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VOA教育报道2023--Affirmative Action Decision Tops Higher Education News in 2023

时间:2024-01-02 02:57来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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Affirmative Action Decision Tops Higher Education News in 2023

As 2023 comes to a close, we take a look back at the top stories and developments in higher education. They include a major high court decision on college admissions, the return of international students at U.S. colleges, the closure of small colleges and study programs, and an Ivy1 League president stepping down under pressure.

Affirmative Action decision

In late June, the U.S. Supreme2 Court ruled that universities could no longer consider the race of a student when making admissions decisions.

The announcement effectively ended the idea of Affirmative Action, which had been in place in higher education and the workforce3 for over 50 years.

In making its decision, the court looked at cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote: "students must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual – not on the basis of race."

He noted4 that many who make choices about which students will be permitted to attend universities have given too much importance to the color of a person's skin. "Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice," he continued.

A group called Students for Fair Admissions brought the case through the U.S. court system over a number of years. The group believed that many Asian and white students were not getting a fair chance to attend the most selective colleges and universities in the U.S. because some places were being held for Black students.

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke5 in favor of racially diverse colleges and universities after the decision came out.

Many universities said they will change the writing requirements of their applications in order to learn of the life experiences of applicants6. The first group of students affected7 by the new rules will be applying to college in early 2024.

The next step for activists8 who want to change the way colleges choose students? Legacy9 admissions. A group based in Boston took legal action against Harvard University, saying it should no longer give preference to students whose parents attended Harvard or give money to the school.

Indian students boost numbers

More and more young people from India are now attending college in the United States. As a result, the number of international students studying in the U.S. has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

While students from China are still the largest group, the number of Chinese international students in the U.S. is dropping. But the 269,000 Indian students made up that difference.

Costas Chassapis works at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey10. Chassapis told VOA Learning English that many university leaders in the U.S. are "ecstatic" about the increase in Indian students. But he said the increase will not last forever.

The increase is partly due to new rules put in place by Joe Biden's administration. They permit students who complete study programs in STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – to stay in the U.S. for extra work experience.

American students question college

As international students return to the United States, many American young people are expressing concern about the value of a college degree.

The number of American college-age students seeking higher education started falling before the COVID-19 pandemic. Today's young people find that they have work possibilities that pay well even without a college degree. Some say the cost of attending college is simply too high.

West Virginia is the only state in America with a population that is lower today than it was in 1950. The state's public university, West Virginia University (WVU), feels the effects of the population loss. Today, its main campus has about 25,000 students. That number is 10 percent lower than it was in 2015. WVU is facing a $45 million budget deficit11.

Last summer, WVU announced plans to cut some study programs. The school will end some language studies, music instruction and writing programs. In addition, 100 educators will likely lose their jobs.

Lisa Di Bartolomeo is one of the language professors concerned about her students. She said: "The best and the brightest students don't see a future for themselves in West Virginia."

But at least WVU remains12 open. Some small colleges and universities closed or made plans to close in 2023.

One of those schools was Alliance University in New York City. Heather Garcia studied and worked there. She said the university tried to remain open, but its financial problems were too large. She said she is sad to see the school close.

Bryan Alexander is a researcher who looks at the future of higher education. He said small American colleges first try to reduce their costs. When they can no longer cut their costs, they must close. He said many people in higher education are concerned about the number of small schools that have closed in recent years.

"I think, within higher ed, the alarm has already been sounded," Alexander said. "Presidents, Deans, Provosts...this is the stuff that keeps them up at night."

Ivy League president leaves job under pressure

Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania stepped down from her job in early December.

Magill, along with Harvard President Claudine Gay and Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology appeared in front of Congress on December 5. Lawmakers asked the presidents if they felt calls for violence against Jewish people should be against school rules.

The Republican-led congressional committee chose the three leaders because their schools "have been at the center of the rise in antisemitic protests," a committee spokesperson said in a statement. The protests are related to the ongoing13 conflict between Israel and Hamas.

None of the three school leaders directly spoke against calls for violence against Jewish people. Instead, they said some speech, even "deeply hateful speech," is protected by the U.S. Constitution.

On December 9, Magill resigned from her position under pressure from influential14 donors15 and alumni.

Gay and Kornbluth received support and criticism. But both were permitted to keep their jobs.

One group of professors at Harvard said colleges and universities should not be influenced by political pressure.

A top legal expert from Harvard, Laurence Tribe, said universities should not be "bullied16 into micromanaging their policies."

Words in This Story

majority –n. more than one half of a group

tolerate –v. to accept, permit or allow

ecstatic –adj. very excited or happy

legacy –n. how someone will be remembered, a person with ties to the past

estimate –v. to make a guess about something based on experience or understanding about a topic

ecstatic –adj. very excited or happy

alumni –n. the people who graduated from a school or university

bully17 –v. to frighten, hurt, or threaten (a smaller or weaker person) : to act like a bully toward (someone)

micromanage –v. to try to control all parts of something usually in a way that is not wanted


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 ivy x31ys     
n.常青藤,常春藤
参考例句:
  • Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
  • The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。
2 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
3 workforce workforce     
n.劳动大军,劳动力
参考例句:
  • A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
  • A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。
4 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
5 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
6 applicants aaea8e805a118b90e86f7044ecfb6d59     
申请人,求职人( applicant的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
  • He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。
7 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
8 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 legacy 59YzD     
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
参考例句:
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
10 jersey Lp5zzo     
n.运动衫
参考例句:
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
11 deficit tmAzu     
n.亏空,亏损;赤字,逆差
参考例句:
  • The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
  • We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。
12 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
13 ongoing 6RvzT     
adj.进行中的,前进的
参考例句:
  • The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
  • The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。
14 influential l7oxK     
adj.有影响的,有权势的
参考例句:
  • He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
  • He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。
15 donors 89b49c2bd44d6d6906d17dca7315044b     
n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 );献血者;捐血者;器官捐献者
参考例句:
  • Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去,请给我们发电子邮件。
  • About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 bullied 2225065183ebf4326f236cf6e2003ccc     
adj.被欺负了v.恐吓,威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
  • The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 bully bully     
n.恃强欺弱者,小流氓;vt.威胁,欺侮
参考例句:
  • A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
  • The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。
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