Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 8-6-21

Editorial
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HBCU News
FAMU, Spelman, And Clark Atlanta University, Among HBCUs Clearing Tuition Balances
With the coronavirus pandemic changing the course of our lives over the past 18 months, the disrup- tion has taken its toll on just about everyone.
Luckily, despite the nega- tive impact of COVID-19, three HBCUs have recently announced that they have cleared the debts of students covering the 2020-2021 aca- demic year.
Last week, Spelman Col- lege announced to its stu- dents and on its Facebook page the magnanimous gift.
“To address the financial hardships that have taken a toll on students and families over the last year, Spelman College cleared outstanding student balances from AY 2020-2021, an action made possible by the receipt of funds from the federal gov- ernment.”
“This reset to the lower tuition rates of four years ago will have a long-term impact on affordability,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman. “Spel- man’s in-depth study into the financial aid needs of our stu- dents several years ago rein- forced our understanding of one of this country’s funda- mental inequities: high per- forming, high need students are drastically underfunded,” said Campbell.
“If 2020 taught us any- thing, it is that racial fault lines continue to make the lives of African Americans quantitatively harder than those of non-Black Ameri- cans.”
Clark Atlanta University also announced its plans to lighten the financial burden of its students:
“Clark Atlanta University President Dr. George T. French, Jr. announced today that student account bal- ances for Spring 2020 – Summer 2021 will be can- celed and cleared. The uni- versity is canceling all student account balances for the Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, and Summer 2021 se- mesters by bringing them to a zero balance.“
“We understand these past two academic years have been emotionally and finan- cially difficult on students and their families due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why we will continue to do all we can to support their ef- forts to complete their CAU education,” said President French. “Their academic and professional future is impor- tant to me and the entire Clark Atlanta University fam- ily. We care about students and want to lighten their in- dividual and family’s finan-
cial load so they can continue their journey in pursuing and attaining their educational and professional goals.”
Adding to the recent good news of the other HBCUs, Florida A & M University (FAMU) released a statement announcing the parting gifts of clearing students’ tuition balances:
“Florida A&M University (FAMU) spent more than $16 million to cover fees, tuition, and unpaid student account balances during the 2020- 2021 school year, President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., has announced.”
“Over the last year and a half, the University provided over $16 million in student support and debt relief as a result of the federal Cares Act,” Robinson said at the commencement ceremonies for 2020 graduates Saturday morning. “This is an indica- tion of our commitment to student success and our hope that your time on the “Hill” has been transformative as you take on the challenges of the day, go out and make a difference,” Robinson told School of Business & Indus- try (SBI), College of Phar- macy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health (COPPS, IPH) and School of Environment grad- uates.”
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Choose: Mask It, Or Casket
f you have school age children ready to start schools
next Tuesday, August 10th, and a Monday night news story reveals that someone anonymously calls the sta- tion to say they had placed 100 rattlesnakes in each of 100 Hillsborough County schools, would you send your children to school the next morning?
If your answer is yes, then we feel sorry for you and your child. Sending children to school without masks is like sending your children to a school full of rat- tlesnakes.
Indeed, the danger of getting bitten by the Coron- avirus is just as great as getting bitten by a rattlesnake lurking under desks, in drawers, closets and book- shelves.
If you don’t want your children bitten by rat- tlesnakes, why would you subject your children to being bitten by the Coronavirus carried by hundreds of unmasked students and teachers?
As parents of masked students, do you have the right to have your children in classrooms with only masked students and masked teachers? Do schools have the re- sponsibility to keep masked students separate from un- masked students and teachers?
Do schools have the right to require daily COVID-19 tests of all unmasked students and teachers? People without masks are just as dangerous as rattlesnakes, spreading a deadly disease among both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. A Georgia school has had 200 students to quarantine because of COVID-19 cases among students and teachers.
Therefore, under no circumstances should children under the age of 12 be sent to schools without masks re- quirements. These children have not had a vaccine ap- proved for their use.
The number of children infected by the Coronavirus increases daily. As of December 2020, more than 2 million children were diagnosed with COVID-19, and at least 172 children had died of COVID-19. We don’t know about you, but to lose even one child to COVID is not acceptable.
Consequently, sending an unmasked child to school is choosing a casket for the child instead of a mask. We are sure the parents of the 172 dead children would choose a mask today instead of a casket for their children. What will you choose?
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 2021 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 5-A