PERSPECTIVE: Let’s Hope Our White Friends Regain Their Senses Soon

by Frederick A. Hurst There was a time when we folks of color could rely on the predictability of White folks and be assured that, whether they were good or bad, we could predict their moves in any given situation. But nowadays, we don’t know what to think about White folks and that has become a real functional problem.

I mean, if White folks legally lynch us, co-opt us, cheat us or deny us economic and health security and justice under the law, we are not caught by surprise, just as we are not caught by surprise when White folks join us in genuine opposition to such behavior and honestly contribute to reversing the effects of it as do many White folks. However, Black folks are finding it more and more difficult to distinguish White friends from White foes.     

These are such confusing times that I am even unsure how to write about what seems to be happening. Black folks generally want to be one with White folks when they deserve it. But how can we be one with White folks while watching the many ways they rationalize acquitting cops who we watch murdering our Black men on national television? How can we be one with them when they elect a Donald Trump as president and let him twist their minds over the difference between using the flag and national anthem as touchstones of legitimate protest and using them to divide our country and to so easily make White folks believe that our Black athletes, who kneel during the national anthem, are unpatriotic?

My brother was killed in Vietnam while White folks were burning the American flag at the Pentagon and all over the streets of America in protest of the war (I was at the Pentagon during the protests observing White violence). Our Black athletes are kneeling to the flag in deference to all it stands for and as a reminder to White folks of what it has always stood for and should still stand for – most of all, justice. They are not desecrating the flag in protest. They are honoring it and all that it stands for. And my family story is not unique among Black folks.

So, it is disconcerting to hear White folks, who are supposed to be our friends, succumbing to Trump-like attacks on our patriotism even as many of them and/or their parents were among the ones who burned the flag and ran President Lyndon Johnson out of politics and laid the foundation for the election of Richard Nixon as his successor.

I don’t mean to belabor the point but my youngest brother served and died in Vietnam shortly after my oldest brother returned from his Vietnam service and my second youngest brother served on the DMZ in Korea shortly after that. My namesake, Uncle Frederick, served in the Pacific campaign in WWII and my Uncle Alton served in North Africa in the same war. And like so many other Black folks who served the American country and flag, both uncles returned to a society that rejected them and often lynched their Black counterparts for “stepping out of line” in the name of the “confederacy” and the flag that they tried to use to replace our own American flag.

Our White “friends” seem to have forgotten that Jackie Robinson, while serving in the United States Army in honor of the same American flag, was court marshaled for refusing to move to the back of a Southern bus years before Rosa Parks was arrested and later commemorated for the same behavior. So it is very disconcerting to listen to White “friends” suggest that their “love” of the flag is somehow greater than our love simply because we honor it in a different way.

Many Black folks feel that we are being victimized by something else that is going on in White America. White folks are fighting for power among themselves. And they are trying to use folks of color as pawns in their battle, which they can succeed at only if we folks of color allow them to do so. But stopping it is not easy because all sides in this White struggle – liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, alt right and far left – are fighting for their base and a shifting White middle and, unfortunately, a good portion of that White middle is bigoted as are most of those who identify with the alt right.

White emotions are running high – which often times means running amok – making it easier for the Trump-like demagogues on all sides to influence White opinion through faux patriotic, racist catcalls, which is why patriotism and the flag and racial appeals are proving to be easy tools for the Trump-like to divert even good people’s attention away from the real White battle for raw power.  

By any stretch of the imagination, the “old days” were slow going for African Americans but we always knew where we stood and what the fight was about and prepared for it. There was no confusion. We had good White folks and bad White folks and we always had to be prepared to fight even the good ones, who felt compelled to compromise with the bad at our expense. But we could reason with the good ones and even some of the bad ones. We understood this and had the all important benefit of no confusion.

President John Kennedy’s equivocation during the Civil Rights Movement is a good example. He was not a great civil rights president but we were able to keep our concerns on his mind until he was tragically assassinated and Lyndon B. Johnson stepped in and chose to be a historical leader on the issue of civil rights. But the situation today with Trump and the hard right, the radical left and the confused middle is out of control. We Black folks no longer have clarity. We don’t know who White folks are anymore. Too many seem to have completely lost their identity which is why watching them unite around patriotism and the flag is so scary and reminiscent of past historical trends that didn’t bode well for Black folks and certainly didn’t bode well for the European Jewish community during the Nazi era.

When the good White folks and the bad White folks united around such amorphous concepts as patriotism and the flag and claimed them as their own while ignoring the real issues of their times, we got lynched, literally and figuratively, and White folks justified it among themselves until the amorphous trends played themselves out.

One thing I know. Black folks should not be the first ones to speak out against the unfair characterization of Colin Kaepernick and other Black athletes and their supporters as unpatriotic for kneeling in protest of injustice. White folks should be, just as they should be unequivocal in speaking out against Trump-related bigotry. And as history has made clear, when White folks fail to act, Black folks must not fail to act. And we should not be the ones to have to remind White folks, friend and foe alike, of the same moral obligation that Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded his fellow White ministers of in his “Letter from the Birmingham Jail.”

He wrote:  “I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” (emphasis added; available in full at www.afampov.com)

In this day and age, the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. written as he sat in isolation in the Birmingham jail during one of his many battles against injustice, should not be necessary. Unfortunately, they seem to be more necessary now than ever before. It is not a racist president or that substantial part of his White base that is racist who are most confounding. It is our confused White “friends” who are most worrisome because confusion is so easily misdirected by tyrants like Trump who understand that, in the midst of confusion, logic fails and appeals to emotions dominate and symbols like the flag can be useful in manipulating the behavior of confused White people, especially when they consider themselves to be righteous as so many White folks do, and who also consider themselves to be the arbiters of what is righteous.

So we Black folks and our many allies of color, and more enlightened White folks, are going through perilous times waiting for our confused White allies to recover from their confusion. And we know that during their recovery period, which we know can last for days or decades, we will bear the brunt of the consequences unless we prepare to defend ourselves, which we will do because historical circumstances have given us a new level of sophistication. You can’t hang us all!

Watching White folks unite around their own misappropriation of flag and country is disconcerting but historically familiar. We know where it could carry them and we know we are in for a tough fight. But we also know it’s a winnable fight and a mere continuation of the long fight from slavery to freedom that has been unabated since the first African slave was forced to build America without pay. Yet, from the very beginning, we have served our country and honored our flag with our blood. So, to see White folks willingly misappropriate the American flag as their own in this day and age, when we are presumed to be an enlightened people, is disheartening.

I don’t mind speaking up about it even though I understand there will be consequences. But my courage pales in comparison to that of Colin Kaepernick and those other Black athletes who continue to kneel in the view of huge crowds of mostly White folks who don’t want to hear the message these brave Black athletes are kneeling for and who conveniently convert the message into an anti-flag and country scam that in their confused minds justifies their tolerance of injustice in total contradiction to what our flag stands for.

I have no words that can heal White confusion. History says it will eventually work itself out but not without some cajoling and substantial discomfort for all of us. But history also tells us that the period from the onset of the confusion to the working out can be catastrophic, which is why I hope our White “friends” regain their senses soon.

____________________________

Frederick A. Hurst is co-owner, with his wife Marjorie J. Hurst, of An African-American Point of View (Point of View).  The free community newsmagazine by and for the African-American community and for other readers who are interested in news from the African-American community, in its 11th year of operations.  It is based in Springfield, MA and is published twice monthly, circulating in Springfield and in Connecticut.  This article first appeared, in a slightly longer form, in the most recent issue of Point of View and is published here with permission.

Please Grow Up to Be An Entrepreneur, Parents Say; Teens Not So Sure

Nearly nine-in-ten parents (88%) would be extremely or very likely to support their teen's interest in becoming an entrepreneur as an adult, but less than one-in-three teens (30%) demonstrate that same level of enthusiasm for starting a business. That’s according to a new national survey conducted by ORC International on behalf of Junior Achievement (JA) and EY. For teens, the greatest concerns for starting a business include it being "too risky" (31%) and "not enough money in it" (22%). Only 16 percent of teens indicate they have no concerns about trying. Conversely, 53 percent of parents have no concerns about their teen starting a business as an adult. Those citing concerns focused on it being "too risky" (27%) and there being "not enough money in it" (9%).

The survey was released during November, which is National Entrepreneurship Month.

"These results speak to some of the challenges facing the nation when it comes to business creation," said Jack Kosakowski, President and CEO of Junior Achievement USA. "Since the Great Recession in 2008, the country has been experiencing a net decline in business start-ups. Today's young people grew up in the shadow of the Financial Crisis, which may explain their risk-aversion when it comes to taking the entrepreneurial leap. This is why we need to promote the benefits of entrepreneurship early and often."

The survey was conducted to coincide with EY's support of Junior Achievement's JA Launch Lesson, a program delivered by community entrepreneurs whereby high school students gain firsthand knowledge about starting a business and the entrepreneurial journey. JA Launch Lesson is a 50-minute educational experience that creates a point-of-entry for students, volunteers, and educators.

The new program will be delivered by entrepreneurs in classrooms, after-school facilities, and other student venues across the United States, beginning this month. Entrepreneurs are given the opportunity to connect with students, provide relevant information about their company and entrepreneurial journey, and share advice and next steps for students who are interested in starting their own business.

Teens were also asked what they would need in order to consider becoming an entrepreneur. About half said they would need "more information on what it takes to be successful" (51%), "investors" (50%) and "support from parents" (49%). About a third said they would need "a role model who is a business owner" (35%) and "friends with a similar interest" (32%).

Promoting entrepreneurship is not a new endeavor for JA Southwest New England, which last year reached 43,000 students, the second consecutive year reaching the most students in the history of the organization, and a 24% increase over two year period.

In Connecticut this year, JA worked with Pratt & Whitney to launch the JA Entrepreneurial Academy.  The after-school program taught students firsthand about manufacturing and entrepreneurship, to better prepare them to join the workforce and perhaps plan their own companies with this insider knowledge.

Jeremy Race, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southwest New England, said “Through this program, young people gain a deeper understanding of how businesses are founded and operate…to help free the entrepreneurial spirit and hopefully serve as a catalyst for future business growth in Connecticut.”

In addition to manufacturing- related entrepreneurship, the academy also introduced students to an array of other entrepreneurial skills including leadership and how to pitch a business concept. Volunteers from both Goodwin College and Pratt & Whitney worked with the students to show how lessons learned in the classroom are deployed in the real world, and how the value of experience added to education makes for unequaled talent.

Also this past spring, JA Southwest New England partnered with the Junior League of Hartford for the third consecutive year to implement the JA Career Connections for Young Women program.  It is an intensive after-school curriculum, bringing together a handful of high school students from the Greater Hartford area to undergo ten sessions that are aimed at providing young women with practical advice and wisdom about the world of work, from how to get hired to learning about their own personal brand.

Students hear first-hand from female professionals on how to develop valuable soft skills, gain confidence on the job, perfect their public speaking skills and the do’s and don’ts of a job interview.  They also identify a career cluster of interest and, in groups, visit a job site in that chosen field, getting an opportunity to imagine their future selves at work.

The new JA Launch Lesson in another initiative aimed to sharing the how-to of entrepreneurship and business with young students.

"Entrepreneurs are the driving force behind growth and positive change, and at EY we believe it is vital to help enable our future generation of innovators," said Randy Cain, Vice Chair and Southwest Region Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP, and JA USA board member. "Creative, hands-on programs such as JA Launch Lesson are critical to providing our youth with the tools, information and resources necessary to succeed when starting their own business."

This report presents the findings of surveys conducted among a sample of 1,007 parents of children ages 13-17 and a sample of 1,005 13-17-year-olds.  The surveys were live nationwide, October 3-8, 2017.

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA reaches more than 4.8 million students per year in 109 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.6 million students served by operations in 100 other countries worldwide. JA Southwest New England, which includes much of Connecticut, is at www.jaconn.org

Cybercrime Attacks on CT Residents, Businesses Ranked Midway Among States

Connecticut is among the 25 states that have seen residents lose the most as targets of criminal activity on Cyber Monday, the busiest on-line day of the year, according to a new analysis released just before this year’s edition of the annual on-line shopping spree known as CyberMonday. OpenVPN, Inc. released details on a groundbreaking study that ranks how age, sex and where an individual lives could predict their likelihood to become a target of criminal activity on Cyber Monday.

"Connecticut is generally thought of as a very safe state with low crime rates. That's the unique thing about cybercrime and identity theft - you can live in the nicest house on the block and still be very vulnerable," says Francis Dinha, CEO of OpenVPN.

California is ranked the worst state in the country for total reported cybercrimes, fraud, and identity theft per capita in 2015 and 2016.  Connecticut was the 21^st worst in the analysis, just about in the middle of the pack.

The study data was culled from the FBI’s IC3, or Internet Crime Complaint Center, as well as the federal government’s Consumer Sentinel Network (CNS) databases.

In 2016, the state’s residents lost $6,960,531 total to internet crime, an average of $2,734.98 per person. Overall, 28,595 state residents reported cybercrime of some sort in 2016 — mainly men and people in their 50’s, the study found. Internet crime complaints totaled 2,545, total fraud complaints reached 21,117 and identity theft complaints totaled 4,933, according to the data compiled.

"Connecticut follows national trends in that more men than women are victimized, and older individuals have been more deeply affected,” Dinha added.  “OpenVPN encourages all Connecticut citizens to educate themselves about how cybercriminals gain access to private information and stay safe this Cyber Monday."

“What came as a surprise in this report,” said Gary McCloud, VP of Business Development for OpenVPN, “Is that men actually fall victim to cybercrime 75 percent more often than women.”

Men and women have different shopping habits. The study noted that men actually spend more than women online, so that fact alone may the reason men fell victim to cybercrime more often to women - and may continue to do so. In fact, men fell victim to cybercrime more 75 percent more often than women—falling victim in 38 of America’s 50 states – including Connecticut - and Washington D.C.

The state’s male ranking is seventh worst among the states, female ranking is fourteenth worst.  By age group, the state’s best showing is among those age 20-29, ranking Connecticut 28^th among the states; the worst showing, a ranking of 13^th, in the 50-59 year old age group.

The safest states cited in the study include South Dakota, North Dakota, West Virginia and Maine, with Vermont ranking as the safest at #51.  The worst states were California, Florida, Nevada, Texas, New Mexico, New York, Arizona and Virginia.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia were ranked from most to least total victims of cybercrime, equally weighted per 100,000 people for the total number of internet crime victims, fraud victims, and identity theft victims.  The study also took into account the average dollar loss per victim of internet crime and average dollar loss per victim of fraud.

Among the recommendations to improve safety and deter cybercrime:

1. Do NOT use a public wifi signal unless you have a Virtual Private Network (VPN) which will encrypt information on your computer, hiding it from online predators.
2. If shopping from home, make certain your home wifi signal is password-protected. Otherwise, someone simply driving down the street could access the private information on your computer.
3. When shopping online, look for verification you’re on a secured site. This may be something as simple as a padlock in your internet window.
4. When possible, use a credit card as opposed to a debit card which is linked directly to your bank account.

All of the data used for total cybercrime compilations based on age and gender was pulled from the 2015 FBI crime database; 2016 was not available.

Statewide Sustainability Initiative to Launch Nov. 28 As Municipalities Take the Lead

With momentum to accelerate sustainability practices in Connecticut,  local and regional representatives from Connecticut’s 169 towns and cities, along with key agencies and businesses, have spent the past year developing Sustainable CT.  The new statewide initiative will be formally launched at the end of this month with expectations of influencing sustainability practices across the state. Meeting for much of the past year, an Advisory Committee, consisting of state and municipal leaders , developed the initiative and adopted the overarching concept, “Sustainable CT communities strive to be thriving, resilient, collaborative and forward-looking.  They build community and local economy.  They equitably promote the health and well-being of current and future residents.  And they respect the finite capacity of the natural environment.”

Created by towns and for towns, Sustainable CT aims to be a voluntary certification program to recognize Connecticut municipalities for making their communities more vibrant, resilient and livable. It includes approximately 55 best practices along with opportunities for grant funding. Towns may choose which actions they will implement to achieve differing certification levels. The program is designed to support all Connecticut municipalities, regardless of size, geography or resources.

Organizers say that sustainability actions, policies, and investments deliver multiple benefits and help towns make efficient use of scarce resources and engage a wide cross section of residents and businesses. The official launch of Sustainable CT will occur at the Annual Convention of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities on November 28.

“Sustainable CT will foster creative thinking and problem solving within and between municipalities.  It will be the tool communities can use to bring together seemingly divergent stakeholders for the common goal of sustainability,” said Laura Francis, First Selectwoman, Durham, and Vice-Chair of the Advisory Group.

Officials indicate that all of Connecticut’s 169 towns and cities have been represented in Sustainable CT’s development in some way, either by directly by a municipal official or staff person, by a highly engaged local volunteer, or by a regional entity charged with representing member municipalities.

The Sustainable CT framework includes:

• Sustainable CT is a roadmap of voluntary actions that will help municipalities be more sustainable.
• Resources and support, including funding, help local communities apply the actions that fit them best.
• The Sustainable CT Certification publicly recognizes municipalities for their sustainability achievements.
• Sustainable CT is flexible. Any Connecticut municipality can find ways to become more sustainable – urban or rural, big or small, coastal or inland.

Municipal leaders and residents from across the state, the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC), Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) and others from key agencies, non-profits and businesses all partnered to help create the program. Burlington First Selectman Ted Shafer chaired the effort.  A CCM Task Force on Sustainability, which included 15 mayors, first selectmen, and municipal officials, assisted the Advisory Committee.

CERC’s Courtney Hendricson, Vice President of Municipal Services, served on the Local Economies Working Group, chaired by Patrick Carleton, Deputy Director of the Metropolitan Council of Governments, and Thomas Madden, Director of Economic Development in Stamford. The working group helped to define actions municipalities can take to create or enhance economic development that fosters energy-efficient and clean-powered commercial and industrial buildings, supports local products and businesses, increases local jobs and revenues and promotes environmental and community well-being.

The Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University coordinated the initiative. Support was provided by a funding collaborative composed of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation (EHTF), Hampshire Foundation and Common Sense Fund.  Advisory Board members included, in addition to Shafer and Francis, Carl Amento, David Fink, Bryan Garcia, Emily Gordon, Donna Hamzy, Scott Jackson, John Kibbee, Rob Klee, Kurt Miller, Kristina Newman-Scott, Christine Schilke and Christina Smith.

PERSPECTIVE: Connecticut Could Still Be the New Hollywood East for the Smallest Screens

by Lucy Wyndham Back in 2007, all the talk was of how Connecticut was to become the new Hollywood East, creating tax breaks, building up a trained crew base and hoping that the number of actors and directors already living in the state would attract the likes of Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes.

Ten years on, things have panned out a little differently to the way that many had dreamed. The big budget movie producers might not have adopted Connecticut as their own, but the state nevertheless has a strong digital media industry that is growing, not on the big screen but on the smallest of all.

Niche is the new mainstream

Some directors might be disappointed at the direction the industry has taken and the shift in focus. But while cable TV and online media such as YouTube and Twitch TV might not be as glamorous, every piece of market research from survey sites says that this is where the smart investment dollars should be spent in the 21st century.

The big screen is by no means dead, but it is also not the entertainment powerhouse that it once was. The digital revolution, and the rise of mobile and smartphone technology in particular, mean that today’s consumers want bespoke entertainment that can be accessed when and where they choose. In other words, niche is rapidly becoming the new mainstream, and the Connecticut digital industry is in the right place at the right time.

From wrestling to animation

Lobbyist James Amann represents almost a thousand small filmmakers. He was the speaker of the House of Representatives when the push to grow Connecticut’s film and media industry got underway in 2007, and he looks back on the past ten years with mixed feelings. He applauds the progress made in building a digital industry, but feels the movie side was “mothballed” and represents a missed opportunity.

However, Catherine Smith, the Commissioner of the State Department of Economic and Community Development pointed to the breadth of development seen in the state, citing everything from World Wrestling bouts to recordings of the Jerry Springer Show to the popular animated productions coming out of Blue Sky Studios, all of which are created in Connecticut.

A world of opportunity

Since the inception of the tax incentive program in July 2006, qualified companies have earned $604 million in tax credits which leveraged the expenditure of over $2.1 billion in Connecticut’s economy encouraging the relocation of major networks, digital media companies and production operations. These in turn have led to the creation of close to two thousand jobs, including the following:

• NBCUniversal relocated talk shows including Jerry Springer (200 jobs)
• NBC Sports HQ consolidation and relocation (600 jobs)
• 20th Century Fox Blue Sky Studios relocated (500 jobs)
•    ESPN Digital Media Center-2 (200 jobs)

On top of these success stories, there has also been the relocation of Emmy Award winning home makeover series This Old House Stamford and numerous ot

her expansions including Tantor Audiobooks and XVIVO, the scientific digital animation company.

To prepare constituents for the job opportunities created by these successful incentives, the Connecticut Office of Film Television & Digital Media has partnered with UConn School of Digital Media Design to establish the Digital Media CT program. This develops training, programming and events specifically to encourage participation and employment in this ever-expanding industry.

Sustained growth

The sectors that Connecticut’s digital industry are focused on are areas that seem set to go from strength to strength. It could be less a question of whether Connecticut will become East Hollywood as whether Hollywood will be seeking to become West Connecticut in the years to come.

____________________________

Lucy Wyndham is a professional freelance writer with many years of experience across a variety of sectors. She made the move to freelancing from a stressful corporate job and loves the work-life balance it offers her. When not at work, she enjoys reading, hiking and spending time with her husband and two children.

University of Saint Joseph School of Pharmacy Reaches to United Arab Emirates for New Academic Partnership

Earlier this decade, the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) took the bold steps of not only launching a Pharmacy doctoral program, but doing so in Downtown Hartford, developing a cutting-edge campus and curriculum above what was once the Hartford Civic Center mall. The program is thriving, driven in part by an innovative, modified-block curriculum that stresses experiential education throughout the three year program. Now, USJ is extending the Pharm.D.degree program connections beyond the United States.

The university has signed a letter of agreement to form a partnership with the College of Pharmacy at Gulf Medical University in the United Arab Emirates. The affiliation between the two schools includes inviting faculty and staff of the partner institution to participate in a variety of teaching, research, scholarship activities, and professional development. In addition, pharmacy students and postdoctoral students from both schools will participate in exchange programs for periods of study, research, and scholarship.

A signing ceremony, was held recently at USJ’s West Hartford campus, led by University of Saint Joseph President Rhona Free, Ph.D., and Dean of its School of Pharmacy Joseph Ofosu, Pharm.D., R.Ph., with Gulf Medical University Chancellor, Professor Hossam Hamdy.

“We are thrilled to create this partnership for the benefit of our respective students, faculty, and communities,” said President Free. “We look forward to a mutually beneficial experience for the Gulf Medical University’s College of Pharmacy and our School of Pharmacy located in downtown Hartford.”

The two institutions will carry out joint research and continuing education programs, and the schools will also organize symposia, conferences, short courses, and meetings on their research and scholarship issues.

Gulf Medical University’s planned Innovation and Research Centre will be the first of its kind in the region and will have devoted state-of-the-art innovation and incubation laboratories that are to include pharma product development, according to the university’s website. The Center aims to foster collaborations and partnerships with international institutions, universities, research labs, pharma companies and the healthcare industry.

Gulf Medical University (GMU), established in 1998, is a leading medical university in the Gulf region, located in Ajman, U.A.E. The campus is in the new Ajman metropolitan area, close to international airports in Dubai and Sharjah.

The USJ School of Pharmacy has an Open House scheduled for November 28, 6-8 p.m., at the school’s Hartford campus, 229 Trumbull Street.

https://youtu.be/p2W-ISsxqPM

Local Foundation Receives Major Grant to Expand Suicide-Prevention Program Nationally

The Hartford-based Jordan Porco Foundation has been selected as one of 13 non-profit organizations to receive a $100,000 grant from the Alkermes Inspiration Grants program. The grant will support Fresh Check Day, which is an uplifting mental health fair that builds a campus community around mental health and suicide prevention through engaging peer-to-peer education. Fresh Check Day, the foundation’s signature program, creates an approachable atmosphere where students are encouraged to engage in dialogues about mental health, and it helps to build a bridge between students and the mental health resources that exist on campus, in the community, and on a national level. Research supports that peer-to-peer education is one of the most effective ways to educate students, especially when the subject is suicide and mental health.

Since the first event in 2012, Fresh Check Day has grown exponentially, expanding throughout Connecticut, New England and nationwide.  There are now 26 colleges and universities in Connecticut that offer the program, and nearly 150 schools in 37 states.

“We are thankful to be awarded this grant in support of our signature program, Fresh Check Day. It helps in our national expansion and efforts to reach more young adults with our critical message of hope,” said Marisa Giarnella-Porco, President and CEO of the Jordan Porco Foundation.

The mission of the Jordan Porco Foundation, a 501(c) (3) public charity, is to prevent suicide, promote mental health, and create a message of hope for young adults. They accomplish this by providing engaging and uplifting peer-run programs. Their programs strive to start a conversation about mental health that reduces stigma while encouraging help-seeking and supportive behaviors.

“Addiction and mental illness affect millions of people and their families every day, and require an integrated approach to treatment that is scalable in communities across the country,” said Richard Pops, Chief Executive Officer of Alkermes. “Medicines play a role, but importantly, it is the innovative programs, like the Jordan Porco Foundation, designed to support people affected by these diseases and led by passionate leaders on the front lines that will ignite sustainable and meaningful change for patients.”

The primary goals of Fresh Check Day are to:

• Increase awareness of mental health resources and services available to students
• Challenge stigma and misconceptions around mental health and suicide that often deter individuals from seeking help
• Empower peers to be gatekeepers by understanding warning signs and knowing what to do if a friend is exhibiting signs of suicide or a mental health concern
• Increase willingness to ask for help if experiencing emotional distress

Now in its second year, Alkermes Inspiration Grants focuses on two key areas: improving or enhancing support or resources for people affected by mental health concerns or substance use disorder, and/or integrating the perspective of people affected by mental health concerns or addiction into drug development or care delivery. Alkermes is a global biopharmaceutical company with a “steadfast commitment” to developing innovative medicines for central nervous system (CNS) diseases.  The company has facilities in Ireland and the United States.

https://youtu.be/z_AQ5LJgVnQ

The Worst Is Yet to Come: More Hurricanes Headed Our Way

Expect more hurricanes in Connecticut, New England and the New York metropolitan area. That’s the take-away from an article published by the scientific website Massive by a fourth-year PhD student at Oregon State University researching microbial ecology.  Michael Graw draws on a new study, led by climate scientists Andra Garner from Rutgers University’s Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and David Pollard from Penn State’s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, that found that “climate change might be having an additional, unexpected effect on hurricanes: they’re moving north, bound increasingly often for northern New England rather than the mid-Atlantic states.”

The article points out that “the connection between climate change and hurricanes has become hard for anyone to ignore.”

The research by Garner and Pollard, Graw points out, indicates that only eight hurricanes in the last century have made landfall on the New England coast.  That is in the process of changing.  He recalls that “Sandy infamously ravaged the Connecticut coastline and caused $360 million in damages,” adding that “with the effects of potential future storms amplified by sea level rise and even higher wind speeds, that destruction could increase sharply from the next major storm.”

Commenting on the article, Anna Robuck, a Ph.D. student at the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, points out that “New England climate is noticeably in flux; the Northeast U.S. has experienced a 70 percent increase in heavy precipitation events between 1958 and 2010.”  She warns that “public awareness regarding risks associated with extreme weather and climate change has yet to fully embrace the implications climatic shifts holds for the region."

Graw also points out that a research team led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration “looked at tropical storm tracks around the globe for the past 30 years, finding that tropical storms have slowly been shifting poleward in their respective hemispheres.”  He concludes that “this suggests that climate change is disrupting the balance of atmospheric pressure between land and ocean.”

The result of the shifts?  Increasing likelihood of New England-bound hurricanes.

A handful of hurricanes in the region are in the history books, but also still linger in many memories.  The Great Hurricane of 1938 is renowned for the damage it caused, and is often considered the worst hurricane in New England history.  Other notable hurricanes occurred in 1954, 1955, 1985, 1991, 2011 - and 2012.  That year’s Superstorm Sandy was the second-costliest hurricane in United States history, with New York, New Jersey and Connecticut absorbing the worst of the storm.

Two weeks ago, Governor Dannel P. Malloy and officials from across state government  highlighted the progress made over the last several years to strengthen resiliency and harden infrastructure from future potential storms, as severe weather has continued to severely impact our nation.  On the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, officials said that while the state has "made significant progress on these fronts, more needs to be done to combat the impact of climate change, which has resulted in an increase in the frequency and power of storms."

Six state agencies - Housing, Economic Development, Labor, Transportation, Energy and Environmental Protection, and Emergency Services and Public Protection have each taken steps to initiative or strengthen preparedness and responsiveness in the event of another major storm.

"As the state continues to rebuild, we are doing so with the understanding that another storm of this magnitude could hit Connecticut again. Which is why we continue upgrading our infrastructure as well as rehabilitating and building homes that are more resilient to this type of storm," said state Housing Commissioner Evonne Klein.  Added state Transportation Commissioner James P. Redeker:  “Hardening Connecticut’s infrastructure – particularly our rail infrastructure which serves tens of thousands of people every day – has been a priority at the DOT for years now."

Gov. Malloy emphasized that the state has "taken a number of steps that are strengthening our resilience against future storms, including creating the nation’s first microgrid program, investing millions to hardening infrastructure along our shoreline to protect from flooding, designating thousands of acres of forest along our shoreline as open space that serve as a coastal buffer against storm waters, and we’ve made significant investments to protect housing in flood-prone areas.”

https://youtu.be/59IzWNOzzD8

The Difference A Dollar Makes: UConn Research Finds Minimum Wage Increase Reduces Maltreatment of Children

It has been nearly a year since a study co-authored by UConn Assistant Professor of Public Policy Kerri M. Raissian appeared in the academic journal Children and Youth Services Review, but the interest hasn’t waned.  In fact, it now tops the list of downloaded articles in the past 90 days from the journal’s website. The article, which Raissian co-authored with Lindsey Rose Bullinger, asks – and answers – this question:  Does the minimum wage affect child maltreatment rates?

Short answer, according to their research:  yes. 

Raising the minimum wage by $1 per hour would result in a substantial decrease in the number of reported cases of child neglect, according to a study co-authored by Raissian and Bullinger.  They reviewed eleven years of records on child abuse and neglect and found that increases in the minimum wage correlate with declining child maltreatment rates.

A $1 increase would result in 9,700 (9.6 percent) fewer reported cases of child neglect annually as well as a likely decrease in cases of physical abuse, Bullinger explained on the website sciencedaily.com, where their study was featured earlier this year. This decline is concentrated among young children (ages 0–5) and school-aged children (ages 6–12); the effect diminishes among adolescents and is not significant, the study’s abstract points out.

“Our results suggest that policies that increase incomes of the working poor can improve children's welfare, especially younger children, quite substantially,” the authors conclude in their 70-page article on the study.

"Money matters," Bullinger noted on sciencedaily.com. "When caregivers have more disposable income, they're better able to provide a child's basic needs such as clothing, food, medical care and a safe home. Policies that increase the income of the working poor can improve children's welfare, especially younger children, quite substantially."

More than 30 states had minimum wages exceeding the federal requirement by an average of $1 during the study period, allowing the researchers to track changes in the number of reports to child protective service agencies with increases in the minimum wage.  Data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System was used in the research.

The substantial decrease in child neglect cases is concentrated among toddlers and school-age children, but changes in the minimum wage had little impact on reports of neglect of teenagers. The researchers found no variation based on a child's race.

“Families with low incomes have a great ability to make a dollar go a long way. On average, the weekly SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) food stamp benefit for a family of three is about $30. That’s about what a one dollar an hour minimum wage increase translates into for full-time workers. Other studies show that a $1,000 tax refund results in similar declines in child maltreatment – neglect, specifically. So for really low-income families that probably have pretty severe material deprivation or economic hardship, that extra dollar can make a really big difference,” Raissian told UConn Today.

Raissian’s research interests are linked by a common focus on child and family policy, according to the university’s website.  Her dissertation, “Assessing the Role and Impact of Public Policy on Child and Family Violence,” evaluated the efficacy of policies designed to reduce violence directed towards intimate partners, children, and other family members. Her professional background includes nearly 10 years of government and nonprofit sector experience, which focused on serving abused adults and children.

Bullinger is associate instructor in the school of public and environmental affairs at Indiana University at Bloomington.  Both attended Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

“Most of the states don’t have a minimum wage at or above $10; Connecticut does. It’s possible Connecticut may be at the threshold,” Raissian said in an interview featured in UConn Today. “It’s also really important to note that, while our study looks at the minimum wage, this could really be an income story – remember other studies find similar results when incomes are increased in other ways. Our very low-income families might be facing other reductions in their incomes that will be costly to us as a state. We should consider that, moving forward.”

State’s Larger Public Universities Have Few Men's Hoop Student-Athletes from Connecticut

When the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils took the court to open the 2017-18 men’s basketball season this past Friday night, playing the University of Hartford Hawks, not a single player on either team’s roster was a Connecticut native. The 14-man roster for CCSU’s Division l men’s basketball team includes student-athletes from Ohio, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Arizona, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, California, and Puerto Rico, as well as three from Pennsylvania and one from the island of St. Maarten.  The team, which plays in the Northeast Conference, is coached by former UConn and NBA star Donyell Marshall.

CCSU is one of four regional state universities, part of the Connecticut State College and University (CSCU) system.  The largest of four comprehensive universities within the system, CCSU serves nearly 11,800 students--9,800 undergraduates, and 2,000 graduate students.  Southern Connecticut has 7,526 undergraduates and 2,193 graduate students.  Eastern and Western each have an undergraduate student population of just over 5,000.

The University of Connecticut, which also plays Division 1 and has won multiple NCAA national championships, is governed separately.  The Huskies 16-man roster for the current academic year includes two student athletes from Connecticut.  UConn has more than 23,000 undergraduate students, including just over 19,000 at the main campus in Storrs.

On the Southern Connecticut State University Owls, a Division ll men’s basketball team, five Connecticut student- athletes have made their way onto the 13 player roster.  Those students hail from New Haven, North Haven, West Haven, Middlebury, and Stratford.  The team plays in the Eastern College Athletic Conference, led by head basketball coach - former UConn and NBA player - Scott Burrell, a Hamden native.

That’s a total of about one-sixth of the roster slots - seven Connecticut student-athletes on the men’s basketball teams out of 43 places on the three rosters.

The state’s two Division III universities reflect a very different story.

Fourteen of the 16 student athletes on the roster of the Western Connecticut State University Colonials are from Connecticut.  The only two attending the Danbury-based school who aren’t from Connecticut hail from Georgia and New York.

At Eastern Connecticut State University, which plays in the Little East Conference, the Warriors men’s basketball roster includes 13 students from Connecticut, two from neighboring Massachusetts, and one from New York City.