A-14 LASENTINEL.NET NEWS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 Mayor Eric Garcetti announces Collaboration with Microsoft and Starry, Six Months of Free Internet Looking to Connect the Los Angeles Community BY BETTI HALSELL what was already a clear and communities. The lack of holds do not have a broad- President of Microsoft efficiently. The CEO and Co- Contributing Writer unmistakable fact: internet broadband networks can lead band subscription according Brad Smith stated, “This founder of Starry Chet Kano- connectivity is not a luxury in to less education, narrow to the mayor’s office. partnership with the City of jia stated, “We built our com- Working hard to close our time — it’s an absolute awareness, and disconnection This initiative is one of Los Angeles and Starry is an pany on the basic belief that racial gaps in opportunity, necessity for parents trying to to the rest of the world. many seeds planted and that important step towards ensur- everyone deserves access to Los Angeles City Mayor Eric work, students looking to Mayor Garcetti recognized took root from the Mayor’s ing that everyone, every- affordable, high-quality Garcetti announced a new learn, and families and the misstep among the city monthly Telecommunica- where can access today’s broadband no matter where directive to provide six friends seeking to communi- and now he has the footing to tions and Digital Equity essential online services.” you live...” months of free internet access cate.” Garcetti Continued, invest in a solution. The Forum. The city has seen the Smith continued. “…If we This is a coalition to residents in four public “With Starry and Microsoft effects of COVID-19 worked generosity from Starry Inter- fail to bring it to more people, between the Los Angeles housing communities across lending their resources and as high definition projector, net before back in June of this we risk widening, not closing City Mayor Administration, the city. The connection will expertise, our city’s public showcasing scenes of a tragic year Starry provided free the digital divide.” HACLA, Starry Internet, and be coming from Starry Inter- housing residents will no future if equitable standards internet to those living in Mar After six months of com- Microsoft. The objective is to net and Microsoft Corp. longer find themselves on the are not met. Vista public housing, joining plimentary internet, the serv- grow from the tragedies pre- According the mayor’s wrong side of the digital The need for internet sky- the conquest for equality is ice will be available at low sented from COVID-19. office, “this effort will accel- divide, but fully connected to rocketed after school and edu- Microsoft. cost, providing an opportuni- Mayor Garcetti recognized erate the availability of low- their classrooms and to the cational facilities were shut The measurements for ty for everyone to feel like the reach to success can be cost, high-quality broadband opportunities of the 21st cen- down due to the contagious equality were aligned, they can afford the delight of amplified when there is unity options in local public hous- tury.” properties COVID-19 carries. Microsoft has the “Airband information at their finger- between private sectors and ing developments for nearly Cyber activists like Larry The need for connection was Initiative,” which is looking tips. The goal to use the inter- public leadership. There is a 3,600 units of housing and Irving consistently warned preexisting in certain commu- to patch up the holes in digi- net as a tether that lassos the lot of work to be done, but 9,000 residents.” the public about the severity nities, particularly in lower tal accessibility within under- community together. this benchmark in digital The mayor followed the of the digital divide and what income Black and Latin-X served communities, health The partnership Starry unity is looking to create a announcement by saying, it means for the progression households. One key statistic care, and agriculture, and provides the entire housing ripple affect across the com- “COVID-19 has reinforced in mental growth for certain reflected 30% of Watts house- transform their businesses. communities connect more munity and beyond. UCLA Reports Disparities in School Suspensions Among Racial Groups CITY NEWS SERVICE students with disabilities. encesofmiddleandhighschool than White students,” concerning condition in U.S. meet their obligation to col- In secondary schools, the students reveals profound dis- according to the report. education: The inequitable lect and publicly report these A national analysis of overall rate of lost instruction parities in terms of lost instruc- At the school district use of harsh and exclusion- data annually.” school suspension data by was more than five times tional time due to suspensions – level, the data revealed some ary discipline that deprives The researchers said their the UCLA Civil Rights Proj- higher than in elementary stark losses that most policy- rates and disparities that were many students of color and findings should compel edu- ect found “disturbing dispar- school. The report found that makers and many educators “far higher and wider than students with disabilities of cation policymakers to act, ities” among racial groups 37 days were lost per 100 were unaware of,” said Dan most would imagine based critical learning time, track- with specific recommenda- with inconsistencies that middle and high school stu- Losen,directoroftheCenterfor on the state and national ing them into the school-to- tions for policymakers that vary state-by-state and dis- dents compared to seven Civil Rights Remedies and the averages, especially for prison pipeline.” include better tracking of dis- trict-by-district, according to days per 100 elementary lead researcher on the Black students and students Researchers also stated ciplinary actions, decriminal- a report released today. school students. report. with disabilities,” according that there is a need for school izing certain behaviors, The report, “Lost Oppor- “The rates for Blacks and Researchers found that to the report. districts to do a better job of adding intervention pro- tunities,” produced by the other students of color are state-level racial disparities “These stark disparities in tracking not only suspen- grams and more. Center for Civil Rights Reme- starkly higher than those of were often larger than the lost instruction explain why sions but also other discipli- Thereportispartofaseries dies at the UCLACivil Rights White students,” according national disparities sug- we cannot close the achieve- nary actions, including of studies developed to exam- Project in collaboration with to the report. “Black students gest, with multiple states ment gap if we do not close the school-based arrests. ine the findings of the U.S. the Learning Policy Institute, lost 103 days per 100 stu- having higher rates of lost discipline gap,” Losen said. “Our report suggests that Department of Education's bi- examined at the impact of out- dents enrolled, 82 more days instruction for students of “With all the instruction- much of the school-policing annual Civil Rights Data Col- of-school suspensions on than the 21 days their White color when compared to al loss students have had due data from 2015-16 required lectioninthreecontexts:school instructional time. peers lost due to out-of- their White peers. to COVID-19, educators by the federal Office for Civil discipline, student access to About 11 million instruc- school suspensions.” “For example ... Black should have to provide very Rights were either incom- experienced and certified tional days were lost to out- When comparing boys students in Missouri lost 162 sound justification for each plete or never collected,” said teachers, and student access to of-school suspensions in and girls, Black boys lost 132 more days of instructional additional day they prohibit Paul Martinez, the report's advanced courses. For the full 2015-16, according to the days per 100 students time than White students. In access to instruction.” co-author. “The findings raise report, visit www.civilright- report, and researchers exam- enrolled; while Black girls New Hampshire, Latinx stu- Jessica Cardichon, direc- concerns about how students sproject.ucla.edu/research/k- ined what racial groups were had the second highest rate, dents lost 75 more days than tor of federal policy at the of color cannot be protected 12-education/school- most frequently suspended as at 77 days per 100 students White students.And in North Learning Policy Institute, against systemic racism in discipline/lost-opportunities-how- well as suspensions for stu- enrolled. Carolina, Native American stated: “This new report doc- school policing if districts disparate-school-discipline- dents of different genders and “The focus on the experi- students lost 102 more days uments a chronic and deeply and police departments don't continues-to-drive-differences- We’ve fought hard for housing justice. Prop 21 will hurt homeowners of color who worked hard to purchase a family home while facing discrimination and unequal policies that still disenfranchise communities. ” Diane R., South Los Angeles Resident & Landlord Californians are experiencing a severe housing THAT’S WHY affordability crisis in the most devastating economic and PROP IS OPPOSED BY public health emergency of our lifetimes. The last thing A BIPARTISAN we should do is pass an initiative like Prop 21 that will COALITION INCLUDING: stop new housing from being built, cost jobs, and hurt the California State Conference of the NAACP economic recovery. CALIFIA NOW Chapter of Greater Los Angeles Not only will Prop 21 hurt homeowners, it allows landlords California Council for Affordable Housing to raise rents by up to 15% even among the Coalition of Small Rental Property Owners lowest-income renters, which could lead to mass evictions. Crenshaw Chamber of Commerce Disabled American Veterans, Department of California Visit NoOnProp21.vote to learn more.