The Week in Rewind spotlights some of the editorial work of the Bronx Times for the week of July 3-7
Fordham University to ‘maintain its emphasis on diversity’ in light of SCOTUS toppling affirmative action precedent
Although no one knows how the Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down a decades-long affirmative action precedent will affect the nation’s colleges and universities, Fordham University officials say they remain committed to fostering racial diversity in its student body.
The original precedent was set by the court case Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003, at which time the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled that affirmative action practices — a race-conscious practice in college admissions — did not violate the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
But on Thursday, June 29, the court decided in favor of Students for Fair Admissions in two separate lawsuits against Harvard College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), effectively making race-conscious admissions practices illegal in all public universities and private universities that use federal funds.
The Students for Fair Admissions, a nonprofit that believes racial classifications and preferences in college admissions are unfair, argued that affirmative action practices on the basis of race at Harvard and UNC were just that.
The ruling comes at a time when, according to the Pew Research Center, 50% of American adults disapprove of selective colleges considering race and ethnicity in admissions, while just one-third approve of the practice.
Although it’s still unclear about the effect Thursday’s ruling will have on colleges and universities nationwide, political and academic leaders across the Bronx are dismayed by the court’s decision and have reaffirmed their commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Bronx’s first cannabis dispensary opens in Crotona, as questions arise over long-term plans
Statis Cannabis Co., the first recreational cannabis dispensary in the Bronx, opened its doors in Crotona Thursday as other competitors across the borough prepare to set up shop.
And while the dispensary owners say their newly opened 817 E. Tremont Ave. location is only temporary, they’re giving the community mixed signals.
The company will relocate to a permanent storefront that will open within about four months in the Mt. Eden section of the borough at 1412 Jerome Ave., co-owner Emily Chavez told the Bronx Times.
“Our original location is under construction right now and we wanted to open up cannabis retail as soon as we could,” she said. “So we decided to open up a temporary space.”
Ellen Mellody, a Statis spokesperson, told the Bronx Times that dispensaries have been opening up pop-up locations “to cut down on the bottlenecking” of licensees waiting to open.
Chavez and her co-owner Angel Turuseta opened the doors to Statis Cannabis Co. at — you guessed it — 4:20 p.m. on Thursday. The family-friend partners obtained their license through the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary program, for which applicants either had a prior cannabis conviction in New York state or are related to someone who had one, and have also owned a profitable business for at least two years. Nonprofits with a history of working with the formerly incarcerated are also eligible.
Bronx pols outraged over 16 shootings, 25 injuries across violent Fourth of July weekend
In a holiday that is generally marked by barbecues, fireworks and jubilee celebrations, the Bronx saw a surge of bloodshed over the long weekend.
Some of the borough’s top political leaders held a press conference on Thursday in Joyce Kilmer Park to address separate gun violence incidents that took place in the Bronx over Independence Day weekend — incidents that left several people, including a few children, injured or dead.
Borough President Vanessa Gibson said there were 16 shooting incidents across the Bronx involving 25 shooting victims — including a 5-year-old and a 12-year-old girl — from June 30 through July 4.
“This holiday has accounted for the most number of (nationwide) mass shootings of any other holidays in nearly a decade,” Gibson said Thursday referencing mass shootings on the Fourth of July in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. “. … This is not normal. This should never be acceptable in our society.”
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, state Sen. Jamaal Bailey, as well as New York City Councilmembers Rafael Salamanca and Marjorie Velázquez, also spoke about the importance of decreasing borough-wide violence.
Last Friday, a 5-year-old girl was sitting in a car with her father at White Plains Road and East 213rd Street in the Bronx at around 7 p.m. when what appeared to be a round of stray bullets struck her in the back. Cops took the little girl to Montefiore Medical Center, and she was later listed in stable condition.
Police sources told sister affiliate amNewYork Metro after the incident that the family had been attending a vigil for a man who was fatally killed at the same location one day prior. After visiting the little girl in the hospital on Sunday, newly minted NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell told reporters they’d prosecute a suspect for the shooting in “short fashion.”
The 12-year-old girl was one of four victims in the second shooting, which occurred at about 9:45 p.m. on Sunday night in front of an apartment building at 1780 Eastburn Ave. in Mt. Hope.
Kristy Marmorato declares victory with CD-13 Republican primary lead
Kristy Marmorato, the Bronx GOP-backed candidate for City Council District 13, declared victory in the Republican primary on Wednesday afternoon.
Preliminary results released Wednesday by the NYC Board of Elections (BOE) show Marmorato maintaining a lead over George Havranek by 56 votes after the third round of ballots in ranked-choice voting. While absentee ballots are still being counted, Havranek would need to make up substantial ground to overcome the vote totals.
Marmorato will face Councilmember Marjorie Velázquez in November’s general election showdown if Wednesday’s results hold. Velázquez, a first-term councilmember, won the Democratic primary against three challengers last Tuesday with 67% of the vote.
