Every Day is Magic: Ada Limón
In her 2015 collection, Bright Dead Things, a National Book Award finalist for poetry, Ada Limón writes of moving to Kentucky: “Confession: I did not want to live here.” It’s perhaps not a surprising sentiment coming from a coastally oriented person who was raised in Northern California, attended college in Seattle, and then spent over a decade in New York City.
But Limón and her husband, Lucas, have been in Lexington for seven years now and the effects of settling into this place are noticeable in her new book, The Carrying (Milkweed, Aug.). It’s a phenomenally lively and attentive collection replete with the trappings of living a little closer to nature. While Bright Dead Things is marked by a preponderance of light, such as images of fireflies and neon signs, The Carrying features numerous appearances by various trees, birds, and beetles. Limón also demonstrates a greater willingness to be explicit in naming colors, particularly green. “It’s crazy green, the whole book,” she says. “Lexington is the greenest place I’ve ever lived.” Similarly, where in Bright Dead Things, Limón tells a lot of stories and anecdotes, in The Carrying she is very present in her thoughts and experiences.
As it turns out, these shifts in focus have another, altogether unexpected source. While putting Bright Dead Things together, Limón was diagnosed with chronic vestibular neuronitis, which can cause bouts of vertigo. “If I’m really having vertigo, it’s pretty intense and I really have to focus,”
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A Nomadic Life Draws Writer To Border Lands, Meet Stephanie Elizondo Griest
Stephanie Elizondo Griest grew up between two cultural identities: her father is white from Kansas, and her mother is Chicana, or Mexican-American.
As a young child she discovered that when she identified as Chicana, she had access to fewer opportunities, and doors that were once open seemed to close. She later spent decades re-discovering Mexican-American culture and fought to highlight the stories of those living at both cultural and physical borders…
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Savoring the Spanish of My Youth, as the Language Marches On
ALBUQUERQUE — Something about the languages we speak fascinates me.
Roaming around Latin America as a correspondent for more than a decade, I wrote about Palenquero, a Creole language kept alive by descendants of runaway slaves in northern Colombia; Sranan Tongo, Suriname’s lingua franca; Papiamentu, the vibrant language of Curaçao; and even learned how to say “Mba’éichapa?” — How are you? — in Guaraní, the indigenous language that holds sway in Paraguay.
When I returned to the United States in July, I wondered what it would be like to live in a country where the Spanish language is so politicized that some speakers are facing new hostility. I was puzzled as to why Spanish seemed so threatening in an English-speaking superpower. I asked myself, what does the future hold for Spanish in the United States and around the world?…
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Professor Monica Varsanyis NEH-Funded Research Looks at Hispanic Identity in New Mexico
Monica Varsanyi, associate professor of political science at John Jay College, obtained a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for her research project, “The Contentious Evolution of Hispanic Identity During the Chicano Movement in New Mexico, 1962-1974,” which she has been working on this summer.
The project is inspired by research Varsanyi first conducted for Policing Immigrants: Local Law Enforcement on the Front Lines, a book she co-authored with Doris Marie Provine (along with Paul Lewis and Scott Decker), who is also part of the NEH project. During her research, Varsanyi became fascinated with the dynamic between New Mexico and Arizona, two neighboring states with much in common but vastly different stances on immigration policy. Arizona, for example, does not allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state college tuition while New Mexico does. Similarly, Arizona doesn’t allow undocumented people to hold a driver’s license, while New Mexico was one of the first states to extend this privilege to that community. Arizona has among the strictest, most conservative immigration policies in the nation while New Mexico’s policies are among the most liberal…
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How can higher ed institutions increase access for high-achieving, low-income students?
A new report from the Jack Kent Coolke Foundation found well-off students outnumber their low-income peers at selective colleges 24:1.
“Selective colleges and universities must commit to expanding access for high-achieving, low-income students and opening the doors of our higher education system to students based on true merit rather than family income,” Jennifer Glynn, Ph.D. wrote in the report, “Opening Doors: How Selective Colleges and Universities Are Expanding Access for High-Achieving, Low-Income Students.”…
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Look to Latinos to drive US economic growth
The one thing President Trump, Democrats, the chattering class and, most importantly, the American public can agree upon is the need for higher U.S. economic growth. An analysis from June 28, Latino GDP Report, highlights the Latino contribution to the U.S. economy. It provides helpful insight to our country’s challenge of creating greater economic growth.
President Trump promises annual GDP growth of 3 percent, the average rate after World War II. Until recently, we had averaged 2.3 percent. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) today projects, absent fundamental changes in economic policy, GDP growth of 1.8 percent in the foreseeable future. Why the recent slowdown in economic growth and the pessimistic CBO forecast?…
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Latino Food Industry Association launches
LOS ANGELES — The Latino Food Industry Association (LFIA) announced its official launch to serve its members and educate the public and policy makers on the contributions and significant impact made buy Latino-owned food businesses on the US economy.
“Given the Hispanic market’s $1.5 trillion in annual buying power and the rapid growth of Hispanic-owned businesses in the food and beverage segment, many of our members felt it was time to launch the LFIA to maximize our position in the industry,” said Ruben Smith, LFIA chairman. “Our members include grocery chains…
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VIDEO: 5 Oakland police officers of Mexican heritage recognized for outstanding service in the community
OAKLAND (KRON) — Five police officers of Mexican heritage were recognized Thursday for their outstanding service in the community.
The ceremony took place at the consulate general office of Mexico in San Francisco.
The five officers were chosen by their peers in the Oakland Police Department.
The consulate general says this is the first time Mexican officers from the Bay Area received honorary recognition from his office…
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Cal State to no longer mandate remedial classes and placement exams
In an executive order, State Chancellor Timothy P. White, directed Cal State to get rid of the requirement that students complete noncredit remedial classes to help prepare them for college courses — a decision which could affect about 25,000 students. The schools will also discontinue Math and English placement exams.
The policy change, which will go into effect in the fall of 2018, comes after Cal State had pledged to more than double its four-year graduation rate to 40% by 2025. According to the Los Angeles Times, it also arrives after many have begun questioning how helpful remedial classes really are, with concern that the noncredit courses which must be completed in a student’s first year may spur many students to drop out…
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Webster University targets drop-outs for re-enrollment
According to 2015 data reported in Forbes, 22% of Americans have attended some college without reaching graduation.
The reasons students may drop out of college or discontinue taking classes are greatly varied, but nearly half of prospective college students are concerned they may have to drop out at some point in their academic careers.
Michael Cottam, the associate vice president for academic affairs and the director of the Online Learning Center at Webster University, said many of the students who have discontinued classes and degree programs at his institution face the crush of numerous personal and professional responsibilities. But now, it is these students Webster is targeting for re-enrollment, hoping to move the number of individuals with a degree forward…
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Mexican Philosophy in the 20th Century
CA Sanchez, RE Sanchez – 2017
… into English. We were also acutely aware that since this anthology was meant to
represent Mexican philosophy, the decision about what and whom to include should
not be left entirely to two Mexican-Americans. The project …
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Tony Ortega paints the Chicano experience in Denver
HIGHLAND — “My purpose is to preserve Mexican-Americans’ cultural identity, while walking alongside the dominant culture,” says Tony Ortega, a Northwest Denver artist and associate professor at Regis University.
In La Marcha de Ernesto Che Lincoln, the face of Che Guevara is superimposed over the Lincoln memorial. Ortega pulls images from both cultures to make social statements.
Ortega’s art juxtaposes the two cultures in sometimes humorous ways. “I mix American pop culture with Mexican pop culture, like putting Chicano leaders on Mt. Rushmore and Our Lady of Guadalupe as the Statue of Liberty. My Mickey Mouse is a Day of the Dead character and Captain America is Capitano Americano, who fights for dreamers. The images are pulled from both cultures, overlapped and juxtaposed. They are silly but they are also social statements.”…
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Aspen Ideas Festival: Being Latino in America today
There are 55 million Hispanics in the United States, and demographers expect Latinos will account for half of America’s population growth, and a substantial amount of economic growth as well.
Former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros says Latinos are the biggest story in the whole multicultural evolution of the United States — despite their exclusion from most history books, which tend to look only at white and black issues.
“Over the last 50 years we have made immense progress,” Cisneros said during a panel discussion at the Aspen Ideas Festival, June 29, 2017. “(People) understand our economic contribution, that mainstream economics idea. This country’s future workforce, its health of its social security system, its entrepreneurial new business formations is all about the role Latinos are going to play.”…
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Number of minorities, women taking CS is skyrocketing thanks to STEM collaborations
- Following implementation of a new type of computer science option last fall — AP Computer Science Principles, which puts real-world perspectives on coding — data from 2016 to 2017 shows the number of minorities taking a computer science exam in some form nearly tripled to 22,199, up from 8,283, while the number of girls taking it rose from 12,642 to 29,708.
- AP CSP was born out of a collaboration between the National Science Foundation, College Board and Code.org, along with other authorized providers, who are rolling out the course and training teachers to facilitate it, reports NPR — and over half of the schools teaching the course are using curriculum from Code.org, which trained 500 teachers last year…
Mexican American Proarchive: Annual Report on Mexican American Professionals
News from the census American Community Survey is generally good for the 2015 year. Mexican American college enrollment was up from 18.7% to 18.9% in the 2014 and 2015 years. Graduate or professional degree attainment was also up from 2.9% to 3.0%. The number of bachelor’s degrees granted to Mexican American students rose from 7.6% in 2014 to 7.8% in 2015.
| 2012-15 COLLEGE ENROLLMENT | ||||||||
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |||||
| Total Population | Mexican Americans | Total Population | Mexican Americans | Total Population | Mexican Americans | Total Population | Mexican Americans | |
| College Enrollment | 28.80% | 18.20% | 28.30% | 18.10% | 28.00% | 18.70% | 27.80% | 18.90% |
| 2012-15 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT | ||||||||
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |||||
| Total Population | Mexican Americans | Total Population | Mexican Americans | Total Population | Mexican Americans | Total Population | Mexican Americans | |
| Graduate or Professional Degree | 10.90% | 2.90% | 11.20% | 2.80% | 11.40% | 2.90% | 11.60% | 3.00% |
| Bachelor’s Degree | 18.20% | 7.00% | 18.40% | 7.30% | 18.70% | 7.60% | 19.00% | 7.80% |
| Associate’s Degree | 29.20% | 21.90% | 29.20% | 21.80% | 29.10% | 22.20% | 29.00% | 22.10% |
In spite of these gains, Mexican Americans still remain at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to earning a bachelor’s degree. Even after broadening the group to Latinos or Hispanics, this group still lags behind. According to the Pew Hispanic Center: “As of 2014, among Hispanics ages 25 to 29, just 15% of Hispanics have a bachelor’s degree or higher. By comparison, among the same age group, about 41% of whites have a bachelor’s degree or higher (as do 22% of blacks and 63% of Asians).” Pew reports that the main reasons for this low graduation rate is that Hispanics are less likely “to enroll in a four-year college, attend an academically selective college and enroll full-time.”
Also in the good news column, the University of California will continue to push for a greater number of underrepresented minorities; namely, Chicano/Latino students whose resident freshmen numbers rose from 2.7% to 32.3% of admitted California freshmen. In other good news, the proportion of Chicano/Latino students transferring from community colleges increased to 29.3% from 26.8% for 2015.
| UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA | ||
| Prior to 2015 | 2015 | |
| Chicano/Latino of admitted California Freshmen | 2.70% | 32.30% |
| Chicano/Latino transferring from Community Colleges | 26.80% | 29.30% |
Occupations, including those in management, business, science, and art, fared better for Mexican Americans. The number of Mexican Americans filling these occupations rose from 17.4% in 2014 to 17.5% in 2015.
| 2012-15 OCCUPATIONS | ||||||||
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |||||
| Total Population | Mexican Americans | Total Population | Mexican Americans | Total Population | Mexican Americans | Total Population | Mexican Americans | |
| Management, Business, Science, & Art Occupations | 36.10% | 16.60% | 36.30% | 16.70% | 36.90% | 17.40% | 37.10% | 17.50% |
The total number of Hispanics filling these occupations was 16.1% in 2015, a bit lower than Mexican Americans specifically.
Percentage of industry employment that is of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2014 annual averages
| Industry sector | Percent |
| Construction | 27.3% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting | 23.1 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 22.3 |
| Other services | 19.0 |
| Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 18.6 |
| Transportation and utilities | 17.2 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 16.4 |
| Total, all industries | 16.1 |
| Professional and business services | 16.0 |
| Manufacturing | 15.8 |
| Education and health services | 11.5 |
| Public administration | 11.4 |
| Financial activities | 11.3 |
Information
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The report shows that industrial employment for Mexican Americans remained the same for 2014 and 2015 at 10.2%.
| 2012-15 INDUSTRY | ||||||||
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |||||
| Total Population | Mexican Americans | Total Population | Mexican Americans | Total Population | Mexican Americans | Total Population | Mexican Americans | |
| Professional, Scientific, Management, Administrative, & Waste Management Services, Occupations | 10.90% | 10.20% | 11.10% | 10.20% | 11.40% | 10.20% | 11.30% | 10.20% |
The figures for Hispanic or Latino employment for 2015 and 2016 show a healthy increase.
According to the Pew Hispanic center, “Construction, professional and business services, health services, financial services and food services…showed healthy gains.” Most of the jobs gained by native-born Hispanic workers were in manufacturing, mostly durable goods (82,000 Hispanic workers in this industry), followed by wholesale and retail trade (79,000), publishing, broadcasting, communication and information services (55,000), and construction (54,000).
Foreign-born Hispanics had the most job gains in construction (417,000), followed by business and professional services (179,000). Together, those two industries accounted for almost three-quarters (74%) of all jobs gained by foreign-born Latinos between 2005 and 2006.
The business and professional services sector, which ranges from management and technical services to janitorial, landscaping, and waste management services, is also a key employer for non-Hispanic workers. Of the total increase in employment in 2005-06, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 410,000 employees in the industry, native-born workers 327,000, and foreign-born workers 83,000.
Sources
Census Bureau, Selected Population Profile in the United States 2015
Pew Research Center
University of California
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Facebook Researchers Shut Down Artificial Intelligence That Created It’s Own Language
Facebook has recently developed a new artificial intelligence (AI), and it has since created its own language using code words to communicate more efficiently. Researchers promptly shut the system down over concerns that they might lose control over the A.I.
This isn’t the first time AIs have diverged from their training in the English language to develop their own, more efficient language. While the resulting phrases from this condensed method of communication sound like gibberish to the human ear, they do in fact make semantic sense when interpreted by AI agents…
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Rising Minority
K De Angelis – Inclusion in the American Military: A Force for …, 2017 – books.google.com
As one of the largest and fastest growing minority groups in the United States, Hispanics are
reshaping the major institutions of American life, including the military. The all-volunteer
military now has more racial and ethnic minorities, more women, and more women who are…
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Culturally-relevant pedagogy critical to meet needs of today’s students
Educators must work to find better ways of building culturally relevant curriculum and reconfiguring their approach to pedagogy as they work with students, says Dr. Christopher Emdin, an associate professor with Teacher’s College, Columbia University.
During a presentation at the school this week, Emdin cautioned that incorporating cultural insight into teaching could be problematic, particularly when educators utilize their own biased preconceptions of how they think culture can manifest in classroom instruction.
Higher ed IT still struggles with diversity
Though the field of IT in higher education has diversified during the last five years, survey data from 2015 indicates that there are still gaps in representation when it comes to age, gender and ethnicity — and only 12% are Millennials, despite that age group comprising 34% of the country’s overall workforce, according to Ed Tech: Focus on Higher Ed.
Minority workers only represent about 15% of higher ed’s IT workforce, though they also make up 34% of the country’s workforce, and their numbers jumped 5% over a five-year span from 2010 to 2015…
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High Impact
Growing up in Old Town Goleta, Britt Ortiz used to ride his bicycle to UC Santa Barbara on warm summer afternoons to swim in the campus pool. Little did he know he’d play water polo in that same pool during high school and college, or that his professional career would land him at UCSB decades later…
Amazing
I just learned of this new thing ……
