In August, Eva Goodman was placed in handcuffs and a jail uniform for sleeping in a courtroom during a field trip. Goodman, 15, was visiting with a group organized by the nonprofit the Greening of Detroit. During the visit, Judge Kenneth King of the 36th District court scolded the teen for her “attitude” and behavior.
Goodman’s mother told the Free Press after the incident that their family did not have permanent housing and got in late the night before. Judge King was temporarily removed from the court docket, and his classes at Wayne State University were reassigned due to his suspension.
Since the incident, the Created Equal team has been examining through conversations how society responds to people who live in poverty.
Dr. Rema-Vassar, a professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Wayne State University, spent 20 years working in education and studies race, gender and class implications in schools. She says King’s response to the incident in court was inappropriate.
“My adviser at UCLA used to say, ‘all behavior is functional.’ There’s a reason for all behavior. So if the baby is sleeping in the court, the human response is to figure out why,” Vassar said. “Teachers get to come in and say, ‘I haven’t had my coffee. Don’t bother me for five minutes,’ right? A judge can say, ‘I have to take a recess, I need to compose myself and come back.’ Why aren’t children allowed to do that? Why can’t children say, ‘hey, I’m tired.'”
Vassar joined the show on Tuesday to talk more about how a student’s behavior in school can be a reflection of their circumstances at home.
Guest:
Dr. Rema-Vassar is a professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.
Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.
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Michigan Republican Congressman John James is working to build support for federal legislation that would offer tax breaks in exchange for donations to groups that offer educational scholarships for K-12 students. Those scholarships could go toward expenses like tutoring or private school tuition.
James said it’s time to re-think the country’s education system.
“The Education Choice for Children Act will empower parents, not bureaucrats, not union bosses, or a system that has cheated and denied millions of children, overwhelmingly minority children, overwhelmingly on the socially economic low end in both rural and urban areas,” James said.
Under the federal proposal, the scholarships would be available to kids in households under 300% area median gross income — a measure of the midpoint of an area’s income distribution.
The plan isn’t far off from proposals floated in Michigan in recent years — though public school advocates point out the state constitution bans public money from funding private education.
Supporters of the scholarship program say it would be different from a voucher program that would directly compensate families for private school tuition.
But critics, like Jennifer Smith, the director of government relations for the Michigan Association of School Boards, disagree.
She criticized the plan as a school voucher program by a different name.
“The idea is the same. They’re trying to shift money from the public tax collections and public money to the private schools. And even though it may be called a tax credit, it’s going to have the same effect,” Smith said.
With only a few months left before the general election and Democrats in control of the U.S. Senate and presidency, it’s unlikely the federal proposal will advance much further this session.
But supporters hope it comes back next year.
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A typical four-year degree can cost $115,000 or more, according to a 2023 College Board report. Borrowing money to pay for college adds to the total cost, due to interest.
Federal student loan interest rates range from 6.53% for undergraduate borrowers to 9.08% for parents. Private student loans have an even greater range, and the rate you get generally depends on your credit.
To lower the overall cost of your education, consider making optional student loan payments while you’re in school or during your grace period. Even if you can only afford a small amount, every payment you make will decrease the amount of interest that accrues. You could save thousands over the life of your loan.
“Interest begins accruing on most private student loans and some federal student loans as soon as students receive the money, even if payments aren’t due,” says Jill Desjean, senior policy analyst with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
Nerdy Tip There is one exception: If you qualify for federal subsidized Direct loans, the government covers the interest charges while you’re in school and during your grace period.
The impact of making student loan payments while in school
Paying even small amounts while you’re in school can add up. Consider this hypothetical example: Let’s say you take out $10,000 your first year of school at 6.53% interest on a 10-year repayment term. Here’s how different repayment amounts impact your total savings:
If you don’t make in-school payments, you’ll pay $141 per month once your repayment period starts. By the end of your repayment term, you’ll pay a total of $17,653.
If you pay $25 per month while in-school, you’ll pay $132 per month once your repayment period starts. By the end of your repayment term, you’ll pay a total of $17,161 — a savings of $492.
If you pay $50 per month while in-school, you’ll pay $116 per month once your repayment period starts. By the end of your repayment term, you’ll pay a total of $16,669 — a savings of $984.
If you pay $100 per month while in-school, you’ll pay $86 per month once your repayment period starts. By the end of your repayment term, you’ll pay a total of $15,686 — a savings of $1,967.
If you have multiple loans and can’t afford to make payments toward all of them, pay the one with the higher interest rate first, says Amy Lins, vice president of customer success with Money Management International, a non-profit financial education agency.
Making payments will also help you avoid the effects of capitalization — where interest is capitalized and added to your principal balance. Capitalization is typically what people mean when they talk about paying interest on your interest. By making payments while in college, you can cut down on the amount that’s capitalized, preventing your loan balance from ballooning out of control.
When should you skip in-school payments?
Depending on your circumstances, making in-school payments may not make sense. If you fit into one of the following groups, you may be better off deferring your payments until you leave school and your grace period ends.
You can adjust your budget
If you find that you can afford to pay $50 or more per month, you may need to rethink your budget and approach to borrowing.
“While making payments during school can save student loan borrowers money, the cheapest option is to not borrow at all because of loan origination fees,” Desjean says. “If you’re in a position to make payments on your loans during school, examine whether you can use that extra money to pay for school expenses directly without borrowing.”
Similarly, if you borrow money, the school will send you a check for the excess amount after covering your tuition and fees. You can use the cash to cover other education expenses, including your textbooks and meal plan. But according to Robert Farrington, founder of The College Investor, those excess dollars are an opportunity to reduce your debt.
“I would always encourage you to minimize lifestyle expenses,” he says. “Maybe get an extra roommate or anything you can do to save money, and then you can take that refund and put it right towards your student loan. Even if you wait until the end of the semester or the end of the academic year, I would throw it right back at your student loans ahead of time instead of keeping that.”
You’re pursuing loan forgiveness
If you’re planning on working as a teacher or for a non-profit organization, you may qualify for loan forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), so making extra payments may not make sense.
“If you’re working in public service and qualify for PSLF, you could end up a lot wealthier in life by paying as little as legally allowed on your loan and receiving loan forgiveness,” Farrington says. “If you know what direction you’re taking while in college, you can give yourself a head start.”
You have other debt
Your student loans may not be the only form of debt you have. And if you have other debt with higher rates, it may be financially wise to target the highest-interest debt first.
“If someone has accumulated credit card debt, for example, that’s likely to be at a much higher interest rate [than student loans],” says Lins. “And I would tackle that first to keep that credit card balance from growing.”
You have subsidized federal student loans
If you have subsidized federal student loans, which are available to students with financial need, interest does not accrue while you’re in school or during your six-month grace period. If you have this type of loan, your balance won’t be larger upon leaving school than it was when the loan was disbursed.
However, making in-school payments if you’re able can still help you in the long run, because interest will accrue on a smaller balance once you leave school.
It’s called Hood Camp: Urban Survival for Today’s Youth.
“We call it Hood Camp because it is a camp that’s in the hood,” said Mama Shu, CEO and founder of Avalon Village — the sustainable eco-village on Avalon Street in Highland Park that hosts the camp. “And we do it because there are a lot of children who are not able to afford camp.”
The program, for only $50 per child, offers local youth a chance to have an outdoor camping experience in the comfort of their own neighborhood.
Shu says she started the camp because as a young girl she always wanted to camp in her backyard, but her mom wouldn’t let her. But now as an adult, she can share that dream with others.
“I was like ‘You know what? I’m doing this! Let me see if I can get some children and parents who would let their children come and start this Hood Camp.'”
The first camp, in 2011, was just one night with 17 kids — and later up to 40. That lasted for the first 10 years. Eventually, by popular demand from the kids, Shu extended the camp to an entire weekend.
“Because the kids used to always say, ‘Mama Shu we want to spend another night.’ Because they loved spending the night outside,” she said.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the camp reduced its attendance down to 25 -30 children.
At the camp, children learn all about emergency preparedness and surviving outside. They learn how to cook outside, how to garden and purify water. They even learn about different plants that most typically would classify as weeds, and how they can be used for medicinal purposes.
Hood Village, an urban survival and outdoor camping experience for kids, runs Aug. 30-Sept. 1 inside Avalon Village, Highland Park. (Photo courtesy of Avalon Village)
Hood Village, an urban survival and outdoor camping experience for kids, runs Aug. 30-Sept. 1 inside Avalon Village, Highland Park. (Photo courtesy of Avalon Village)
Hood Village, an urban survival and outdoor camping experience for kids, runs Aug. 30-Sept. 1 inside Avalon Village, Highland Park. (Photo courtesy of Avalon Village)
Hood Village, an urban survival and outdoor camping experience for kids, runs Aug. 30-Sept. 1 inside Avalon Village, Highland Park. (Photo courtesy of Avalon Village)
Hood Village, an urban survival and outdoor camping experience for kids, runs Aug. 30-Sept. 1 inside Avalon Village, Highland Park. (Photo courtesy of Avalon Village)
Hood Village, an urban survival and outdoor camping experience for kids, runs Aug. 30-Sept. 1 inside Avalon Village, Highland Park. (Photo courtesy of Avalon Village)
Hood Village, an urban survival and outdoor camping experience for kids, runs Aug. 30-Sept. 1 inside Avalon Village, Highland Park. (Photo courtesy of Avalon Village)
Shu also recruits the Highland Park Fire and Police Departments to teach fire and gun safety and general community safety.
Each camper gets a survival kit with items like batteries, matches, candles, a first aid kit, and a solar backpack. And at the end of the weekend, they go home with a certificate that reads: “I survived in the hood.”
“We are showing them basically how you can fit in and how you can utilize these things first and how to survive in your own neighborhood,” Shu said.
Shu gave the example of a blackout in the neighborhood as an opportunity for the children to use their skills.
“We had out light go out for days in Highland Park,” Shu said “They still have to go to school. Well, they have the solar backpacks so they can charge their phones and their computers. And hopefully not miss a beat with their studies.”
Shu said she always receives positive feedback from the children and their parents about the Hood Camp program. Some former students return each year to participate again, while some who have grown up and graduated return as volunteers.
“It’s just wonderful seeing them still be interested in helping out in the community. And being able to volunteer and support something that when they were kids, they were involved in,” Shu said.
Hood Camp runs Aug. 30 through Sept. 1, 2024. For more information or to register a camper, visit www.theavalonvilllage.org.
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When news broke that AI-generated nude pictures of students were popping up at a Beverly Hills Middle School in February, many district officials and parents were horrified.
But others said no one should have been blindsided by the spread of AI-powered “undressing” programs. “The only thing shocking about this story,” one Carlsbad parent said his 14-year-old told him, “is that people are shocked.”
Now, a newly released report by Thorn, a tech company that works to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material, shows how common deepfake abuse has become. The proliferation coincides with the wide availability of cheap “undressing” apps and other easy-to-use, AI-powered programs to create deepfake nudes.
But the report also shows that other forms of abuse involving digital imagery remain bigger problems for school-age kids.
To measure the experiences and attitudes of middle- and high-school students with sexual material online, Thorn surveyed 1,040 9- to 17-year-olds across the country from Nov. 3 to Dec. 1, 2023. Well more than half of the group were Black, Latino, Asian or Native American students; Thorn said the resulting data were weighted to make the sample representative of U.S. school-age children.
According to Thorn, 11% of the students surveyed said they knew of friends or classmates who had used artificial intelligence to generate nudes of other students; an additional 10% declined to say. Some 80% said they did not know anyone who’d done that.
In other words, at least 1 in 9 students, and as many as 1 in 5, knew of classmates who used AI to create deepfake nudes of people without their consent.
Stefan Turkheimer, vice president of public policy for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the country’s largest anti-sexual-violence organization, said that Thorn’s results are consistent with the anecdotal evidence from RAINN’s online hotline. A lot more children have been reaching out to the hotline about being victims of deepfake nudes, as well as the nonconsensual sharing of real images, he said.
Compared with a year ago or even six months ago, he said, “the numbers are certainly up, and up significantly.”
Technology is amplifying both kinds of abuse, Turkheimer said. Not only is picture quality improving, he said, but “video distribution has really expanded.”
The Thorn survey found that almost 1 in 4 youths ages 13 to 17 said they’d been sent or shown an actual nude photo or video of a classmate or peer without that person’s knowledge. But that number, at least, is lower than it was in 2022 and 2019, when 29% of the surveyed students in that age group said they’d seen nonconsensually shared nudes.
Not surprisingly, only 7% of the students surveyed admitted that they had personally shared a nude photo or video without that person’s knowledge.
The study found that sharing of real nudes is widespread among students, with 31% of the 13- to 17-year-olds agreeing with the statement that “It’s normal for people my age to share nudes with each other.” That’s about the same level overall as in 2022, the report says, although it’s notably lower than in 2019, when nearly 40% agreed with that statement.
Only 17% of that age group admitted to sharing nude selfies themselves. An additional 15% of 9- to 17-year-olds said they had considered sharing a nude photo but decided not to.
Turkheimer wondered whether some of the perceived decline in sexual interactions online stemmed from the shutdown last year of Omegle, a site where people could have video chats with random strangers. Although Omegle’s rules banned nudity and the sharing of explicit content, more than a third of the students who reported using Omegle said they’d experienced some form of sexual interaction there.
He also noted that the study didn’t explore how frequently students experienced the interactions that the survey tracked, such as sharing nudes with an adult.
According to Thorn, 6% of the students surveyed said they’d been victims of sextortion — someone had threatened to reveal a sexual image of them unless they agreed to pay money, send more sexual pictures or take some other action. And when asked whom to blame when a nude selfie goes public, 28% said it was solely the victim’s fault, compared with 51% blaming the person who leaked it.
Security guards stand outside at Beverly Vista Middle School on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in Beverly Hills, California. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Community stakeholders, dignitaries and residents held a ribbon cutting ceremony this week to celebrate the opening of the new McClellan Early Childhood Center on Detroit’s east side.
Located on the site where Detroit Public Schools’ Pingree Elementary once operated, the 15,000-square-foot facility features eight classrooms that are providing 96 new seats for early learners in the community, helping to close a 521-seat gap in the surrounding neighborhoods, according to the city.
The Center, which will welcome its first students in October 2024, will also offer Head Start and Early Head Start programs and feature a community room and meeting spaces for use by local organizations and residents.
Funding for the project came from a variety of public and private entities, according to lender and developer IFF, which was tasked with sourcing the capital to make the Center possible.
The nonprofit early childhood educator and social services organization Matrix Human Services will operate the McClellan ECC.
“The McClellan Early Childhood Center is a milestone in our mission to transform Head Start early childhood education in Detroit,” said Matrix CEO Brad Coulter in a statement. “By providing a new state of the art facility right in the heart of Gratiot Woods, we are setting a foundation for our children’s future success. This facility is not just a school; it’s a commitment to our community.”
For more information about the McClellan Early Childhood Center, visit iff.org/mcclellan.
Other headlines for Friday, Aug. 23, 2024:
A new report from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan examines the value in using public policy to drive economic innovation in Michigan.
The Detroit Lions will play against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Aug. 25, in their last pre-season game before the start of the 2024 2025 NFL season.
Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.
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CHICAGO — For University of Illinois Chicago visiting senior research specialist T. Chedgzsey Smith-McKeever, creating a path to higher education became a road to debt.
Her San Diego beginnings led to stints at the University of California at Irvine and the University of Southern California, and ended with a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. But Smith-McKeever, who had been diagnosed with diabetes at age 13, had to juggle school debt with paying out of pocket for her preexisting condition.
In between her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she defaulted on her student loans.
“I got out of undergrad owing around $15,000,” she said. Then Smith-McKeever became pregnant. “That was my great motivator. What killed me was getting my master’s degree because I’m paying for me to survive, for my daughter to survive. The tuition was outrageous. I went from owing $15,000 to $120,000.”
She remembers being in and out of homelessness even with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. “I knew I had to get more education,” she said, “otherwise there is no way I’m going to be able to take care of this child.”
Smith-McKeever got lucky when a friend offered her late mother’s home as a place for her to stay. Without having to pay rent, she saved enough money to get out of default to continue her education. Once she got her master’s degree, a job at the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services adoption division allowed Smith-McKeever to be able to afford rent for a studio apartment and child care.
Although she was able to manage things, her student loan payments were $1,200 a month. It was a number that she didn’t even share with her spouse.
“It was killing me,” said the social work educator and researcher, who moved to Chicago in 2002.
She managed to get that number down to $560 per month by negotiating with her lender and demonstrating with her income tax returns that much of her income was consumed by medical expenses.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m paying $560 if I owe over $200,000,” the Evergreen Park resident said. “You’re not paying as much, but you’re seeing that interest accumulate. It’s terrifying because it’s just getting bigger and bigger.”
T. Chedgzsey Smith-McKeever is seen at her home in Evergreen Park on July 25, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
So she Googled “help with managing my student loan debt” and was pointed to the Chicago law firm of Rae Kaplan. Smith-McKeever had spent nearly 20 years working at public universities and struggling to get her loans forgiven. But after working with Kaplan for a few years, Smith-McKeever finally received a letter in the mail saying, “your debt of $274,000 is forgiven.”
“I have an autoimmune disease; I don’t have a strong immune system,” Smith-McKeever said. “Between the end of COVID and now, like a year ago, I lost my right leg. I’ve had setback after setback. However, I believe the weight that retiring that student loan debt took off me, the psychological emotional stress that it removed from me really helped me be able to get through this challenge of losing my leg.”
Kaplan Law Firm was solely working on bankruptcies until 2014, when Kaplan decided to focus on helping people with student loan debt.
“We still practice bankruptcy law, but our student loan practice has eclipsed what the bankruptcy practice ever was. There are so many more people who need answers on their student loans and don’t need a bankruptcy,” Kaplan said. “If you forgive $40,000 or $50,000, for a middle-class family, that’s life-changing.”
The Kaplan Law Firm helps individuals and families understand the educational loan process before and after they sign the loan papers. Kaplan and her team help determine the best course of action for limiting and eliminating student loan debt. In most cases, Kaplan said, the federal loan monies taken out will be eligible for a type of income-driven repayment plan provided by the United States Department of Education.
Kaplan analyzes each client’s loans, federal and private, and if they are private, Kaplan goes over best strategies to reduce payments and get maximum loan forgiveness.
“For private loans, we’re looking at whether or not the best options are refinancing because in many cases, the borrower will have taken out a high interest loan that really just needs to be refinanced and that will do a lot to lower their payments and reduce the amount that they pay back overall on that loan,” Kaplan said. “If those private loans are already in default, then we can negotiate a reduced balance settlement. Very often you can get the creditor to agree to a 50% settlement. That’s a big money saver.”
Marc Atkins, 66, holds his DeVry University transcript from the summer trimester in 1994 when he was enrolled in 23 credit hours while raising two kids and working full time. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Whether it’s a parent curious about taking out Parent Plus Loans for their child, a high school student who has plans for their major and career, or a person who has been paying their student loan for 10 to 25 years, Kaplan said she can be of assistance.
She said the student loan process is confusing. Kaplan spoke of an attorney who owed six figures in student loans but got confused by the information and misinformation about student loan debt. So she came to Kaplan, who got her enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan, an initiative of President Joe Biden’s administration that went into effect this year. It is an income-driven repayment plan that calculates a monthly payment based on income and family size. The attorney is now paying $180 per month under the repayment plan and Kaplan said the woman is going to wind up paying back about $25,000 of her loans and then the remaining balance will be forgiven.
“If you know what you’re doing when it comes to your student loans, you can save so much money, but the key is you have to know the system and understand how it was set up and how it works and how that applies to you and to your loans because it’s a very fact-specific situation,” Kaplan said. “There is a lot of information out there, but it’s still confusing because there are different types of loans and the law applies to them differently depending on your circumstances. Some people are going to have to pay back their loans in full. Those are usually high-income earners … but you might still be able to get some forgiveness of the interest that accrues. The interest is a killer, because it starts accruing as soon as the loans are disbursed to your school. Most people don’t know that and they’re shocked when they come out of school … and then they see the balance has doubled and tripled.”
Kaplan said having a servicer provide incorrect information can add to the frustration. She has been on the phone with servicers for hours on behalf of her clients and then the call drops; she’s also had servicers incorrectly calculate monthly payments.
“The servicers are not there to help you,” she said. “They’re just there to keep track of your payments and keep your loans out of default. So they very often will tell people, OK, you’re having trouble making payments, let’s put the loans into forbearance when that’s very often the wrong thing to do because interest is then accruing and capitalizing, so it’s increasing the balance. And during that time, maybe that person was eligible for a $10 monthly payment plan that would get them further on track for forgiveness.”
Despite a recent federal stay on the SAVE plan, Kaplan is a big proponent of the plan because most people will have their payments reduced by 50% just by enrolling, she said. The plan also has a 100% interest subsidy, which means any interest that accrues gets waived by the Department of Education. Before July, over 5,500 Illinoisans were identified for loan forgiveness with the SAVE plan, amounting to $43.8 million.
Even though there is litigation challenging whether the Biden administration had authority to create the plan under the Higher Education Act, Kaplan said she thinks SAVE will survive. But in the interim, there are other income-driven plans that are “very reasonable and based on a percentage of the borrower’s income … usually 10% to 20%,” Kaplan said.
Rae Kaplan, owner and head attorney at Kaplan Law Firm, is shown in her Chicago office on July 24, 2024, before meeting with a client to discuss student loan options to fund their higher education. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Kaplan counsels borrowers before they take out loans so they don’t upend their financial futures. “For student loans, it requires careful planning and knowledge so that you pay what you’re supposed to pay, but again, not more than you’re supposed to pay. And there is tremendous relief available; you just have to know how to access it,” Kaplan said.
After a 45-year career in the shoe industry, Homewood resident Marc Atkins endured a deep vein thrombosis in his left leg in 2020. When the world was reopening after lockdown and the possibility of going back to his job at Nordstrom in women’s shoes was an option, he opted to take early retirement. But student loans in the amount of $232,195 loomed for the DeVry graduate. He, too, Googled student loan attorneys and found Rae Kaplan.
“That was the only thing on my credit report … two loans that came to about $165,000 or something like that collectively, but the interest is what shot it up,” said Atkins, 66. “Interest alone was soaking up any payments I was able to make. I knew there was no way I was gonna be able to take on (student loan payments) dealing with my monthly living expense. … I’m retired and on a fixed income; it was not feasible that I could deal with that included.”
Within months of touching base with Kaplan, Atkins had all of his student loans forgiven. “My stress level is pretty much zero. … I’m at peace … living life, being comfortable,” the 66-year-old said.
Since then, Atkins has referred former co-workers and residents in his building to Kaplan, whose fees start at $350 for a consultation. After that, the range depends on how much work is involved in the case, which can start at $1,500 and go up to $3,500. But Kaplan says she does many pro bono cases when a client isn’t in a position to pay.
Education used to be the great equalizer, said Smith-McKeever, whose daughter signed up for the SAVE Plan. “But the cost of education has gone so far out that it seems a trap,” Smith-McKeever said. “It’s crazy how expensive it’s gotten, but there’s an out, there’s a secret: It’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness and income-driven repayment plans.”
The educator has since told many students about Kaplan’s expertise. Her rationale: A cost of hundreds now is better than thousands of dollars down the road. Kaplan is trying to line up free seminars at area schools and institutions so more people are privy to the details of debt relief.
Marc Atkins, 66, with his class ring and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity shirt from DeVry University outside his home in Homewood on July 24, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
“Every Black, brown and Indigenous person needs to know not to let the cost of college be a barrier, because there’s a way out of the debt,” Smith-McKeever said. “Our lives are overwhelming. Having somebody to send you the paperwork, so you don’t get caught up, and you get out of (debt) and live your life in the process … that’s the drum that I’ve been beating.”
It’s also a drum that a number of other services have been beating for years. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the state’s college access and financial aid agency, offers free help with college planning and financial aid.
The Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Northern Illinois, a nonprofit credit counseling agency, has been helping with debt management for over 40 years. And the nonprofit Institute of Student Loan Advisors was started in 2018 by Betsy Mayotte, a former compliance officer at a nonprofit student loan organization, because she wanted an avenue for people who needed help with their student loans.
“I’ve researched the Higher Education Act and the history of student loans back to the ‘70s, and I can say unequivocally that I’ve never seen a period of time in student loans like this, sort of chaotic,” said Mayotte, who is based in Massachusetts. “It’s become really difficult to try to advise someone what to do because this is uncharted territory.”
Donna Rasmussen, executive director at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Northern Illinois, said that when people think they’re getting in trouble with their student loans, they should contact their loan servicer to work out feasible options for repayment. She also recommends families seek out a counselor’s help at a nonprofit credit counseling agency when their child is in high school to start planning their higher education goals and how much in loans one needs.
“What we try and put in their head is that whatever you think you might be making your first year at your career out of college — that entire year of your income — that’s about the amount of student loan debt that we recommend people take,” Rasmussen said. “Don’t take more.”
She added that although occasionally there’s assistance for loan repayment or forgiveness, it’s not always an option. So if you’re taking on debt, you want to make sure that you have the capacity to pay it back. That’s why her firm helps people with budgeting plans to make sure they can do that.
T. Chedgzsey Smith-McKeever at her Evergreen Park home on July 25, 2024. Smith-McKeever, a senior research specialist at UIC’s Jane Addams College of Social Work, was burdened with student loans from undergraduate, graduate and doctorate degrees until 2018, when she filed with Rae Kaplan’s law firm as a public service employee for over 10 years and received a letter in 2022 that her loan, worth $242,292 including interest, was forgiven. “I feel psychological freedom and financial freedom, which is like freedom, freedom.” she said. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Ana Moya, an ISAC professional development specialist, recommends not taking out the maximum amount of loans, even if they’re offered to you. Take only what you need, she said. And figure out how much you need by filling out the FAFSA, the application for federal, state and institutional aid, or if you are an eligible undocumented student, the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid. The FAFSA is not just for loans, but also scholarships and grants. And check student loan forgiveness programs for certain professions prior to enrolling in higher education as it could affect your college planning.
“On our website, we have a ton of information,” Moya said. “If you go to any of our webinars, and you’re like ‘Would I qualify for this program?’ we can ask you a set of questions to see if you’re on the right track and what questions you should be asking the servicer, since we don’t have direct access to your loans.”
Smith-McKeever said she had planned to go into the Navy and have that pay for her education, but the diabetes diagnosis derailed that plan. While paying her student loans, her living expenses and health care expenses, she hasn’t been able to accumulate wealth, but she’s looking forward to breathing a bit easier without the suffocating debt.
Kaplan said that although the Biden administration has done a lot to make the student loan process easier, there’s still a long way to go in terms of educating borrowers. “I have a lot of clients who are doctors, lawyers, financial planners, and none of them have any idea how to approach student loans,” Kaplan said. “I like being able to help people and take that stressor off their shoulders.”
Rae Kaplan, owner and head attorney at Kaplan Law Firm, left, talks with client Pam Alexander, 72, of Woodridge during a consultation in her office in Chicago on July 24, 2024. Kaplan Law Firm helps individuals and families navigate student loans and bankruptcy. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
August means back to school, and if you’ve got kids or grandkids going off to college, technology will be a very important part of their personal and school lives.
Laptops or tablets will be the important, of course, but here are some ideas for things that can make their lives a bit easier, depending on their needs and fields of study. As usual, I’m posting list prices. You may well find them a bit cheaper if they are on sale.
Wacom One 13 Touch tablet
Wacom has been in the digital tablet business for decades, and their newest tablet is the second-generation Wacom One 13 Touch.
If you are not familiar with Wacom, they make digitizing tablets for computers. You use a digital pen to draw on a surface, and that drawing is shown on the computer screen.
The Wacom One takes things up a notch by combining their digitizing tablet with a touchscreen monitor. This setup lends itself to easily creating freehand artwork on your computer.
The 13-inch display supports multi-touch, so you can use your fingers to zoom in or out and rotate the work as needed. The pen is pressure sensitive and doesn’t need batteries. It has two buttons and interacts with all the big drawing and graphics apps.
These tablets are not just for graphics and artists; they’re perfect for people who are more comfortable taking written notes.
The fact that the One 13 Touch is also a second monitor means it can make the user more productive.
The One 13 Touch is $599.99 at Wacom.com.
Baseus GaN Smart USB Desktop Fast Charger 240W
The Baseus GaN Smart USB Desktop Fast Charger 240W. (Baseus/TNS)
Every dorm room needs a charging spot. The Beseus Digital GaN Intelligent Desktop Fast Charger is a multi-port USB charger that can pump up to 240 watts through its four ports to keep all your devices charged as quickly as possible.
There are three USB-C ports and one USB-A port, as well as a 12v DC output.
The charger has a digital display to show the exact amount of power being provided by each port, as well as the total output being used.
This charger has the capability to fast charge your MacBook Pro, iPad and iPhone as fast as possible. It also ships with a 240W USB-C fast charging cable.
The 240W Desktop Fast Charger costs $199.99 from Amazon.com.
Cuktech 20 Power Bank
The Cuktech 20 Power Bank. (Cuktech/TNS)
USB power banks are either small and lightweight or they’re a bit beefier and have greater charging capacity. Either way, it’s great to have the ability to charge your devices when you’re away from a convenient power outlet.
The Cuktech 20 Power Bank falls into the beefy category with 25,000 milliamp-hours of power and up to 140W of output and three USB ports (two USB-C and one USB-A). 25,000 mAh is the largest battery you can legally carry onto a commercial airplane.
What sets the Cuktech 20 apart from every other power bank is its color display that gives real time readouts of what’s going on in and out of each port. The batteries inside are rated for more than 1,000 charge cycles.
The Cuktech 20 includes a USB-C charging cable that’s also used to recharge the battery.
The size of the power bank reminds me of a large soda can, and it comes with a nice bag to carry the battery and any cables you’d want to carry.
The Cuktech 20 lists for $99.99 at Amazon.com.
Poly Voyager Free 20 earbuds
The Poly Voyager Free 20 earbuds. (Poly/TNS)
I work at a university, and since the pandemic, we’ve had to get used to hybrid classes, which means they happen in a classroom and online live via video conference at the same time.
Having a good set of earbuds with great sound and microphones means you can take part in those online classes without disturbing your roommates.
Poly is a great brand in the headset market, and the Voyager Free 20 have active noise canceling with three mics in each earbud. They have really nice sounding speakers, with four different tip sizes so you can perfect the fit for the best sound quality.
They can pair to two devices at once, so you can move between your phone and your computer seamlessly.
The Poly Voyager Free 20 earbuds are available at Amazon for $149.99.
The Sierra Club’s Detroit Outdoors program sent a group of Detroit high school students to Yosemite National Park in July. They went to meet Shelton Johnson — a Detroit native, Cass Tech grad, Yosemite park ranger and expert in the history of Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks. The Buffalo Soldiers were Black Soldiers who fought in the Civil War. They later became some of the first park rangers.
The Detroit Outdoors program is a collaboration between the Sierra Club, the city of Detroit, the YMCA of Metro Detroit and local organizations that serve youth.
The partnership began with the re-opening of Scout Hollow at Rouge Park — the only campground within Detroit’s city limits. It has grown to include programs that get students outdoors for skiing, hiking, camping and rock climbing throughout the state and around the country. The Detroit to Yosemite trip is just one of the excursions the organization has offered to students this summer.
Listen:Garrett Dempsey on Detroit to Yosemite
The trip coincided with the celebration of National Buffalo Soldiers Day on July 28. I accompanied the students as they traveled to Yosemite to camp, hike and rock climb.
Cass Tech grad found happiness in school’s Outdoor Adventure Club
Detroit Outdoors supports student-led Outdoor Adventure Clubs in schools in Detroit and Hamtramck.
Madelane Martinez is a recent graduate of Cass Tech and the outgoing president of the school’s Outdoor Adventure Club. She was one of the students who visited Yosemite. Martinez says the program and its staff helped her develop a deep love of the outdoors and for climbing.
Listen:Madelane Martinez says she ‘found happiness where she didn’t know to look for it’ in Outdoor Adventure Club
There were eight students, two teachers and five outdoor trip leaders who traveled from Detroit to Yosemite. But Black and Brown people who work in the outdoors through variety of roles came from Alaska, Colorado and California to spend time with the students.
Mountaineer and educator Phillip Henderson speaks to Detroit students at Yosemite.
Phillip Henderson is the executive director of Full Circle Expeditions and has been a leader in mountaineering for three decades. He traveled to Yosemite for the trip and spoke with WDET after the youth had spent the day rock climbing and rappelling.
Listen:Phil Henderson talks connecting Black and Brown youth with the outdoors
In his interview, Phil Henderson mentions WDET reporter Sascha Raiyn hung over the side of the rock to take pictures while the students rappelled. She sure did.
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A new report on children in Michigan is revealing a mixed bag when it comes to measures of child well-being.
On one hand, a smaller percentage of students were experiencing homelessness in 2022 compared to five years prior. Early childhood poverty was also down statewide from 25% in 2017 to a little under 20% in 2022.
Plus, infant mortality dropped by close to 12% years.
The numbers come from the Michigan League for Public Policy’s Kids Count in Michigan Data Profiles. That’s part of the nationwide data report published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The Michigan report mostly compares numbers collected between 2021 and 2023 with data from 2017.
Michigan League for Public Policy Kids Count Director Anne Kuhnen said government programs meant to address poverty expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, and looking at data from that time can provide new insights.
“I think it actually presents a ton of opportunities because it was almost like there was a little experiment that happened that we could see you know what it is it going—what is going to happen for children and families when we increase this benefit that’s existed for a long time but has always left some kids out,” Kuhnen told reporters during a luncheon Wednesday.
Materials provided during Wednesday’s event included insights that discussed how over a dozen of the areas measured saw improvements.
But on the other side, third grade reading proficiency was suffering from a COVID-19 pandemic-related dip. And a lower proportion of young kids were getting tested for lead or entering preschool.
When it comes to the areas where improvement is needed, Kuhnen said the pandemic also makes it tough to properly evaluate the results of initiatives like the state’s Read by Grade 3 law.
“We have some of these tools in place and we need to see, now that kids are back to school and in person, is it going to be effective? And then, of course, we also know that it takes money,” Kuhmen said.
The luncheon also featured a roundtable discussion with several stakeholders, including the director of the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential — a state agency less than a year old that’s designed to support aspects of education taking place outside of the classroom.
Director Beverly Walker-Griffea said she feels her department can help close some of the gaps noted in the report.
“We are not moving where we should be when you start talking about childcare, about early childhood, about our children,” Walker-Griffea said.
Walker-Griffea and some of the other speakers echoed the League for Public Policy’s calls for more government investment in making childcare more accessible, saying that would be a path forward for improving communities and the economy.
Other suggestions included increasing mental health resources in schools, passing paid family and medical leave, and providing universal free community college.
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Kelli McCloud is a liaison for Dollars for Scholars and works at Utica Community Schools supporting a group of sophomores, juniors and seniors. She joins The Metro on Tuesday to talk about getting high schoolers ready for the next chapter of their lives.
McCloud says Dollars for Scholars helps students overcome barriers that prevent them from education opportunities beyond high school.
“Students are able to apply to get into this program, and this program gives them the opportunity to get SAT prep, which we all know the SAT,” McCloud said. “As much as we don’t want that score to mean everything, it means a lot when it comes to college money. And then it gives them opportunities to be able to go on campus tours, so just kind of opens up to all the different colleges that are out there. And then at the end of the program they get $4,000. So that’s one of the biggest stresses: money.”
Use the media player above to hear the full interview with McCloud.
More headlines from The Metro on Aug. 20, 2024:
It’s the Detroit Public Theatre’s 10th Season! The organization produces nationally recognized plays from world-class writers, directors, actors and designers – all in the Midtown Detroit Neighborhood. Co-founder and Artistic Director of Detroit Public Theater Courtney Burkett joined the show to preview the theatre’s upcoming season.
Oakland County Parks is hosting its final Diverse-Ability Day event of the summer from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22 WDET’s Sydney Waelchli spoke with Oakland County Parks and Recreation Supervisor Sandy Dorey on adaptive outdoor activities at the event and how they’re trying to make parks more inclusive.
Last month, the Michigan Supreme Court made a pivotal ruling that will increase the minimum wage and require businesses to provide paid sick leave to their employees. President and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan Brian Calley joined the show to discuss the ruling. He says that paid sick leave makes life harder for both business owners and workers.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
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In museums across the United States, you can see artifacts and human remains that belong to the native peoples who were here before our country existed. But do you ever wonder where the institutions got those things or whether native people had any say about these displays of their culture?
The federal government considered these questions when the Interior Department enacted the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) over 30 years ago. The regulations require museums and federal agencies to identify and return Native American remains and belongings. The interior department issued a final ruling in December of 2023 that encouraged museums across the country to remove Native American items and remains from display and begin the process of returning them to native peoples.
Chip Colwell was the senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for 12 years. He was responsible for repatriating the museum’s collection of Native American items. Colwell joined Created Equal on Monday to discuss the movement to reconcile science and history with the delicate nature of native possessions.
Chip Colwellis the founding editor-in-chief of SAPIENS, an online magazine about anthropological thinking and discoveries. He was the senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for 12 years. Colwell says repatriation is the process of untangling the conflict between science and culture.
“Our bodies are maps of our histories and identities, and the science can use those to understand who people were and the larger human story, and that’s not to be discounted. But what’s to say is that not everyone shares that view. When it’s your ancestor, your grandmother, or your great-great-grandfather you have something different at stake,” he said.
Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.
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On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced plans to notify 25 million student loan borrowers of new debt relief options. Closer to home, Oakland County recently passed a resolution to partner with the company Savi to cancel a portion of student debt for 172,000 residents.
Oakland County Commissioner Charlie Cavell joined The Metro on Thursday to discuss the new resolution and how the partnership with Savi will work.
Cavell said the partnership could help residents save tens of thousands of dollars on their student loans. That new collaboration is important, Cavell says, because college debt often makes it hard for people to do things like purchase a home or pay for childcare.
“It’s a huge, terrible, grinding burden on lots of people,” he said.
Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Cavell.
More headlines from The Metro on Aug. 1, 2024:
Some of the gaps created in educational outcomes are a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, what else is going to prevent people from achieving success in Detroit? And what can the country, state and city do to unlock opportunities for more residents here? To discuss these things, Anika Goss, the Chief Executive Officer of Detroit Future City, joined The Metro.
The Belle Isle Art Fair along the Detroit River brings art to the people. This Saturday and Sunday the art fair will highlight works of more than 100 artists from across the country. To talk more about the Belle Isle Art Fair and the importance of highlighting the arts community, Mark Loeb, the director of the Belle Isle Art Fair, joined the show.
Months ago, the ‘uncommitted’ movement pledged not to vote for President Joe Biden until he did more to stop Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza. What do Arab and Muslim Michigan voters want now that Kamala Harris is the presumed Democratic presidential nominee? To discuss this and more, The Metro guest co-host Robyn Vincent spoke with Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.
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There will be 22 candidates on the ballot in November vying to fill three open seats on the Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education.
Chalkbeat Detroit reported this week that two new people will join the board, after two current members did not seek reelection. But there are familiar faces running as well, Chalkbeat reports, including two former school board members, a handful of people who have sought to join the board in the past, and teachers who have been frequent critics of the district.
Mario Morrow, a political analyst and former educator, administrator and assistant superintendent in Detroit, joined The Metro on Wednesday to share why he says this election is so important and what it can tell us about the politics of public education.
Morrow says there are several different reasons why one might want a position on the school board.
“They are very dedicated to education, they want to see the district move in the right direction. Or maybe they’re using this as a stepping stone for another political career. Or just maybe they just want to get paid,” Morrow said. “It is a paying position now, and you can get a stipend. I think it’s $250 a meeting, which is about $75,000 a year. It’s not a bad gig to have.”
No matter the reason for running, the candidates have several responsibilities to fulfill if elected as a school board member.
“The two main responsibilities is, No. 1, hiring and firing of the superintendent. And No. 2, creating and making sure that policy is followed within the district,” Morrow said.
Morrow says school board candidates don’t have to have any educational experience, but rather, just show a dedication to working with the administration and community. He spoke about Mother Moore, a longtime social justice activist and centenarian in Detroit, who — despite her age — has been very involved at school board meetings, and how she is a prime example of what a school board member should be.
“I wish school board members, these 20 plus candidates, would take a page or a chapter out of her book to make sure that they do the right thing if they’re elected,” Morrow said.
Strong leadership in the district is key as they aim to address its many ongoing challenges such as “chronic absenteeism,” of which Michigan has some of the most abysmal rates in the nation.
In order for the district to improve, school board members need to have the “dedication, commitment and knowledge base” to make a positive change, Morrow said.
Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Morrow.
More headlines from The Metro on July 31st:
The last few weeks have been a wild time in politics. Dennis Darnoi, a Republican strategist and owner of Densar Consulting in Farmington Hills, joined The Metro to discuss how Michigan voters are handling this election cycle.
The 9th annual “Aging Matters Education and Expo” is taking place this Thursday at the Fellowship Chapel in Detroit. Its goal is to empower aging adults to live their golden years a little brighter. Bernadette Hudgins, one of the event’s organizers, joined the showto talk about what resources they have to offer.
After being an underground cultural touchstone for decades, break dancing is now out in the open as an official Olympic sport. Break dancing began in the late ’60s and early ’70s in the Bronx. And as the dance spread nationwide, Detroit and other cities added their own regional flare. To discuss break dancing and the stamp Detroit placed on it, Detroit freelance journalist Kahn Santori Davison joined The Metro.
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“Chronic absenteeism” is one of the biggest problems hurting students in Detroit and across the country, accounting for any students who miss at least 10% of school days.
Chalkbeat Detroit reports that Michigan had one of the worst rates of chronic absenteeism in the nation during the 2021-22 school year. While the rates improved the following school year, 30% of students still were chronically absent statewide. Those missed days not only make it hard for kids to succeed in the classroom, but also makes a teacher’s job a lot tougher.
So how should schools go about solving the problem, and what might lawmakers need to do to intervene? To help us answer these questions, Lori Higgins, bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit, joined The Metro.
Higgins has covered Michigan education for nearly 25 years, and she describes chronic absenteeism as a critical issue across the state that has worsened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You still have in Detroit 66% of the kids who are chronically absent. And a third of the kids across the state who are chronically absent, and the state numbers are well above what they were before the pandemic,” Higgins said. “Obviously, the pandemic had an impact on chronic absenteeism. And schools are still trying to recover from it.”
Through her reporting and research, Higgins found that poverty is a large factor of chronic absenteeism in Detroit. Students in poverty face many issues like stable housing, reliable transportation and safe neighborhoods that may cause them to miss school.
“We talked to a student who said one day it was really cold in the morning. He was waiting at the bus stop around 6 a.m. and the bus just drove right past him. And so what did he do? He went right back home. He said, ‘I’m not going to wait here another 45 minutes for another bus,” Higgins said. “And that’s just how easy it is for a kid to become chronically absent, is that split second decision that I’m not going to school today, because the transportation was not reliable, it didn’t pick me up on time.”
Higgins also spoke about a Detroit mother who prefers to walk her daughter the 5 to 6 blocks to school, and keeps her home on the days she is unable to accompany her because of safety concerns. Throughout the first half of the school year, the daughter had a total of 50 absences, she said.
“Schools cannot solve this issue alone, they cannot fix all the societal problems that are leading to chronic absenteeism,” Higgins said. “And that makes it really critical for schools and communities to be working together to find solutions to chronic absenteeism.”
Unfortunately, Higgins said, lawmakers haven’t done much to address the issue.
Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Higgins.
More headlines from The Metro on July 30, 2024:
To date, in the 2023-2024 cycle, the Republican National Committee’s legal team has engaged in a total of 78 election-related lawsuits in 23 states — raising doubts about the integrity of our electoral system before ballots are even cast. Abby Vesoulis, a national politics reporter for Mother Jones, recently wrote about the RNC’s “bogus” lawsuits, calling them the GOP’s “secret weapon of 2024.” Vesoulis joined The Metro to discuss her reporting on the issue.
July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, and metro Detroit-based Hegira Health is hosting a virtual town hall on Wednesday featuring a panel discussion about how to address mental health care disparities. To talk more about the town hall and Minority Mental Health Month, Hegira Health Director of Development Dr. Andrea Rodgers joined the show.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
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Detroit City Council is going on recess from July 31 to September, but that doesn’t mean all local government meetings will stop in and around Detroit.
WDET’s newsroom partner Detroit Documenters report on many public government meetings in southeast Michigan. And now, we’re starting a new project with the Documenters.
Each Friday, we’ll be joined by members of the team to discuss not only what’s happening at government meetings, but also how you can be civically engaged with Detroit and its suburbs.
Detroit Documenter coordinators Lynelle Herndon and Noah Kincade joined The Metro this week to discuss their work and a recent SMART transit meeting they covered.
Detroit Documenters are a collective of more than 500 southeast Michigan residents who are trained and paid to take notes on local government meetings. These notes are shared with the public to keep an open record of what happens at these meetings.
“So anyone in Detroit or the surrounding area can be a Detroit Documenter. Documenters come from maybe up to 45 minutes to an hour outside of the city,” Herndon said. “Just live, love, work in the city of Detroit. You need to be 16 years or older and know how to read, write and navigate the internet and then we’ll train you to do the rest.”
Documenters covered the SMART Board of Directors meeting on Thursday. SMART bus operators have been working without a contract since January 2023.
At the meeting, Kincade spoke with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1564 President Kevin Colon, the union representing SMART operators. He told Kincade that contract negotiations are in a fact finding stage.
“To come to an agreement, both sides kind of make their best offers and then a mediator tries to figure out what the best deal is for both sides,” Kincade said.
It’s unclear when a contract will be reached, and Kincade says SMART operators have little leverage in negotiations as they can’t go on strike as government workers.
“It sounds like they may have come to kind of agreeable terms on their pay, but it’s really, the operators have been stripped from a retirement plan. So if you came in right now as a new driver, you’re not going to have any kind of retirement plan,” Kincade said.
A driver shortage is also having an impact on riders. Kincade spoke with Transit Riders United Engagement Specialist Lukas Lasecki. TRU is an organization working to improve transit in the region. Lasecki was in attendance to represent people who use the transit system.
“The drivers, they’re working without a contract. And between that and the low pay that they’ve been given, it makes it difficult to attract new drivers. And SMART is short close to 100 drivers which is having major impacts on service reliability,” Lasecki said. “If two drivers call off sick, they start canceling buses. And that’s a daily occurrence in Oakland County. It’s not, it’s not sustainable and it’s leaving us bus riders stranded all the time.”
Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Herndon and Kincade.
More headlines from The Metro on July 26, 2024:
Today marks the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which aims to end discrimination against people with disabilities. CurbCutOS CEO Mark Pound and Accessibility Support Engineer Al Puzzuoli joined the show to talk about technology’s slow adoption of ADA requirements.
Some of Detroit’s neighborhood names have a long history, like Corktown — Detroit’s oldest neighborhood. Others come from nearby landmarks, but changes in the city sometimes cause the original context to no longer make sense. Alex Hill, a local researcher, cartographer and founder of Detroitography.com, joined The Metro to discuss the many neighborhood names of Detroit.
The Detroit Film Theatre inside of the Detroit Institute of Arts is celebrating its 50th year at the museum. WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper caught up with longtime director Eliott Wilhelm to find out what’s screening.
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According to the book, men today often feel they are without solutions for how to act in a range of situations, partly because parents and teachers don’t know what it means to raise boys who are balanced, confident and embrace their masculinity in a healthy way.
Whippman joined The Metro on Thursday to discuss how to address sexism perpetuated by boys and men. She also spoke about how society can create a more positive view of masculinity.
“What I didn’t realize, and I found out while researching this book, was that a baby boy is born with his brain actually about a month behind baby girls’ in terms of right brain development. So that’s the part which deals with emotions, and emotional self regulation, and attachment and relationships,” Whippman said. “So baby girls are born a little bit more mature, a little bit more resilient and independent. Whereas boys need a little bit more support with those things. But because of the way that we think about boys, and we raise them, we actually do the complete opposite with them. They kind of need more of that kind of care, but we tend to see them as boys, as tough and sturdy and robust.”
Positive male role models and healthy masculinity themes are difficult to find in the media, Whippman said.
“Girls see so much content, which is all about emotions, and relationships,” Whippman said. “And I know this from having boys, if you just let the Netflix algorithm do its thing for a young boy and you don’t intervene, all they see is stories in which you know, there’s a hero, there’s a villain, a good guy and a bad guy, there’s a battle, someone dies and someone’s crowned a hero. So there’s none of that like relationship stuff, that like how you deal with real human beings, how you track somebody else’s emotions.”
Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Whippman.
More headlines from The Metro on July 25, 2024:
One of the ways cities create more land opportunities for housing is through downzoning. Detroit City Council is working through this process now, changing the zoning of areas to prevent future heavy industry from impacting residents. Council Member Scott Benson joined the show to share more about the process.
Boxing is one of the oldest contests in the summer Olympic Games. And just like Motown and its musical artists, Detroit has produced some of the world’s greatest in the sport. Many came through Emanuel Steward’s Kronk Boxing Gym. To discuss the impact of Kronk on Detroit and the sport, former professional boxer Tarick Salmaci and Kronk Chief Operating Officer John Lepak joined The Metro.
Detroit’s Lexus Velodrome has had a hand in supporting the training of track cycling Olympian and Canadian Dylan Bibic. Executive Director of the Lexus Velodrome, Dale Hughes, joined the show to discuss the sports complex and what they offer the community.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
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HOUSTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris told Republicans to “bring it on” in what she described as a “fight for our most fundamental freedoms” as she spoke to the American Federation of Teachers on Thursday.
It was her latest stop in her whirlwind debut as the Democrats’ likely presidential nominee after President Joe Biden abruptly dropped his bid for a second term at the beginning of the week.
Harris praised unions as the foundation of the middle class, and she criticized Republicans for their views on gun control and public education.
“They have the nerve to tell teachers to strap on a gun in the classroom while they refuse to pass commonsense gun safety laws,” she said.
Harris added that “we want to ban assault weapons, and they want to ban books.”
The American Federation of Teachers was the first labor union to formally endorse Harris, and its president Randi Weingarten said she “has electrified this race.”
Harris intends to travel aggressively to spread her message and rally voters. The outreach occurs as the retooled Biden campaign, now under Harris’ control, figures out its strategy for generating turnout and maximizing her time in a 100-plus day sprint to the November election against Republican Donald Trump.
In Trump, Harris is up against the survivor of a recent assassination attempt with tens of millions of loyalists committed to returning him to the Oval Office. Just as Harris is trying to draw a contrast with Trump, he is working to do the same with her.
Trump went on the offensive at a rally Wednesday in North Carolina, calling Harris a “real liberal” who is “much worse” than Biden. The former president claimed without evidence that Harris had misled voters about the health of the 81-year-old Biden and his ability to run for the presidency.
“We know when we organize, mountains move,” she told sorority members. “When we mobilize, nations change. And when we vote, we make history.”
Her campaign is seizing on the growing pop culture interest surrounding her candidacy, releasing a video Thursday that is set to Beyonce’s “Freedom.” The video, designed for social media consumption, underscores a core message of Harris campaign — freedom on abortion rights, freedom from gun violence and freedom “not just to get by, but to get ahead.”
The 1.8 million-member AFT has backed Harris and her pro-union agenda on the premise that a second Trump term could result in restrictions on organized labor and a potential loss of funding for education.
The AFL-CIO, which represents 60 labor unions including the AFT, has backed Harris. But the vice president has yet to get the endorsement of the United Auto Workers, whose president, Shawn Fain, told CNBC this week that the union’s executive board will make that decision.
Fain spoke at the AFT conference on Wednesday and was blistering in his criticism of Trump. The former president has relied on blue-collar voters to compete politically nationwide, but he failed to win a majority of union households in 2020 when he lost to Biden, according to AP VoteCast.
Later Thursday, Harris will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the American Federation of Teachers’ 88th national convention, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
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