April Equity Update

written by | Abeer Syedah


 

Campus & System

Read our March Women’s History Month Blog

In 2018, for each heritage & history month, Students United will feature the diverse voices of students from across our seven universities. The opinions reflected are their own. For Women’s History Month, we asked students what it means to be a woman on campus and what they want the world to know. This is what they said.

Read the full blog article here.

 

Everything You Need to Know about Bemidji State’s New Diversity Center

For years, students at Bemidji State have advocated for the creation of a designated center for diversity. Up until recently, they were the only Minnesota State university that did not have one. This year, Bemidji opened its inaugural Diversity Center. Students United member Kale Hennek interviewed the center Director, Brian Xiong.

Read the full interview here.

 

Metro State Instructor Pamela Fergus’s Fund in Honor of Philando Castile Wipes Out All St. Paul Public Schools Lunch Debt

Pamela Fergus, who teaches psychology at Metropolitan State University, launched the YouCaring fund in honor of Philando Castile to help feed the children of J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School, where he worked until his death. She now wants to eliminate all school lunch debt in the state.

Read the New York Times story here.

 


State & National

Student Protesters Take Over Howard University Administrative Building

Hundreds of students at Howard University held a sit in at their administrative building following revelations of the misappropriation of hundreds of thousands of financial aid dollars.

Read the New York Times story here.

 

Linda Brown, Symbol of the Landmark Brown v. Board of Education Case, Dies

Linda Brown, whose father disapproved of her attending a segregated school, became the student at the center of the landmark desegregation Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. She died peacefully, at the age of 75, in Topeka.

Read the New York Times story here.

 

Serving Neurodiversity on Campus

Peter Eden is president of Landmark College, which serves students who are on the autism spectrum or who have dyslexia, attention deficit disorders, or other learning disabilities. He chats with The Chronicle about Landmark’s pedagogical approach, the changing culture around neurodiversity, and the rewards and challenges of the college’s mission.

Read the full Chronicle story here.

 

Autism Awareness Month

Author Laura James Talks to Minnesotans About Autism and Girls and her Book, “Odd Girl Out: My Extraordinary Autistic Life”

“UK-based author Laura James spoke to MPR News host Kerri Miller about her life before and after finally getting an autism diagnosis at age 45, after she'd had four kids and was married to her second husband.” Article includes some Minnesota-based resources.

Read the MPR News story here.

 

Black & Latinx Children are Often Overlooked When it Comes to Autism

“Mounting research suggests that African-American and Latino children with autism are diagnosed late because of bias on the part of healthcare providers or a lack of information among patient families.”

Read the MPR News story here.

 

How Differences In Communication Can Be Life or Death for People on the Autism Spectrum

A letter to the Jordan Independent discusses the rates of police violence against people on the autism spectrum and how different understandings of social cues can be life or death.

Read the full letter here.

 

Navigating Life on Campus When You’re on the Autism Spectrum

National Public Radio’s All Things Considered talks to some students on the autism spectrum navigating a college campus. College campuses are notorious for not accommodating, or moving towards equity for, neurodivergence.

Listen or read the full story here.