Linda Sarsour Is a Friend to Jews

Linda Sarsour is a friend to Jews

BYRABBI BARAT ELLMANRABBI ELLEN LIPPMANN NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Sunday, May 7, 2017, 5:00 AM

Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist, is invited to speak at graduation this year by the School of Public Health of the City University of New York.

This has provoked a vicious smear campaign, led by state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, intended to bully the school into withdrawing the invitation. It’s the latest piece of a dishonest decade-long attempt to associate Sarsour with Islamic fundamentalism, anti-Semitism and hate.

We are rabbis in Brooklyn who have worked with Sarsour for more than a decade and, even if at times we do not entirely agree with her, we stand with her as friends and allies to support her and refute the false claims against her.

False claim one: Sarsour sees “the Jews” as “her enemies” — that’s the way Hikind put it in an Op-Ed in these pages.

Our experience with Sarsour argues the contrary. She has been building relationships between Muslims and Jews in Brooklyn since 2006.

The Jewish Week reported in 2007 that, as acting director of the Arab-American Association of New York, Sarsour developed a relationship with the Bay Ridge Jewish Center and engaged in coalition-building activities with the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. She has participated in multiple workshops and panels on interfaith dialogue.

She is a longstanding partner of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, an organization on whose rabbinic council we sit and about which she said, “I love this organization from the deepest of my heart.”

And as emcee at the 2017 May Day rally in Foley Square, Sarsour affirmed her commitment to supporting the rights of immigrants, workers, black people, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jews.

Yes, Sarsour is an ardent critic of Zionism — which should come as no surprise for a Palestinian-American with relatives in Palestine. But she has been clear that it is right-wing Zionism — Zionism that dismisses Palestinian claims to a national identity or for statehood — that she vehemently opposes.

Still, note Sarsour’s statement in 2006: “Israel is there, and it is going to be there whether we like it or not. We have to learn to deal with that.”

False claim two: Sarsour has no tolerance for Muslims who disagree with her. To advance this notion, many critics cite Sarsour’s 2011 Twitter response to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali anti-Islam activist who claimed (falsely) that female genital mutilation proves Islam’s inherent misogyny.

Sarsour’s retort — that Ali and others she disagrees with “don’t deserve to be women,” so she wishes she could “take their vaginas away” — was written in anger, and we agree it wasn’t nice. But it was not meant to be taken literally, and is hardly proof that she wants to assault Muslims who disagree with her or surgically strike women’s bodies.

False claim three: Sarsour supports terrorism.

To the contrary, she has clearly denounced it, saying “I do not support suicide bombers or anyone else who harms innocent people, regardless if they are Palestinian or Israeli.” Yet, as supposed proof of terrorist sympathies, sites like MilitantIslamMonitor.org, under the headline “Head of Arab American Association Linda Sarsour linked to Hamas,” claim that Sarsour’s brother-in-law and a cousin are serving sentences in Israeli jails for Hamas activities. That’s a lie.

For others, the “proof” is an image she tweeted in 2015, of a child holding rocks which she captioned: “The definition of courage. #Palestine.” The image was of a child roughly aged 5 approaching a group of heavily armed soldiers.

Still others point to her friendship with and support of Rasmea Odeh, who was convicted of involvement in a 1970 supermarket bombing in Israel that killed two people. They ignore Odeh’s claim that she was tortured and coerced into confessing guilt, a contention worth exploring.

We do not know Odeh, but we know Sarsour — as a tireless advocate for social justice, and against racism, anti-Semitism, feminism, workers’ rights, immigrant rights and all other forms of prejudice.

She has never tried to hide her beliefs. We believe there is no reason why she should. The sloppy attempt to demoize her reeks of anti-Muslim bias.

CUNY wants to honor a leader at commencement. We say amen.

Ellman is an adjunct professor of religion at Fordham University and with the Bard Prison Initiative. Lippmann is the senior rabbi of Kolot Chayeinu: Voices of our Lives.

Signature Bronx race takes on special meaning (News 12) May 6, 2017

A signature race in the Bronx is a little bit more special this year.

The 39th annual Roscoe C. Brown Run and Walk is being held for the first time since its namesake passed away.

Brown was the former president of Bronx Community College and legendary Tuskegee airman.

He founded this race back in 1978 to open the doors of the college to the community. He died last July.

Organizers held a moment of silence and officially retired his number Saturday morning.

A portion of the entry fee will be used to fund two scholarships for students at the school.

Photonic Hypercrystals Combine Best Features Of Metamaterials And Photonic Crystals

By Jof Enriquez Follow me on Twitter @jofenriq

Scientists at The City College of New York (CCNY) and Purdue University have demonstrated a new type of composite artificial media, called photonic hypercrystals, which combine the best characteristics of metamaterials and photonic crystals — two promising technologies in the field of optoelectronics that depend on frequency resonance mechanisms that limit bandwidth, or suffer from poor light-coupling mechanisms.

Photonic hypercrystals overcome these limitations by combining the large broadband photonic density of states provided by hyperbolic metamaterials with the light- scattering efficiency of photonic crystals.

"In particular, surface waves supported by a hypercrystal possess the properties of both the optical Tamm states in photonic crystals and surface-plasmon polaritons at the metal-dielectric interface," explained Evgenii E. Narimanov, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University, who first described photonic hypercrystals in a paper in APS Physical Review X (PRX).

Narimanov collaborated with Vinod M. Menon, professor of physics in CCNY’s Division of Science, and CCNY graduate students Tal Galfsky and Jie Gu in testing the effectivity and efficiency of photonic hypercrystals to manipulate light-matter interaction, which are essential in natural phenomena like photosynthesis, and in technologies like lasers and solar cells. In the research group's paper published in a recent issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), they report achieving simultaneous enhancement of spontaneous emission rate (20×) and light outcoupling (100×) from quantum dots embedded in the hypercrystal. The scientists attribute these promising results to the unique combination of length scales in the features of the hypercrystal, as well as the inherent properties of the nanoscale structures.

"Such designer photonic media with complete control over the optical properties provide a platform for broadband control of light–matter interaction," wrote the researchers.

More specifically, photonic hypercrystals can pave the way for ultrafast LEDs for Li- Fi (uses visible light to transmit data electromagnetically), enhanced absorption in solar cells, and the development of single photon emitters for quantum information processing, said Menon in a press release.

This latest research in optoelectronics was supported by the Army Research Office, the National Science Foundation – Division of Materials Research MRSEC (Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers) program, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Physicists demonstrate photonic hypercrystals for control of light-matter interaction Date: May 5, 2017 Source: City College of New York Summary: Control of light-matter interaction is central to fundamental phenomena and technologies such as photosynthesis, lasers, LEDs and solar cells. Researchers have now demonstrated a new class of artificial media called photonic hypercrystals that can control light-matter interaction in unprecedented ways.

Control of light-matter interaction is central to fundamental phenomena and technologies such as photosynthesis, lasers, LEDs and solar cells. City College of New York researchers have now demonstrated a new class of artificial media called photonic hypercrystals that can control light-matter interaction in unprecedented ways.

This could lead to such benefits as ultrafast LEDs for Li-Fi (a wireless technology that transmits high-speed data using visible light communication), enhanced absorption in solar cells and the development of single photon emitters for quantum information processing, said Vinod M. Menon, professor of physics in City College's Division of Science who led the research. Photonic crystals and metamaterials are two of the most well-known artificial materials used to manipulate light. However, they suffer from drawbacks such as bandwidth limitation and poor light emission. In their research, Menon and his team overcame these drawbacks by developing hypercrystals that take on the best of both photonic crystals and metamaterials and do even better. They demonstrated significant increase in both light emission rate and intensity from nanomaterials embedded inside the hypercrystals. The emergent properties of the hypercrystals arise from the unique combination of length scales of the features in the hypercrystal as well as the inherent properties of the nanoscale structures. The CCNY research appears in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The team included graduate students Tal Galfsky and Jie Gu from Menon's research group in CCNY's Physics Department and Evgenii Narimanov (Purdue University), who first theoretically predicted the hypercrystals. The research was supported by the Army Research Office, the National Science Foundation -- Division of Materials Research MRSEC program, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

How To Get People To Care About Climate Change David Holland, director of NYU's Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science, and his wife, Denise, were asleep in a tent a mile away from Greenland’s main ice sheet one June morning a few years back. At 3am, the couple woke to the sound of a block of ice twice the size of the Empire State Building breaking off the main shelf. Denise filmed the calving; it took 40 minutes for the piece to clear the shelf and melt into the ocean. "This kind of thing happens all the time," Holland said recently. Back in New York, Holland uses data collected in the field to build physical models of the Earth’s oceans to help NYU undergraduates understand the impact of climate change on rising sea levels and shifts in ocean temperature. A few ago, Holland moved into a ground floor lab on the corner of Mercer Street and Washington Place in NoHo, a location favored for its "seismic quietness"—the distance to the nearest subway. He placed his most impressive teaching model in front of the main window: a spinning, Wonkaesque contraption made up of intertwining metal poles, spinning turntables, tubes and video cameras. Curious passersby began to congregate by the window, gawking at the model and trying to attract Holland’s attention; one or two even wandered inside to ask campus security what the hell Holland was doing. The reception prompted Holland to begin work on a series of twelve experiments for the spinning model, which will aim will be to demonstrate the principles of weather and climate; they will be recorded and broadcast live on screens installed behind the lab’s windows. On a recent afternoon, Holland fired up the model to demonstrate one such experiment: the formation of a storm front. The model consists of a large, clear plastic cylinder with three compartments, each filled with a water of a different temperature: ice in the center, tap water in the middle, and warm water around the edge. The ice represents the waters of the Arctic, the warm water represents the tropics, and the tap water represents the middle latitudes—Earth’s temperate zones, including North America. A storm front forms when warm water from the tropics mixes with cold water on its way to the poles. Denise, Holland’s field and lab logistics coordinator, squeezed a few drops of red and blue dye in the inner and outer compartments of the model and hit a button. The model began to spin, mimicking the rotation of the Earth. After about ten minutes, the red and blue dyes began to mix, forming tiny, psychedelic storm fronts. Outside, He Wang, a twenty five-year-old healthcare consultant, said he thought Holland’s machine resembled an oversized cocktail maker. "Are they trying to make a margarita?" he wondered out loud. Grace Stauffer, a biology graduate from Boston University, and her stepfather, Jim Lockard, stopped by after lunch. "I’m sure most people don’t actually understand the principles behind weather and climate," Stauffer said. "It’s hard to communicate this stuff without a lot of people pushing back and being all like, 'Well, I don’t believe you because I don’t understand science.'" Lockard, a retiree whose former occupations include both police officer and minister at the Center for Spiritual Living, had recently returned from Iceland. "Over there they think Americans are crazy for not paying enough attention to climate change," he said. "Here it’s regarded as more of a belief than a scientific theory, which kind of puts it on par with the 'question' of evolution, and the 'theory' of gravity." Could Holland’s window solve the problem? "Only if he finds a way to reach the middle of the country—that’s where the real problem is." An anthropology professor at CUNY on his way to a linguistics lecture was less effusive. "Human-induced climate change seems likely," he said, "but its ultimate consequences are unknown." Should more be done to educate the masses? "Science is always good, as long as it isn’t hyped science." Holland is aiming for the opposite. One experiment features two side-by-side video feeds of the sky, recorded in real time by cameras installed on the building’s roof. One is a normal camera, the other infrared—the point will be to show how increased CO2 emissions from a blanket cover that prevents heat from escaping into the atmosphere. "Remember the movie Predator?" Holland said. "That alien could see in infrared. He was really up on climate change." Back outside, Sean Ruch, an employee in NYU’s film department, used Holland’s model as an opportunity to discuss Manhattan real estate. "I’m thinking about the next 50 years or so, as far as trying to buy a place in New York—there are so many areas you almost want to immediately write off, because, you know, you’re unsure what will be underwater soon." NYU economics student Ross Doppelt, who stopped to watch Denise pour more ice into the center of the spinning model, argued it was dangerous to think about the issue in relation to one’s own personal experience. "Because as soon as we have a nice 65-degree day like this, people are going to assume everything is fine." The hotdog vendor parked in front of Holland’s window has been there for the better part of eight months. Was business good? Yes. Did he care to know what all the fuss was about? "I’m not interested in science," he said, serving another customer.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Queens gang member and prison inmate set to graduate from Columbia University;

‘Education rehabilitated me’

Richard Gamarra’s long trip from inmate to the Ivy League ends next week with a master’s degree — in redemption.

The former Latin King gangbanger, after seven years behind bars for assault and weapon convictions, graduates May 17 from Columbia University’s renowned Mailman School of Public Health.

He never imagined swapping a prison jumpsuit for the university’s iconic blue cap and gown — but his dreams are coming true.

“When there’s a will, there’s a way,” said a beaming Gamarra as he walked around the prestigious Morningside Heights campus last week. “This is historic for me. It’s very humbling. I won’t believe it until I have that diploma in my hands.”

The 28-year-old Gamarra, after earning his master’s in public health, paused for a minute to admire the bronze “Alma Mater” sculpture outside Low Memorial Library.

Beating the odds for admission and completing the grueling work was a long shot from the start. But graduate-to-be Gamarra said he intends to use his degree to steer others away from the missteps that landed him in the clutches of the state prison system. “I don’t want my past to define me,” he said. “I want to undo that stigma of being in prison. I know there are a lot of other Richards out there.”

Gamarra reflected on the difficulties of growing up in Flushing, Queens, as the youngest of five Colombian immigrant children.

He succumbed to peer pressure, joining the Latin Kings in high school and warring frequently with their rival street gangs.

“I was a bad kid,” he recalled with a bittersweet smile. “I was getting beat up a lot. I knew I needed a weapon to defend myself.”

He was carrying a loaded 9-mm. handgun in his book bag when cops were summoned to Holy Cross High School in Flushing by an anonymous 911 call back in December 2004.

The 16-year-old Gamarra, who had no prior arrests, was busted for criminal possession of a weapon. “That didn’t change me,” he says now. “I got assaulted and I assaulted back. I kept getting into trouble.”

His gang activity finally landed him in prison at age 19.

“I was still involved in gangs,” he recalls of his time behind bars. “I was in a dark place. It was rough.”

His fortunes began to turn in 2011 when he met Robert Fullilove, a Columbia professor teaching public health to inmates at the upstate Woodbourne Correctional Facility.

Gamarra enrolled in the class after spending some time in solitary confinement.

“I didn’t want my life to be this anymore,” he said.

Gamarra’s intellect caught Fullilove’s interest from day one.

“A couple of good students always stand out,” the Columbia professor recalled. “I told him, ‘Come to Columbia. I’ll make it happen.’ ”

The odds were still pretty stiff, but he applied and made it.

“He’s unique. He’s become a role model,” Fullilove said. “He’s a standout.”

Gamarra said Fullilove gave him hope that turning his life around could include becoming a good father to his now-10-year-old daughter, Izabella.

An emotional jailhouse visit from his little girl persuaded Gamarra to accept the professor’s offer.

“She was confused,” he said. “She was like, ‘Why can’t I sit with you? Why can’t I hug you? Why are you on the other side of this glass?’

“I remember a 4-year-old trying to squeeze through this 12-by-5 slot, trying to get to me. That really broke me. I said to myself, ‘I need to go home to that girl.’ ”

He was released Nov. 13, 2013, and Gamarra quickly called his old teacher about that offer to enroll at Columbia.

Gamarra received a bachelor’s degree in public health and health education from the City University of New York in 2015. He enrolled at the Mailman School that fall.

“For me, education rehabilitated me,” Gamarra said about his unlikely college career. “I said, ‘I’m going to take it and I’m going to run with it.’ ”

He admits there was trepidation in the early days. “I never thought people would accept someone like me here. I was worried,” he said.

But now, trying on his cap and gown, Gamarra engages in a bit of repartee with a group of high school seniors visiting the campus.

“We want to come here. We want to be you!” some of them yelled.

“You can be me one day!” he shouted back. “Just don’t be like the me in high school.”

Gamarra, who wants to use his public health degree to teach and counsel inmates, said he’s motivated to succeed because of his daughter. She was diagnosed with brain cancer the year after his prison release and is now in remission.

“With her strength, positivity and recovery, as well as with this degree, we are both on track to making the world a better place,” he said.

CARIBBEAT: Dancer ‘Raisin’ her game as choreographer in musical revival at Astoria Performing Arts Center

There’s something old and someone new emerging in Queens at the Astoria Performing Arts Center’s production of the musical “Raisin” — the revival of the Tony Award- winning musical based on Lorraine Hansberry’s book “ A Raisin in the Sun” and Caribbean-rooted dancer/instructor Tamrin Goldberg’s debut as a choreographer.

The arts center artistic director, Dev Bondarin, is directing this presentation of “Raisin,” which opened last Thursday and runs through May 27. Goldberg — whose mother hails from Grenada — said Bondarin brought her into the theater group and gave her the assignment to choreograph the musical.

“Raisin” stars Maia Bedford, Aaron Casey, Shabazz Green, Chris Gwynn, Marcie Henderson, Greg Horton, Brandi Knox, Billy Lowrimore, Ebony Marshall-Oliver, Sarita Amani Nash, Warren Nolan, Jr., Chinua B. Payne, Tony Perry, Joi Danielle Price, Vanessa Robinson, Alicia Thomas, and Cartreze Tucker. The show's musical director is Darius Smith.

“I’ve been working with her (Bondarin) and the company for the last few months getting the show in order,” said the Seattle native, who’s lived New York for eight years and studied dance and philosophy at Barnard College. Since college, she has been living "the life of a freelance artist in New York," which included concert dance work, teaching dance and yoga, in addition to working on projects with Marisa Michelson, who co-wrote the off-Broadway musical "Tamar of the River."

Goldberg revealed she wasn’t aware of the 1970s musical rendition of “Raisin” until Bondarin called about the current APAC revival, but she remembers reading the Hansberry book in high school and was familiar with the movie, both of which explored the trials and tribulations of the African-American family in 1950s Chicago.

"It's been an amazing time discovering what this show was and how it was received."

Nominated for eight Tony Awards, Raisin won Best Musical in 1974 and later garnered a Grammy Award for Best Score From the Original Cast Show Album.

Goldberg said she was last in Grenada about three years ago for a "big" family reunion.

"It's a beautiful country," she said, confessing she’s been a tad delinquent when it comes to visiting her ancestral Caribbean home. "I'm averaging about once every 10 years, which is a big shame, but I'm trying to get back there more," she said adding that "my mom gets back more often."

The center is at 30-44 Crescent St. For tickets and information on “Raisin,” visit www.apacny.org or call (718) 706-5750.

HERE COMES MOTHER’S DAY

Time to make some very special plans — Mother’s Day is almost here. Here is a selected list of events marking the respected holiday tribute to mothers:

* With moms and Mother’s Day in mind, Basil Dawkins’ stage work “Four Can’t Play,” starring famous Jamaican comedian Oliver Samuels, Ruth Ho Shing, Maylynne Lowe and Dennis Titus, will be presented by Everybody’s Caribbean Magazine at the Brooklyn College Performing Arts Center on May 20; York College Performing Arts Center in Queens on May 26; the Family Partnership Center in Poughkeepsie May 27 and the Lovinger Theater at Lehman College in the Bronx on May 28.

Get tickets online at www.everybodysmag.comand get information by calling (718) 941-1879.

Appointments, Resignations, Deaths (5/12/2017)

CHIEF EXECUTIVES

Appointments

Vic Adams will become president and chief executive of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College on June 1. He has worked with the institution since 1997 and is currently its chief work-force-solutions officer and vice president, as well as director of its Middlesboro campus.

Joyce Helens, president of St. Cloud Technical and Community College since 2006, will join Great Basin College, in Nevada, as president on August 1. She will replace Mark Curtis, who will retire on June 30.

Pat Huber, vice president for instruction and student services at New River Community College, was appointed its president, effective July 1. She will be the first woman to serve as the college’s permanent president. Ms. Huber will succeed Jack Lewis, who retired last year after 17 years at the helm.

Karol Mason, who served as a U.S. assistant attorney general under President Barack Obama, will be the first woman and the first African-American to serve as president of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, part of the City University of New York system. She will take over from Jeremy Travis, who has led the college for 13 years, on August 1.

Carol A. Moore, executive vice president and provost at Columbia College, in South Carolina, was appointed interim president. She will take over from Elizabeth Dinndorf, who will retire on June 30.

David Shannon, a minister at Mt. Juliet Church of Christ, in Nashville, was named president of Freed-Hardeman University. He will succeed Joe Wiley, who will retire after nine years at the helm. Resignations

David Pershing, president of the University of Utah since 2012, has announced that he will step down when a successor has been named.

Retirements

Daniel J. Bradley, president of Indiana State University since 2008, plans to step down in January 2018.

Michelle D. Johnson, superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy since 2013 and the first woman to lead the academy, plans to retire this year.

CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICERS

Appointments

Nolan Atkins will become provost of Lyndon and Johnson State Colleges in July and a year later will become the first provost of Northern Vermont University, which the two colleges will merge to form. He is currently interim president of Lyndon State College.

Wendell Pritchett, a professor of law and education and a former interim dean of law, will become provost of the University of Pennsylvania.

OTHER TOP ADMINISTRATORS

Appointments

Randall Arvay, chief information-security officer at Mississippi Medical Center, will hold a similar position at the University of Utah.

Laurie Bellows, acting dean of graduate studies, to interim vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

A. Lorris Betz, a former interim president of the University of Utah, will leave retirement to serve as interim senior vice president for health sciences, executive dean of the medical school, and chief executive of the university’s health-care system. Randy Edwards, interim vice chancellor for university advancement at Appalachian State University, was appointed permanently to the role.

Alexa Wood Gaeta, interim vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions at Agnes Scott College, has been appointed permanently to the post.

Ryan Robinson, senior associate athletic director of communications, to vice chancellor for communications at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Resignations

Vivian Lee will step down as senior vice president for health sciences, dean of the medical school, and chief executive of the health-care system at the University of Utah.

DEANS

Appointments

Kathleen Blee, associate dean of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and a professor of sociology, to dean of the school and dean of the College of General Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

Marvin Chun, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Yale University, to dean of Yale College.

Maureen Lally-Green will be the first woman to serve as dean of the law school at Duquesne University. She has been serving as interim dean since last July.

Bryan Penprase, founding director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at Yale- NUS College, in Singapore, to dean of faculty and a professor of science at Soka University of America.

OTHER ADMINISTRATORS

Appointments

Gerald Beasley, vice provost and chief librarian at the University of Alberta, in Canada, to university librarian at Cornell University. Teresa Boyer, executive director of the Center for Women and Work and an assistant research professor at Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations, to founding director of the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership and an associate professor of education and counseling at Villanova University.

Timothy Carr, a professor and chair of the department of nutrition and health sciences, to interim associate vice chancellor and dean of graduate education at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Melinda Stoops, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Framingham State University, to associate vice president for student affairs at Boston College.

For New York City teachers applying for tenure, success remains far from assured

BY ALEX ZIMMERMAN - 3 DAYS AGO

The proportion of New York City teachers earning tenure held steady last school year — remaining at its highest point under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s watch.

Sixty-four percent of the 5,450 eligible teachers were granted tenure during the 2015-16 school year, an 11 percent increase since de Blasio took office, according to data obtained by Chalkbeat. But that’s still dramatically lower than a decade ago, when virtually every eligible teacher won the job protection.

Continuing a two-year trend, 34 percent had their tenure decisions deferred. Two percent were rejected outright, effectively ending their teaching careers in the district. Under Bloomberg, who promised to move toward “ending tenure as we know it,” tenure approval rates plummeted from 89 percent in the 2009-10 school year to 53 percent the year before de Blasio took control of the city school system. Bloomberg argued that too many teachers were earning tenure too quickly, and the city began delaying decisions for a large portion of eligible teachers. The numbers show that under de Blasio, teachers are slightly more likely to receive tenure as soon as they are eligible — typically after four “probationary” years. But they also show that the mayor has not completely reversed the approach of his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, whose administration made attaining tenure more difficult — not by rejecting tenure applications, but by delaying a larger share of those decisions to a later year.

Over his first three years, de Blasio has slowly changed course. In his first year, tenure rates rose to 60 percent, a 7 percent increase that de Blasio said reflected his administration’s interest in rewarding and retaining top teachers. In his second year, the approval rate increased again to 64 percent — which held steady last school year.

The number of teachers whose tenure prospects were deferred also remained flat at 34 percent, down from a high of 44 percent in Bloomberg’s final year. Under both administrations, rejection rates have hovered between 2 and 3 percent. (Among the group of teachers whose tenure decisions had been previously delayed, 5 percent were denied last year, down slightly from 6 percent the previous year.)

“This year’s results illustrate a continuation in the trend of active, rigorous tenure decision-making,” according to a presentation provided by the education department. Officials said that deferrals are used as a way to give teachers more time to demonstrate their effectiveness, or when there isn’t enough evidence to make a tenure decision.

But a more important statistic is that the city almost never denies tenure outright, according to David Bloomfield a professor of education, law, and public policy at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center.

Focusing on the relatively low tenure rate “leaves the impression that these teachers are no longer in the classroom — and that’s just false,” he said. “Denials of tenure aren’t going up.”

Tenure rules have been the subject of increased national scrutiny in recent years, and have been subject to lawsuits from Minnesota to New York that claim the protections keep underperforming teachers in the classroom and violate students’ right to an adequate education. (The courts have not necessarily bought that argument.)

For its part, the city’s teachers union said the proportion of educators whose tenure decisions are delayed is not a significant concern. “The more pressing issue,” said United Federation of Teachers chief Michael Mulgrew, is “that thousands of teachers — who earned tenure and are in good standing — decide to walk away from New York City public schools every year because they did not get the support they needed to help the children in their care.”

Massachusetts College Narrows Presidential Search to 4

The search for a new president of Salem State University in Massachusetts has been narrowed to four finalists. | May 5, 2017, at 10:05 a.m.

SALEM, Mass. (AP) — The search for a new president of Salem State University in Massachusetts has been narrowed to four finalists.

The search committee announced Thursday that the candidates are scheduled to be on campus next week for interviews with trustees as well as open meetings with faculty and students.

The candidates are Deborah Bordelon, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Governors State University in Illinois; Bashar Hanna, former vice president of academic affairs at Delaware Valley University in Pennsylvania; John Keenan, vice president for administration at Salem State; and Anny Morrobel-Sosa, former provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Lehman College in New York.

The public university with about 9,000 students is seeking to a successor for President Patricia Meservey, who's retiring after 10 years on the job.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Feminist History of Women and Tattoos

By Samantha Cooney May 5, 2017

Since the election, Jess Koala, a tattoo artist at Black + Blue in San Francisco, has seen an uptick in the number of clients looking to get feminist tattoos. She’s inked women with Elizabeth Warren’s face, a gravestone memorializing the death of gender roles and more than a handful of Venus symbols.

“I think people are just trying to wear their ideals as a badge of honor,” Koala told Motto. “It’s permanent — you’re making a very clear statement: ‘This is what I believe in, this is who I am.’ That just fits very naturally with activism.”

Koala’s clients aren’t alone. In February, more than 100 women lined up at a Minneapolis shop to get a variation of “Nevertheless, she persisted” tattooed on their bodies in homage to Warren after she was silenced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for attempting to read a letter written by Coretta Scott King to oppose the confirmation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Ahead of the Women’s March on Washington, several women got inked with slogans of the resistance, including “rise” and “solidarity.” And many women sought out “nasty woman” tattoos after Donald Trump used the insult to refer to his opponent, Hillary Clinton, at the final presidential debate.

Though these “nasty woman” tattoos may have made recent headlines, feminist body art is not a new trend. In fact, tattoos have long served as a symbol for female empowerment and sparked discussions about ownership of women’s bodies.

Margot Mifflin, a professor of English at Lehman College of the City University of New York, chronicled the relationship between women and ink in her book Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo, which was originally published in 1997. In the 19th century, tattoos were a popular accessory for wealthy socialites. That fad died down in the early 20th Century, according to Mifflin, and body ink subsequently emerged as a symbol of masculinity — with many parlors often refusing to tattoo women unless they were married and accompanied by their spouse.

But, as Mifflin told Motto, that changed in the 1970s when the counter-culture and feminist movements led to a spike in the number of women getting tattoos. In the 1990s, Mifflin said, more breast cancer survivors began to use body art to cover their mastectomy scars, which has continued today.

“I theorize in my book that it was about reasserting claim over their bodies during a time when women’s bodies issues were so prominent in the media from discussions and debates over breast cancer, eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, motherhood and abortion,” Mifflin said. “I think that tattoos became a way for women to take control of their own bodies and define them how they wanted to.”

In the late 20th century and early 21st century, tattoos became less of an act of resistance and more of a permanent part of pop culture. But while more men and women got tattoos, men were cast as cool while women rocking ink were branded as dangerous or promiscuous (see: tramp stamps). That lingering perception hasn’t stopped women from embracing body art: a 2012 poll found that more women than men have tattoos.

But women still lag behind when it comes to working behind the chair. While there isn’t a lot of concrete data on the gender ratio of tattoo artists across the country, Mifflin said that more women have broken into the historically male-dominated industry, especially in the 21st century. She attributed the rise of women in the industry to the popularity of tattoos and the visibility of other female tattoo artists, like Kat Von D.

“It still is quite dominated by men but not nearly as much as it used to be. There are many more female tattooists out there, and there’s been a growing number since the new millennium,” Mifflin said. “That also changes tattooing for women because when you have women designing and applying the tattoo, you have a greater consideration for women’s bodies and the designs of the tattoos on them.”

That’s been true for Kelsey Rogers, the owner and lead artist at the all-female tattoo shop Ink Ink in Springfield, Missouri. Rogers told Motto that while she’s seen the post- election feminist tattoos popping up everywhere on social media, her shop has been inking women with empowering statements for years. “To us, it’s not a new fad,” Rogers said. “It’s always been there — probably because they felt at home getting those tattoos with us.”

But, like in most industries, female tattoo artists inevitably still face sexism. “I have gone to some tattoo conventions and other tattoo artists will ask if we’re the girlfriends of the shop. Having our entire business run by women, a lot of people just think we’re a joke.”

Stephanie Tamez, a tattoo artist at Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn, told Motto that she decided to work twice as hard to shake off any ideas that she might be less skilled than her male colleagues. “I think if you speak to every woman, they’re going to have a different story for how being a woman in this industry has shaped them,” Tamez said. “I think people really realize that you don’t have to be a big dude to give a great tattoo… A lot of artists are getting involved and it’s really changing the dynamic.” And Koala added that she anticipates that the industry will continue to get better for women as more women seek out feminist tattoos and more self-proclaimed feminists get into the business of body art.

“I see a lot of amazing women artists out there and I’m just really excited to see them thrive. I think it’s really important that younger women know this is something that they can get into and there are so many incredible role models out there for women now,” she said. “I think we’re really living in an amazing time.”

Tamez agreed and noted that the new wave of feminist body art fit perfectly with the traditions of her craft. “They’re standing up for themselves and what they believe and deserve. I’ve loved seeing people being courageous and being committed to something.” Tamez said. “Tattooing is about being committed to something — that’s what makes it cool.”

Tuition-free initiative has room for improvement

By Naeisha Rose

U.S. Sen Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) may not have had the chance to become the president of the United States and help American public colleges across the country become tuition-free. But on April 10, with Sanders’ help, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was able to make that a reality for students attending CUNY and SUNY schools.

Nevertheless, Cuomo was not able to broker a deal on providing safeguards under the Dream Act to allow undocumented students to receive tuition assistance for school in New York.

Some students and educators have concerns about Cuomo’s plan. Queens College sociology professor Amy Hsin is one of them.

Hsin takes issue with how this will affect undocumented students at Queens College. On campus, Hsin has students that are undocumented and some of them are a part of the activist group called CUNY Dreamers.

Although their parents brought them to the United States illegally, Dreamers are allowed to get degrees at CUNY schools. But without proof of their status as Americans, like state IDs, they are not able to receive grants and scholarships that are tied to proof of citizenship, according to students that have applied to them. “I’m glad that CUNY decided to do a tuition-free program, but it’s sad that it won’t apply to Dreamers in New York state,” said Dulce Hernandez, 21, a senior. “We are at poverty level. We have to save up and work. It’s stressing.”

Hernandez believes that by denying Dreamers a chance to be a part of the program, they will not be able to become fully integrated into college life and remain dedicated to their studies like other students.

Hernandez was devastated that new Dreamers will end up like her and not be able to afford to go on to study abroad or be a part of an internship outside of school.

“It would have given us more opportunities to explore ourselves,” Hernandez said. “If I was a part of the program, it would be nice to travel. Spending 20 years in one country and not going out and recognizing the world, it’s sad. I know my parents struggle to put food on the table.”

As a result of President Donald Trump’s stance on immigrants, many Dreamers are afraid to seek help elsewhere. “People that receive welfare that are undocumented and have kids that are citizens, they are not reaching out for help anymore because they are afraid that immigration status will fall into the hands of ICE,” said Muller, who was brought to this country when she was 15 months old.

Some of the help these students would receive is the Tuition Assistance Program, a grant for New York State residents, and the Federal Pell Grant, offered throughout the country. Both help students of meager means, according to the Higher Education Services Corporation website, which provides scholarship information.

To get SEEK, seniors in high school with “outstanding records” in terms of grades and community service receive financial assistance to different CUNY schools. They also get to apply to colleges early, receive mentorship while in university and get trained for highly coveted jobs before graduating.

“When I graduated high school, I got offered SEEK at John Jay, and I wasn’t able to take it because of my undocumented status,” Muller said. “My brother, however, does have SEEK for City College, and so I see the difference. I’m happy for him, but it hurts because I’m not different from him.”

While she couldn’t carry the course load necessary to work in education and teach Urban Studies, Muller plans on helping individuals facing the same set of circumstances.

“I’m thinking about working at a non-profit that helps undocumented people who are trying to figure out their lives,” Muller said.

Hsin hopes that one day that the issues for Dreamers gets addressed.

“We failed to pass the Dream Act in the federal and the state [Legislatures], so these undocumented students continue to struggle because they cannot access financial aid,” Hsin said. “About 3 percent of our students are undocumented.

“They are some of the brightest, and they have to already overcome huge barriers.”

Excelsior Scholarship to only benefit 5 percent of currently enrolled SUNY and CUNY students

By ELIZABETH LEWIS [email protected] PUBLISHED: SATURDAY, MAY 6, 2017 AT 12:30 AM

The Excelsior Scholarship may benefit far fewer students than originally anticipated. When Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo initially announced the scholarship idea alongside U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I- Vt. in January, he said, “nearly 80 percent or more than 940,000 families with college-aged children across New York would qualify for tuition-free college at SUNY and CUNY.”

However, only 5 percent of currently enrolled undergraduate students across all SUNY and CUNY schools would qualify for the scholarship, because they don’t meet the requirements.

The actual number of eligible incoming students is not yet available because students are continuing to enroll. Requirements for the scholarship include having lived in New York state for 12 continuous months prior to the term for which the award is being sought; living in New York state after graduation for the same number of years as the award; enrolling full time; taking 30 credits per year; graduating on time, although the program offers some flexibility so that students facing a hardship can stop, restart or take fewer credits one semester; and maintaining a minimum grade point average dependent on the college and program.

The 30-credits-per-year requirement, put in place to encourage on-time degree completion, will significantly reduce the number of eligible students. Current students and those transferring must be on track to graduate in order to qualify, although there is some leeway provided in the legislation for students with disabilities or some extenuating circumstances

“It’s true it’s difficult to finish in four years, but we know it’s possible,” SUNY Board Chairman H. Carl McCall said at an informational session at SUNY Potsdam Friday. “Students do it now. This is a program that really tries to get students to complete in four years. We think that’s a reasonable and important standard.” In addition, the Excelsior Scholarship is a “last dollar” tuition scholarship, which means it fills the gap of what Pell grants and the Tuition Assistance Program won’t cover for tuition. If a student already has their tuition covered by other scholarships, they won’t qualify for the Excelsior Scholarship. “The whole point here is to be tuition-free,” Mr. McCall said Friday at SUNY Potsdam. “We have some students now — maybe about 20 percent of our students from SUNY and CUNY — who already pay no tuition, so they will not, therefore, be eligible for the Excelsior program.”

At the SUNY Board of Trustees Finance and Administration Committee meeting on Tuesday, a presentation showed the estimated number of the 605,000 currently enrolled students who would be eligible for Excelsior Scholarship.

After subtracting all students whose families make an adjusted gross income of less than $100,000, and who aren’t enrolled full time and take 30 credits per year, the number is students left is 31,300 — 21,800 of which are four-year students and 9,500 are two-year — or 5 percent, according to the presentation. “It seems very low,” said SUNY Trustee Cary Staller.

“I just can’t imagine what’s going to happen when Joe and Jane taxpayer, who have heard all this publicity about free college, and 5 percent of our SUNY students are eligible,” trustee Nina Tamrowski said at the board’s finance and administration committee meeting. “I’m thinking, wow, that’s going to be so disappointing.”

In the north country, the percentages are a little higher.

SUNY Canton estimates about 300 currently enrolled students, or 9.4 percent, will be eligible for the Excelsior Scholarship, according to SUNY Canton Financial Aid Director Kerrie L. Cooper.

Between 1,000 and 1,200 currently enrolled SUNY Potsdam students, or 30 percent, will be eligible, according to SUNY Potsdam Financial Aid Director Susan E. Godreau.

Officials with Jefferson Community College in Jefferson County declined to comment on the Excelsior Scholarship to wait for more information about the program.

JCC currently has 2,103 full-time students and 1,697 part-time students. Full-time students average 14 credits per semester, and 34 percent of those students take 15 or more credits per semester.

At JCC, 57 percent of students receive some form of federal aid, 69 percent receive state or local grants and scholarships, and 13 percent receive institutional grants and scholarships.

College and private donors may begin to change how their scholarships are granted, specifically tagging them for room and board or books rather than tuition, so the students can get the most out of the Excelsior scholarship.

Donor-funded scholarships awarded to SUNY Potsdam students through the Potsdam College Foundation are not restricted to tuition, and may be applied to the overall cost of attendance (including room and board, fees and books), according to Alexandra Jacobs-Wilke, spokeswoman for SUNY Potsdam.

“We still waiting to hear more details about how the program will work to assess its impact for scholarship recipients,” Ms. Jacobs-Wilke said.

Times staff writer Brian Molongoski contributed to this report.

Congressmen Call On CUNY to Revoke Invite to Anti-Israel Linda Sarsour Lawmaker: Taxpayer-funded university's commencement speaker 'embarrassing'

BY: Brent Scher May 5, 2017 4:35 pm United States congressmen are turning up the heat on the City University of New York (CUNY) over its decision to have anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour deliver its commencement address next month.

Reps. Daniel Donovan (R., N.Y.) and Lee Zeldin (R., N.Y.) are both urging CUNY to revoke its invitation to Sarsour, citing numerous inflammatory comments directed towards Israel and arguing that students and their families should not be subjected to this type of speaker on graduation day.

Donovan, who was born in New York City, sent a letter to CUNY chancellor James Milliken earlier this week calling the taxpayer-funded university's decision to honor Sarsour an "embarrassment," citing her history of anti-Semitism and sexist remarks.

"I could not disagree more with the CUNY administration's decision," Donovan wrote in his letter. "It is, in my opinion, an embarrassment to the university to host a speaker with a history of derogatory, sexist, and anti-Semitic remarks to deliver the 2017 commencement address." Donovan argues in his letter that it would be different if Sarsour was invited to speak at CUNY for an academic event, but inviting her to headline what is supposed to be a celebratory event is crossing a line.

"A distinction exists between a university allowing those with alternative—even incendiary— viewpoints to express their positions free from obstruction, and actively embracing deeply controversial positions by forcing hateful rhetoric upon students who wish to attend their graduation ceremony," Donovan wrote.

"Academic institutions have an obligation to permit intellectual exploration, and that includes allowing speakers to peacefully express their ideas," he wrote. "But commencement speeches are flagship events representing the culmination of years of studies for students and their families."

"In my opinion, it is disrespectful to taint an otherwise celebratory event by subjecting students who wish to take part in their own graduation ceremony to such a vitriolic and disparaging speaker." "The invitation for Linda Sarsour to be the CUNY commencement speaker should be revoked," Zeldin told the Free Beacon. "This is an individual who has called Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘a waste of a human being,' and has encouraged terrorism, among many more controversial and disgusting statements."

"This is a special and very hard earned day for the graduates and their families and to force all of them to listen to someone so controversial and objectionable shows an extreme lack of concern on the part of the university," Zeldin said.

Donovan pointed in his letter towards Sarsour's embrace of convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh, who spent 10 years in Israeli prison for killing two in a bombing but was released in a prisoner exchange. Sarsour said it was an "honor and privilege" to share a stage with Odeh.

Donovan also directed Milliken towards Sarsour's statements that genital mutilation victim Ayaan Hirsi Ali deserved to have her vagina taken away, and that it is impossible for anybody to be both a feminist and a supporter of Israel.

CUNY representatives did not return requests for comment on the messages from the congressmen.

Mort Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America and a leading Jewish voice, argued similarly that CUNY is misrepresenting the issue as one regarding free speech in its defense of inviting Sarsour. "CUNY is promoting the lie that this is an issue of free speech and academic freedom," Klein said. "CUNY is not obligated to invite Linda Sarsour or anybody else as its commencement speaker."

Klein, who describes Sarsour as a "horrible person, a Jew-hater, and an Israel basher," said that it should be troubling for Jews across the country that "outright Jew hatred" is becoming an acceptable stance to institutions such as CUNY.

"It's the height of insensitive, especially in a city like New York, to invite a woman who promotes hatred towards Jews and Israel and promotes radical Islamic terrorism by praising Jew-killers by name, by praising the Arab terror war against Israel," Klein said.

"Her speaking at CUNY, frighteningly, is helping to legitimize and mainstream anti-Semitism and radical Islamic terrorism."

CUNY has stood by its decision to invite Sarsour, with one of its deans, Ayman El-Mohandes, stating that the intention is to "celebrate women in leadership." "This will be a very special and meaningful commencement for all of us," El-Mohandes said in a statement. "I hope to see you all there to celebrate women in leadership."

Chancellor Milliken has attempted to distance himself from Sarsour's views, such as her support for the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, while at the same time defending his decision not to revoke his invite for her to speak.

"CUNY's leadership and I personally have been a strong and consistent opponent of BDS, a movement Ms. Sarsour reportedly supports," Milliken said. "But the fact that Ms. Sarsour might hold views that are controversial cannot be the basis for withdrawing an invitation to speak."

Sarsour is scheduled to deliver her speech at CUNY on June 1.