ENTERPRISE REPORTING — Following SCOTUS's overturning of Roe v. Wade, interstate travel has been increasingly discussed as a go-to solution for residents of states with abortion bans. But organizers and physicians told me limited English proficiency and immigration status may hinder or completely bar many immigrants from traveling across state lines, leaving them to slip through the cracks in conversations about accessing care in a post-Roe world.
ENTERPRISE REPORTING — As local leaders have joined a national search for alternatives to the police-dominated handling of behavioral crises, has resolve Crisis Services — Allegheny County's 24/7 crisis response unit — stepped in to fill this role? We investigated resolve's strengths and shortcomings and why shifting from the police to social services won’t be easy due to a lack of resources, slow response times, and insufficient coordination with 911.
ENTERPRISE REPORTING — Several Black physicians told me their stories of being systematically pushed out of their workplaces — all citing discrimination as one reason for their departure, enabled by the medical field's hierarchical structure and often exploitative nature, and the existing underrepresentation of Black doctors. Across their stories, themes emerged: retaliation for calling out racism in medicine, racial bias amplifying the medical field's already cutthroat culture, the "performance improvement plan" as a tool for forcing doctors out.
ENTERPRISE REPORTING — Public processes across the Pittsburgh area have transitioned online during the pandemic, with in-person public comments becoming digital messages and legislative meetings becoming livestreams. Though virtual meetings have increased accessibility by eliminating the need for transportation and in-person attendance, residents and elected officials told me COVID-19 has posed new obstacles for public access and government participation.
DAILY BEAT COVERAGE — After a massive winter storm swept across the country, tribal communities living on South Dakota reservations are still enduring the consequences. With roads still closed and snow drifts up to 12 feet high, some Oglala Sioux Tribe members living on the Pine Ridge Reservation remain trapped in their homes, running low on food, medicine, and firewood. The problem is the tribe's lack of resources and equipment to clear snow, tribal leaders told me. The reservation's remote location and limited, dispersed services also pose unique challenges.
DAILY BEAT COVERAGE — A recent study showed test scores in math and reading among elementary students plummeted after the pandemic. The dramatic decrease occurred across all races and regions but students of color were impacted most. In light of these results, I spoke with two families about their reflections on remote learning and their hopes for the new school year. I also interviewed the CEO of a children's literacy nonprofit about how the organization's mission to provide free tutoring to students in disadvantaged communities is taking on renewed importance.
PROFILE — Indigenous communities face staggering health disparities and death rates for nearly all chronic diseases. Native physicians are also extremely scarce. Victor Lopez-Carmen, who is Yaqui and Dakota, is a Harvard medical student fighting to change that. Victor and others who know him shared stories about his own experiences of struggling to access vital care, his activist roots, his co-founding of a pre-medical program for Indigenous students, and his ancestor Ohiyesa, the first Native American man to become a physician in the U.S.
DAILY BEAT COVERAGE — As Election Day fast approached, some national Jewish advocacy organizations called on the Republican party to take a harder line on condemning antisemitism from GOP candidates and their supporters. Their calls came amid a spike in antisemitic incidents in the U.S. and on the heels of several high-profile controversies over remarks made by celebrities and political candidates vying to win their midterm races. I spoke with the leaders of some of these Jewish advocacy organizations.
EVENT COVERAGE — More than 100 immigrant youth and allies rallied in front of Capitol Hill Thursday for a permanent pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, following a federal appeals court's ruling against the program's legality. During the protest, around a dozen people, including several individuals on DACA, were arrested for blocking the street in front of Sen. Chuck Schumer's office. I attended the rally and personally interviewed all the individuals quoted in the story who were present at the event.
INVESTIGATIVE FEATURE— Both a Harvard undergraduate who alleged she was sexually assaulted by a student at a neighboring university and an undergraduate from a neighboring university allegedly assaulted by a Harvard student told us that they shouldered both logistical and psychological burdens while seeking restitution through Title IX offices. These inter-institutional Title IX cases can create a damaging dichotomy between insiders and outsiders for survivors filing complaints at universities other than their own, according to the two students and Title IX experts.
FEATURE — An April open forum discussion on the role of Asian cultural organizations at Harvard marked the culmination of years of frustration from students at the College. For a month, I spoke with several dozen about what an "Asian American community" at Harvard means to them. Here's what I found.
EVENT COVERAGE — For almost 50 years, Harvard students have been calling for a formalized ethnic studies program at the University. More than 50 students gathered outside the Charles Hotel in February to reiterate their demands outside Harvard's annual Alumni Conference. I spoke with several protesters — students and alumni — at the event to hear what they had to say on their half-century-long fight.
COVID-19's Impact on Harvard
DAILY BEAT COVERAGE — Harvard's mandate that students vacate their dorms in five days to prevent the spread of the coronavirus shocked everyone on campus. But one group was hit especially hard by the news: low income students. Many expressed worries about booking costly last-minute flights, affording storage space, maintaining vital campus jobs, and continuing classes online in the chaotic hours following the announcement.
ENTERPRISE REPORTING — Beyond the physical health crisis of the coronavirus, students said the pandemic has had quiet but pernicious effects on their mental health. We spoke with some about how they've been battling new anxieties and exacerbated mental health conditions at home.
BREAKING NEWS — Harvard College adopted a universal satisfactory-unsatisfactory grading system this semester to account for the challenges wrought by COVID-19. Immediately after the announcement, undergraduates variously responded with elation, relief, and fury at the change. I spent the entire day after the early-morning news chatting with students to hear their thoughts.
DAILY BEAT COVERAGE — Already navigating closed borders and travel restrictions, Harvard’s international students say they must now reckon with more paralyzing uncertainty as the new ICE guidelines — barring international students at universities conducting online-only courses from the country — jeopardize their ability to return to or remain in the U.S. We spoke with several to hear how they are grappling with the news and its implications for their lives.
ENTERPRISE REPORTING — Pennsylvania's residents of nursing and personal care homes face unprecedented challenges voting during the pandemic, as facilities restrict visitation and off-site travel and remove polling places. Accessibility advocates are calling on state officials to better facilitate voting for long-term care residents. I spoke with local disability rights advocates, experts on accessibility in elections, and the PA Health Care Association for this story.
DAILY BEAT COVERAGE — A new study found that Black and Hispanic Americans die at disproportionately higher rates from traffic accidents, especially while biking and walking. These disparities can be largely attributed to systemic underinvestment in pedestrian and cycling infrastructure in communities of color. I spoke with the study's authors and the co-founder of Families for Safe Streets Greater Philadelphia whose own family has suffered the tragic consequences of "traffic violence."
PROFILE — Architect Sam Olbekson, a citizen of the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe in Minnesota, works with Native clients across the country on projects ranging from schools to apartment buildings to clinics. In all of his work, Sam centers Indigenous cultural values and perspectives on sustainability, viewing architecture as more than just designing buildings but about how a tribal community builds itself.
DAILY BEAT COVERAGE — As people across the world have joined to mourn Queen Elizabeth II's death, some argue the celebrations of her life have obscured the lingering consequences of Britain's colonial past, as well as the monarchy's failure to properly own up to this history. I interviewed several residents of former British colonies about their reactions to the queen's passing, their reflections on the legacy of British colonial rule, and hopes for the path forward.
PROFILE — In September 2017, Harvard professors Ahmed Ragab and Soha Bayoumi became naturalized as U.S. citizens. Just a few hours later, Ragab was arrested for participating in a protest against the impending rescission of DACA. Having met as high schoolers in Cairo, Egypt, today both Ragab and Bayoumi practice engaged scholarship at the same educational institution, pushing their students to think critically about the intersections of academia and activism. We spoke with both of them to hear their stories — from Cairo to Cambridge.
ENTERPRISE REPORTING — Physical inaccessibility is one consequence of a campus like Harvard filled with historic buildings and landmarks. We spoke with students and administrators to learn about the experiences of students with physical disabilities navigating Harvard and what the university is doing to support them, including undertaking an ambitious years-long upperclassman house renovation project.
FEATURE — We took a look back on the Students for Fair Admissions versus Harvard affirmative action lawsuit and the student activism that proliferated in response to it. Speaking with leaders of various cultural affinity groups and students who testified, we examined how a lawsuit perceived to be intentionally divisive instead served as an opportunity for coalition building among students of color on campus.
BREAKING NEWS — Nearly a year after the Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard lawsuit went to trial, Judge Allison D. Burroughs ruled to uphold Harvard’s race-conscious admissions policies. We wrote about how it played out on campus, hearing from Harvard students, administrators, and alumni about their reactions to the verdict.