The COVID-19 pandemic may have pushed institutions to make drinking water more accessible and sustainable through the expansion of water bottle filling stations–it’s certainly true at Brooklyn College.

Brooklyn College student Jessica Herrera, for one, brings a reusable water bottle with her and enjoys that the college has access to drinking water for free.

“I don’t have to pay almost three dollars for a bottle of water when I can bring my own bottle and refill it. It’s convenient for me. I’m saving money, and I’m staying hydrated while I’m on campus. I can refill as much as I want,” said Herrera.

Elkay’s 13 bottle filling stations are spread out on Brooklyn College’s campus. Elkay is an American-owned and operated innovative manufacturer of sinks, faucets, bottle filling stations, and drinking fountains. According to elkayezh2o.com, Elkay has saved 4,208,988,517 plastic bottles from waste with their bottle fillers.

While the college turned off drinking fountains as a health measure because of the pandemic, the bottle filling stations were installed as a part of the Participatory Budgeting initiative by the BC Student Government in 2017 which provided students an opportunity to propose innovative ideas for the college to fund that students then voted on.

“The Participatory Budgeting Committee had an open call for proposals,” said Zunera Ahmed, co-chair of the 2017 CLASS Student Government. “We did outreach with Professor Michael Menser who is an expert in participatory budgeting,” she said.

The committee reviewed all proposals and narrowed the choices down. “Students had the opportunity to vote for a project during the student government elections. There were five projects total on the ballot. The stations won 33.9% of that vote and thus was the project that was funded by the Student Government,” she said.

Carrie Sadovnik, director of environmental health and safety at Brooklyn College said that USG’s push for bottle filling stations is the reason why students at this campus can enjoy free, accessible, drinkable water.

Brooklyn College’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety spokesperson, Richard Pietras, said the college is committed to combating the environmental impact of single-use plastic bottles.

“Brooklyn College is tackling the environmental impact of single use plastics, including water bottles. The water bottle filling stations installed around campus divert over 375,000 plastic bottles from entering the landfills since they were first installed,” said Pietras.

Facilities across CUNY have purchased over 150 filling stations, replacing fountains as resources allow. The stations deliver cold water from the New York City water system. Brooklyn College is required to check for lead levels in the drinking water associated with the early childhood center.

According to the Department of Environmental Protection, NYC tap water is tested more than 900 times daily, 27,000 times monthly, and 330,000 times on an annual basis with 1,200 sampling locations throughout New York City.

Sadovnik said the College is planning on expanding the number of bottle filling stations. Since Covid-19 is still rampant, for the safety of staff, faculty, and students–all water fountains will remain off until further notice.

“We are trying to get the DEP’s Water on the Go portable filling stations to be installed on campus for the summer term. This initiative helps with hydrating our students, staff, and reduces the use of single-use plastic bottles,” said Sadovnik.

The Department of Environmental Water on the Go Project are portable fountains that are installed with filtered water on the campus using a hose system, now retrofitted to be bottle fillers.

Brooklyn College wants to use the Water on the Go Project on its campus grounds during the summer for students, faculty, and staff to be hydrated and bring reusable water bottles to reduce the use and purchase of single-use plastic bottles.

Iqura Naheed, the 2022 Undergraduate Student Government president expressed how the bottle filling initiative started back in 2017 has made an impact with college students, faculty, and staff today.

“The stations provide an accessible and affordable alternative to having to purchase water bottles from vending machines. I think getting these stations was one of the great initiatives pushed by students through the undergraduate student government and I hope we can continue to bring creative ideas forward on how to improve our campus,” said Naheed.

By ENRICO DENARD

For decades, the United States has been the epicenter of higher education, attracting generations of students from around the globe. However, in more recent times, the US is witnessing a steady decline in interest from foreign students. In fact, the US government reported an 18% drop in overall international student visa holders and a whopping 72% decrease in new enrollments even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decline in enrollment rates can be attributed to factors such as competition from countries like Canada and Australia. A recent study conducted by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), found international student enrollment rates dropped by 7% at US institutions but rose 52% at Canadian colleges during 2016-2019.

“I always dreamed about studying in America,” said 18-year-old Mana Rai, who resides in Kathmandu, Nepal. “But with little to no hope of being able to stay in the country after graduating, Canada is starting to seem like more of a better option,” she added during a phone interview.

Unlike the United States, Canada offers visa and immigration opportunities, allowing international students to remain in the country immediately following graduation through its Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), which is commonly seen as the first major step towards obtaining permanent resident status.

According to data collected by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), from January to October 2021, 97.5% of international students who applied for permanent residency following their graduation were successful and were awarded legal permission to stay and work in the country.

By contrast, following the Trump administration’s short-lived immigration directive, over one million international students in the United States were barred from residing in the country if their school offered a fully online schedule for the Fall 2020 semester. Students already in the United States were to be deported and the remaining students that had already left the country were denied re-entry.

“I was shocked,” said Rai. “How can you deport someone with a valid visa? It was purely racist and the message was very clear– we [international students] are obviously not welcome in the States,” she said.

Although the Trump administrations immigration directive rescinded the directive after facing eight federal lawsuits and the opposition of hundreds of universities, it still prohibited new international admission from entering the United States if their school was conducted entirely online, inconveniencing thousands to attend classes with major time differences and limited physical resources.

Similarly, denial rates for employment-based Green Cards increased by 15.5% in the last quarter of 2019, again under the Trump Administration, making obtaining permanent residency in the United States more challenging than ever before.

Other foreign students ponder whether the tuition costs and additional fees that come with obtaining an American education are truly worthwhile.

“Simply put, it’s just too expensive,” said 21-year-old London resident, Naomi Harris. “I don’t see the point in spending tens of thousands of dollars on tuition alone, with no guarantee of getting a job or any possibility of being able to stay back in the country,” she said.

Educators also ascribe the decline in foreign enrollment rates to what they are calling the ‘Trump Effect,’ in which anti-immigrant rhetoric has caused a general concern over the safety and security of international students in the United States.

“After the 2016 election, there was a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment,” said Jesus Perez, who is Director of the Immigrant Student Success Office at CUNY Brooklyn College. “People [International Students] felt not welcome or that being here [the United States] would be an uphill battle,” he said.

Despite the hardships and overall foreign disinterest, international students already in the United States are eager to complete their degree and accredit American education for its financial power.

“I left India knowing I would have more of an opportunity making more money here in the same field,” said 24-year-old Brooklyn College marketing student, Yajat Mahjan. “I’m also a chef, but I wasn’t making enough money in India to live in the city, whereas in New York I am able to make enough money to sustain myself,” he said.

As of 2019, Brooklyn College was home to 578 international students from over 50 countries, largely from China, South Korea, and India. The Brooklyn College International Student Services Office was unable to provide comparative data on international student enrollment rates from pre-pandemic years to the present day, despite repeated efforts to get in contact with them. However, the campus community heavily relies on its international community and recognizes their usefulness at Brooklyn College.

“International students bring value to the campus,” said Perez. “Especially with college and academia, we want to be able to look at things from a different perspective, so they [International Students] enrich our community,” he said.

By Amanda Rodriguez

Flooding in Brooklyn is not something we see often; however, when Hurricane Sandy stormed New York, she took with her the lives of 109 and the homes of thousands. This tragedy not only showed New York its mortality, but also reminded New Yorkers that there are greater struggles than catching the late bus in the morning.

Many New Yorkers have returned to the regular hustle and bustle that the city is known for. Some parts of the five boroughs didn’t see any affects, but for a few college students, life has not turned back the dial. zx 630 Three college students heavily affected by Hurricane Sandy agreed to share their experiences.

Wearing his organization’s hoodie, Jose “Wreckonize” Batres grabs a seat on the light green SUBO building sofas. After finding what looks like a comfortable position, he smiles.

“Let’s do this, then!”

Hurricane Sandy hit land sometime Monday evening, and while many families had found retreat or safety, not all were so fortunate.

“We were in an evacuation zone, but we couldn’t leave. We had no place to go really, so we figured we’d ride it out,” said Batres as he stares into the noisy game room of SUBO recalling the night.

“It was different. Wind was blowing hard. Trees were getting bent and broken and pieces flying everywhere due to the wind. Heavy rain was pouring hard and the lights went out as well.”

Batres looks around, analyzing his surroundings and asks to move to a more private room. His eyes flash a look of sadness as he reseats himself on a black and white loveseat in the SUBO basement. Rearranging himself several times before speaking again, he glances up and clears his throat lightly. Batres is a Kingsborough Community College student who lives in Rockaway, Queens. His recollection of Superstorm Sandy has movie-like energy.
 CUNY students got some time off because of Sandy, but with the kind of damage done to Batres’ area, returning to school would not be a simple transition.

“The lights went out, one by one, in every building and slowly throughout the whole peninsula. No heat, so we had to sleep with sweaters, sweatpants, and sometimes hats. No hot water, so we had to heat up water on the stove in our biggest pots. And with stores closed due to no electricity, food was hard to come by for some if they weren’t prepared. Waited on lines sometimes for hours just to get food. Mail that was able to come in, and for any type of help, whether it was for clothes, medical attention or shelter. Even transportation, people had to wait for hours just to take public transportation and with no lights public transportation stopped at a certain time due to the traffic signals not working.”

In New York, the CUNY system houses roughly 272,000 students in total. All CUNY colleges are comprised of commuters and while the MTA was up and running about 5 days after, this did not mean that college students who live great distances could just spring back up for school. Professors are not always the most understanding people in the world.

“Most were understanding except for one who gave us a test when we came back to school like anybody’s mind was on that. And still left homework but still had no electricity to even use my computer or light to read or even a phone to use it to look things up. Even just being able to get home has been the biggest hassle and an overhaul of work in a short period of time due to the days missed is also a problem,” Batres says while simultaneously shuffling through a bag full of papers to find syllabi.

The struggle of returning to student life is not one that Batres faces alone. Many students in the metropolitan area have had trouble readjusting to school life. One of these students is the Bergen Beach native Janet DiGeronimo. Walking into the room with a grey sweater and a forced smile on her face, she sits next to Batres and timidly introduces herself.

“Bergen Beach was considered a Zone B. Evacuations weren’t ‘necessary’… It all happened in the blink of an eye. One minute it was windy outside, the next our house was filling up with water. We tried to stop the water from coming in, but we soon realized that it was beyond our control and that we had to leave.”

DiGeronimo begins to fidget whilst remembering the Superstorm’s hit. The storm had taken its toll not only in power outage, but in the belongings it took with it.

“The whole first floor of our home was destroyed. We lost everything from Air Jordan Femme appliances to clothing. The walls and floors had to be ripped out, and everything has to be replaced.”

Students like DiGeronimo have been displaced; lost belongings and some have even lost homes. The idea that school would simply just return so quickly when many have not been able to pick up the pieces is a hard pill to swallow.

“I returned to school the first Monday that campus was open to speak to my professors, but I was not able to attend class regularly until about three weeks after the storm. It’s extremely difficult. It’s hard to focus on work and dedicate time to assignments when so much is going on. Hurricane Sandy has honestly turned my whole world upside down. School has always been very important to me, but lately I find it very hard to concentrate on anything, including my classes.”

Janet was battling between maintaining normalcy in her studies while simultaneously dealing with the loss of her belongings, her home and many memories that washed away with the storm.

“The storm has taken a huge toll on everyone, but we are trying to do the best we can. We know that even though we lost so much and are going through a difficult time, many people have it even worse than us. I’m currently staying at my aunt’s apartment in Bensonhurst.

“As far as school goes, with the exception of one, my professors have been very understanding. They are allowing me to make up the work I missed and have been very sympathetic.”

Later in the day, wearing a pair of green UrbanEars while twirling a Naruto keychain, Khyriel ‘Diverze’ Palmer sits on the couch across my table while awaiting my questions.

“LS, I’m ready whenever you are, kiddo…”

Khyriel is a Coney Island native who had a front row seat for the horrendous event that was Superstorm Sandy.

“ I live in zone A, one block away from the beach. So I guess you can say I had a front row view of Sandy’s debut. My family and I decided to stay because when we evacuated for hurricane Irene, we came back to Coney with no damage done. So we assumed that would be the same case for Hurricane Sandy.”

The reality of what Khyriel and his family would now face was much more than they had planned for. Living on the 23rd floor, they had no power or heat for several days. The entire first floor was flooded during that time, so attempting to leave was futile.
“When Sandy hit, the power in my building was the first to go out. The streetlights reflected the water as it rushed onto the streets. It looked as if the streets were covered in lava. Then, my building started rocking left to right gently. My mother’s car had to go to the scrap yard because of the water damage. Plus, all the food was no good anymore…”

A family of seven living in one home had to go with no food, or electricity until the first floor was pumped out of water and FEMA had come to handle the mess left by the storm.

“I returned to school about a few days after it was open again. It had been stressful at the time because I couldn’t sleep at night. But my friends helped me move on. Most of my professors already knew my situation, so I didn’t have to explain. Honestly, I have me a lot of make up work I’m tryna finish up. FEMA paid for us to start on a hotel for the time being. But luckily we were home before Thanksgiving. Getting back home never felt so good, honestly. Made it seem like we’d be okay from there…”
The hardships of a student are immense enough, without the added stresses of not having a stable home life. In the average student’s life, between working, a heavy course load and outside relationships- maintaining a steady GPA is a difficult task. air jordan 1 After a natural disaster of the likes of this one, students are expected to fall right back into place. For students like Jose Batres, Khyriel Palmer, and Janet DiGeronimo, this may not be as simple as it once was.

For more information on declaring damages done by the storm, CLICK HERE.  For free counseling hotlines, CLICK HERE.
 For information on how you can help Sandy victims, CLICK HERE.
  To donate to the children affected by Hurricane Sandy, CLICK HERE. On the cheerful side of things, READ ABOUT HOW A SECRET SANTA is attempting to brighten some Sandy victims’ days.