched voting bloc in the United States, with race being a top issue for many young people.  “There are huge differences in who young people support, candidate-wise, by race and gender,” Abby Kiesa, director of impact at the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE)…

Neurological, Cardiac Issues Linger in COVID-19 Youth

Young people have suffered less under the COVID-19 virus than older people medically, but experts say the gap has narrowed, and so-called superspreading among the young is a factor.“The FILE – A general view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, Sept. 30, 2014.A woman wearing face mask walks…

US Colleges Struggle to Balance COVID-19 With Classes

Colleges and universities are seeing an increase of cases of COVID-19 as students return to campus, with some seeing rapid increases while others are keeping a lid on the spread of disease.Four sources are compiling information about colleges and COVID-19, including case-tracking maps: FILE – A woman wears a mask as she walks on campus…

College Admissions Scandal Dad Sentenced to Homestay

A former tech executive was sentenced Monday to one year of home confinement for paying $300,000 to bribe his son’s way into Georgetown University as a tennis recruit, even though the son did not play tennis. Peter Dameris, of Pacific Palisades, California, appeared before a Boston federal court judge via video because of the coronavirus…

New Visa Rules Worry Some Students

The U.S. has proposed a new rule for international students that would set student visas to a fixed four-year term. International students looking to extend their stay would be required to apply for an extension, according to the new rule. The rule would also limit international student visas to a fixed two-year term if students are…

Ski Resorts Struggle to Hire Amid Trump’s Student Visa Ban

Milagros Sotelo was looking forward to traveling from South America to Tennessee to start a job at Ober Gatlinburg ski resort this winter. The 22-year-old student worked the last two ski seasons in the equipment rental shop at the small resort nestled in the Smoky Mountains and was excited to reconnect with friends, practice her…

Students Miss Milestones, But Learn to Adapt

Yes, it’s a pandemic, and, yes, it certainly is better to be safe than sorry, but nonetheless, college students are lamenting the loss of major milestones — like starting college, moving on campus, celebrating turning 18 or 21 with friends, and graduation — interrupted by COVID, they say. “I couldn’t move into American University, haven’t…