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Editorial: Flunking the Test (Boston Globe 04/11/13)
Starting this spring, Rhode Island high school seniors will have to pass the New England Common Assessment Program to get their diploma. The new requirement is the latest effort by the Rhode Island Department of Education to improve low-performing high schools. But does high-stakes testing ensure the state’s students are properly prepared to succeed in a twenty-first century workforce? A group of local high school students is raising the question.
The Providence Student Union, a student-led advocacy group, last month organized an event at which fifty prominent Rhode Islanders took a shortened version of the math NECAP. Sixty percent of the test-takers — among them elected officials, attorneys, scientists, engineers, reporters, college professors, and directors of leading nonprofits — failed to score at least "partially proficient," the standard education officials have set for graduation. Under the new rules, many of those fifty successful individuals would not have been allowed to graduate....
Op-Ed: Creativity Is the Currency, Nay, Philanthropy of Our Generation (Huffington Post 04/10/13)
There is something really interesting happening all around us. It's a collision of the unique attributes of rising millennial generation, increasing social impact and our evolving economy. What's resulted is a shift in currency. And, no, it's not the loss of the Canadian penny (RIP, little loonie).
I strongly believe that one thing that sets millennials apart from the generations before us is our creative savvy. Millennials make. We create. Look at the rise of the DIY culture, the creative class, the increasing accessibility of creative technology and resources -- millennials are poised to change the world through their creative talents. And these creative talents are what comprise the currency of this generation, especially as it applies to how and where millennials "spend."...
Op-Ed: Learning From Sandy: Looking Back and Thinking Ahead (Huffington Post 04/10/13)
This month marks the six-month anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. In the months since the storm, we've seen a tremendous outpouring of philanthropy and volunteerism. Here in New York City, it was heartening to see volunteers spring into action and donors give so generously.
I wish I could say the story is over. But the truth is that we haven't yet seen the true long-term impact of Sandy on many of our communities....
Op-Ed: We Are Not Newcomers or Bystanders: Asian Americans and the Struggle for Immigration Reform (Huffington Post 04/10/13)
Taking part in the immigrant rights rally in Washington D.C. on April 10th is significant for me, not only as an immigrant and an advocate for racial justice, but as an Asian American. Despite common perceptions, Asian Americans are neither newcomers nor bystanders in the struggle for equality of immigrants in the United States. We are inheritors of a history of restrictive and racist immigration policies, from the Chinese Exclusion Act to quotas limiting migration from Asian countries to the post 9/11 program called NSEERS (National Security Entry/Exit Registration System).
We are also the beneficiaries of the courageous acts of people such as Takao Ozawa, Bhagat Singh Thind and many others who challenged unfair immigration policies at the beginning of the twentieth century. This history of resilience and struggle continues today, as Asian American DREAMers, exploited workers, detained immigrants, and separated family members share stories of hardship and mistreatment, and call for changes to our country's broken immigration system....
Op-Ed: Why the Global Fund Is a Terrific Investment (Huffington Post 04/08/13)
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced today that it will need $15 billion to continue its life-saving work. If the world comes together to meet this replenishment goal, it will build on one of its greatest achievements of the past decade by saving millions more lives. HIV, TB, and malaria are three of the world's biggest killers, but thanks to the Global Fund we are starting to make significant progress in controlling them. Now is the time for governments and other donors to make new pledges to the Fund (you can help by getting involved with groups such as the ONE Campaign.)
The Global Fund is a central player in the progress being achieved on HIV, TB and malaria. It channels resources to help countries fight these diseases. I believe in its impact because I have seen it firsthand. Last summer while I was in Zambia I met Florence Daka, an HIV-positive mother of four. Florence is living proof of the tremendous progress we've made in HIV — she not only leads a healthy life, but her young son Stephen was born HIV free thanks to the antiretroviral treatment....
Op-Ed: Turning STEM Into STEAM With Arts Education (Seattle Times 04/06/13)
I tell people that I am a native of Seattle, but that I only knew it before it became cool. The creative economy hadn't really happened yet — Boeing was the booming Microsoft equivalent back then; there was nascent grunge music and no coffee culture to speak of.
But amid the rain, and the fog, and the rain, and the rain, Seattle was home to the beginning of my journey traversing the fields of technology, art, and design....
Op-Ed: Support Vulnerable Minnesotans With Full Funding of Homeless Youth Act (Minn Post 04/02/13)
The voice mail is typical of those left every day at Hope Street Emergency Shelter. A young man — with both desperation and exhaustion obvious in his voice — left the message: "(I) was told to call twice a day, every day, for a bed so I'm calling to check on a bed for a 19-year-old."
On most nights throughout Minnesota, more than 2,500 young people find shelter wherever they can. Hope Street, an emergency shelter in south Minneapolis operated by Catholic Charities, can serve twenty-eight at a time. Last year, Hope Street received more than 1,900 calls from youth and those who work with homeless young people. The same scene plays out around the state. Forty percent of Minnesota's homeless youth are in greater Minnesota communities and 10 percent are in Twin Cities suburbs....
Op-Ed: New Tax Provision on Deductions Won't Hurt Charitable Giving (Boston Globe 04/01/13)
In the recent tax legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff, Congress reinstated a limitation on itemized deductions for affluent taxpayers, known as Pease (after its original author, the late Rep. Donald Pease). Under Pease, itemized deductions are modestly reduced depending on how much a taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds a specified threshold — $250,000 for an individual and $300,000 for a married couple.
Many commentators have voiced concerns that Pease will discourage wealthy taxpayers from making charitable donations. However, these concerns are misguided. Even under Pease, virtually all affluent taxpayers will be able to get the full deduction for any additional gifts to charity....
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