Largest US Colleges Push Student Vaccines With Mandates, Prizes 

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As a new semester begins amid a resurgence of the coronavirus, 26 of the 50 largest public university campuses in the U.S. are not mandating that students be vaccinated, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.Approaches on enforcement vary widely, even among universities that do have vaccine mandates, with some offering leniency for students who opt out and others expelling those who do not comply.Administrators are emphasizing high student vaccination numbers as key to bringing some normalcy back to campus and keeping instruction in classrooms rather than online. Where mandates face political opposition, schools are relying on incentives andmore

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Students, Beware: That Free Curbside Futon Might Carry Critters 

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With college students back on campus this school year, insect extermination company Terminix ranked the most bedbug-infested cities in the United States.Bedbugs spread by hitching rides on luggage, backpacks and clothing, and can crawl through cracks in the walls, making common spaces of dorm living extremely vulnerable to infestations.”Bedbugs go where people go, so they can be virtually anywhere,” said Rick Cooper, senior director of bedbug services at Terminix.”Bedbugs move from infested structures, whether that be hotels, airports, schools or college campuses,” he said. “They can tag along on someone’s clothes or backpack.”Terminix based its rankings on the number of requestsmore

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Food, Tradition Help Homesick Students Stay Connected

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At first, Khadija Ghanizada had a tough time adjusting to the United States.  She was 17 when she first came to America on a full scholarship in 2017 to attend Emma Willard School in rural upstate New York, far from any metropolis. That was tough for Ghanizada, who came from Kabul, Afghanistan’s largest city, populated by nearly 5 million people.  She missed the busy street life.”Slowly, day by day, I started to make friends and adjust to American culture, food and the people around me. I watched American teen TV shows to learn about my peers and what they likemore

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‘Varsity Blues’ Trial Promises Fresh Insights in Old Scandal

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The first trial in the “Operation Varsity Blues” college admissions bribery scandal will begin this week, with the potential to shed light on investigators’ tactics and brighten the spotlight on a secretive school selection process many have long complained is rigged to favor the rich.Jury selection is beginning Wednesday in federal court in Boston in the case against two parents — former casino executive Gamal Abdelaziz and former Staples and Gap Inc. executive John Wilson — who are accused of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to help get their kids into the University of Southern California by falsely presentingmore

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Tulane University Evacuates All Students Amid Power Outages

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Tulane University began evacuating students to Houston early Tuesday and is set to close for two weeks after Hurricane Ida damaged New Orleans’ power grid. Students were required to be off campus by 5 p.m. as buses evacuated those who were on campus. The university said students would remain in Houston, with food and lodging provided by the university, until they could arrange their own flights home. “Classes will resume online only beginning September 13 through Wednesday, October 6, to give the city time to repair and reinstate power and other critical services,” the university said in a statement. More than 1 millionmore

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Canada’s Foreign Students Look Warily for Return to Normal

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Canadian universities are nervously eyeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases driven by the delta variant, hoping it will not upend plans for a return to in-person classes for international students, many of whom spent the past year studying remotely from their home countries. With more than 72% of the population at least partly vaccinated and new cases dipping below 300 per day earlier this summer, the government announced an easing of restrictions on admission of foreign visitors to the country effective September 7, just in time for the start of a new school year. Caseloads still remain low compared to the Unitedmore

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Afghan Students in India Fear Returning under Taliban Rule

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Undergraduate Afghan student Saeeda Dilyabi, in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, is deeply worried about the future that her country holds for her after the Taliban captured power.“Our lives will be in danger, our families’ life will be in danger, so I don’t think we can go back to Afghanistan,” Dilyabi said, sitting in a park scrolling her phone for the latest news on Afghanistan.She is among hundreds of Afghans studying in Indian colleges and universities on scholarships offered by the Indian government as a goodwill gesture to promote education in the country.Students like her epitomize the rights wonmore

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Afghan Students in India Fear Returning After Taliban Takeover

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Afghan students enrolled in Indian colleges and universities worry about the future that their country holds for them following the Taliban takeover there. India has a large Afghan student community, with most having come on scholarships offered by the Indian government as a goodwill gesture to promote education in the country. Anjana Pasricha spoke to a group of students enrolled in colleges in Chandigarh city in North India.Camera: Rakesh Kumar, Producer: Jon Spier  …

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Half of Nigerians Willing to Emigrate for Better Opportunities, Survey Finds

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About half of Nigerians, especially youth, would be willing to leave the country for a better life, according to a July World Bank survey, an increase of nearly 20% since 2014. The report blames poor job opportunities and economic hardships, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. But as Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja, some Nigerians who have tried migrating to Europe illegally say the risks are enormous.Camera: Emeka Gibson   Video editor: Jason Godman …

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What is Critical Race Theory?

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Critical race theory (CRT) has become a controversial topic in the United States, as the country wrestles with race, immigration, civil rights and civil conflict. Some states have banned its teaching in classrooms.CRT maintains that racism is deeply embedded in U.S. policy, law and society, rather than purely individual and personal, as its opponents contend.FILE – In this image from the Tennessee General Assembly, Rep. Justin Lafferty, R-Knoxville, speaks at the State Capitol in Nashville, May 4, 2021. He spoke amid debate over whether educators should be restricted while teaching about systematic racism.“Critical race theory is turning Americans against onemore

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Students Across US Take On COVID Disinformation

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A student organization is trying to combat misinformation about COVID-19 and pandemic on American campuses through social media.    COVID Campus Coalition’s mission is to dispel “misconceptions surrounding COVID vaccines by providing students with weekly digestible scientific summaries through a plethora of virtual and in-person platforms,” FILE – Masked students walk to a COVID-19 vaccination site at the Rose E. McCoy Auditorium on the Jackson State University campus in Jackson, Mississippi., July 27, 2021.Approximately 54.9% of individuals aged 18-24 have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine in the United States, while 44.6% of individuals of the same agemore

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Pause on US Student Loan Payments Extended Through January

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The Biden administration on Friday announced that federal student loan payments will remain suspended through January 2022, extending a pause that began at the start of the pandemic and was scheduled to expire next month.The Education Department said this will be the final extension.Borrowers will not have to make payments on federal student loans during the moratorium, interest rates will be set at 0% and debt collection efforts will remain on pause. The suspension will expire on January 31, 2022.Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said it’s meant to give borrowers enough time to prepare for their payments to resume.”As our nation’smore

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Students Criticize Online Learning as Inadequate

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Online learning has been grossly inadequate during the 2020-’21 COVID-19 shutdown, according to college and university students interviewed by VOA Student Union.Domestic and international students at U.S. colleges and universities said the pandemic that shut down many schools in March 2020 disrupted their lives and impacted their academic performance. And online learning, despite being touted by online learning companies, has not lived up to the hype, they say. Students say they are desperate to return to on-campus learning. They point to living in the dorms, socializing, and establishing relationships with professors and mentors as essential parts of the college experience. Students Givemore

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Afghan Fear Complete Taliban Takeover

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Young people who have spoken against Taliban rule in Afghanistan or who adopted lifestyles that don’t fit the fundamentalist regime say they fear for their livelihoods and lives as the insurgent group gains more territory. “We live in very critical and dangerous circumstances right now,” said Murtaza Ahmadi, a writer, part-time teacher and government employee. “The Afghan government is losing power and authority across the country while the Taliban are gaining,” he said. “Thousands of people are leaving Afghanistan because they think the Taliban are slowly gaining power all over the country and they don’t trust the Afghan government.” Since international troops startedmore

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Afghan Biker Climbs Mountain for Education’s Uphill Battle

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Farid Noori was teaching online from the United States to high school students in Kabul, Afghanistan, when a bomb attack started.“At that very moment,” Noori said, “I had an online, remote class on Afghanistan’s environment with some of the school’s students. One of my students got injured. As days went by, the death toll climbed to 100, mostly schoolgirls, making this one of the deadliest attacks in Kabul’s history.”At least 90 students were killed and 275 others were injured May 8 at Sayed Ul Shuhada high school, mostly girls and mostly Hazara, an ethnic minority often the target of Islamicmore

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Largest US Employer to Pay Workers’ Tuition

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The largest private employer in the U.S. — Walmart — said Wednesday it will pay 100% of tuition and books for its U.S.-based employees to attend its Live Better U Education Program.  Walmart, a worldwide retailer that typically offers low prices because of the volume of goods it trades, operates 5,342 retail outlets in the U.S., employing 1.6 million people. Internationally, it has 2,653 stores in Mexico, 435 in China, 408 in Canada, 377 in Chile, 29 in India, and 5 in Nigeria, as well as outlets in at least 15 other countries, according to its website. Overseas it employsmore

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Malawi Begins Classes in World’s First 3D-Printed School

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Adifu Maulana quit school in 2014 to escape punishment she often received for arriving late.She had to walk 7 kilometers to attend classes held under a tree because of Malawi’s shortage of classrooms.But thanks to what is being called the world’s first 3D-printed school, constructed by joint-venture group 14Trees, Maulana has resumed learning. The Swiss-British group says the fast construction of computer-built schools could help alleviate a shortage of classrooms in countries like Malawi.Maulana said she is happy because she can realize her dreams of becoming a teacher. The school is near now, she said, so she won’t arrive latemore

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