A new study of all live births and jail incarcerations in New York City from 2010-2016 has found that births exposed to paternal jail incarceration during gestation were associated with 58% to over 200% higher odds of adverse outcomes than unexposed births, including increased odds of late preterm birth, low birthweight, small for gestational age (SGA), and Neonatal Intensive
Dear Jo with Sen. Jo Comerford: We must cherish public higher education
UMass campus in Amherst.
Published: 5/25/2021 1:16:15 PM
In words unchanged since 1780, the education clause of our state’s Constitution reads that “[i]t shall be the duty of legislatures and magistrates, in all future periods of this commonwealth, to cherish… the public schools and grammar schools in the towns.”
Is the Legislature living up to this constitutional mandate? Not yet.
Per-student state funding for public higher education fell 31% from 2001 through 2019, driving up tuition and fees and mounting student debt.
The CHERISH Act (S.824 and H.1325 An Act to commit to higher education the resources to ensure a strong and healthy public higher education system), which I filed with Reps. Sean Garballey and Paul Mark, draws its inspiration from our constitutional obligation. Co-sponsored by upward of 90 House and Senate colleagues, the bill would require the commonwealth to fund public higher
How Heat Exacerbates Mental Health
Many other studies point to the fact that heat exacerbates many current mental health issues. American researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and California Polytechnic State University found that there is an association between hotter temperatures and an increase in not only suicide rates, but also hospital visits for mental health. A 2017 study based in India corroborated the evidence when they found that higher temperatures led to higher suicide rates, though this study also viewed it from an economic perspective by linking heat to reduced crop yields.
Other mental health issues, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, can also be made worse during a heatwave. Part of it can be from medication as researchers say that patients on anti-psychotics have more difficulty regulating body temperature due to the medication. This has, in some cases, caused hallucinations, or even manic e