Artist gets time to argue against covering unwanted murals
May 6, 2021
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SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. (AP) A federal court judge is giving an artist more time to explain how the Vermont Law School s plan to cover a pair of murals he painted nearly three decades ago that the school community now regards as racially insensitive might damage the artwork.
The murals by then-Vermont-based artist Sam Kerson were intended to honor African Americans and abolitionists involved in the Underground Railroad. Vermont Law School announced last year that it planned to paint over them after some school community members said the depictions are offensive. Students and others have condemned the artwork as having exaggerated and dated depictions of slaves and enslavers.
Onondaga County judge denies access to some allegations of misconduct against Syracuse police
Updated May 06, 2021;
Syracuse, N.Y. An Onondaga County judge has ruled unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct against Syracuse police officers do not have to be released under open records laws.
The ruling Wednesday came after the New York Civil Liberties Union sued the city and its police department for access to all allegations of misconduct against officers.
Judge Gerard Neri’s decision falls in line with an opinion from the Committee on Open Government, a state agency that issues guidance on open records laws. Neri’s decision is at odds with decisions of other judges, including in Erie County, where a judge found unsubstantiated allegations could be released under open records laws.
New survey results show about 8% of New York s public school students, or about 215,00 students, did not have a laptop or other device to use for remote learning in the first months of the school year. About 6%, or 165,000 students, lacked adequate internet access despite districts efforts to equip students as the pandemic closed schools.
The preliminary results from the state Education Department s fall Digital Equity Survey were released Wednesday by the New York Civil Liberties Union following a FOIL records request.
“This information underscores just how vulnerable our public schools are after decades of under-funding and racial segregation,” said Johanna Miller, director of the Education Policy Center at the NYCLU. “Education leaders at every level need to examine this issue with their communities and construct solutions that will heal, restore, and compensate for the failure to reach so many kids during the pandemic. The pool of resources to support schools in the bu
Students in Black and Latino school districts this past fall were around four times more likely not to have access to adequate internet and more than three times less likely to have a dedicated device compared to largely white school districts, according to a new report.
The Big Five school districts New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, Syracuse and Rochester collectively had a higher percentage of students without devices compared with the statewide figure of 8%, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union s analysis of data from the New York State Education Department’s fall preliminary digital equity survey.
Of the five, Buffalo schools had the best access to the internet and dedicated devices with 96% of students there being provided a device by the district, according to the data.