Dear friends,
I spend a lot of time talking and thinking about racism. It is in the nature of systemic problems to infect many issues and interactions. As young people anxiously await college acceptance letters, there’s yet another opportunity to think and talk about racism.
The same people who so often express discomfort with reparations and affirmative action are the beneficiaries of a college admissions system that rewards them (and their forebears and their children) for being historical winners in the race lottery.
Here’s an opportunity to help make white privilege illegal.
A new bill in the state Legislature seeks to bar New York’s colleges and universities from using legacy preferences in admissions, just as progressives around the country are mounting similar efforts to end the practice.
The bill, A9505/S8498, is explicit about its intent. It
declares [legacy and early admissions] policies and practices to be discriminatory and inequitable.
Schools that do not comply would face penalties to fund Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) grants. The penalties would be a tithe (10 percent) on the tuition paid by the previous year’s freshman class.
Call on your state legislators to co-sponsor this important legislation! The action is ready-made!
Here in Assembly District 43, we have a special election to fill the seat left vacant by Diana Richardson when she was tapped to be Borough President Antonio Reynoso’s deputy. If this is your district, too, just a loving reminder that early voting starts tomorrow and election day is Tuesday 3/22.
Brian Cunningham secured the nomination from the Brooklyn Democratic County Committee last month. That is not, however, the basis for my support of Cunningham.
Vote for Brian Cunningham.
It probably won’t surprise you to know that I vote in every election and that I worked for Cunningham when he ran against my city councilman in 2017. He is also endorsed by my current council rep, whom I admire enormously.
AND, I easily could have missed this special election, because it is truly happening on the low. Part of that is the nature of special elections, which don’t follow a regular schedule.
The New York City Board of Elections has been criticized for years for recurring calamities that have plagued New York City elections cycle after cycle – poor interpretation services, long lines at the ballot box, misprinted absentee ballots, an illegal voter purge; the list goes on. In many cases, a tradition of political patronage and nepotism has led to incompetence, enabled by the Board's explicitly partisan structure, lack of professionalization, and weak oversight from city and state officials.
Just last week, more than 40,000 NYC voters were sent a warning that their registration was in jeopardy unless they verified their addresses, even though they had not recently relocated and many had voted in the November mayoral election.
The BOE blamed this on their vendor.
While the BOE is encouraging anyone who received the notice to complete it and send it back, [BOE Executive Director] Ryan said they also plan to send a second notice to voters who received the form in error to alert them to the mistake, confirm they are still an active voter and stress that no additional action is needed.
The bill in question, A5691C, would sunset the terms of the current board members and set qualifications
to ensure that commissioners have the skills and knowledge to exercise the responsibilities and duties of their position.
This bill needs a push in the Assembly. I do not have an assembly rep at the moment. If you do, please write them a quick email to ask them to support reforms of the NYC Board of Election.
Contact your Assembly member to ask them to support A5691.
Have a great weekend!
with love,
L