skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, December 4, 2023

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

NH gun-safety advocates advise services, bipartisan laws after deadly shootings; Food banks, pantries address rising food insecurity during winter holidays; Despite cost debate, some MN businesses intrigued by paid-leave law.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Muslim American leaders in swing states like Michigan threaten to Abandon Biden, VP Harris criticizes greenwashing at COP28, former congresswoman Cheney calls the GOP a "threat," and George Santos is expelled.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Congress has iced the Farm Bill, but farmer advocates argue some portions are urgent, the Hoosier State is reaping big rewards from wind and solar, and opponents react to a road through Alaska's Brooks Range, long a dream destination for hunters and anglers.

West Virginia's Black College Student Population on Decline

play audio
Play

Monday, May 8, 2023   

Amid declining enrollment at colleges in the Mountain State, new research showed Black students are disappearing from classrooms at higher rates.

According to a Lumina Foundation report, around 600,000 Black learners have vanished from American higher education institutions.

Zakiya Smith Ellis, principal of the consulting firm Education Counsel, said as more young people question the value of higher education, colleges should be prepared to have transparent discussions about the affordability of tuition.

"Thinking about the affordability of programs for students," Smith Ellis urged. "That means telling them in clear terms what it will cost them as a bottom line to attend college, but also have that cost be based on realistically what can people afford to pay."

Black community college enrollment overall dropped by 18% since pre-pandemic levels, with enrollment falling for Black men by 24%, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Smith Ellis pointed to the increased need for wraparound supports for students of color.

"Addressing the mental health, the child care, transportation, technology and food-security needs that students have," Smith Ellis outlined. "Then last, but not least, all of these practices and teaching and learning need to really be centering students' lived experiences. "

According to the report, Black and brown students are more likely to face food insecurity and work multiple jobs to meet basic needs.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
According to data by SCORE, 75% of small business owners donate an average of 6% of their profits to charitable organizations each year. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Small Business Saturday has come and gone and the North Carolina Sustainable Business Council urged people to keep "shopping local" this season…


Social Issues

play sound

Gun-safety advocates in New Hampshire are urging Gov. Chris Sununu to back policies proven to reduce gun violence following a series of deadly …

Social Issues

play sound

A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found the repayment process for federal student loans has been filled with errors…


Minnesota's new paid leave law, scheduled to take effect in 2026, will distribute benefits through a state-operated insurance pool funded by employers and employees. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Minnesota is two years away from enacting its new paid leave law and while the debate over costs has resurfaced, some in the small business community …

Social Issues

play sound

A lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's collective near-total bargaining ban for most public workers is by some seen as a way to bolster the state's beleagu…

The Environmental Protection Agency is working on rules that will incentivize the transition to heavy-duty electric vehicles. (VanderWolf Images/Adobestock)

play sound

As the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai wraps up, Democratic lawmakers and clean-air advocates are calling on the Environmental …

Environment

play sound

NASA-funded research using satellites to study atmospheric nitrogen will examine how different farming approaches affect greenhouse gas emissions…

play sound

The American Gas Association misled the public on the health effects of burning gas for decades. Now, a coalition wants the Washington State …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021