Dear friends,
I am not liking the direction of the COVID numbers. In NYC, cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are all up sharply in the last two weeks. And again, because we have not learned our lesson, our leaders are yielding to pressure to relax precautions.
Let’s talk about prom. As a person with a poor sense of occasion, I’ve always struggled to understand what prom means to so many young people.
But I do recognize its outsize importance: the threat of missing prom often had greater impact on a student’s behavior than the threat of not graduating on time. And I have worked for more than one principal who refused to take away prom from a student, even when they had violated community norms in serious ways.
The education department had previously said it would require proof of vaccination in order for students to attend the milestone event.
The milestone event in that sentence refers to prom. [Graduation should not require vaccination until there is a vaccine requirement for school enrollment. Sadly, that seems unlikely to happen in time for the coming school year.]
Officials do recommend students wear a high quality mask to prom.
They’re kidding, right?
Prom is a red carpet event of fashion and elaborate hair and make-up. It is a hugfest and involves singing, laughing, group photos, kissing, and dancing on crowded dance floors. There will not be a lot of masking, though there may be the occasional spangled and fabulous mask.
These events are likely to be superspreader events. This is not the right parting gift —nor the right lesson — for our young people.
It is a dereliction of responsibility to remove the vaccination rule for prom. For students who are vaccinated and have continued to wear masks in school (they are legion), it may feel too risky to go to prom if others are not vaccinated.
Participation in many extra-curricular events, including sports, has required proof of vaccination. As young adults, they have already had to make choices about their health and their bodies. They have had to weigh official requirements — like the workers and college students they will become — against many other considerations.
The mayor said he wants to
encourage anyone who hasn’t yet gotten vaccinated to do so.
Mandates have been the most effective encouragement.
Contact the mayor and tell him to put the vaccination requirement back in place for prom. This is a 30-second action.
Our collective relentlessness has contributed to the thousands of comments that the Climate Action Council has received thus far from the public. This is how we shape the plan intended to guide our state’s transition off fossil fuels and toward climate justice.
NY Renews has created a new comment on public health for this week.
Use this 15-second (!) action from NY Renews to let our state legislators know that we want detailed public health guidelines and land-use plans to ensure green space in disadvantaged communities.
The NYVRA is intended to fill gaps in the federal Voting Rights Act, which the US Supreme Court has largely dismantled over the last decade. The bill would give the New York Attorney General "preclearance" authority over any proposed changes to voting in parts of the state with a history of disenfranchisement (the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan had previously been covered under the federal VRA). That authority could apply to anything from the placement of poll-sites to the provision of interpreters.
Contact your Assembly Rep today to urge them to get voting rights legislation passed! This will take 30 seconds!
On Tuesday, I wrote about the risks and the importance of telling the truth. The next day, Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian journalist who reported for Al Jazeera, died while reporting on an operation by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Abu Akleh, reported from the West Bank in 2002, when the IDF invaded during the Second Intifada. She
was known for her fearless and fair reporting.
"I chose journalism to be close to people, and I knew that it wouldn’t be easy to change the situation. But at least I managed to bring Palestinians' voices to the world.”
Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a group of Palestinian activists in NYC, is commemorating the Nakba this Sunday and honoring the life and work of Abu Akleh.
Attend the vigil for Abu Akleh in Brooklyn this Sunday afternoon.
Just a reminder to get outside tomorrow to demonstrate the broad support for reproductive justice. We cannot lose if we don’t give up.
Sign the petition from Planned Parenthood Action and find an event near you. I’ll be at Union Square at 2 PM.
Please note: Yesterday’s post may not have launched properly. According to the back end of Substack, only one person received it and opened it 127 times?! In case you missed it, try this link. If you have my number, I’d love a text when you see today’s post (“got the wiffij”), so I have some indication of what’s happening.
Have a great weekend!
with love,
L