Drawing on pre-pandemic data, Robert Zemsky predicted that 20% of higher education institutions were in danger of shuttering.
Amalia Daché spoke about the mistreatment of protesters in Cuba. “Cuba is a political apartheid. There is definitely racial discrimination happening in Cuba,” she said. “When Cuba gets a cold, Afro-Cubans get the flu, and they die.”
Jonathan Zimmerman posed tough questions about who will instruct students about the January 6, 2021, insurrection. Most of our history teachers, he says, are not adequately educated for that task.
Tina Fletcher figured out her life’s purpose when she met her ninth-grade civics teacher. Mrs. Payne was Black, like Fletcher, and was one of the first teachers of color Fletcher had in her rural Arkansas town. “I knew from that point forward I had to be a social studies teacher,” Fletcher said. “I could see myself.”
Laura Perna said that applying for financial aid can be complicated for students. However, the Alamo Promise program, which provides students in Texas with free tuition and additional services, sends “a clear message with no fine print,” she said.
Joni Finney spoke about the impact of rising college costs on low-income families, saying, “For these families the high cost of college is not a perception but a reality that they must deal with.”
Jonathan Zimmerman proposed a domestic sister city program to alleviate partisan divisions and remind Americans of their commonalities.