Dear Editors, We’re writing as the Directors of First Year Writing and the First Year Experience with support from the Chair of the English Department, because we see plans evolving for the fall that trouble us greatly. We think our students will be troubled, too, when these plans become public, so we want to tell you about them now, while we still have time to change them. As the college considers how to cut its budget for the fall, it’s weighing a proposal to raise the class size in English 110 from twenty students to twenty-five. That increase may not sound significant—we’re talking about five students, or an increase of…
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Who are our student leaders? Student Affairs Award Winners, a Profile
The Student Affairs division of Queens College has recently announced winners for their seven awards, which encompass dedication and commitment to servicing the QC community, as well as demonstrating commitment to humanitarian causes in other areas. On behalf of the Knight News Staff, I would like to congratulate all the recipients for their commendable contributions and achievements. I recently caught up with a few students to talk about their experiences and impact on our community. The first award, the Burton L. Backner Student Affairs Award, granted five hundred dollars to a full-time undergraduate student that consistently participated in student affairs and student services on campus. Burt Backner was the Dean…
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Black Lives Matter: The Movement Sweeping the Nation
New York City is one of the many states protesting “Black Lives Matter” throughout the streets of the five boroughs as well as in front of our very own Queens College. The protests began shortly after George Floyd’s death on May 25, he was arrested in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes which led to Floyd’s death. The people of Minneapolis rioted the day of Floyd’s death and it has led the Black Lives Matter movement to spread to the 50 states as well as other countries around the world. According to the Black Lives Matter Foundation, “ [the movement] began as…
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A One-Day Trip Back to the Age Before Technology
On Tuesday, June 2, Blackout Tuesday was an initiative to go silent on social media and stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement which has grown larger after the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many others before them from racial prejudice and police brutality. When it first started, these posts had the hashtag #BLM or #BlackLivesMatter. Later in the day, the hashtag was #BlackoutTuesday or #TheShowMustBePaused. The initiative started from music executives Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang who created theshowmustbepaused.com. This was done “in observance of the long-standing racism and inequality that exists from the boardroom to the boulevard.” It was shown as…
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George Floyd: Public Execution in the Modern Age
“I can’t breathe,” were the last words George Floyd, 46, spoke before falling unconscious and eventually dying two minutes and 53 seconds later on May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Moments before this, Floyd was accused of trying to use a ‘fake’ twenty dollar bill to pay for a pack of cigarettes, resulting in the store owner calling the police. Sadly, Floyd was unaware that these next few minutes, his last moments, would be spent facedown on the ground, handcuffed, and pleading for air. Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, the two responding officers, approached Floyd’s vehicle while Officer Lane already had his weapon drawn. He did not holster his gun…
