Monthly Archives: July 2020
Churches Create Safe Ways to Worship, Serve Communities During Covid-19
By Baijun “Jack” Jiang Spectrum staff Unable to gather for worship in the sanctuary, youth leaders of Bethany Church sang and prayed from the rooftop of the Wyckoff, N.J., building where, before a pandemic, they usually gathered indoors. The people for they whom sang and prayed either sat inside or stood beside vehicles in the […]
Student Internships Went Virtual, Too
By Amira Shimin Spectrum staff Though she attends a top-tier high school whose students are pretty much guaranteed a summer internship, Pop Joslaine Manos fretted that she would have no place to apprentice this year. So many workplaces were still struggling with how to make work work during Covid-19, how would they possibly fit in […]
Son Rallies for Mom Killed by Cop
By Marian Caballo Spectrum staff The first time he heard a protester shout his murdered mother’s name, Andrew Ocasio broke down. “I was balling, with tears. It really hit me that day,” he said, remembering what happened after he spoke at a June Black Lives Matter rally. He’d started showing up at those rallies to […]
Setting Free the Wrongfully Convicted
By Lucia Shen Spectrum staff In 1974, a Philadelphia judge sentenced 17-year-old Edward Baker to life in prison for murder and robbery, crimes he couldn’t have committed. He was at a funeral wake 12 miles away at the time police said the crimes happened. “December the 23rd,” Baker said, “was the day I got locked […]
Race and a Summer Reading List
By Rohini Devi Spectrum staff When leaders of Sewanaka Central High School District, in June 2020, voted to list mainly authors of color in the recommended list of books for students to read, it was the first time they had made such a leap. They were showing that they weren’t going to ignore the Black Lives Matter movement and the summer’s unrest.
Retailers Hire Social-Media Influencers
By Isabella Ji Spectrum staff On a Monday in April 2020, Kaitlyn Zayas, 19, sat in her living room, recording a social media post about the “happiness” bath bomb and the “luau” facial and body soap bar that had arrived in that day’s mail from one of the retailers she represents online.
Virtual Class Tough on Kids, Teachers
By Rachel Todd Spectrum staff A music teacher went viral after posting a video of herself describing virtual learning: Hey, so, some of you guys might know, I’m a music teacher. And I’ve found that one of the best ways that I can process the whole transition to online learning is to write a song […]
In the Park — With, and Without, Masks
By Tenzin Lama Spectrum staff After quarantine had left children and adults antsy from spending so much time indoors, people who recently made their way to Windmuller Park in Woodside, Queens were having lots of fun outdoors — even though many didn’t wear masks or social distance. “This is the most crowded I’ve ever seen […]
Public Garden Soothes Amid Pandemic
By Ama Anwar Spectrum staff After being closed for more than four months, the 250-acre New York Botanical Garden re-opened to the public on July 28. Eileen Vurgos, a social worker from the Upper West Side, was one of the first people to glide through its entrance gates. After so many months either under quarantine […]
Adjusting to Re-opened Public Transit
By Karen Zhang Spectrum staff As New York City continues to rebound from being an epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic, public transit also is revving up again. As it maintains safety protocols to prevent the spread of the virus, the Metropolitan Transit Authority is scaling up service to accommodate returning riders and riders who are […]
A Retired Cop Joins Black Lives Matter
By Paige Gibbs Spectrum staff Rose Facey’s 27 years as a sworn officer of the New York Police Department gave her a close-up view of what can and does go wrong in American policing. And that’s why, at 69, she has joined Black Lives Matter protesters — at three separate rallies, so far — who […]
Addressing Race in Yorktown Schools
By Ashley Alexander Spectrum staff When Amy Belfer looks back on what she learned while a student at Lakeland High School in Yorktown N.Y., she thinks about how much got left out. “We learned the basics about slavery, a tiny bit of Reconstruction,” the 2015 Lakeland graduate said. “And that’s all the black history we […]
Supporting Community via Social Media
By Shruti Vadada Spectrum staff Using proceeds from a GoFundMe campaign that attracted, among other donors, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, one youth group donated 200 masks and 400 medical gowns to a nursing home. Another youth organization has partnered with several public libraries on Long Island to teach seniors, via Zoom, how to stream […]
Reporting Assault Allegations Online
By Kirah Tianga Spectrum staff “He told me he wanted to have sex, but I expressed my uneasiness because I was worried his mom would come down. He told me it was fine, and he pulled me onto the floor and started pushing my dress up.”
How to Diversify NYC’s Elite Schools
By Rainier Harris Spectrum staff At Manhattan’s elite Stuyvesant High School, only 10 out of the 766 admitted students in the 2020-21 freshman class were Black. At Staten Island Technical, another of New York City’s eight competitive, specialized high schools, this year, only a single black student — in a freshman class of roughly 1,320 […]
Small Landlords: Covid-19 Hit Us, Too
By David Wang Spectrum staff When the Covid-19 pandemic hit New York, government officials made protecting tenants a legislative priority. For tenants unable to pay their rent, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a moratorium on evictions until August 20. But now landlords across the state are arguing that government policies are putting them in […]
A Push to Disarm Auxiliary Police
By Maya Mitchell Spectrum staff Pushed by local teen and young adult activists who want to disarm the Maplewood Police Department Police Auxiliary, made up of volunteers, the Maplewood Town Council voted in late July to suspend the force for 90 days. By a 3-to-2 vote, the town’s Public Safety Committee, which includes the chief of police, […]
How “Cancel Culture” Blasted a Boy
By Natalie Villacres Spectrum staff From where he sat on a concrete bench in a Queens park, he rocked back and forth. Nervous, his hands shook as he spoke his answers into the microphone. “It was pretty traumatic, a little bit. Pretty traumatic.” The 15-year old boy was recounting the backlash he faced after he […]