Lehmanites React to New Fall 2021 Restrictions

(Photo Credit: Smug Photos, seasonal pictures of campus)

By Rebekah Gamble

Excited energy could be felt throughout the comments on social media as students embraced the idea that the campus would open. Hope that we could resume a sense of normalcy despite fighting a pandemic, was palpable and made choosing an in-person course or planning to visit the campus something to look forward to.

On August 12th, President Fernando Delgado sent out an email that described how our beautiful 37-acre campus would be reopening but not reopened. In the lengthy email he states “many campus student services will be available in-person for the first time since March 2020, you will not be permitted to remain indoors in campus buildings unless you have active business in them.” This came as a crushing blow to any forms of engaging in safe, socially distant conversations with friends during the cold months ahead.

Bradley Santana, a senior media communications major commented on the recent announcement made by the College President. “He should have said this a while ago. I understand plans take time to finalize but this is something I would have considered when choosing classes months ago.” Bradley wasn’t the only one who felt concerned about the direction the Fall semester seemed to be heading in.

With only 50% of courses being offered on campus, according to a webinar hosted by previous President Daniel Lemons, the intention is to increase this with time. The restrictions placed make some students wonder how their freedom could further decrease as the population grows. The library is only offering hour-long reservation times, the Student Life Building has 20 open club rooms, and Grab and Go Food can only be eaten outside or under heated tents in the winter.

Christopher Gabriel, a senior Biology major stated “I’m ready to graduate. If I have the option to take online classes for the remainder of my time here, I will. I’m grateful that they’re trying to keep everyone safe but eating outside in the snow will be annoying.”

Updates from CUNY, The Chancellor, and The President will continuously depend on the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state. With “The Delta variant of the coronavirus being much more transmissible than what we were dealing with last March” according to President Fernando Delgado all precautions have to be taken. Tough policies will be put into effect. One example is that unvaccinated students are no longer being welcomed on the campus during the Fall semester.

Leah Benitez, a Computer Science junior understood what was happening. “This is our new normal. Unfortunately, the campus life we saw in early 2020 may not happen again. If we all still find ways to connect with each other and stay safe, we’ll get through these uncomfortable times.”

It raises the question of what will come in future terms at Lehman College and how much of virtual learning is here to stay.  The campus energy wasn’t as amplified as it once was and speaking with other students showed that we are all dealing with the stress of the pandemic in different ways.

One thing is for sure, Lehman College is doing the best it can to prevent COVID-19 cases from hitting the campus at all costs.

How Living Through Segregation Shaped Cynthia Reel

By Rebekah Gamble

With almost 14,000 students, Lehman College has a student body that is mostly made of minority students. With 53% of the population being Hispanic and 30.3% being of Black ethnicity, every degree awarded is a win for urban communities. Today, we celebrate education in a way that was illegal in 1896 when the court case Plessy v. Ferguson, ruled that segregation based on skin tone was legal.

From the 1st to 6th grade, Cynthia Reel, a sophomore Africana Studies major, learned in a segregated classroom where every face in the room looked like her own. For Cynthia, being raised in the South during a time when freedom for African Americans was still up for debate was challenging. The times when she should have been enjoying childhood innocence, she instead saw violence in the form of riots as the country reacted to change. It wasn’t until 54 years after the original court decision of Brown v. Board of Education, that segregation in schools was considered a constitutional violation.

Prior to sitting down to talk with The Meridian, Lehman College had the pleasure of hearing one of her poems “When I Look At Me” during the Audre Lorde Great Reads campus event held earlier this Spring. Cynthia opens the poem with 18 lines of pure unfiltered, vivid language of what she sees as a Black woman when she looks in the mirror. She states:

“I see a woman who doesn’t judge.

I see a woman who treats others with respect.

I see a woman who expects to be treated with the same respect.

I see a woman who is still finding herself.”

In high school, she exhibited academic excellence and skipped the 11th grade. Despite the societal norms that were expected of women during that time, she knew college was where she belonged. But when tragedy struck as her mother passed away when she was 19, she had to make a decision. Like many others who were forced to grow up too soon, it was either take care of her siblings or choose her own dreams. She chose her family.

The last lines of “When I Look at Me” are a tribute to not only the women in her immediate family but to her ancestors, all of the African Americans who cried out to be free and fought for the opportunities we have today.  

“I see a woman who looks to her ancestors for strength and guidance.”

The struggles of those before her are a reminder that not only she, but women and African Americans, belong in all spaces. Cynthia expressed a desire to “not be labeled in a box of what she should be.” Like many of her peers, college was a stepping stone and a path to a new life.

“I see a woman who dreams to be free like the spirits before her. So you see it doesn’t matter what you see when you look at me.”

History has painted an image of hopelessness when it comes to being of color and like other Lehmanites, Cynthia refuses to accept this as her fate.

Of all the major accomplishments she’s obtained, having the opportunity to attend Lehman is one that she is most proud of. While Cynthia has returned to college after 45 years, she is also the mother of two college graduates. Her own college experience has been rewarding and she completes each semester with more knowledge, passion, and friends.

She doesn’t know where her degree will lead her but each semester, whether online or in-person, she treks toward the finish line. Not anything, including the stroke she survived, the uphill battle of learning how to speak again, or the death of her loving husband could deter her from becoming all that she can be.

The CUNY system has become a symbol of the educational opportunities available to those from marginalized backgrounds. Our campus is thriving on educating, empowering, and serving low income students.

Now 65 years old, Cynthia Reel has lived a life that pushes against the notion that African Americans are just statistics. As Cynthia continues on to the next phase of her life, she’s determined to make her own happiness and find herself. She embodies what you can accomplish despite your background and how you are never too late to conquer your dreams.

Persevering Over Obstacles as a Non-Traditional Student

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

By Nefertiti Washington

When the pandemic began, I was in my final year at The Borough of Manhattan Community College. After a 20-year gap, my focus was to get my associates in Human Service and be an example of what can be accomplished through higher education for my sons. I wanted to show my oldest that if I could do it, he could too. Not only could he mirror my actions, but he could go straight to college and graduate. However, as much as I wanted to receive my degree, I began to wonder if I could do it.

I looked forward to finally graduating and marching down the aisle. I envisioned my children cheering me on as I wore my tassels and medallion from the National Society of Leadership and Success. The reality that the moment I waited 20 years for would not happen, dampened my spirits. Everything changed due to this pandemic, including my dream of graduating.

While attempting to stay positive during my last semester, I prioritized myself by attending to my health needs. I prepared by making arrangements for my children but as the time neared for my surgery, plans changed. The staff did not schedule my surgery and all my preparation went down the drain. I felt my mental health starting to spiral downward, but I was determined to persevere. I advocated for myself and successfully scheduled my surgery. Although I was admitted two more times, I kept hope alive, and this positivity stayed with me even when I thought I wasn’t going to complete my classes.

Through these trials and tribulations, I realized that I needed support and guidance to continue my career path. After reaching out to a previous advisor, Jean Cidone of CUNY Edge, he expressed what my next steps should be. He advised me to open up to my professors at my college and that is exactly what I did. Instantly, they showed empathy and sympathy towards me and my journey toward completing my classes brightened. He encouraged me during my lowest time. “Ms. Washington, do your best. Don’t give up, you're so close.” His words gave me the motivation to grab my laptop and charger every day. I worked hard and even attended Zoom sessions in hospital gowns with an IV in each arm.

Family and friends played an important part in my physical recovery. Their support helped get me to keep attending classes on days when I didn’t feel well. However, when I came home, the reality of how my life was different made me go into a depression. Having to depend on my oldest son to help me with basic functions was unbearable. As I recognized what was going on within myself, I reached out to my former professor and mentor, Keith Carter of The Creative Solution LLC in Manhattan, NY, Psychotherapy Practices and asked for occasional sessions. He helped me get over my obstacles. He was patient, kind, understanding and helped me to see that my feelings were valid. He also reminded me of my goals and how determined I was to achieve them.

In persevering over obstacles, I learned that everyone needs a supportive team when they feel overwhelmed. By talking with others, I realized that many people could relate and were even going through worse. I also learned not to compare my situation because my dilemmas were just as important. I needed to accept, process and not let them consume me.

In not letting things consume me, I decided to continue furthering my studies. Now admitted into Lehman College, I’m majoring in Social Work and minoring in sociology. I plan to pay it forward one day. I want to be there to encourage others as others were there for me. I know I can achieve that goal here at Lehman, as I did before.

There is help available if you seek it, and by utilizing the relationships I built with my professors and mentors from my previous college, I began to improve my mental health. I want everyone reading this to remember that while we all come from different walks of life, we share the same drive and passion needed for higher learning. Obstacles will come your way, but you don’t have to overcome them by yourself.

If you feel alone or that there is no one in your immediate circle you can turn to, you have a network and support team within CUNY. Whether it be your advisors, professors, The Counseling Center, or any college program you are a part of, always remember you can persevere over your obstacles.

Are Lehamanites Paying the Right Price for Textbooks?

(Photo Credit: Lightrocket)

By Veronica Longo

With job loss and unemployment at an all-time high for many students midway through the year of 2020, many can no longer afford the cost of textbooks. While there are alternatives to purchasing textbooks now, Lehman students still deal with income loss and struggle to make ends meet. Publishing companies, such as the Association of American Publishers, are trying to assist students with the cost of textbooks by offering stipends and lower cost textbooks with their Inclusive Access Program. Ultimately the responsibility of accepting this assistance from the publisher is up to the colleges. It brings into question if students are paying a fair price for textbooks.

To better understand, we must look at the history and legislation behind textbook affordability. On July 1, 2010, the first important legislation to make textbooks affordable went into effect. According to govinfo.gov, the HEO Act states, “The purpose of this section is to ensure that students have access to affordable course materials by decreasing costs to students and… encourage all of the involved parties, including faculty, students, administrators, institutions of higher education, bookstores, distributors, and publishers, to work together to identify ways to decrease the cost of college textbooks.”

Is it fair to put all of this pressure on our professors, should publishers’ shoulder some of the responsibility? Publishers speak about how their companies are cutting costs to make textbooks affordable to us. We spoke to a representative, Laura Knox, from textbook publishing company, W.W. Norton. She detailed how students can check if their college participates in W.W. Norton’s Inclusive Access Program. Laura explained the process: “I recommend inquiring through the bookstore, as they are directly involved with the Inclusive Access Program and help facilitate it.” This highlights that while the publishers are promoting these programs, the act of informing the students is our college’s responsibility.

Laura went on to state that individual students whose institutions are not part of the program will not be able to apply for this program. She laments, “Unfortunately not, because through Inclusive Access course materials are delivered directly through the campus LMS (Learning Management System) on the first day of class, and there are operational pieces that have to be in place for it to run. If a student is interested in the program, they should let their instructor and/or bookstore manager know.” Students can also raise the question with their major department to see if they can participate in Inclusive Access programs. The problem is many students aren’t aware programs like this exist.

But could there be students who are denied from the Inclusive Access Program? Laura detailed how to avoid this issue. She states, “When an Inclusive Access Program is offered in a given course, each and every student in that course is eligible to participate, unless they choose to purchase materials another way. That’s one of the benefits of Inclusive Access - that all students have access to the required materials on day one.”

This is just the beginning for these all-inclusive programs. She expects company expansion, “Programs like Inclusive Access have contributed to the steep decline in textbook costs over the past few years, and we anticipate that the program will only continue to grow. Especially given the shift to online learning, Inclusive Access has been a popular all-digital option for many students because they receive the required materials on the first day of class, at an affordable cost.”

Students at Lehman have found their own way around this cost issue. John-Luc Thomas, a CIS major, detailed their method of dealing with the cost of textbooks by using online free PDFs. He passed that responsibility to the faculty, stating, “Teachers should have free pdf options.” Considering that some professors add their own textbooks as a required text, the textbook cost-free option is gaining popularity within colleges across the United States.

In a report that Collegeboard.org released about the 2019-2020 school year, “The Average student spending on college textbooks and digital course materials has steadily declined in recent years.” It is important to keep in mind several things that may have skewed the results. Colleges such as Lehman do offer classes with the attribute of a “Zero Textbook Cost.” Many students have turned to websites that offer free downloads of textbooks to offset the cost.

Lehman students now more than ever need financial assistance in order to complete their college courses and obtain their degrees. The Higher Education Opportunity Act was passed to help students and colleges gain better footing over the financial crisis that many students face.

However, during the pandemic this crisis has steadily gotten worse. Students are opting out of college in order to go back to work and help support their families. Many Lehman students now have limited funds. It is clear, we as students need to voice our concerns in order to continue to decrease textbook costs.