Citizen Contributions

Care Call Goes out

by | Oct 3, 2018 1:50 pm | Comments (1)

United Way’s Peter Schaller submitted this article.

Maybe it’s the changing colors of the leaves, the rush of college students back into our downtown streets, or perhaps, for you, it’s a more personal commitment to reconnect with what matters most this season: there’s just something magical about fall in New Haven.

This fall, United Way is energized and excited because we are doing something new to kick off our annual campaign. We’re hosting our first ever city-wide New Haven Day of Caring! On October 13th volunteers will unite to do good deeds across our city, and we want you and your family to join us. If you’re a parent, imagine watching your children learn the lessons of giving back while having fun with friends in the park. Looking for the perfect start to a fall Saturday with friends or coworkers? Grab that pumpkin spice latte and pick one of the sites below to volunteer before enjoying the rest of the day.

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The Muslim Women You’ve Never Met

by | May 29, 2018 2:01 pm | Comments (0)

Aaminah Bhat.

Three years ago, on Feb. 10, Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were killed by Craig Stephen Hicks in their North Carolina home. This horrific evening came to be known as the Chapel Hill Shooting, and is one of many hate crimes against Muslims. These acts of prejudicial aggression in our country have spiked following our most recent election year. An online piece called The Islamic Administration” reports a 67 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims in 2016” and that from the end of Jan. 27 through the end of March, there were approximately 32 anti-Muslim and anti-Arab incidents, or an average of one every other day,” (Brennan Center). The phenomenon is nothing new, we’ve seen it in the years following 9/11, but it has been fuelled more recently under the rhetoric of our new Presidential Administration. 

Still, we try to understand: Where does this prejudice stem from?

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Creed Walks Out

by | May 18, 2018 12:08 pm | Comments (9)

Contributed Photos

Students at Cortlandt V.R. Creed Thursday got an early start on leaving their school. They attended a session about the Board of Education’s plans to close the inter district magnet high school this coming academic year to save money. (Read about that here.) Then the students staged a walkout for 26 minutes. Creed junior Aurea Bianca Orencia sent in the following write-up about why the students walked out:

Despite some hesitations of getting wet in the rain, a majority of the students at Creed walked out to say a statement to the board: education should see no color.

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Female Leaders Meet

by | Apr 13, 2018 12:06 pm | Comments (0)

Yale-China Association, which is part of the official New Haven delegation visiting China to cement a new sister-city relationship with Changsha and try to attract new investment in New Haven, sent the following photos and write-ups from the trip.

Contributed photos

Mayor Toni Harp, the first woman mayor of New Haven, was welcomed to Hong Kong today by Ms. Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong S.A.R. Also in the meeting were (left to right) Marc Camille, president of Albertus Magnus College, David Youtz, president of Yale-China Association, Althea Norcott, representing New-Haven Sister Cities, and Andrew Wolf, New Haven director of arts, tourism and culture.

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Equity and Digital Literacies

by | Apr 13, 2018 10:21 am | Comments (0)

Amira Dhalla and Curtis Hill


Josiah Brown, a volunteer member of the board of the Literacy Coalition of Greater New Haven, sent this account of an event in which the Coalition was involved.

On Saturday, April 7, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) hosted a forum on Equity and Digital Literacies.” Organized by SCSU Associate Professor of Education J. Greg McVerry – who is also a member of the board of the Literacy Coalition of Greater New Haven – the event reflected the collaboration of co-sponsors the Mozilla Foundation, SCSU’s School of Education and Computer Science Department, the Connecticut Education Network, and the Literacy Coalition. The Saturday morning audience included educators from the New Haven Public Schools, public librarians (from New Haven’s Stetson branch), technology aficionados, parents, civic activists, and a peer mentor/academic coach (and aspiring early childhood educator) from SCSU’s Multicultural Center.

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From The Forbidden City ...

by | Apr 11, 2018 2:37 pm | Comments (1)

Yale-China Association, which is part of the official New Haven delegation visiting China to cement a new sister-city relationship with Changsha and try to attract new investment in New Haven, sent the following photos and write-ups from the trip.

Courtesy Yale In China

The New Haven delegation visited Yali Middle School where they had a rich exchange of ideas and information on Changsha and New Haven. In the photo, Andy Wolf, Director of Arts, Culture, and Tourism for the City of New Haven, is talking with Yali Middle School students about the vibrant cultural, arts, and culinary culture in New Haven.

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Hillhouse ROTC Cadets Honor Veterans

by | Dec 20, 2017 8:50 am | Comments (0)

Hillhouse JROTC

The following article was submitted by retired Lt. Col. John Hinrichs and retired Sgt. 1st Class Lisa Rodriguez.
On a blustery cold December day, nine James Hillhouse High School Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) cadets participated in the Wreaths Across America, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Connecticut Veterans Cemetery in Middletown.

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