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 articles and stories to our website. You may find the archive at News and Opportunities at http://ipg.vt.edu. Thank you to the Institute's Community-Based Research Manager Lara Nagle for sharing a National Public Radio (NPR) piece for this week's edition.

If you would like to suggest an article for consideration, please contact the series editor at the address below.

Our first piece is a Cardinal News article that describes efforts by Virginia public universities to work with community colleges to help students matriculating from those institutions seamlessly pursue their degrees and meaningful professional careers.
Our second piece, from POLITICO, argues that fears of former President and 2024 GOP nomination frontrunner Donald Trump becoming a dictator in a potential second term are overblown.
A third story, from Scientific American, highlights a recent World Economic Forum Report suggesting misinformation now constitutes a critical threat to democracy and public health.
Our fourth article, from NPR, describes a conflict between a Bryan, Ohio church and its host city concerning whether that religious institution can lawfully offer shelter to homeless people.
Last, a story from BBC News that highlights how planting trees in the Dominican Republic is helping provide water for that country's population.

Brief synopses of these articles appear below. We hope the perspectives they offer encourage reflection and conversation!

Best wishes,

Billy Parvatam

VTIPG Communications Coordinator

pbilly97@vt.edu.

Photo: Radford University. Credit to Radford University.

Virginia colleges are trying to make it easier for community college students to transfer. Doing so may boost enrollment

Lisa Rowan of Cardinal News argues in this piece that Virginia’s public universities are streamlining their transfer/articulation agreements with community colleges to ensure that students making that transition can do so with fewer administrative obstacles and with clear paths to in-demand careers in view. This effort is the result of legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2018 that required community colleges and four-year schools to work together to provide effective pathways for transferring students to pursue specific programs of study.

Rowan, L. (2024, January 29). "Virginia colleges are trying to make it easier for community college students to transfer. Doing so may boost enrollment." Cardinal News. https://cardinalnews.org/2024/01/30/virginia-colleges-are-trying-to-make-it-easier-for-community-college-students-to-transfer-doing-so-may-boost-enrollment/

Photo: Then-President Donald Trump welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House on May 16, 2017. Credit to POLITICO.

Trump can’t be dictator on “Day One” - or in a second term. Here’s why

Asli Aydintasbas discusses fears that a second Donald Trump presidential term might turn America into a dictatorship, and argues that although people are not wrong to worry about such a possibility, panic concerning its likelihood is unnecessary. Aydintasbas contends that the obstacles to Trump successfully attaining control of the nation’s media and judiciary are significant, and could not be accomplished in four years. Additionally, there are a number of large cities and states that ultimately would not accede to any authoritarian demands he might press. Despite this confidence, Aydintasbas asserts that Americans should nonetheless actively organize to defeat the former president in the November election.

Aydintasbas, A. (2024, January 28). "Trump can’t be dictator on “Day One” - or in a second term. Here’s why." POLITICO. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/28/a-trump-dictatorship-is-possible-but-not-in-four-years-00137949

Photo: National Institutes of Health. Credit to Wikipedia.

Disinformation is the real threat to democracy and public health

This Scientific American piece discusses the World Economic Forum’s conclusion in its recent Global Risks Report that the spread of misinformation ranks among the greatest threats to humanity. That concern looms especially large with more than four billion people likely to vote in elections in 2024. The authors outline how misinformation, often deliberately developed and shared, has played a role in a significant number of Americans believing lies, including that the Holocaust is a myth and that the risks of the COVID-19 vaccines far outweigh their benefits. The article also highlights the fact the Republican Party is now employing misinformation as a significant part of its campaign strategy and efforts at all geographic scales.

Lewandowsky, S., Linden, S. van der, & Norman, A. (2024, January 30). "Disinformation is the real threat to democracy and public health." Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/disinformation-is-the-real-threat-to-democracy-and-public-health/

Photo: Dad's Place in Bryan, Ohio, has been allowing people to stay overnight at the church since last year. Credit to NPR.

An Ohio church is suing a city over not being allowed to house homeless people

NPR correspondent Juliana Kim reports in this piece that an Ohio pastor was recently criminally charged by the city in which his institution is located for allowing homeless people routinely to take shelter overnight at his church, Dad's Place. In response, the minister has pled not guilty to local charges and filed a federal lawsuit against Bryan, Ohio on the basis of religious discrimination. Meanwhile, City officials assert that they filed zoning related charges against Pastor Chris Avell because the church is located in a district that prohibits residential use on the first floor of any building and that the facility is, in any case, ill-equipped to house its temporary guests safely. Avell has argued that providing food and shelter to those in need is a religious activity central to his church’s mission. A local hearing addressing the city’s claims against the pastor is set for February 9.

Kim, J. (2024, January 23). "An Ohio church is suing a city over not being allowed to house homeless people." NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/01/23/1226214707/an-ohio-church-is-suing-a-city-over-not-being-allowed-to-house-homeless-people

Photo: The Dominican Republic. Credit to BBC News.

How planting trees is bringing clean water to a tropical nation

In this article in BBC News Lucy Sherriff features the Latin American Water Funds Partnership (LAWFP). Francisco Núñez, one of the Partnership’s directors and a Dominican Republic native, has spearheaded efforts to restore three river basins in his native country by increasing tree canopies, ensuring more efficient water management, delivering that water equitably to communities, and improving local economies through environmentally beneficial industries. Overall, the LAWFP is investing millions of dollars in water/river restoration efforts across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Sherriff, L. (2024, February 1). "How planting trees is bringing clean water to a tropical nation." BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240131-how-planting-trees-is-bringing-clean-water-to-a-tropical-nation

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