El Sol Latino - November 2020 | 16.12

November 2020

Volume 16 No.12

Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

El Sol Latino is Turning 17!

Looking Back: front pages from 2004-2005 Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

2

Editorial / Editorial

contents

El Sol Latino Celebrates its 17th Year!

2 Editorial / Editorial El Sol Latino Celebrates its 17th Year!

Moving Forward and Facing New Challenges

3 Portada / Front Page El Sol Latino is Turning 17! Looking Back: Stories from 2005

On November 2004, three Puerto Ricans, all long-time residents of the Pioneer Valley, decided to launch El Sol Latino, “a different kind of newspaper.” We wanted our stories, opinion, voices, and news to reflect the linguistic, cultural, and social mosaic that defines the Puerto Rican and Latinx communities in the area. With this November 2020 issue, we celebrate our 17th anniversary and reiterate our commitment to continue to be an independent journalistic voice.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected printed media across the nation in significant ways, and we have not been the exception. The crisis forced us to make some unavoidable changes in the way we carry out our journalistic agenda and do business.

In order to continue our work in a safe and economically viable manner, we have taken the necessary steps to move in a new direction. We made the decision to stop publishing the paper version of El Sol Latino. From now on, our journalistic efforts and resources will be channeled towards publishing a digital edition (e-Edition). In addition, we will be expanding our presence in various social media platforms, and continue our production of El Sol Latino Podcast 413.

As we enter into this new phase, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to our business partner, Diosdado López, for his many years of support to El Sol Latino. ¡Gracias, Diosdado!

Sinceramente, Manuel

Foto del Mes/Photo of the Month

Photo of the Month… Summer of 2005

4 FEMA Obligates Millions for Repairs to Universities in Puerto Rico 5 Matrimonio Egresado de UPR - RUM entre los Científicos Hispanos más Destacados en Estados Unidos 6 How Discrimination Harms Latinos in the Labor Market and Targeted Policies Can Dramatically Help

Public Work Provides Economic Security for Black Families and Communities

7 Libros/ Books Agrarian Puerto Rico: Reconsidering Rural Economy and Society, 1899–1940 8 Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism 9 Cultura / Culture How COVID-19 is changing the English language 10 Medios / Media Hartford Courant Outsources Printing North…to Springfield…

11 Educación / Education HCC, WSU partner on Latinx Studies transfer pathway STCC’s ‘Heart of a Man’ series to explore masculinity, gender stereotypes 12 P olítica / Politics Riding With Cassandra 14 Ciencias / Science Fases de desarrollo de una vacuna 15 How to use COVID-19 testing and quarantining to safely travel for the holidays 16 Finanzas / Finances Scams, Fraud & Identity Theft: The Past, Present & Future

Los Potros, champions of the Summer 2005 Holyoke Softball League. The games were played at McNally Park in Holyoke, known as Parque de la Flats.

Founded in 2004

n

Volume 16, No. 12 n November 2020

Editor Manuel Frau Ramos manuelfrau@gmail.com 413-320-3826 Assistant Editor Ingrid Estrany-Frau

Art Director Tennessee Media Design Business Address El Sol Latino P.O Box 572 Amherst, MA 01004-0572

Editorial Policy

El Sol Latino acepta colaboraciones tanto en español como en inglés.

Nos comprometemos a examinarlas, pero no necesariamente a publicarlas. Nos reservamos el derecho de editar los textos y hacer correcciones por razones de espacio y/o estilo. Las colaboraciones pueden ser enviadas a nuestra dirección postal o a través de correo electrónico a: info@elsollatino.net.

El Sol Latino welcomes submissions in either English or Spanish.

We consider and review all submissions but reserve the right to not publish them. We reserve the right to edit texts and make corrections for reasons of space and/or style. Submissions may be sent to our postal address or via electronic mail to: info@elsollatino.net.

El Sol Latino is published monthly by Coquí Media Group.

El Sol Latino es publicado mensualmente por Coquí Media Group, P.O Box 572, Amherst, MA 01004-0572.

Portada / Front Page

El Sol Latino November 2020

3

El Sol Latino is Turning 17!: Looking Back: Stories from 2005 Are Some Administrators Taking Sides Against Latinos/as at UMass?

by MANUEL FRAU-RAMOS (January 2005) The Graduate Employee Organization (GEO) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) recently brought to light information that appears to indicate the existence of a “coordinated strategy” between some administrators at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst and a small number of students against various Latinos: an administrator and two students.

Various emails obtained from an anonymous source, contain an exchange of information between Charles DiMare, Director of Student Legal Services Office, Michael Gargano, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life, and student leader Patrick Higgins, who at the time was the Speaker of the Student Government Association (SGA). The latter one, along with other members of SGA, appears on a series of photographs that have a clear racist connotation.

The topic of these emails was the Office of African, Latino, Asian and Native American Affairs (OAA, or Office of ALANA Affairs): its day to day operation and the “legality” of the seats reserved for ALANA students ALANA Caucus) in the student government (SGA). The Director of the Office of ALANA Affairs, Nelson Acosta, and two Latino student leaders, Eduardo Bustamante and Gladys Franco, are the focus of these messages.

If the authenticity of these electronic messages is confirmed, they could very well give weight to the long-standing suspicions that several Latino students and staff have been manifesting the existence of a strategy to “debilitate” and/or “eliminate” the OAA. This evidence gains importance when seen in light of the fact that Acosta has not been in agreement with the Administration’s vision in terms of the persistent problem of lack of racial and ethnic diversity at the University.

In one message, apparently written by Higgins, he lets Gargano know that he is concerned that Acosta might hire Gladys Franco, member of the ALANA Caucus, for a position within the Office of ALANA Affairs. He writes, “…what is your plan for Gladys Franco being the grad student in OAA? My understanding was you intended to pull funding and I am curious as to when you plan on doing that…” In another communication, apparently from Higgins as well, he points out to Gargano that, “This summer you announced to me that it was your intention to remove funding to the graduate Assistant you pay for in OAA. I am curious when you are going to pull the trigger on this move?”

African Americans and Hispanics Feel Unwelcomed in Boston (August 2005) Cambridge, MA. (The Civil Rights Project. Harvard University). African Americans and Hispanics in Metro Boston claim that experiences of racial discrimination are a regular part of their lives, according to a new study

by The Civil Rights Project at Harvard. Over half of African Americans and four out of ten Hispanics say they are treated with less respect, offered worse service, called names or insulted, or confronted with another form of discrimination at least a few times a month. Almost half of African Americans and a third of Hispanics say they have felt unwelcomed in Metro Boston shopping areas and restaurants.

“Many white residents may believe that racial discrimination in Metro Boston no longer exists,” says Gary Orfield, Director of The Civil Rights Project. “But in fact, African Americans and Hispanics say that discrimination is a common experience. These experiences affect where minorities choose to live in the region, and can limit minorities’ social and

economic opportunities. The depth of this problem calls for a serious commitment to living up to the values we express.”

The study is based on a poll of over 400 African Americans and Hispanics in the Boston region. Other major findings include: * Eighty percent of African Americans and 50 percent of Hispanics say that racial discrimination in Metro Boston is a somewhat or very serious problem. * Almost 70 percent of Hispanics and an overwhelming 85 percent of African Americans in Metro Boston say that members of their group miss out on good housing because they fear they will not be welcome in a particular community. * One out of three total respondents who have attended a professional sports venue in Metro Boston say they have felt out of place or unwelcome there because of their race or ethnicity. One out of five total respondents who have attended a metro area museum say they have felt out of place or unwelcome in that setting because of their race of ethnicity. * Close to half of African Americans and a third of Hispanics say they have felt unwelcome in Metro Boston shopping areas and restaurants. * A vast majority – over eighty percent – of African Americans and Hispanics in Metro Boston believe that more should be done to integrate the region’s schools.

The Puerto Rican Flag by MARTÍN ESPADA (November 2005) (Note of the editor: The following speech was read by Puerto Rican poet Martin Espada in the Amherst Town Hall as part of the Puerto Rican flag raising ceremonies of November 1, 2005.The annual event is sponsored by the Amherst Puerto Rican Association.)

Buenas tardes. Bienvenidos a todos. I’m here to say a few words about the Puerto Rican flag before the raising of the flag on the Town Common.

Let me begin by stating the obvious: Puerto Ricans are madly in love with the Puerto Rican flag. We use it in all the usual ways, and more than a few unusual ways: cars, clothes, tattoos. We have other national symbols, from the frog called the coquí to the ten-stringed instrument known as the cuatro, but that flag keeps popping up everywhere. Why is it that, before 9/11, there were more Puerto Rican flags in New York City than American flags? What history accounts for this fascination with the Puerto Rican flag?

Many people see the red, white and blue of the Puerto Rican flag and simply assume that this is an offshoot of the American flag. Not true.

The flag was created in 1895 by the Puerto Rican section of the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York City. These Cubans and Puerto Ricans were, in fact, independentistas; that is, they wanted independence from Spain, and there was a revolution in Cuba at that very moment. Lola Rodríguez de Tío, a Puerto Rican independentista poet who also penned the words to La Borinqueña, the national anthem, in 1867, wrote that Cuba and Puerto Rico were “two wings of the same bird;” they received “flowers and bullets in the same heart.”

Thus, the Puerto Rican flag simply inverted the colors of the Cuban flag.

The white bars were particularly significant, in that they represented the desire for independence, and the peace everyone hoped would come with independence.

We know the rest of the story. Independence never came to Puerto Rico.

The Spanish-American War came in 1898. The United States took the Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico as spoils of war. The Puerto Rican flag, since it represented the desire for independence, was outlawed for half a century. continued on next page

4

Portada / Front Page

El Sol Latino November 2020

FEMA Obligates Millions for Repairs to Universities in Puerto Rico GUAYNABO, PR | FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) | September 9, 2020 — FEMA has obligated nearly $152 million over the past three years for a total of 116 projects at 15 higher education institutions in Puerto Rico, such as the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), American University and the Pontifical Catholic University, among others. Funding includes $47 million for 21 permanent work projects that will benefit thousands of students around the Island.

“Education is one of the most important and valuable resources that any country can produce. These obligations will help these institutions build stronger as part of their recovery, and most importantly, it’s a solid investment in the future of Puerto Rico,” said Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Alex Amparo.

To date, the UPR has been awarded $130.6 million for 53 projects to help repair and strengthen the first and largest higher education system in Puerto Rico. For example, the Humacao campus, where around 3,144 students are enrolled, was obligated $23.3 million to restore the buildings that are home to their Social Work, Aviary, Graphic Arts departments, among others.

This includes $1.5 million to reinforce the roof as well as weatherproofing to provide a watertight seal to the structures.

“The UPR community is pleased to receive this grant. It represents a step forward in developing our infrastructure, with the well-being of our students and community as our main goal,” said Dr. Aida I. Rodríguez Roig, Chancellor of University of Puerto Rico at Humacao.

Other obligations for the UPR system include funds for the university’s Central Administration and the following campuses: Aguadilla Campus, Arecibo Campus, Bayamón Campus, Carolina Campus, Cayey Campus, Ciencias Médicas Campus, Mayagüez Campus, Ponce Campus, Río Piedras Campus and the Utuado Campus.

Likewise, the American University of Puerto Rico (AU) was obligated $8.8 million for five permanent work projects that will benefit its 681 students.

For its Bayamón Campus, $3.7 million are destined to repair its Eugenio Guerra Sports Complex, replace equipment and other repairs at several buildings. Around $700,000 of those funds will be used to strengthen the

facilities with projects such as soil stabilization, adding waterproof sealer and other mitigation measures for this institution with 57 years of experience on the Island.

“The economic impact of the grants to our University will be very significant during the difficult times in which we find ourselves. We are very pleased with the collaboration and we hope to have all the projects obligated in the next few weeks,” said the American University’s president, Juan Carlos Nazario-Torres.

Meanwhile, the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, which serves 6,562 students in its Ponce Campus, was obligated around $70,000. This grant will cover expenses for the architectural and engineering design to repair the Sports and Cultural Complex, the institution’s main sports and training venue where graduations, assemblies and other activities are held. For his part, the Vice President of Finance and Administration of this university, Jose A. Frontera Agenjo, expressed that being able to make these repairs guarantees that a complete service can continue to be provided to the university community.

“These institutions generate an impact on both the groups they serve and the communities around them. To the extent that these obligations help to strengthen these structures, they also generate changes in the areas where they are located. Both FEMA and the Government of Puerto Rico will continue to work together to achieve the reconstruction of our Island,” said COR3 Executive Director Ottmar Chavez.

To date, FEMA has obligated over $7.3 billion for costs related to hurricanes Irma and Maria, including projects to help rebuild infrastructure throughout Puerto Rico. Roughly 1,060 local staff are leading the efforts and play a key role in moving recovery forward. Despite unprecedented challenges, our resolve remains undeterred as we continue this banner year of recovery. The Agency is part of the transformation and the revival of the island, a process that is becoming more evident every day and that will benefit the island’s residents and its future generations.

For more information on Puerto Rico’s recovery from Hurricane María, visit fema.gov/disaster/4339 and recuperacion.pr. Follow us on our social networks at Facebook.com/FEMAPuertoRico, Facebook.com/COR3pr and on Twitter @COR3pr.

El Sol Latino is Turning 17! Looking Back: Stories from 2005 This led to some classic colonial weirdness. For example, in 1921, the Commissioner of Education for Puerto Rico, Paul Miller, became outraged when he saw a Puerto Rican flag waving at a high school graduation ceremony. He demanded that police remove “the enemy flag.” The students rebelled, and informed Miller that, if their flag was taken away, then the graduation was over. Shortly thereafter, Governor E. Montgomery Reilly-a character so imperious he was known as “King Monty”-announced: “As long as Old Glory waves over the United States, it will wave over Porto Rico.”

(Note: that’s “Porto” with an “o.”)

In 1952, of course, Puerto Rico became a Commonwealth. The Puerto Rican flag was adopted as the symbol of the Commonwealth, though it could only be flown alongside the American flag. The meaning of the colors was officially changed; now the white bars stood for the republican form of government, rather than a peaceful and independent nation. Moreover, the sky-blue of the triangle in the original flag was changed to dark blue, in keeping with the American flag, and once again to distance this flag from its revolutionary roots. In 1995, the government of Puerto Rico formally reverted back to sky-blue.

continued from page 3

You’ve heard the expression: “shades of political opinion.” In the case of the Puerto Rican flag, this is literally true. In general, those parties and individuals who want independence for the island wave the flag with a lightblue triangle; those who want Commonwealth prefer the sky-blue triangle; and those who want statehood use the dark-blue triangle. Of course, today this community unites itself behind the one flag we will raise on the Amherst Town Common. Sometimes, a flag is a flag.

Today we should remember that the activists who gave us the Puerto Rican flag created a symbol for self-determination that has thus far eluded us.

Today we should remember that there are people still fighting and dying for the same ideals represented by that original flag, like Filiberto Ojeda Rios, killed in Puerto Rico by the FBI on the Grito de Lares-a holiday marking the fight for independence from Spain. Today we should remember that this was a banned flag, and that even now this is the flag of a colonized people, born of suppressed desires and aspirations. No wonder it pops up everywhere.

Today we should remember that this flag represents the defiant and joyful struggle of Puerto Ricans, against the weight of history, to remain Puerto Rican wherever they may be: here in Amherst, on the island, or on the moon. Aquí estamos y no nos vamos. Here we are and here we stay. Gracias.

Portada / Front Page

El Sol Latino November 2020

5

Matrimonio Egresado de UPR RUM entre los Científicos Hispanos más Destacados en Estados Unidos RÍO PIEDRAS, PR | UNIVERSIDAD DE PUERTO RICO | 26 de octubre de 2020 — La pareja de esposos compuesta por los doctores Yadira M. Soto Feliciano y Francisco J. Sánchez Rivera, egresados del Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM), de la Universidad de Puerto Rico (UPR), fueron seleccionados entre los 100 científicos hispanos más inspiradores en los Estados Unidos, según la notoria publicación Cell Press. Más allá de los lazos familiares que los unen, ambos comparten destacadas investigaciones que abarcan desde la propagación del cáncer, hasta un tema tan reciente como el COVID-19.

“Este reconocimiento nos lo otorgaron a ambos de manera independiente, pero terminamos los dos en la misma lista que muestra la labor de científicos hispanos, en diferentes etapas de su carrera.

Entre estos respetados científicos se encuentran personas que han ganado el Premio Nobel, como el doctor Mario Molina e investigadores que realizan estudios en sus laboratorios por varias décadas. También incluyeron lo que llaman las estrellas que están en proceso de formar parte de la próxima generación de científicos. En esa categoría, estuvimos incluidos Francisco y esta servidora. Fue un honor bien grande porque fue liderado por la publicación Cell Press, una de las editoriales de revistas científicas más prestigiosas en la disciplina, por lo que para nosotros es muy grande e importante”, indicó la doctora Soto Feliciano.

Los doctores Yadira M. Soto Feliciano y Francisco J. Sánchez Rivera se graduaron el mismo día de sus respectivos bachilleratos del RUM. (Suministrada).

Por un lado, Soto Feliciano, realiza estudios postdoctorales en The Rockefeller University, mientras que Sánchez Rivera es investigador postdoctoral para el Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, ambos centros ubicados en Nueva York.

“Ahora mismo, no somos muchos puertorriqueños en el campo de investigación de cáncer, pero seremos muchos más en el futuro. Estamos en una posición honorífica, ya que hacemos un tipo de investigación que está bastante a la vanguardia. Creo que reconocieron ese esfuerzo y la calidad de nuestras investigaciones para formar parte de este grupo tan comprometido. Por mi parte, investigo cómo en una célula recibe una mutación o una alteración o cómo esa célula eventualmente contribuye a la formación y el desarrollo de un tumor que, eventualmente, puede esparcirse por el cuerpo de los seres humanos y obviamente terminar en la muerte del paciente. Así que, a mí me interesan esos procesos que esa célula individual experimenta y cuáles son las trayectorias en términos de evolución que esa célula navega, hasta llegar a un tumor maligno”, indicó Sánchez Rivera, egresado del Departamento de Biología, con especialidad en Microbiología.

Por su parte, Soto Feliciano se concentra en el estudio científico en una de las instituciones que históricamente se ha caracterizado por los descubrimientos y aportaciones en las ciencias biomédicas.

“Mi trabajo de investigación en los últimos cuatro años consiste en la interfase de biología molecular y celular, con énfasis en biología del cáncer.

Mi proyecto está enfocado en entender los mecanismos que la célula ha desarrollado a través de millones de años para empacar nuestro material genético, no tan solo empaca lo eficientemente en un núcleo bastante pequeño, pero también las formas en las cuales ese empaque es regulado (cuando se abre y se cierra). La importancia de estos mecanismos es que dictan la manera en que genes, que son los que controlan prácticamente todos los procesos que ocurren en la célula, pueden ser activados o desactivados de manera regulada. Hemos aprendido en los últimos diez o

quince años, a través de esfuerzos de secuenciación en diferentes enfermedades, que los factores que regulan este prender y apagar de genes son bastante alterados en cáncer. La investigación se enfoca en entender cómo esas mutaciones alteran el estado normal y pueden contribuir a enfermedades, particularmente el cáncer”, explicó la egresada del Departamento de Química.

Ambos se conocieron desde su época de estudiantes en el recinto mayagüezano de la UPR, de donde se graduaron juntos. Luego, completaron sus estudios doctorales en el 2015, en Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

De hecho, el doctor Jorge Haddock presidente de la UPR, destacó lo importante que es este logro para el principal centro docente y de investigación de Puerto Rico.

“De parte de toda la comunidad universitaria, nuestras felicitaciones a los doctores Yadira Soto Feliciano y Francisco Sánchez Rivera, sus aportaciones a la ciencia y la salud no solo son motivo de orgullo para la Universidad de Puerto Rico, también hacen brillar a nuestra isla. Son el mejor ejemplo de la tradición de éxito que fomentamos desde la institución. En lo profesional y personal, nuestros mejores deseos”, afirmó Hadock.

Por su parte, el doctor Agustín Rullán Toro, rector del RUM, también elogió el reconocimiento.

“Esta noticia nos llena de mucho orgullo como la principal institución universitaria del país. Conocer la historia de estos dos colegiales, sirve de motivación para nuestros estudiantes y para la sociedad. Estos investigadores han demostrado que la educación que recibieron tuvo enormes resultados y ha trascendido fuera de sus fronteras. El éxito de ellos, es también el del Colegio y el de Puerto Rico”, puntualizó.

Culture & Conversation 89.3 FM C O U N T Y 91.9 FM C O U N T Y HAMPSHIRE

HAMPDEN

98.9 FM 89.5 FM 91.7 FM C O U N T Y 640 AM NORTHERN BERKSHIRES

SOUTHERN BERKSHIRES

FRANKLIN

NEPR News Network NEPR.net NEPR News Network NEPR News Network DOWNSIZE THE "SM" WHEN THE USING LOGO ON OVERSIZED APPLICATIONS SUCH OUTDOOR ADVERTISING AND LARGE EXHIBIT DISPLAYS

News, Talk and Culture from

NEPR News Network

6

Portada / Front Page

El Sol Latino November 2020

How Discrimination Harms Latinos in the Labor Market and Targeted Policies Can Dramatically Help WASHINGTON, DC | CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS | October 21, 2020 — A new issue brief from the Center for American Progress concludes that exogenous factors rather than personal choices are the reason why the Latino employment rate lags behind that of non-Hispanic white workers.

Since 1976, when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics first started tracking employment data by ethnicity, the Latino unemployment rate has generally remained between 1.6 and 1.9 times higher than the non-Hispanic white unemployment rate, and it has never dropped below a ratio of 1.2.

• Improving programs to counter labor market volatility, such as unemployment insurance, work sharing programs, and wage subsidies

The brief finds that education, often touted as a great equalizer, does not protect Latinos from unemployment. In fact, Latinos face worse employment outcomes relative to their non-Hispanic white peers as they become more educated. Since 2000, the average annual prime-age unemployment rate for Latinos without a high school diploma was 4 percentage points lower than that for their white counterparts. But the annual prime-age unemployment rate for Latinos with at least a bachelor’s degree was actually 1.4 percentage points higher than that of their white counterparts over the same time period.

Still, the brief notes that “there is only so much that these targeted policies can do to increase Latino labor force participation and ease the transition period between jobs when so many of those making hiring and firing decisions hold discriminatory views against Latinos.” Surveys show that a substantial number of Latinos have been personally discriminated against when applying for jobs or when considered for raises or promotions.

The brief also finds that occupational segregation has led to a situation in the United States in which Latinos disproportionately work in industries that are seasonal or susceptible to economic shocks, such as construction, food services, and agriculture. Also, a high percentage of Latino workers are foreign born, and evidence suggests that immigrant populations’ employment status is often more closely tied to to the business cycle than the employment status of nonimmigrants. Additionally, nine of the 10 metropolitan statistical areas in the United States with the highest unemployment rates prior to the COVID-19 recession were majority Latino.

• Granting undocumented and noncitizen workers a pathway to legalization and citizenship and allowing them to access social insurance programs • Instituting paid sick and family medical leave policies • Improving Latino education outcomes and making higher education more affordable for Latinos

“Both the coronavirus itself and the recession it generated disproportionately harmed Latinos,” said Ryan Zamarripa, associate director of Economic Policy at CAP and author of the brief. “At the same time, the crisis marks an opportunity to rebuild the economy in a way that prioritizes equity. Latinos represent an ever-increasing share of the labor force and disproportionately work in essential roles. They are too important to ignore.”

Read the issue brief: “Closing Latino Labor Market Gap Requires Targeted Policies To End Discrimination” by Ryan Zamarripa The Center for American Progress is an independent nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans, through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. Our aim is not just to change the conversation, but to change the country

The brief also finds that when Latinos are employed, they are often paid far less than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. The ratio of the prime-age median wage income between the latter and the former group has remained virtually unchanged since 2000, fluctuating between 1.6 and 1.5.

The brief recommends policy solutions that could help Latinos in the labor market and help to close the gap. They include:

Public Work Provides Economic Security for Black Families and Communities WASHINGTON, DC | CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS | October 23, 2020 - Due to the coronavirus-induced recession and budget cuts by the Trump administration, millions of government jobs in the U.S. Postal Service and state and local governments are in danger of disappearing. A new issue brief from the Center for American Progress and the National Advisory Council on Eliminating the Black-White Wealth Gap finds that the disappearance of these jobs would disproportionately hurt Black workers at the same time that Black Americans are facing disproportionately bad economic and health outcomes from the coronavirus crisis.

Today, nearly 1 in 5 Black workers are employed in the public sector. The legacy of Black government workers is particularly strong in the Postal Service, where 27 percent of postal workers are Black—more than double the share of Black workers in the civilian workforce. And while the numbers of Black employees in state and local governments are harder to measure, they are a substantial portion of the workforce in states and municipalities around the country.

Decades of organizing by Black people in the labor movement have made public sector work a way for Black workers to build personal economic security through better wages, benefits, and job security than are often available in the private sector while serving their communities. While public sector work cannot solve structural racism or close the Black-white wealth gap, the gap in the public sector is much smaller. For example, in the private sector, white households have as much as $10 of wealth for every $1 Black households hold; in the public sector, white households hold closer to

$2 for every $1 of wealth for Black families.

At the same time, the Trump administration’s cuts to the Postal Service and budget cuts by state and local governments threaten this path to stability for Black workers. Over the past six months, 1.2 million state and local government jobs have disappeared. Data show there were 211,000 fewer Black workers working for governments in September 2020 than in September 2019.

“As policymakers from school board members to the Federal Reserve chairman look for ways to address structural racism, it’s important they not undermine one of the few long-standing paths to financial stability for Black workers: government jobs,” said Anne Price, president of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development and co-author of the brief. “Without significant action from the federal government to address the budget shortfalls in both the Postal Service and state and local governments, the economic security of millions of Black Americans may be in danger for the second time in a decade.”

Read the issue brief: “Public Work Provides Economic Security for Black Families and Communities” by Michael Madowitz, Anne Price, and Christian E. Weller The Center for American Progress is an independent nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans, through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. Our aim is not just to change the conversation, but to change the country.

Libros/ Books

El Sol Latino November 2020

7

Agrarian Puerto Rico: Reconsidering Rural Economy and Society, 1899–1940

by CÉSAR AYALA & LAIRD W. BERGAD • Cambridge, England | CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS | March 2020 | 322 pages Description: Fundamental tenets of colonial historiography are challenged by showing that US capital investment into this colony did not lead to the disappearance of the small farmer. Contrary to well-established narratives, quantitative data show that the increasing integration of rural producers within the US market led to differential outcomes, depending on pre-existing land tenure structures, capital requirements to initiate production, and demographics. These new data suggest that the colonial economy was not polarized into landless Puerto Rican rural workers on one side and corporate US capitalists on the other.

The persistence of Puerto Rican small farmers in some regions and the expansion of local property ownership and production disprove this socioeconomic model. Other aspects of extant Puerto Rican historiography are confronted in order to make room for thorough analyses and new conclusions on the economy of colonial Puerto Rico during the early twentieth century.

Reviews: ‘Ayala and Bergad provide an original reading of twentieth-century Puerto Rican history based on a detailed analysis of extensive local tax and census records to 1940. They show that the US colonial government did not carry out a restructuring of land tenure in favor of US capitalists, which is the traditional argument, but maintained both the pre-conquest landowners and the land and labor system, which existed under Spain. Their reconstruction also provides an excellent social and economic history of the island in this period. This work will have a major impact on interpreting both Puerto Rican history and the evolution of the American empire in the twentieth-century.’

(Herbert S. Klein - Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History, Columbia University) ‘This riveting study of Puerto Rico’s rural economy and society in the early 1900s upends the widely-accepted belief that US colonialism and sugar companies led to the concentration of land and the dispossession of rural Puerto Ricans’ landholdings. Instead, through a painstaking and careful examination of data, the authors show that most land-owning patterns established during Spanish colonial rule continued through the 1930s.’

(Margaret Power - Professor of History, Illinois Institute of Technology) ‘With this work, Ayala and Bergad culminate long years of study on the agrarian history of Puerto Rico. The authors provides a solid foundation using the analysis of a large database of fiscal data and other sources, as well as through the performance review of the main branches of commercial agriculture. The reader will find in these pages an explanation so well argued of a crucial process in Puerto Rican history.’

(Oscar Zanetti - Professor, University of Havana) ‘Agrarian Puerto Rico will unsettle the historiographical landscape, debunking predominant narratives and shifting the terms of scholarly discussion. Its unique examination of the interconnected histories of sugar, coffee, and tobacco is unprecedented and refreshing. With a nuanced inward look at Puerto Rico’s complex rural economy, the book is well balanced with an outward Hispanic Caribbean perspective.’(Jorge L. Giovannetti-Torres author of Black British Migrants in Cuba) About the Authors: CÉSAR AYALA is a Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he teaches Comparative Historical Sociology, Economy and Society, and Sociology of Latin America and the Caribbean. He earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from SUNY- Binghamton in 1991.

Ayala is the author of numerous publications on Puerto Rican history,

among them: American Sugar Kingdom: the Plantation Economy of the Spanish Caribbean, 1898-1934 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999); Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History Since 1898 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007); Puerto Rico en el siglo norteamericano: su historia desde 1898 [Translation of Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History Since 1898 by Aurora Lauzardo] (San Juan: Ediciones Callejón, 2011), coauthored with Rafael Bernabe, and; Battleship Vieques: Puerto Rico from World War II to the Korean War (Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2011), coauthored with José Bolívar.

LAIRD W. BERGAD is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies at Lehman College and the Graduate Center, and is the founding and current director of the Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies at the Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Bergad has written and published six previous books about rural slave-based societies during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Brazil, and Latinos in the U.S.: Coffee and the Growth of Agrarian Capitalism in Nineteenth-Century Puerto Rico (Princeton University Press, 1983); Cuban Rural Society in the Nineteenth Century (Princeton University Press, 1990); The Cuban Slave Market, 1790-1880 (co-authored with Fe Iglesias Garcia and María Carmen Barcia), (Cambridge University Press,1995); Slavery and the Demographic and Economic History of Minas Gerais, Brazil, 1720 – 1880 (Cambridge University Press, 1999); Hispanics in the United States, 1980 - 2005 (Cambridge University Press, 2010) (co-authored with Herbert S. Klein).

Saturdays 10 AM Domingo 7 PM WHMP radio 1400 AM

biingüe arte, cultura, media politics Natalia Muñoz

8

Libros/ Books

El Sol Latino November 2020

Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism

by LAURA E. GÓMEZ • New York, NY | THE NEW PRESS | August 2020 | 366 pages Politics of Prenatal Drug Exposure Description: (1997), which is widely taught in law Latinos have long influenced everything from electoral politics to popular and society and gender studies culture, yet many people instinctively regard them as recent immigrants courses; Mapping “Race”: Critical rather than a longstanding racial group. In Inventing Latinos, Laura Gómez, Approaches to Health Disparities a leading expert on race, law, and society, illuminates the fascinating Research (2013), a book co-edited race-making, unmaking, and re-making of Latino identity that has spanned with Dr. Nancy López; and Manifest centuries, leaving a permanent imprint on how race operates in the United Destinies: The Making of the States today.

Mexican American Race (2007), Pulling back the lens as the country approaches an unprecedented which is widely taught in ethnic demographic shift (Latinos will comprise a third of the American population studies and history courses. in a matter of decades), Gómez also reveals the nefarious roles the United States has played in Latin America—from military interventions and economic exploitation to political interference—that, taken together, have destabilized national economies to send migrants northward over the course of more than a century. It’s no coincidence that the vast majority of Latinos migrate from the places most impacted by this nation’s dirty deeds, leading Gómez to a bold call for reparations.

In this audacious effort to reframe the often-confused and misrepresented discourse over the Latinx generation, Gómez provides essential context for today’s most pressing political and public debates—representation, voice, interpretation, and power—giving all of us a brilliant framework to engage cultural controversies, elections, current events, and more.

Reviews: “Gómez reveals that history is not past. Instead, she shows us that as racism evolves, the U.S. commitment to racism remains steady, creating, but never quite controlling, Latinos as a distinct racial group. But if racism’s allure continues to tug powerfully at some segments of the United States, Inventing Latinos reveals that creative resistance is never far away.”

—César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, author of Migrating to Prison

Professor Gómez is proud to have co-founded and served as the first co-director of UCLA School of Law’s Critical Race Studies Program, and she continues to be actively involved in CRS. She has served as an associate editor, a member of the editorial board, or a reviewer for a number of scholarly journals, including the Law & Society Review, Law & Social Inquiry, Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, SIGNS: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Studies in Law, Politics and Society, the Journal of Legal History, Latino Studies, the Law and History Review, and Contemporary Sociology.

“The critically important story of Latinx racial formation told here requires the impressive skills and knowledge of a scholar like Gómez. Inventing Latinos is informed by a hemispheric sweep centered on U.S. empire, an ability to trace history over centuries, and an appreciation of class relations and power.” —David Roediger, author of How Race Survived U.S. History

TERTULIA

“Written with exceptional clarity and drawing on deep research, Inventing Latinos presents not only a brilliant account of the changing position of Latinxs, but also a nuanced understanding of racism in the U.S. today.”

SUNDAYS, 8 – 10 P.M.

WITH HOST

RAQUEL OBREGON

NEPR.net

—Howard Winant, co-author of Racial Formation in the United States “Inventing Latinos offers a unique road map for understanding how Latino identity came to be, and where it might be going. Gómez’s discussion of how Latin America’s mestizaje, or mixed-race ideology, is both perpetuated and sometimes re-purposed in the U.S., is one of the book’s many strengths.” —Ed Morales, author of Latinx and Fantasy Island About the Authors: LAURA E. GÓMEZ teaches Civil Procedure and Criminal Law in the firstyear UCLA School of Law curriculum and has taught courses in law and society and the Critical Race Studies Program in the law school’s upper-year curriculum.

Gómez has lectured widely and has published numerous articles (in both student-edited law reviews and peer-reviewed journals), book chapters, and books. Broadly speaking, her research focuses on the intersection of law, politics and inequality both today and in the distant past. Her books include the following: Misconceiving Mothers: Legislators, Prosecutors and the

DOWNSIZE THE "SM" WHEN THE USING LOGO ON OVERSIZED APPLICATIONS SUCH OUTDOOR ADVERTISING AND LARGE EXHIBIT DISPLAYS

Amherst / Springfield / Hartford North Adams Great Barrington Lee Pittsfield / Lenox Williamstown

WFCR 88.5 101.1 98.7 98.3 106.1 96.3

FM FM FM FM FM FM

Cultura / Culture

El Sol Latino November 2020

9

How COVID-19 is changing the English language by ROGER J. KREUZ This article was originally published in The Conversation | September 25, 2020 In April, the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary did something unusual.

For the previous 20 years, they had issued quarterly updates to announce new words and meanings selected for inclusion. These updates have typically been made available in March, June, September and December.

In the late spring, however, and again in July, the dictionary’s editors released special updates, citing a need to document the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the English language.

Although the editors have documented many coronavirus-related linguistic shifts, some of their observations are surprising. They claim, for example, that the pandemic has produced only one truly new word: the acronym COVID-19.

Most of the coronavirus-related changes that the editors have noted have to do with older, more obscure words and phrases being catapulted into common usage, such as reproduction number and social distancing.

They’ve also documented the creation of new word blends based on previously existing vocabulary.

The dictionary of record The Oxford English Dictionary aspires to be the most extensive and complete record of the language and its history.

In 1884, parts of the first edition were released. It wasn’t completed until 1928. Over the ensuing years, additional volumes of new words were published to supplement the first edition, and these were integrated into a second edition that appeared in 1989. This is the version you’ll find in most libraries. A digital release, on CD-ROM, followed in 1992.

In March 2000, the dictionary launched an online version. For this new edition, the editors have been revising definitions dating from the first edition that are, in many cases, over a century old. Due to its size, this third edition will not appear in printed form, and these revisions may not be completed until 2034.

At the same time, the editors continue to document the language as it grows, changes and evolves. The quarterly updates provide a list of new words and revisions. The September update, for example, includes “craftivist” and “Cookie Monster.”

Something old, something new The special, coronavirus-related updates give us a glimpse into how language can quickly change in the face of unprecedented social and economic disruption. For example, one of the effects of the pandemic is that it’s brought previously obscure medical terms to the forefront of everyday speech.

Traditionally, dictionary editors include scientific and technical terms only if they achieve some degree of currency outside of their disciplines. This is the case for the names of drugs, since there are many thousands of these. For example, you’ll see Ritalin and Oxycontin in the dictionary, but you won’t see Aripiprazole.

However, the pandemic has seen at least two drug names jump into public discourse.

Hydroxychloroquine, a malaria treatment touted by some as a magic bullet against the virus, was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in July, although the drug’s name had appeared in print as early as 1951.

Another newly famous drug is dexamethasone, a corticosteroid that has reduced the COVID-19 death rate. It appeared in print as early as 1958 and was included in the dictionary’s second edition. In the July update, the editors provided a quotation illustrating the drug’s current use to combat the coronavirus.

The updates also include new citations for such terms as community transmission, which dates to 1959, and community spread, which was first documented in print in 1903.

The language of quarantining Terms related to social isolation existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic, but they’ve become much more common in 2020.

Self-isolate, self-isolated and shelter in place all received new citations to illustrate their current usage.

Some terms have seen a shift in meaning. Originally, sheltering in place referred to seeking safety during a circumscribed event, like a tornado or an active shooter attack. It’s now being used to refer to a prolonged period of social isolation.

Similarly, elbow bump has evolved from a gesture akin to a high-five, as documented in 1981, to its present form: a safe way to greet another person.

Some regional differences are also emerging in COVID-19 language. Self-isolate has been the preferred term in British English, whereas self-quarantine is more commonly employed in the U.S. “Rona” or “the rona” as slang for coronavirus has been observed in the U.S. and Australia, but the dictionary editors haven’t documented wide enough usage to warrant its inclusion.

On the watch list A perennial issue for lexicographers is deciding whether or not a term has enough staying power to be enshrined in the dictionary. The COVID-19 pandemic has produced its fair share of new terms that are blends of other words, and many of these are on the editors’ watch list. They include “maskne,” an acne outbreak caused by facial coverings; “zoombombing,” which is when strangers intrude on video conferences; and “quarantini,” a cocktail consumed in isolation.

Other new blends include “covidiot,” for someone who ignores public safety recommendations; “doomscrolling,” which happens when you skim anxietyinducing pandemic-related stories on your smartphone; and the German term “hamsterkauf,” or panic buying. Whether such terms will be in common usage after the pandemic is anyone’s guess.

‘COVID’ or ‘Covid’?

And what of COVID-19 itself?

According to the dictionary’s editors, it first appeared in a Feb. 11 World Health Organization situation report as shorthand for “coronavirus disease 2019.”

But should it be written as COVID-19 or as Covid-19? The dictionary’s editors report regional differences for this term as well.

“COVID” is dominant in the U.S., Canada and Australia, while “Covid” is more common in the U.K., Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa.

Because the Oxford English Dictionary is edited and published in England, British forms take precedence: in the online dictionary, it appears under the headword Covid-19.

Earlier health crises also spawned new acronyms and terminology. Nearly 40 years ago, the terms AIDS and HIV entered the language. However, they didn’t appear in the dictionary until the second edition was published at the end of the 1980s.

By releasing updates online, the editors can track language changes as they occur in near real time, and the arbiters of the English language no longer have to play catch-up.

ROGER J. KREUZ is an Associate Dean and Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Psychology at the University of Memphis. He earned his graduate degrees in psychology at Princeton University. Dr. Kreuz conducts research on discourse, pragmatics, and nonliteral language. He is currently writing a book on miscommunication.

10

Medios / Media

El Sol Latino November 2020

Hartford Courant Outsources Printing North…to Springfield…

This article was originally published on WMassP&I.com | October 20, 2020 Reprinted with permission from Western Massachusetts Politics & Insight Later this year, another daily newspaper will begin printing in Springfield.

However, the paper is not new nor new to the region. On Monday the Hartford Courant announced it would begin printing its paper north of the border on the presses of The Republican in Springfield. The news echoes the chaos COVID-19 has inflicted upon media broadly and the struggles of the Courant’s parent company.

More pertinently, this shift will cost dozens of workers their jobs during a pandemic. It also ends Connecticut production of a paper that predates the nation’s founding and is reputedly the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. Press closures have become common as newspaper struggle with reduced revenue from their product and less outside print business.

In a statement its parent company, Tribune Publishing, sent to WMP&I, the Courant blamed declining print revenue and the pandemic’s financial impact for the change. It claimed the move would not affect delivery, the paper’s ability to meet advertisers’ needs or the quality of the Courant’s journalism.

“The Courant remains committed to its mission of telling the stories of the people of Connecticut,” Andrew Julien, the paper’s Publisher and Editor-in-Chief said in the statement. “We are not in any way changing the mission of the paper.”

This past summer, the Daily Hampshire Gazette ended local production of its newspaper prompting a loss of nearly 30 jobs. The Gazette’s New Hampshirebased owners outsourced printing to a Gannett plant near Worcester. Even larger outlets have struggled. In September, the Rupert Murdoch-New York Post announced the idling of its Bronx pressroom. The New York Times’ Queens plant will print the Post and its sister publication The Wall Street Journal.

Not too long ago, many newspapers had hoped outside printing would help boost the bottom line.

“In the current environment, if you are going to print your own paper, you really need to have your own clients as well as nobody has enough work to get by,” said Dan Kennedy, a professor of journalism at Northeastern University.

That has not always worked out. The Boston Globe opened a new printing press in Taunton to print not only its paper but other publications in New England.

However, the plant had problems and The Globe struggled to meet its printing schedule as well as those of its customers. Some customers eventually walked.

After Alden Global Capital bought the Boston Herald, it moved production to The Providence Journal, which Gannett now owns. Such changes can force deadlines for a story to make the print product.

Consequently, shifting where the Courant prints its paper could have an impact.

Whether it will matter or not is unclear.

“They could also be thinking they don’t care that much because I’m sure that they are heavily pursuing digital subscription and if something doesn’t make it into the print edition that is not as big as deal as it was a few years ago,” Kennedy added.

The print business is still falling. Some papers have reduced printing during the week while emphasizing digital. The Berkshire Eagle announced this step in September.

Julien referred questions about the Courant’s job losses and outside printing business to Tribune.

In an email, Max Reinsdorf, a Tribune spokesperson, said 151 jobs would be affected by the printing plant’s shuttering. He confirmed that impacted employees would be offered severance packages and further referred to the Courant’s statement.

That statement asserted that the decision is “not a reflection in any way on the loyalty and commitment to excellence of the people whose employment will be Connecticut news riding the Hartford Line up to affected.”

Springfield and The Republican’s presses? (WMP&I)

Like many media outlets in recent years, the Courant has experienced labor discontent. Its newsroom sought representation from the Newsguild in 2019 and Tribune voluntarily granted it. The Courant Guild is a subunit of the Providence Newspaper Guild just as the union at the Gazette is. While Gazette’s Courant events, coming to a City of Homes near guild represented press employees you? (via Google Street View) before outsourcing, the Courant Guild’s jurisdiction does not include the printing plant.

Rebecca Lurye, a reporter and Courant Guild chair, confirmed her unit’s jurisdiction and lamented the impending press cuts.

“The news today was a surprise and we feel terrible for the many hardworking press employees who are losing their jobs as a result,” she said in an email.

Neither Reinsdorf nor the statement addressed questions about a decline in outside printing business or the newspaper’s physical Hartford presence.

George Arwady, The Republican’s publisher, declined to comment on the Courant’s printing decision. However, he did say The Republican expects to hire additional people to handle added work from the Courant and elsewhere. In its story, The Republican notes that it already prints Waterbury’s RepublicanAmerican among other Connecticut papers.

Advance Publications, which has had its own ups and down with printing and with labor, owns The Republican.

Tribune has had a long, painful 21st century well before the pandemic. Bankruptcy, layoffs, and internal turmoil have rocked the company, which also owns, among other papers, the Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun and the Orlando Sentinel.

Two years ago, it sold the Los Angeles Times amid leadership meltdowns and a successful unionization drive—notable for the paper’s anti-union history.

Cities with Tribune papers have sought local capital to buy the hometown papers after Patrick Soon-Shiong did just that in Los Angeles. Baltimore grandees have attempted as much and the Courant’s own journalists have urged local players to buy their paper.

Driving this concern is Alden’s growing stake in Tribune. Alden, which owns The Sun in Lowell and The Denver Post in addition to the Boston Herald, has faced accusations of gutting newsrooms to bleed more and more money from threadbare print products. Journalists and civic leaders fear the same could happen to Tribune’s already-thinned papers if Alden gains majority control of the company.

The closure of the press raises questions about whether the Courant would leave its home opposite the Connecticut State House.

Publications have been abandoning their longtime homes for cheaper digs for years. Many newsrooms are operating remotely due to the pandemic. Still, the pandemic has caused starker changes. The also Tribune-owned New York Daily News apparently closed its newsroom entirely for the time being. The Baltimore Sun once had a suburban printing plant and a plant with offices in Baltimore proper. In 2018, a year after its sale, The Sun vacated its city building and relocated all staff to the ‘burbs.

Before splitting into separate television and newspaper companies, Tribune owned the Courant‘s building and WTIC-TV. The television company got the building in the divorce. According to the Courant, it has occupied the building since the 1950’s. It retained a long-term lease that continued after Twenty Lakes Holdings bought the building. With Hartford seeing lots of development recently and the Courant no longer needing space for a plant. That lease could be bought out.

Professor Kennedy observed that more troubling than a publication’s physical location is the relocation core journalistic functions like design and copyediting out of state as Alden and Gannett have done to Massachusetts publications.

For now the workers losing their jobs in Hartford will feel the biggest impact.

Kennedy said this matters before the symbolism of printing Connecticut’s paper of record in Massachusetts.

“I hate to see people losing their jobs,” he said. “The press people have always been the heart and soul of every newspaper.”

Educación / Education

October 2020

11

HCC, WSU partner on Latinx Studies transfer pathway HOLYOKE, MA | HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE | October 15, 2020 – Westfield State University (WSU) and Holyoke Community College (HCC) have partnered to create an affordable pathway for Latinx Studies students holding an associate degree who want to earn their bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

“History of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean,” and “Introduction to Latinx Studies.”

Under the transfer agreement, this new 2+2+1 program will enable students who receive an associate degree in Latinx Studies from HCC to seamlessly transfer to Westfield and apply their credits toward the degree requirements for a Bachelor of Arts in ethnic and gender studies with a double major in Spanish. In their fifth year, students can earn a Master of Public Administration from Westfield State University, for a 2+2+1 track.

Requirements for the major include an internship or Latinx civic engagement project as well as electives from a variety of other areas of study, such as anthropology, sociology, communications, history, race and ethnicity, and Spanish.

“It’s wonderful to see our faculty develop what began as a grant-funded project into an on-going partnership that will benefit HCC students for years to come,” said HCC Dean of Arts and Humanities Kim Hicks.

“This is very much an interdisciplinary program that prepares students for transfer to four-year institutions like Westfield State HCC theater professor Patricia Sandoval directs an acting exercise during a University, and to pursue careers in a range “Westfield State is excited to enhance its Latinx Studies course called “Teatro Nuestro” (“Our Theater”) last fall. The HCC of fields, such community organizing, law and excellent relationship with Holyoke Community Learning Communities course combines “Introduction to Theater” and advocacy, city and urban planning, politics “Introduction to Latinx Studies.”

College by providing a bridge between an and policy, counseling, and international associate’s degree in Latinx Studies and a desirable career,” said Roy H. Saigo, relations,” said HCC Latinx Studies and Spanish Professor Raúl Gutiérrez, Ph.D., interim president of Westfield State University. “This partnership coordinator of the Latinx Studies program. “We’re looking forward to closely highlights the university’s commitment to facilitating accessible and affordable working with Westfield State on this new partnership.” degree options for all individuals.”

The chair of the WSU’s Department of Language and Culture Studies, Hugo With a student population that is more than 25 percent Hispanic/Latinx, HCC is Viera, Ph.D., said, “Our department está encantado to be participating in this a federally recognized Hispanic Serving Institution. The College introduced its new interdisciplinary program and looks forward to collaborating more closely Latinx Studies major in fall 2019 and is the only community college in with HCC as well as WSU faculty in other departments.”

Massachusetts that offers one.

As part of the partnership, Westfield State and HCC will also collaborate on a “Holyoke Community College’s diversity is one of its greatest strengths,” said new inter-institutional “Learning Community” course this spring. The course will HCC President Christina Royal, Ph.D. “We are always exploring new pathways blend Westfield State Professor Gabriel Aquino’s Race and Ethnic Relations through which our students can continue their education toward rewarding course with an HCC Latin American Studies course taught by Professor careers while becoming more active and engaged citizens. This partnership with Gutiérrez.

Westfield State University provides these opportunities and will also create “We are really excited about the partnership,” said Emily Todd, Ph.D., dean of greater space for dialogue around the historical, social, cultural, political, and Westfield State University’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. economic forces that shape our communities.”

“Throughout each student’s education and experience at both institutions, HCC’s Latinx Studies program grew out of a 2015 Bridging Cultures grant the faculty and staff will collaboratively work to provide mentorship, support, College received from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant’s guidance, and careful advising. Research and internship opportunities will purpose was to help HCC faculty incorporate Latinx Studies material into existing enhance students’ experiences, with an emphasis on community-based courses while also creating new ones. The result was courses that became initiatives.” cornerstones of the new major, such as “Latinx Literature,” “Latinx Politics,”

STCC’s ‘Heart of a Man’ series to explore masculinity, gender stereotypes SPRINGFIELD, MA | SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE | October 16, 2020 - Springfield Technical Community College will host a virtual series designed to engage men in conversations about masculinity, gender stereotypes, interpersonal violence, race, politics and social justice.

The Heart of a Man series features three online discussions beginning this fall semester. STCC students and the general public can register for these events by visiting stcc.io/heart. All events are free and open to the public.

“The series was created to engage men in very important conversations that impact communities of color as well as provide a space to connect students who are men with leaders in our community,” said Vonetta Lightfoot, Multicultural Affairs operation manager. “Shortly after the death of George Floyd, I felt it was necessary to get men in a room to discuss and debrief these societal issues that affect their daily existence and create a vehicle for healing and change.”

Lightfoot and Cynthia Breunig, Violence Prevention Coordinator at STCC, created the series, which will be moderated by James Lightfoot III, director of Education and Youth Programs for the Urban League of Springfield. Lightfoot created the Male Initiative for Leadership and Education (MILE) at STCC. Designed to provide inclusive academic support, mentoring and community engagement opportunities to male students at STCC, MILE is currently running under new leadership, Dr. Kiyota Garcia-Woods and Gustavo Acosta of the STCC

Academic Advising and Transfer Center. STCC is actively recruiting students to engage in the program.

MILE is a partner for the Heart of a Man Series.

The events will feature a moderated discussion with each panelist followed by a dialogue with the audience. Some of the panelists include M. Quentin B.L. Williams, Esq., author, educator, international speaker, former FBI agent, former federal prosecutor and former NFL/NBA executive; and Kevin Powell, author, activist, writer and entrepreneur.

The following are the three Heart of a Man events: • November 12, 2 p.m., “The Heart of a Father: A Dialogue on Healthy Relationships and Interpersonal Violence” • December. 3, 2 p.m., “Black and Blue: A Dialogue on Police Violence and Men of Color” “This is the very beginning of the conversations we would like to have with students and the community about very important issues,” Breunig said. “The hope is that the conversation will extend beyond the scheduled virtual meetings to engage more people in the college community.”

For more information about STCC, visit www.stcc.edu. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@S_T_C_C) and Instagram (@stccpics). Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333.

12

Política / Politics

Riding With Cassandra

by MARIANA MCDONALD

Originally posted on In Motion Magazine | September 28, 2020 | and reprinted in Stansbury Forum.com | October 10, 2020 |

THIS MOMENT

Truth is trouble…It is trouble for the warmonger, the torturer, the corporate thief, the political hack, the corrupt justice system, and for a comatose public.

Toni Morrison, The Source of Self Regard, vii-viii We are in a time of profound change. We are in a transformative moment when the Covid19 pandemic, uprisings against racial injustice and white supremacy, the unrelenting climate crisis, and rising forces of fascism and repression, all come together to force a shift that will either propel the world forward or drive it into a tailspin.

This moment pivots on how much and how well the United States deals with its past. As Joanne Freeman noted in her August 2020 essay in The Atlantic: “…before the United States can move ahead, it has to reckon with its past… America’s national identity is grounded in a shared understanding of American history—the country’s failures, successes, traditions, and ideals. Shape that narrative and you can shape a nation.” (emphasis added).

How do we understand this moment? How do we address its urgency? How do we shape the US narrative? And what does this moment mean for artists, art, and the arts movement?

WHAT ARE ARTISTS TO DO?

Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.

Bertolt Brecht This is a time to reexamine and reflect on the role of art and artists, to ponder what artists should do. We need to be discussing this, debating it, and writing about it, not only among artists, but the whole community.

As a member of the community of artists, I offer my thoughts on what artists need to do.

First and foremost, we need to tell the truth. Artists tell the truth. We do not lie, cover up, obfuscate, gaslight, or avoid. Telling the truth in the United States, a nation rooted and rotting in lies, means we must directly and relentlessly fight the lies.

We also need to bring people together emotionally, spiritually, politically, geographically, and organizationally. We can play a role in uniting people, on racial justice (pro-Black Lives Matter and against racist violence), gender justice (women’s rights and rights of trans persons), and internationalism (proPalestinian, pro-Puerto-Rican independence, and against the Cuba blockade, for starters). We must also unite people to fight the climate crisis.

We can strengthen our communities through art. Art expresses the people’s anguish, sorrow, determination, pride, and joy, and helps us heal from trauma. We also need to get people to think. We need art that encourages questioning, art that promotes critical thinking in the tradition of Paulo Freire, whose theory and practice help people discover solutions to their problems. We need to reflect on our real history, rather than the white-washed one we’ve been fed. We need to unearth our peoples’ past contributions and realities.

El Sol Latino November 2020 Last but least, we need to fight the fascist trends that are growing every day. These include, but are not limited to: voter suppression; racist anti-Black and anti-people of color violence; anti-intellectual and anti-science stances; anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-foreign language attitudes and policies; anti-women legislation and practices; actions that jeopardize the constitutionbased courts system; and the wholesale obliteration of environmental protections. We must fight all fascist actions that curb our right to protest, and those that limit or simply refuse accountability for those in power.

A key step is deconstructing the lies.

DECONSTRUCT AND REFUTE THE LIES

Lie Number 5: The United States colonized Puerto Rico to help the “savages” who could not govern themselves, rather than invading the island in 1898 to plunder its vast resources and use the island as a military outpost for intervention throughout the Americas.

What am I driving at? At this idea: that no one colonizes innocently, that no one colonizes with impunity either; that a nation which colonizes, that a civilization which justifies colonization—and therefore force—is already a sick civilization, a civilization which is morally diseased, which irresistibly, progressing from one consequence to another, one denial to another, calls for its Hitler, I mean its punishment.

I attest to this: the world is not white; it never was white, cannot be white. White is a metaphor for power, and that is simply a way of describing Chase Manhattan Bank.

Lie Number 7: US worldwide interventions have been well-intentioned attempts to extend a helping hand to poor or disadvantaged nations; rather than a way to exploit populations and resources, establish and defend US hegemony, and control the planet’s wealth.

James Baldwin, I Am Not Your Negro

To fight fascism and move toward the society we want and need, artists must confront, deconstruct, and refute what I call the Ten Big Lies That Blind US, 2020: Lie Number 1: The United States was established based on freedom and equality; rather than forged in genocide and slavery. The Declaration of Independence was a document that belied the realities of its time. Certainly there were noble intentions among its drafters, who hoped the dreamlike vision they wrote about might one day be achieved. But as written, it is a kind of national creative non-fiction, a passage in a dreamed-of memoir about what might have been and what might be.

Even the country’s chosen name, made official on September 9, 1776, was equivocal. Long referred to as “the United Colonies,” the nation was on that day named the United States of America, in an action that decisively made official the erasure of both indigenous North America and indigenous peoples throughout the Americas.

Lie Number 2: White Supremacy. The fundamental, foundational lie of the United States was and is white supremacy, the ideology and system that allowed all subsequent lies to gain traction. White supremacy asserted, legalized, and operationalized itself based on the lie that Europeans persons were legally, morally, mentally, physically, and spiritually superior to all persons of color, be they indigenous peoples or kidnapped African people.

A lie based on a lie, white supremacy invented whiteness and considered persons who were “nonwhite” to be less than human, thus excluding them from standards of human treatment, rationalizing their captivity, and legitimizing genocide.

Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism

Lie Number 6: “Manifest destiny” was a legitimate rationale for US expansion, rather than an excuse for outright theft of lands from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Lie Number 8: The United States is a unique, different, special, unparalleled, exceptional nation/ geopolitical power; rather than using this essentially narcissistic lie as a veil to hide atrocities and excuse them, avoiding accountability for all crimes.

Lie Number 9: The climate crisis is a hoax to be exposed, rather than the global existential crisis that will determine the planet’s future.

Lie Number 10: Covid19 is a hoax, a little flu, and is under control; rather than a raging global pandemic that has sickened millions and killed hundreds of thousands.

We are rapidly approaching the figure of 200,000 US lives lost due to the lies of the current government, and by its incompetence and negligence responding to the pandemic.

What is happening now in the United States, with the high and disproportionate number of deaths among Black people and other people of color, is a painful echo of the past, when the genocidal system of slavery prevailed, when blankets infected with smallpox were given to indigenous peoples, and when one-third of Puerto Rican women of childbearing age were sterilized by force. *** There are many other lies the country is based on, and they too should be addressed. These ten lies are essential to the nation’s DNA. These are lies that need to be pointed out, refuted, and replaced with the real history of how this country came about, and at what cost to what peoples.

White supremacy can be likened to permafrost, frozen earth firmly held in place for centuries which now, due to earth’s increased temperatures, is disintegrating and destroying the stability of the land and everything rooted in it, while in the process releasing toxic gases that further poison the earth.

What happens when we get rid of the lies?

White supremacy is our nation’s permafrost. And it is melting.

Any real change implies the breakup of the world as one has always known it, the loss of all that gave one identity, the end of safety.

Lie Number 3: The colonial settlers were helpful, kind friends of acquiescing natives; rather than murderers and thieves who oversaw the genocide of indigenous peoples that continues to this day.

Lie Number 4: Slavery was not so bad, and it’s over; rather than being the systematic, centuries-long oppression, torture, violence, murder, and genocide of Black people.

We will need to arrive at a new narrative, one that acknowledges the grievous harm done, while affirming the positive characteristics of US history. It will not be a simple or brief or easy process. And it is bound to be fraught with contradictions and pain.

James Baldwin, Nobody Knows My Name

As Baldwin suggests, the disruption of the lies, the disintegration of the long-accepted narrative, is disorienting. It is at once breathtaking and breathgiving for those long oppressed by the lies. The exhilaration of truth is both shocking and empowering.

continued on next page

Política / Politics

Riding With Cassandra continued from page 12

It leaves one yearning to know the real history, the real story, the truth. That search is one in which artists can play a key role.

For those who have long benefitted from white supremacy and its quotidian goody-bag, white privilege, “the end of safety” is a source of extreme reaction, hatred and violence, which shakes the rustling robes of those deposed by the truth, and galvanizes their stubborn refusal to heed norms and laws, stoked by 45’s unrelenting calls for chaos.

This is the dangerous moment we are in. We are facing “anti-maskers” toting guns into state buildings rather than heed public health guidelines, and “problue” armed gangs driving vehicles into throngs of peaceful protesters or gunning them down with rifles, both scenarios starkly absent appropriate responses from so-called “law enforcement.”

The “end of safety” is the source of cries to “go back to where you came from” directed at people whose ancestors were the first to till the land here hundreds of years ago, cries coming from people utterly terrified of 21st century US demographics, which are constantly and irrevocably changing.

The fundamental fear and outrage that MAGA supporters express with brute force—and unprecedented impunity —is that they will no longer be able to keep others down, to enjoy “birthright” advantages in housing, education, employment, and all arenas of social and economic life. Fears that they will no longer be able to convince anyone, including themselves, that they are “superior.”

If white supremacy were the underpinning of “only” extreme right-wing forces, this moment would be difficult, though not as daunting. But white supremacy is our nation’s foundation, its permafrost, and it’s not just the red-capped brutes who can feel the earth beginning to shift. The police—indeed, armed forces of all stripes—are working hard to keep their footing, and their allies in domed towers and halls of state are stepping up to throw them a lifeline, as whole chunks of disintegrating soil break apart and fall into the depths.

This is the fascism we have to fight.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS & CREATORS

History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history.

James Baldwin, I Am Not Your Negro As we tackle the big lies, we quickly encounter the role of erasure in white supremacy. For just as white supremacy invents, privileges, and sings the praises of whiteness, it launches the systematic erasure of Blackness. That erasure has served as an essential tool for genocide. White supremacy disappears Black people (and indigenous peoples, and colonized peoples), their history and voices, their actions and contributions, and even their names.

For example, in “The Problem is White Supremacy,” Barbara Smith speaks of Ann Petry’s novella “In Darkness and Confusion” (about the 1943 Harlem Race Riot) in a way similar to how Toni Morrison discusses, in “The Foreigner’s Home,” Camara Laye’s “The Radiance of the King”—as works of literature that shed light on, and are examples of, the rich writing tradition of Black peoples in the USA and Africa, which has been for the most part buried and ignored.

What this means for US history is that it must be excavated.

El Sol Latino November 2020 We must become archaeologists, digging to unearth the real history of our country from the mass graves it was tossed in, from the incomplete parchment documenting who lived and who died, from the systematically promulgated canons that obliterate Blackness, and have made whatever little is permitted to be written in invisible ink. (How many important primary sources, such as the selected works of Puerto Rican leader Pedro Albizu Campos, quickly fall into out-of-print status, becoming unavailable to the next generations of readers?) Enter, into deep trenches with dusty clouds abounding, the artists. And art. And artistic movements.

Support Black Artists and other People of Color Artists As we dig, we need to combat erasure intentionally and consistently.

We must defend and support Black artists and other people of color artists by supporting and sharing the art they create, but also by identifying and breaking down the barriers that exist to Black art being embraced as central to US culture. These are publishing industry barriers, music industry barriers, art industry barriers, film industry barriers, media and social media barriers, and others, as well as the fundamental economic barriers that impede the work and success of virtually all artists. We should give special attention to the philanthropic and nonprofit worlds and their contradictions, as they are a source both of opportunity and of perpetuation of white supremacy.

Art by and for the people Fortunately, there is a long and multi-faceted tradition of arts serving and advancing social change around the world. We can learn from cultural movements of the world’s past, from Lang Son to Santiago and from San Juan to Cape Town, as well as in the United States.

For example, when the AIDS epidemic raged in the 1980s, activists envisioned how friends and family could create a quilt to honor their loved ones who died from the disease. The AIDS Quilt project grew rapidly into a national phenomenon, with thousands upon thousands of quilts being made and displayed, offering a healing and unifying activity to remember those lost to the disease, while helping shatter the stigma surrounding it.

In the seventies throughout the Americas, protest music became a loud and ever-present part of movements against dictators and foreign intervention.

Victor Jara, the beloved Chilean poet-songwriter who radiated courage as he fought to his death in the 1973 US-supported Pinochet coup, was a leading figure in what would become known (in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, and elsewhere) as the Nueva Trova, or new song movement. In the United States the songs of Nueva Trova were sung and played in movements across the country, deepening bonds of solidarity and friendship while educating activists about neighbors’ struggles.

We can also learn from socialist countries, such as Cuba and Vietnam, that have for decades utilized the arts and culture to transform their societies. There are lessons to learn from their experiences achieving society-wide goals by utilizing culturally effective campaigns, such as Vietnam’s recent campaign against the coronavirus. As a result of their decisive efforts, cultural and educational offerings, and diligent handling of infections, Vietnam has defeated the coronavirus, with only 34 deaths to date.

A New Nuremberg We also need artists and artistic movements to demand accountability. Artists can point to individuals and

13

regimes that have committed crimes against the planet and peoples of the world, such as Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jair Bolsonaro, and Rodrigo Duterte. Artists can help create and advance the demand that these individuals and regimes be held accountable.

We need a global forum for accountability, justice, and consequences for those who have carried out genocidal crimes against people and terracide against the planet. We call on mechanisms and vehicles from the past century that were used to seek justice for crimes against humanity. Artists can and must declare that now, in the 21st century, we need a new Nuremberg.

ONWARD / ¡PA’LANTE!

Not everything is lost. Responsibility cannot be lost, it can only be abdicated.

If one refuses abdication, one begins again.

“Thinking with Jimmy.” Eddie Glaude, Begin Again, xxix.

History is not in the rear-view mirror. It is straight ahead, every day, if we can only see it. It may sometimes be in our peripheral vision—fleeting, uncertain, intuitive, even hallucinatory. Artists must strive for, and nurture in one another, characteristics that foster vision: boldness, courage, creativity, and innovation. We must defend and support artists with vision, and unleash it in ourselves. As artists, we are called upon to ask ourselves, “Can we have Cassandralike vision? Can we imagine this world we want to see?”

At what point do fortune tellers become fortunecreators? That dream-into-reality process can happen when artists combine vision, clarity, determination, and skills with the galloping will of the people.

It will not be easy. It will be a bumpy ride. The potholes have been growing, and sinkholes show up where they’re least expected. Then there’s that ominous Hummer hogging the road.

But there is a path that can be taken now, and artists must take it. For even in the darkest moments, we can call upon our ancestors to guide us, so that when we stumble, we can begin again.

I’m holding Jimmy Baldwin’s words close to my heart.

And I’m riding with Cassandra

Mariana Mcdonald Editor’s Note – The reference are available on the original article posted in In Motion Magazine (September 28, 2020) and in Stansbury Forum.com (October 10, 2020).

MARIANA MCDONALD is a poet, writer, scientist, and activist.

Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including poetry in Crab Orchard Review, Lunch Ticket, and The New Verse News; fiction in So to Speak and Cobalt; creative nonfiction in Longridge Review and HerStry; and journalism in In Motion Magazine. She co-authored with Margaret Randall the recently-released Dominga Rescues the Flag/Dominga rescata la bandera, the story of black Puerto Rican heroine Dominga de la Cruz. Mcdonald lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

On March 2016, El Sol Latino published the interview that Mariana Mcdonald conducted with Andrés Feliciano, co-producer and music director of Paper City, a film about the “American Dream” and the school-to-prison pipeline. The feature-length documentary is set in the Puerto Rican community of Holyoke, Massachusetts.

14

Ciencias / Science

Fases de desarrollo de una vacuna por JESSICA CABALLERO-FELICIANO Hemos escuchado hablar mucho acerca de lo importante que es desarrollar una vacuna para poder controlar y erradicar el COVID-19. Es esperanzador saber que científicos alrededor del mundo se están dedicando a colaborar e investigar la manera en que esto puede ser posible. Desde principios del 2020 se ha estado trabajando en una vacuna contra el COVID-19 y ya hay varias compañías en la etapa de ensayos clínicos. En este artículo hablaremos de cómo funcionan las diferentes fases de ensayos clínicas y cuales son las fases que se necesitan poder llegar a ese punto.

El Sol Latino November 2020

que las personas que reciben la vacuna estarán en contacto con el virus en algún momento de su diario vivir y se monitorea cuantas de estas personas son infectadas con el virus. A este grupo de personas se compara con la cantidad de personas en ese mismo lapso de tiempo que son contagiados con el virus pero que nunca recibieron la vacuna. Es aquí donde se prueba cuan eficiente es la vacuna en prevenir el contagio del virus. También se continúa monitoreando qué efectos secundarios o adversos puede ocasionar la vacuna ya que, al ser administrada a mas personas, pueden recoger mas data de los efectos adversos y secundarios que son menos comunes.

Fase 4 – Aprobación. Cada país tiene sus propios criterios para autorizar el uso de la vacuna bajo sus propias regulaciones utilizando la data obtenida en la fase 3. Aunque sea aprobada una vacuna, los científicos continúan monitoreando el efecto de las vacunas en las personas ya que ahora son millones de personas quienes la recibirían. Es aquí también donde en algunos casos se administra la vacuna por primera vez en poblaciones vulnerables, como mujeres embarazadas.

Es importante también notar que es común que los ensayos clínicos sean pausados.

Esto significa que, durante alguna de las fases, se notó un efecto adverso que se debe reconsiderar y remediar antes de continuar probando la vacuna.

Maneras de acelerar el proceso.

Fase 1/2 - Fases combinadas. Cuando enfrentamos una pandemia como la que estamos viviendo, algunos países aceleran el proceso al unir las fases 1 y 2.

Esto se puede hacer llevando a cabo las dos fases a la vez.

Pan American Health Organization

Fase de ciencia básica. Se busca entender toda la información posible acerca de la enfermedad y de lo que esté causando la enfermedad. En el caso del SARS-CoV-2, lo primero que se hizo fue averiguar el genoma del virus. En otras palabras, se buscó entender el ADN del virus y su estructura. Es por esto que sabemos que el virus tiene un arreglo estructural parecido a una corona, de allí el nombre “coronavirus”.

Fase de ciencia postbásica. Se usan modelos animales para probar como actúa el virus en el organismo, y como interacciona el virus en presencia de algunas drogas y anticuerpos.

Fase de ensayos preclínicos. El objetivo de los ensayos preclínicos es comprobar que la vacuna cause el efecto inmunológico necesario para prevenir la enfermedad y que a la vez no cause ningún efecto adverso al animal.

Fases de ensayos clínicos

Fase 1 - Seguridad. La vacuna se prueba en grupos pequeños, usualmente en grupos de 20 a 100 personas. El propósito de esta primera prueba es comprobar que la vacuna sea segura e identificar cualquier efecto secundario que pueda causar. También verifican que no cause ningún efecto adverso en las personas. Es aquí también donde se comprueba cual es la dosis que se necesita administrar para que sea efectiva en estimular el sistema inmunológico.

Fase 2 – Pruebas expandidas. En esta fase se reclutan varios cientos de personas y se dividen en diferentes tipos de grupos, como niños, adultos, ancianos, etc. El propósito de esta fase es monitorear e identificar como funciona la vacuna en estas diferentes poblaciones. Aquí se monitorean los efectos a largo plazo de la vacuna y se identifican otros posibles efectos secundarios de la vacuna que no se pudieron identificar en la fase 1.

Fase 3 - Eficacia. En esta fase se reclutan miles de personas y usualmente dura varios años. La razón por la que dura varios años es porque se asume

Aprobación temprana. En algunos países, como Rusia y China, aprueban la vacuna sin aún tener los resultados de la fase 3. En otras palabras, aprueban la vacuna sin estar seguros de cuan efectiva es la vacuna en prevenir el contagio del virus.

“Human challenge trial”. Primero, se le administra pequeñas dosis del virus a participantes completamente saludables y sin previa exposición al virus. Este proceso se repite hasta que suficientes participantes desarrollen la enfermedad.

Al hacer esto, se puede establecer cual es la dosis mínima de exposición al virus que se necesita para poder infectarse. Luego, se busca otro grupo de participantes que no hayan tenido exposición previa al virus, se le administra la vacuna, y el participante se expone al virus en el laboratorio, bajo un ambiente y dosis controlada.

Esto es diferente a la fase 3, donde se administra la vacuna y se asume que en algún momento estos participantes se expondrán al virus en su diario vivir.

Todas las personas que participan en el “human challenge trial” tienen que mantenerse bajo constante cuidado y vigilancia médica. El Reino Unido es el primer país en proponer este tipo de prueba para desarrollar la vacuna contra el COVID-19. Sin embargo, este método no es nuevo. Se ha usado para encontrar tratamientos para la influenza, malaria, dengue, cólera, y fiebre tifoidea. El llevar a cabo este tipo de estudios acelera significativamente el desarrollo de una vacuna. No obstante, este método presenta preocupaciones éticas significativas. El SARS-CoV-2 es un virus nuevo de lo que aún no se sabe con completa certeza el efecto que presenta a largo plazo en las personas infectadas y aún no se tiene un tratamiento o una cura confiable. Tampoco se puede decir con certeza que una vacuna desarrollada bajo unas condiciones tan controladas como la que se propone con este tipo de estudios sea efectiva cuando las personas se expongan al virus en el diario vivir.

Cada país decide como llevar a cabo las pruebas clínicas de acuerdo a las regulaciones establecidas y la urgencia con la que se necesita el tratamiento y la vacuna. Es importante recordar que nosotros tenemos el deber y la responsabilidad de minimizar el contagio al usar mascarillas en lugares públicos, lavarnos las manos con frecuencia, y evitar exposiciones innecesarias.

JESSICA CABALLERO-FELICIANO (jcaballerof@umass.edu) es estudiante en el Neuroscience & Behavior Graduate Program - UMass Amherst.

Ciencias / Science

El Sol Latino November 2020

15

How to use COVID-19 testing and quarantining to safely travel for the holidays

by CLAUDIA FINKELSTEIN

This article was originally published in The Conversation | October 23, 2020 With the holidays approaching, many people are considering whether to visit relatives or friends in the coming weeks. At the same time, cases of COVID-19 are surging toward the highest levels since the beginning of the pandemic. As a physician, daughter of vulnerable seniors and mother of young adults, I have been thinking a lot about whether testing will help me decide if it’s safe to see my family.

Testing may help you to make sure you and your loved ones stay healthy, but COVID-19 testing is not as simple as yes or no, infected or safe. There are many factors to keep in mind when using a coronavirus test to plan your holiday travels safely.

Some tests are better than others Broadly speaking, there are two categories of tests.

Antibody tests – which look for evidence of previous infection – can’t tell you whether you currently have COVID-19 and aren’t useful for planning to visit family.

The other category of tests look for evidence of the virus in your body. There are two types of these viral tests available – RT–PCR tests and rapid antigen tests – and these are the ones to use when trying to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

No lab test for COVID-19 is 100% accurate. Although false positives are certainly not a good thing, a false negative result – testing negative when you actually have the virus – is the bigger danger if you plan on seeing family. The false negative rates for RT-PCR tests range from 2%-29%. Much of that range is due to different manufacturers and user error. While fairly accurate, these tests often involve a visit to a health care provider and are somewhat expensive – around US$100, though costs vary widely by state – and it can take up to three days to get results. RT-PCR tests are the best tests available, but for some people, especially if you’ll be seeing someone in a vulnerable age group, the high-end 29% false negative rate might leave more uncertainty than you are comfortable with.

– when you are presymptomatic – or even if you never develop any symptoms at all.

Minimize risk, accept uncertainty First off, if you have any symptoms at all, stay home. If you do not have symptoms, then you can start to think about travel for the holidays.

Knowing that tests are imperfect, the safest thing you can do is to strictly self-quarantine for 14 days before your visit. Testing can offer a helpful data point, but a quarantine is the more foolproof option.

If you can’t quarantine for a full 14 days, the next best thing is to limit potential exposure to the virus, isolate as much as possible as long as possible before you travel and get tested.

If you are worried about being an asymptomatic carrier and are unable to isolate, consider getting tested at least five days after your last possible exposure. This maximizes the chance of a test detecting the virus if you are infected.

Remember that traveling itself carries risk of exposure too. Driving with appropriate precautions – wear a mask, wash your hands and social distance – seems to be safer than flying.

The process of flying – the crowded airports, bus rides and close seating on the plane – is a serious exposure risk.

Ideally, after flying you would self–isolate again at your destination for as long as possible and consider getting tested. That is a lot of time alone and waiting for test results, but I can think of no higher stakes than the safety of loved ones.

You’re not in it alone

Rapid antigen tests, in comparison, are faster and cheaper, but less accurate than RT–PCR tests. You can usually get results within a day of taking the test, but false negative rates can be as high as 50%. They are most likely to be accurate when they are given to people with symptoms within a week of symptom onset, but rapid tests are not meant to be diagnostic tests for an individual. They are much better at monitoring whole populations where people can be tested repeatedly, and quite frankly have little use as a one-time test.

Maintaining health is a group effort, and it takes only one infected person to cause an outbreak. Openly discuss the precautions that the people you are visiting are taking and the possibilities of social distancing during the visit.

With a rapid test you may get results instantaneously at a lower price, but they should not be the only thing to inform a travel decision. When the health of a family member is on the line, accuracy is your friend. RT–PCR tests are generally considered to be more accurate.

Remember that one negative test in a party of travelers is only that, one negative test. Just because you test negative doesn’t mean you can assume that other people in your household are negative too. Everyone needs to get tested and follow the same isolation measures, as much of the spread occurring is happening at smaller private gatherings in close quarters.

Timing matters Regardless of which viral test you use, the results are accurate only for the moment when you were tested and reflect only the ability of the test to detect the virus. A negative result today of course doesn’t prevent you from getting infected tomorrow.

But with the coronavirus, neither does a negative test mean you haven’t been exposed to the virus. The time between coming in contact with the virus and beginning to shed infectious virus particles – the incubation period – varies anywhere between two and 14 days. For example, it’s possible you could get exposed today, test negative tomorrow and then go on to be infectious a few days later.

Additionally, it is possible to spread the virus before you show symptoms

There are a lot of reasons to delay travel, and during a pandemic, caution is wise. Centers for Disease Control

Many people want to see our loved ones during the holidays. But there are enormous, life-and-death reasons to plan the visit carefully and to use information, isolation and testing wisely. You may decide that the risk is too high, and that is OK. But, if you decide to visit for the holidays, the safest option is a strict 14-day quarantine. Testing can help inform your decision, but is not the only thing that you should rely on.

Dr. CLAUDIA FINKELSTEIN - Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Michigan State University. Dr. Finkelstein earned her M.D.C.M. at McGill University in Montreal. Her current main area of interest is that of physician health, believing that well-adjusted, resilient, thriving physicians will provide excellent care to their patients, teaching to their trainees, and a positive presence to their loved ones. She is currently expanding the wellness work to include all of those involved in the dynamic world of medical education and research.

16

Finanzas / Finances

El Sol Latino November 2020

Scams, Fraud & Identity Theft: The Past, Present & Future by MILAGROS S. JOHNSON Lafayette County, Wisconsin | As much as we try to avoid them, scams, fraud, and identity theft exist, and are part of our past, present and future! But for some odd reason, we choose not to talk about them until we have fallen victim to one. I’m sure many of us have had our own unfortunate personal experience, or close encounter to at least one of them. I know I have!

Fraudsters and scammers are relentless and are on a mission to steal our personal information or money. This brings me to the Unemployment Benefits Scam that is actively targeting Massachusetts residents. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission reported that Americans have lost over $145 million dollars to coronavirus-related scams, with many of those being unemployment benefits fraud.

It goes without saying that the best protection is for us to take all of the preventative measures we possibly can…thus, “Education is the Best Prevention!”

If you want to know the truth, this is a form of identity theft. Why? Because someone fraudulently used another person’s social security number to file a fake claim.

This is quite concerning. What other personal information do perpetrators have from the thousands of data breaches that have left us all so very vulnerable?

Scams come to us by phone, text, and email. They come to us when we least expect them. To make matters worse, they cost us many sleepless nights and headaches… all while we try to repair the damage done to our good name.

Here’s the thing, fraudsters seek anyone with a social security number, a credit card, or money. All three of these are extremely valuable to them. They make their living from robbing us of our identity and money. Fraudsters make it their priority to come after our personal information and finances.

I always tell consumers to stop, breath, and take a step back to think before reacting quickly to what may seem too good to be true, or when they suspect it to be a scam. “Go with your first instinct, and never second guess yourself!”

If you’ve been the recent victim of the unemployment benefits scam, you must report it to your state’s Department of Unemployment Assistance (In Massachusetts: (877) 626-6800, or visit Mass.gov for more detail. I encourage you to freeze all three of your credit reports, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to prevent anyone from opening any new fraudulent accounts.

Remember that “Education is the Best Prevention” because scams, fraud and identity theft…are part of the past, present and future! I invite you to listen to our new podcast, “The Consumer Toolbox” available to you on multiple platforms to learn more about the topic.

Stay safe, be well…and continue to stay informed!

MILAGROS S. JOHNSON is the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Consumer Information in Springfield, a Local Consumer Program funded by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

Latinx Journalism Matters Support Publishers of Color

The impact of COVID-19 has been especially devastating for communities of color.

Now, more than ever, independent, local journalism needs your support.

El Sol Latino is your local Latinx-owned, independent news source that brings to the front lines diverse Latino voices, perspectives, news and stories.

SUPPORT EL SOL LATINO