Retracing the Ongoing New York Migrant Crisis

Photographs by Yunghi Kim/Contact Press Images/CNN

In September of 2023, it was recorded that more than 118,000 migrants had arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022. This statistic prompted Mayor Eric Adams to declare a state of emergency in the city. Mayor Adams has been adamant about putting a stop to this crisis by begging the federal government, even going to Washington himself, to obtain sufficient funding and hasten work authorizations for the incoming migrants, which would allow them to be self-sufficient. Adams relayed his frustration by claiming that President Biden has “failed” the city by not attempting to do more. During this time, Adams has also been dissuading migrants from seeking shelter in New York City.

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George Santos: America’s Most Wanted (to Resign)

Republican George Santos is the House Representative for the 3rd District of New York. After a failed run for office in 2020, Santos defeated his Democratic opponent in the November 2022 election. In late December 2022, news broke that Santos had lied about his resume. On December 26, Santos conceded that he had embellished his resume and apologized, but stressed that he did not break any laws. Just two days later, however, the Nassau County District Attorney opened an investigation into Santos's questionable background. Since then, Santos has been accused of a plethora of lies, from lying about working for Goldman Sachs, to misusing campaign funds, to stealing money from a GoFundMe for a veteran's sick dog.

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SGA Update: Laundry Concerns Survey and Recommendations to the College

Since I became the Student Government Association (SGA) President earlier this year, I have consistently met with students who are frustrated with the laundry services provided on our campus. The cost of the cycles, the frequently broken machines, and the lengthy repair times are some of the most prominent recurring issues experienced by the Skidmore students I have spoken with. On November 21, 2022, SGA released a survey to the student body to collect data on these concerns, asking students to identify the top laundry problems they have experienced at Skidmore. The survey received 387 responses.

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Revamped Skidmania Takes the Stage and Community by Storm

When eight p.m. rolled around on November 18 and 19, the house lights dimmed in the Arthur Zankel Music Center’s Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall. The chattery hum of the audience fizzled to a pregnant near-silence of anticipation. Written in this silence was a mutual understanding: this moment was special. And throughout the next two hours, the audience was musically transported fifty years into the past.

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Investigating Allegations of Drink Druggings in Downtown Saratoga

At the beginning of every new school year, Skidmore College students relish in the last of Saratoga’s summer warmth. Returning students reunite with friends and spend their Saturday nights at well-loved local venues. Many first-years attend college parties for the first time. This fall, however, those blissful weekends were interrupted on September 25, when Skidmore students awoke — many of them after a night out — to an alarming message in their inbox. The email, sent by the College’s Office of Campus Safety, reported a suspected drink drugging at a downtown establishment.

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Brazil Presidential Election: Lula Defeats Incumbent Bolsonaro

On October 30th, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil's presidential election. The election was very close, with Lula winning by only 1.8 percent of votes. Lula is a leftist politician who previously served as Brazil’s President from 2003-2010, leaving office with an 87 percent approval rating. Lula will fight for liberal values, but, like in the U.S., Brazil's economy is suffering from inflation. Before he can jump into his liberal agenda, Lula must rebuild a struggling country with many people in poverty and going hungry. As Lula pointed out during his campaign, Bolsonaro was pro-torture and pro-dictatorship. Lula’s goal is to return Brazil to a stable democracy. Along with his promises to enforce laws preventing deforestation, Lula also pledged to increase the minimum wage and social welfare, and support civil rights.

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A Student's Guide to the 2022 New York General Election

As October winds down, Americans begin to anticipate Election Day. Every year on the second Tuesday of November, American citizens show up to vote, an act long perceived as their civic duty. This year’s election is slated to be particularly contentious, with many vital policies on the ballot, including abortion rights. The overturning of Roe V. Wade in June 2022 left access to abortion care in the hands of state governments. Furthermore, against the backdrop of a mostly conservative Supreme Court, the longevity of various civil rights acts are at risk. For example, hearings regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act approach in early November. Regardless of a person’s stance on these issues, voting is an American hallmark of making one’s voice heard. Though 2022 is not a Presidential election year, it is still crucial to vote at the local level. Whether you plan on voting via mail-in ballot or in person, here is everything you need to know to be voter-ready for Tuesday, November 8.

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President Biden Tackles Student Loan Debt Relief

Over the past few decades, student loan debt has been rising at an alarming rate. Today, the average college student has $25,000 in student loan debt. Since the 1980s, tuition at four-year colleges has skyrocketed, while Pell Grant relief from the federal government remains stagnant. It is rare that student debt borrowers graduate college with the ability to pay off that debt, and as many as one third of student borrowers fail to even graduate due to the financial burden of college tuition. On August 24th, President Biden followed through on his 2020 campaign promise to release a comprehensive plan to relieve student loan borrowers of some or all of their debt. The plan will strengthen and support the middle class.

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There’s No Place Like Student Housing: A Crisis on Campus

This summer, the unprecedented size of Skidmore College’s current first-year class caused challenges for college systems which were not designed to support such a volume of students. Issues associated with high enrollment numbers were amplified by the fact that during the summer of 2022, the College opted for a new system for housing management. The first sign that something was awry appeared — or rather, didn’t appear — in late April when the College was expected to open apartment applications as they had in past years.

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Activists Protest for Women’s Rights in Iran

On Friday, September 16, the morality police in Iran arrested and killed 22-year-old Mahsa Amini for incorrectly wearing her head scarf. Amini’s death was met with outrage and the first protests occurred outside Kasra Hospital, where Amini had been hospitalized and died. Thousands of people attended her funeral on September 17, and many women took off their headscarves in a show of their opposition to the mandatory hijab law.

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Tides Turning In Ukraine-Russia Conflict as Ukraine Counteroffensive Continues

In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the tide appears to be turning in favor of Ukrainian military forces, as their counteroffensive continues to regain lost territory in the northeast. Russian forces are on the run in parts of Ukraine that they had seized early in the conflict. Most recently, Russian troops have retreated from the Balakliya and Izyum area in the Kharkiv region and lost nearly all of the northern region of Kharkiv.

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Queen Elizabeth: What Her Death Means for the U.K. and the World

Queen Elizabeth’s uncontested reign of seventy years and two hundred and fourteen days came to an end when the ninety-six-year old monarch died on September 8th at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Queen Elizabeth II held a long and complicated reign, being loved and hated in equal measure. When she passed, her life was celebrated, ridiculed, criticized and analyzed. Tears of joy and tears of sadness have been shed.

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Following Faculty Unionization Efforts: Administrator and Organizer Perspectives

The process of non-tenure track faculty unionization reaches its final stages with an election that will conclude on the 26th of September. Junior Jacob Smith speaks with Ruth McAdams, Teaching Professor of English and vocal advocate, as well Michael Orr, Dean of Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, about ongoing unionization efforts and the current election.

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