hockadayfourcast.org
22 Pro and Con for late school start
OPINIONS
May 17, 2021
23 AStrong action
21
necessary to stop AAPI hate crimes
Return of international travel With vaccines in hand, what does the near future look like?
I
f you’ve been fully vaccinated, your world is opening up. The CDC states that travel inside the United States is permissible without a COVID test or any quarantine time for those who are fully vaccinated, and only testing is required for international travel. Internationally, countries that are currently allowing U.S. travelers are limited, and most have strict testing and/or quarantine guidelines upon arrival. U.S. News has reported that the countries that are easiest to enter this spring are Carribean countries, like Aruba, the Bahamas, St. Barts and St. Lucia. The number of people that are traveling via planes has risen dramatically through these new changes and greater vaccine access. For example, according to the TSA, on April 21, approximately 1,572,383 passengers went through airport security in the United States. Understandably, these numbers are significantly higher than on April 18, 2020, when 105,382 passengers went through checkpoints, but this year’s levels are still barely 50 percent of the 2,356,802 passengers in 2019, pre-COVID. International travel and domestic travel are expected to reach similar levels, over the summer as people
return to normal life. What’s harder to predict is what precautions and quarantine procedures will look like for students in the fall at Hockaday. The majority of Hockaday students are younger than 16, so they are not yet eligible to receive a vaccine. For them, the CDC’s guidelines include quarantines and testing, along with significantly more risk than if they were
Nurse Erika Herridge spoke about what impact the vaccine has on life at Hockaday, especially as more students are eligible and begin to receive the vaccine. “I’d like to start with the benefits of having a vaccine that can be given to people ages 16 and up. This is a huge medical achievement and honestly one I really didn’t think we would be able to achieve within
“Things like homecoming, mixers, parties, football games and eating in restaurants with friends are starting to seem closer on the horizon as things that are safe to return to.” Libby Hill Managing Editor completely vaccinated. However, for students who are older and have received a vaccine, life is returning closer to normal. A year has been lost, but the vaccine comes with a new level of freedoms this summer and going into next fall. Things like homecoming, mixers, parties, football games and eating in restaurants with friends are starting to seem closer on the horizon as things that are safe to return to.
a year.” “The benefits of having vaccinated people on campus is; it lowers infection in the community therefore limiting the potential spread of infection and the need to quarantine those who have not been vaccinated or are not yet eligible to receive it.” This spring, the availability and rollout for vaccines for the general population has risen rapidly across the United States. In Texas, as of April 22, over 24 percent of the population
Libby Hill Managing Editor had been fully vaccinated, and 37 percent had received at least one dose. Dallas County is second to only Harris County, which contains Houston, in the levels of citizens who have received a dose. Additionally, on March 29, the state opened vaccine eligibility to the general population as long as they were over the age of 16. Nurse Herridge recommended that Hockaday families take every situation on a case-by-case basis and follow CDC guidelines. “Hockaday has not made any decisions related to the COVID-19 vaccine for students, nor for faculty and staff, at this time. The available vaccines have only emergency use authorization from the FDA and have not been fully tested in children.”
Facing AAPI hate Asian xenophobia escalates during time of COVID-19
Lily Fu Guest Writer Eight people were killed in a mass shooting in Atlanta March 16. Six of those victims were Asian women, and the shootings took place in three Asian-owned businesses. According to the New York Times, the victims included a single mother of two young boys, a woman who was one day shy of turning 50 and another mother of two teenage children. Although this attack was clearly aimed toward the Asian American community, when Capt. Jay Baker, an officer from Cherokee County, Georgia, was interviewed about the incident, he claimed the shooter
was just having a “bad day,” and didn’t address the problem as what it really is: a hate crime. Additionally, according to USA Today, about a year ago, Baker posted a xenophobic picture of a shirt that said, “COVID-19 imported virus from Chy-na,” and encouraged his followers to buy his shirts. Because of people like Baker and our former president Donald Trump, who repeatedly called the coronavirus the “Chinese virus” and “Kung f lu,” Time magazine found that hate crimes against Asian Americans have increased by 1,900 percent in New York and 150 percent across our nation. In the past year, NBC News has reported over 3,800 cases of antiAsian hate crimes, mostly against Asian American women. Despite these alarming statistics, Asian hate still continues today, ranging from microaggressions to literal mass shootings. Although many people have probably heard about the Atlanta shooting, news about smaller, but equally important, incidents don’t seem to make the cut for
mainstream media. According to NBC News DFW a few weeks ago, in Keller, just over an hour drive from Dallas, a 58-year-old Chinese immigrant named Feng Zhou was killed in a hit and run. The victim and his wife were walking on the sidewalk during an evening stroll when a large SUV veered off the road, hit Feng, and quickly sped away. Unfortunately, Feng died, and his wife suffered from injuries. Feng’s story is one of many that aren’t talked about as much as they should be. Another example of a hate crime that needs more attention is the killing of Vicha Ratanapakdee. CNN News reported that Vicha, a Thai American man, died after being forcefully pushed to the ground in January of this year. This kind of attack happened again on Jan. 31, when a white man violently shoved a 91-year-old Asian man, a 60-yearold Asian man, and a 55-yearold Asian woman in Oakland, California, according to ABC News. People, the media, and society have all been quiet about Asian
hate for far too long, and it’s time for some real change to happen. Luckily, unlike President Trump, President Biden has announced specific courses of action the government will take to respond to Anti-Asian violence and xenophobia. WhiteHouse.Gov reported that Biden plans to appoint a permanent director to lead the AAPI initiative in coordination of policies across the federal government. Additionally, Biden plans to provide funding for the AAPI survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault as well as establish a COVID-19 Equity Task Force committee on addressing and ending xenophobia against Asian Americans. Finally, Biden will ensure that funds go to critical research for preventing racial biases and prejudices toward the AAPI community. Although these are necessary steps in the right direction toward racial equality, this country still has a lot of room for progress when it comes to justice for minority groups.
