NYC Stop and Frisk Policy

Violence is still an issue in the United States despite the laws established to limit it. NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy, passed during the Bloomberg Administration in 2002, claims to limit the amount of violence on New York City streets; it allowed for police officers to stop and question any suspicious civilians.

Stop-and-Frisk intended to reduce crime and create security within neighborhoods. Despite Mayor Bloomberg’s thoughts on how this would take guns off of NYC’s streets, the stop-and-frisk policy backfired. According to the New York State’s Civil Liberties Union, the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices raise serious concerns over racial profiling, illegal stops and privacy rights. Claims show that the policy targets minorities within certain communities, such as Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

NYCLU 2011 briefing states that, “In 70 out of 76 precincts, blacks and Latinos accounted for more than half of all stops. Led by the 46th and 42nd Precincts in the Bronx with 98.5 percent of black and Latino stops, there were 33 precincts where more than 90 percent of those stopped were black and Latino.”

Surban Poverty on Long Island

Scott Allard, associate professor at the University of Chicago, defined the connotative meanings of urban and suburban poverty on September 26, 2013 Hofstra University. He talked about the truth that lies behind poverty in the surrounding communities.

“Urban means poor and suburban equals opportunity,” he stated at the Changing Geography of Poverty and the American Safety Net Conference.

The community is labeled based off the people within it; Mostly African-American communities are labeled as urban while mostly Caucasian communities are labeled as suburban. Despite the connotative perspectives, Allard stated that there is no formal definition of a suburb because it is more than geography.

Obama 2, Affirmative Action 0: What Needs to Be Done to Even the Score?

HEMPSTEAD, NY – On February 27, 2013 Obama’s second term plans for affirmative action did not seem to satisfy the panelists at the Hofstra’s Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Hofstra Chapter’s event entitled Affirmative Action under President Obama 2.0.

Dr. Johnathan Lightfoot, Hofstra professor, opened up the panelist discussion with a personal testimony of how affirmative action has affected his life. He recalled being an undergraduate at Cornell University receiving a non-verbal message from faculty and students that he was “not welcomed.” Lightfoot also told the audience about a former conversation he had with a Caucasian male, which resulted in the phrase, “you’re not like those other blacks”. As he prepared to pass the floor to the two panelists who eagerly waited to give their input, he posed a question to them: “What suggestions would you send Obama and his officials”?

Political Figures and Experts Discuss Poverty in America at Brookings

Two panelists at the Brookings Institution Discussion, A Poverty and Opportunity Agenda: What’s in Store for the Next Four Years? Left to Right, JoAnne Barnhart and Mona Sutphen. Dec. 5 2012 in Washington D.C.

The New Year is right around the corner, and while most people are probably worrying about their New Year’s Resolutions, there are still concerns about the fiscal cliff. Depending on the President’s and Congress’ decision, America’s economy may have to face reduced spending for safety net programs and tax increases on higher income families to address the nation’s deficit. On Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012, the Center on Children and Families at Brookings and Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, held an event at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. to discuss what’s in store for the next four years.

Two major political figures and a panel of experts with extensive experience in previous administrations talked about the impact of the election on programs affecting the poor and the opportunities for economic advancement. In particular, panelists were vocal about proposals intended to help the economy by spending on safety nets for the poor.

“We need to preserve the safety net,” said Isabel Sawhil, senior fellow and co-director of the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution. The safety net includes programs that promote upward mobility like Social Security and the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) formerly known as Food Stamps and Medicaid.

Political Slant: Editorial Cartoons

Political Slant: Editorial Cartoons is a series of contemporary cartoons that is displayed at the David Filderman Gallery from October 1 to December 21, 2012. Cartoons are from five editorial cartoonists including Walt Handelsman from Long Island.

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Photos are taken from the Long Island Report’s Facebook page, posted by Boston Powers Owens.

 

Cornel West Reaches out to Students on Denver Presidential Debate Night

Cornel west delivers speech at Hofstra University two weeks before the Presidential Debate comes to the campus.

“If you don’t want to just be successful, but if you really want to be great: greatness has to do with your service for others and your love for the loveless,” These were the words spoken by Dr. Cornel West in his speech on Oct. 3. The speech was entitled “Making Abolishing Poverty a Priority in the Presidential Election,” but also dealt with other contemporary problems including racism and issues plaguing the mentality of American youth.

From start to finish, the lecture contained something intended to get the attention of all generations present. However, West paid particular attention to the students in the audience. Upon finishing, the floor was open to a series of questions and answers from the community, and the students were given top priority in terms of inquiry.

Young Voters Important in 2012 Elections

Photo taken at the Apollo on Sept. 17 2012 by Claudia Balthazar

It’s inevitable that voters will start lining up at the polls in no time and young voters are just as important to the 2012 elections as they were in 2008. “Young voters really made a difference in 2008,” said Cynthia Bogard, Former Director of the Center for Civic Engagement and the Chair of the Sociology Department at Hofstra University.

“[If] young voters [don’t] show up in the numbers they did in 2008 or simply sit this one out the only candidate it will hurt is President Obama,” said Salvator J. La Mastra V, Author of 2012 for Twentysomething’s: A Young Voter’s Guide to the 2012 Elections, a Baylor University Graduate. “Without the youth vote he will lose many of the states he won by less than 15,000 votes, 15,000 youth votes. Young voters will play a huge role in 2012, but it remains to be seen in what capacity?” Meaning that young voters were a major factor in Obama’s victory in 2008 and he will need them again this time around.

Bryanna Fabre, psychology major at New York University, observed, “There’s a lot more work to be done, and the job market is still not up… [But] the decisions we’re making as voters today, we’ll see the results as adults because politics doesn’t happen overnight.”

Hofstra University Kicks Off PRIDE Week With Cory Booker

Mayor of Newark Cory Booker came to Hofstra University on Wednesday to share his beliefs of integrity to the audience. “I just wanted to tell you so much that integrity means living up to your values,” he said.

Booker shared his life experiences with the crowd and kept listeners engaged as he recalled a moment when a long time friend filled with hope and wisdom, Ms. Jones, helped him realize that he had to simply “do something” about the state the people of Newark were living in. He recalled a time when he went on a hunger strike to make a change, and although there was not a lot that came out of it, the strike brought together people from different religious faiths and different racial backgrounds.

“From Newark, New Jersey to Oakland, California, groups of kids stand up every day and say ‘liberty and justice for all.’ But that’s still not the case. We still live in a time where our future could be determined by our zip code,” Booker said.

During his speech, Booker told the crowd that everyone has a purpose and that purpose is to be the most powerful manifestation of who they are and to always stick to their values. Hofstra alumna Tanya Levy-Odom said, “It’s a refreshing point to talk about values especially with all the scandals we’ve seen in politicians in the past few years.”