{"id":9116,"date":"2019-04-09T09:00:14","date_gmt":"2019-04-09T13:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/?p=9116"},"modified":"2019-04-09T09:00:14","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T13:00:14","slug":"what-you-missed-this-month-march-2019-mueller-stuyvesant-and-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/2019\/04\/09\/what-you-missed-this-month-march-2019-mueller-stuyvesant-and-brexit\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Missed This Month, March 2019: Mueller, Stuyvesant, and Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We can all agree: sometimes the news can be overwhelming. Due to the sensationalism of today\u2019s media, it can be difficult to parse through stories and tell which are important and which aren\u2019t. So, I\u2019ve handpicked three of the most important stories you may have missed this month:<\/p>\n<h3><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/03\/22\/us\/politics\/mueller-report.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">He&#8217;s Done:<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9125\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9125\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/2019\/04\/09\/special-counsel-robert-mueller-concludes-his-investigation-into-president-trump\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9125 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/files\/2019\/03\/mueller-1024x538.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/mueller-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/mueller-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/mueller-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/mueller-600x315.jpg 600w, https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/mueller.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9125\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PHOTO\/ Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Robert Mueller III concluded his investigation into whether or not President Trump&#8217;s campaign coordinated with Russia in the 2016 elections. There are a lot of pertinent parts to this large story, so I wrote a separate article to cover it. Check it out here, or by clicking the image above.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-politics-47663031\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">To Brexit, Or Not To Brexit?:<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9133\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9133\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/files\/2019\/03\/brexit.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9133 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/files\/2019\/03\/brexit.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/brexit.jpg 700w, https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/brexit-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/brexit-600x338.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9133\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PHOTO\/ DW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In an off-brand shift to European news, Theresa May seemingly cannot get any Brexit deal to gain traction in Parliament. For the unaware, the United Kingdom held a referendum in March of 2017 on whether the UK would leave the European Union, and become a sovereign state. After a long campaigning period, the country voted in the affirmative, a choice that shocked the nation, the EU, and the world.<\/p>\n<p>After David Cameron (the previous Prime Minister) left office, Theresa May (the current Prime Minister), was left to pick up the pieces. What ensued was a two year long battle on exactly <em>how<\/em> the UK would leave the EU. Would there be a <a href=\"https:\/\/ukandeu.ac.uk\/fact-figures\/what-is-hard-brexit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">&#8220;hard&#8221; Brexit<\/a>, where the UK would no longer be a member state,\u00a0<em>and<\/em> leave the EU&#8217;s Single Market and Customs Union (an intercontinental trade agreement)? Or would there be a <a href=\"https:\/\/ukandeu.ac.uk\/fact-figures\/what-is-soft-brexit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">&#8220;soft&#8221; Brexit<\/a>, where the UK would remain in the EU&#8217;s Economic Zone? Of course this is a bunch of jargon, but the important question was: how independent would the newly independent UK be?<\/p>\n<p>It seems Parliament and the Prime Minister can&#8217;t seem to agree. May&#8217;s proposal was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/15\/world\/europe\/brexit-vote-theresa-may.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">struck down<\/a> a number of times in Parliament and Speaker John Bercow determined that in order to continue to vote on Brexit resolutions, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-politics-47614074\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the new plan must be substantially different from the old one<\/a>. There were several &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/16\/world\/europe\/brexit-theresa-may-no-confidence-vote.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">no confidence&#8221; votes in Parliament<\/a>, a vote wherein the Parliament can recall the Prime Minister, and still there are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/03\/24\/706319859\/british-prime-minister-theresa-may-faces-new-pressure-to-quit-as-brexit-deadline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">calls for May to resign<\/a>. In face, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/europe\/brexit-votes\/2019\/03\/27\/d044bb28-4fcc-11e9-bdb7-44f948cc0605_story.html?utm_term=.64270db73d1e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May suggested<\/a> that she may resign after Brexit is done and settled. A popular idea alternative to a deal, mostly promoted by the rival Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, is to simply have a second referendum on Brexit. The Conservative May opposed this idea, laughing it off in the past, but is now saying it &#8220;deserves to be seriously considered.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The UK was scheduled to leave the EU on March 29th, regardless of whether they reached a deal, but the EU has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-politics-47663031\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">permitted the UK two more weeks to orient itself<\/a>. Predictions of what happen next are pure speculation; we are all cursed to live in interesting times.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gothamist.com\/2019\/03\/18\/nyc_shsat_admissions_diversity.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">School Segregation is Still Alive and Well:<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9128\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9128\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/files\/2019\/03\/stuy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9128 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/files\/2019\/03\/stuy-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/stuy-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/stuy-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/stuy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/stuy-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2019\/03\/stuy.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9128\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PHOTO\/ AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Here&#8217;s something that may be a surprise to many, or known too well by others: New York City&#8217;s specialized school system is incredibly inequitable. This inequity was highlighted when it was revealed that of the 895 students accepted into Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, only\u00a0<em>seven<\/em> black students were offered seats. This number seems huge when compared to the fact that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.silive.com\/news\/2019\/03\/only-1-black-student-offered-admission-to-staten-island-tech.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Staten Island Tech only offered one black student a seat<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This is shocking yes, but is a symptom of a much larger problem. Our education system is an inherently unequal one. An important fact about the system that not many people know is that school funding is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2016\/04\/18\/474256366\/why-americas-schools-have-a-money-problem\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">primarily determined through property taxes<\/a>. Of course, there are other funding sources, but this core funding method leaves working class and poverty-stricken kids in the dust.<\/p>\n<p>If a child&#8217;s school can&#8217;t afford the newest textbooks, or the newest technology, or the best teachers, how can a child be expected to succeed? How can we reasonably expect that a child will get a good education when one simply cannot be provided to them? This is the key to understanding why the disparity exists in specialized high schools.<\/p>\n<p>In the 2019 admission year, 51.1% of specialized school offers went to Asian students, and 28.5% went to white students, while 6.6% went to Latinx students, and 4.0% went to black students. We&#8217;ve got a long way to go to repair an inherently broken system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We can all agree: sometimes the news can be overwhelming. Due to the sensationalism of today\u2019s media, it can be difficult to parse through stories and tell which are important and which aren\u2019t. So, I\u2019ve handpicked three of the most important stories you may have missed this month: He&#8217;s Done: Robert Mueller III concluded his&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":703,"featured_media":9135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[2407],"class_list":["post-9116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nation-and-world","tag-what-you-missed-this-month"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/703"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}