Many students enrolled in the City University of New York (CUNY) have had the relatable experience of seeing the dreaded blue square next to a course title on CUNYFirst, the student class portal, just minutes before their registration slot, indicating that a class that they wished to sign up for has already been filled. As a result, registration dates and class capacity are easily two of the most stressful factors in ensuring a fulfilling semester to follow and in some cases, a timely graduation. For the past 30 years, CUNY has reported below-average four-year graduation rates. According to College Factual, only 56.1% of the Class of 2011’s freshmen in CUNY…
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Israel and the United Arab Emirates agree to a historic normalization accord
On August 31, at 11:14 a.m. local time, a large El Al Boeing 737 aircraft departed from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to make the first direct commercial flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates. The flight, which carried both U.S. and Israeli political figures, such as Jared Kushner, senior advisor to the President of the United States, and Meir Ben Shabbat, Israel’s advisor of national security, marked the easing of a half-century of tensions between Israel and the United Arab Emirates through a recent peace agreement. The Abraham Accord, agreed to by leaders of the two countries less than three weeks before the historic flight departed and…
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How Queens College hopes to keep Journalism alive
One of a number of historic changes made in Queens College over the past semester is the closing of the Journalism program, which has made it increasingly difficult for students to have a collective voice on campus. Many students and faculty members impacted by the change have banded together to preserve the last of the Journalism clubs in QC by combining the efforts of a number of writing groups on campus. Up until the end of the Spring 2020 semester, QC’s Urban Studies Department offered an 18 credit Journalism minor. This program provided students with the opportunity to keep up with the ever-evolving technical skills necessary to pursue a successful…
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Uyghur, China Muslim Population: Victims of Inhumane Treatment
In an era in which it is typical for people to take to the streets to protest a cause, there has been an overwhelming silence regarding a particular human rights issue: the Chinese oppression of the Uyghur population. Recent media releases, including New York Times footage of the forced labor of the ethnic minority, have brought forth the question- Who are the Uyghurs and why are they suffering in silence? The Uyghurs (pronounced wee-gr) are a mostly-Muslim minority ethnic group that mainly inhabit Xinjiang China, which is also referred to as East Turkestan or the Uyghur Autonomous Region. About 12 million Uyghurs are assumed to live inside the Uyghur homeland,…
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NYC’s Oldest Language Institute Closes at Queens College
Amidst the disorienting effects of the coronavirus pandemic, many seemingly smaller personal tragedies have gone unnoticed. These encompass a number of harsh economic blows, such as nearly 110,000 small American businesses shutting down, or even closer to home – the ESL (English as a Second Language) department of Queens College closing its doors. The English Language Institute (ELI) of Queens College, also referred to as the English as a Second Language department, is the oldest language institute in New York City, and the second oldest in the entire United States. According to their webpage, they have been active since 1945 and serve to provide an easier transition for immigrants seeking…
