Welcome

Dear friends of VTIPG and CCC,

We share five articles each week that we find timely and meaningful that address significant concerns related to the state of our democracy and civil society. We aim to offer pieces that illuminate a wide array of dimensions of our country's policy and governance challenges and the state of social norms that sustain the possibility of addressing them successfully. Please note, the views expressed in these essays do not necessarily reflect the perspectives of VTIPG or Virginia Tech. We also upload these essays and stories to our website. You may find the archive at News and Opportunities at http://ipg.vt.edu.

If you would like to suggest an article for consideration for this series please contact the series editor at the address below. Thank you to IPG's Community-Based Research Manager Lara Nagle for contributing an NPR piece to this edition.

First up is a Cardinal News article that highlights the work the Virginia Community College System is undertaking to assist students attending school in those institutions by helping to support their basic needs.
Our second story, from NPR, profiles Dr. Michael Harris's efforts to show how Western nations can learn from global South national health care systems.
A third piece, from CNN, contends that current 2024 Republican Party presidential nominee frontrunner and former president Donald Trump’s recently renewed advocacy to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act constitutes a political trap for the GOP.
Our fourth article, from The Hill, argues that Congress must act quickly to fund American efforts against the global security issues of the world.
Last, we share a story from the Associated Press that warns of a growing risk of terrorist attacks in Europe arising from social polarization created by the Israel-Hamas war.

Brief synopses of these articles appear below. We hope the perspectives offered in these pieces encourage reflection and conversation!

Best wishes,

Billy Parvatam

VTIPG Communications Coordinator

pbilly97@vt.edu.

Photo: Student Peja Reed gets off the Virginia Highlands Community College #CollegeExpress in front of her home in Bristol. The bus takes students who lack transportation to and from classes. Credit to Cardinal News. Photo: Student Peja Reed arrives home via the Virginia Highlands Community College Express in Bristol. The bus takes students who lack transportation to and from classes. Credit to Cardinal News.

Community colleges are helping with housing, gas and food to keep students in class

This article, by Lisa Rowan, which appeared in the Cardinal News, describes a Virginia Community College System effort to provide students with resources for a share of their basic needs. Rowan profiles Virginia Highlands Community College student Peja Reed and demonstrates how her institution is helping her get to school via its #CollegeExpress bus. Although Virginia now offers free tuition for a number of job-training programs at its community colleges, that policy is rendered meaningless if students are unable to access those programs due to financial, transportation, or child care barriers. Lawmakers hopes to bolster Virginia’s economy through these initiatives to help students gain needed skills to obtain employment, especially in the southern and western parts of the state.

Rowan, L. (2023, December 5). "Community colleges are helping with housing, gas and food to keep students in class." Cardinal News. https://cardinalnews.org/2023/12/05/community-colleges-are-helping-with-housing-gas-and-food-to-keep-students-in-class/

Photo: Dr. Matthew Harris visits the primary health-care center where he worked in Brazil 20 years ago. Credit to Dr. Harris.

What the Global South could teach rich countries about health care — if they'd listen

This NPR piece profiles Dr. Matthew Harris’s new book, Decolonizing Healthcare Innovation: Low-Cost Solutions from Low-Income Countries, which argues that the West can learn from the health care systems of countries of the global South. Specifically, Harris describes what his home nation, the United Kingdom, can learn from Brazil’s health care system.

Thiagarajan, K. (2023, November 13). "What the Global South could teach rich countries about health care - if they’d listen." NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/11/13/1209467528/jealth-care-lessons-rich-countries-global-south?ft=nprml&f=1033

Photo: Donald Trump. Credit to The White House.

Trump's call to repeal Obamacare is a trap for the GOP

Patrick Brown argues in this CNN piece that former President Donald Trump's recent remarks calling once more for repeal of the Affordable Care Act constitutes a losing battle for the GOP, given the party’s inability to offer an alternative and repeated failed efforts to revoke the landmark legislation in the past. Brown contends that the Republicans should instead focus on improving the current care system. For example, he suggests revisiting medical school requirements to allow qualified foreign-trained professionals to enter the U.S. workforce, more aggressive regulation of the health care industry, and efforts to increase competition among providers. Brown asserts that Republicans need to offer specific system improvements to demonstrate they are serious about seeking meaningful changes.

Brown, P. (2023, November 30). "Trump’s call to repeal Obamacare is a trap for GOP." CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/30/opinions/trump-obamacare-health-care-solutions-brown/index.html

Photo: Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to review the National Security Supplemental Request on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. Credit to The Hill.

Congress: Without funding, the fight for global democracy hangs in the balance

Liz Schrayer argues in this Hill story that Congress must soon respond to a number of global security challenges including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, growing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region, and 150 million people facing "acute food insecurity" during the next six months. While Congress has been considering a national security emergency package to fund efforts to address these concerns for more than 100 days, significant barriers to passage persist, particularly over GOP efforts to tie such funding to changes in U.S. border security policy, with limited time to approve a bill before the end of the year. Schrayer contends that if Congress does not soon meaningfully tackle these crises, the American people will pay a heavy price for its inaction in the future.

Schrayer, L. (2023, December 5). "Congress: Without funding, the fight for global democracy hangs in the balance." The Hill. https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4342623-congress-without-funding-the-fight-for-global-democracy-hangs-in-the-balance/

Photo: French gendarmes patrol the Trocadero Plaza near the Eiffel Tower in Paris after a man targeted passersby last week, killing a German tourist with a knife and injuring two others, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. Credit to The Associated Press.

Senior EU Official warns of huge security risk in Europe over Christmas as Israel-Hamas war rages

This Associated Press article by Lorne Cooke discusses European Union Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson's warning that Europe faces a "huge risk of terrorist attacks" during the Christmas holiday due to fallout from the Israel-Hamas war. This warning comes as French security officials investigate a fatal stabbing near the Eiffel Tower in Paris by a murder suspect who had allegedly sworn allegiance to Hamas.

Cook, L. (2023, December 5). "Senior EU official warns of huge security risk in Europe over Christmas as Israel-Hamas war rages." Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/eu-france-terrorism-attacks-christmas-europe-israel-hamas-c2761686b801086ba51970fc70960510

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