CLASSACT NEWS

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Harvard-Radcliffe Democracy '24 Town Hall Presented by the Class of 1975’s Marching Towards Justice Sunday, September 15th @7pm ET, on Zoom

Democracy '24 Town Hall is a live, online video series featuring notable individuals in American politics, journalism, education, faith, healthcare, culture and the law. Our weekly, Sunday-night, online conversations (7-8:30 PM ET) seek to promote electoral engagement and positive change among alumni, students and the extended Harvard community. With an expanding list of topics, the series will focus on issues of social, economic, racial and environmental justice, and the increasing threats to traditional institutions. Future guests will include Susan Glasser '90, Staff writer, The New Yorker; former NY Times executive editor Jill Abramson '76; best-selling author Kurt Andersen '76; DNC Deputy Finance Director and Women for Harris co-chair Kinney Zalesne JD '91; Morgan Mohr, Harris chief spokesperson on reproductive rights; Washington Post Columnist E.J. Dionne '73; Biden and Harris pollster Geoff Garin '75; NYT Magazine writer and Yale Law lecturer Emily Bazelon, and many others yet to be announced or scheduled over 16 weeks. As we approach one of America’s most consequential presidential elections in our history, we look forward to discussing, among other things, our judiciary in crisis, gerrymandering and inequities in our electoral system, the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia, the danger of “alternative facts” in news coverage, and, above all, the 2024 presidential campaign.

On deck, Sunday Sept 22nd: E.J. Dionne '73 Author and Washington Post Columnist Professor, Georgetown University, and a surprise guest!

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The Right Question Institute: Voting Forum Webinar Thursday, September 5th, 7-8pm ET, on Zoom

How can we increase motivation and determination to vote in low-income communities? In 2020, the Right Question Institute (RQI) shared its nonpartisan “Why Vote?” Tool with social services, adult literacy programs, and nonprofit voter engagement efforts in 38 states around the country. On Sept. 5, we will introduce you to the “Why Vote?” Tool and explore ways that you can share it with nonprofit programs and services in your communities and states. Developed by Dan Rothstein (class of 1977, HGSE 1985) and Naomi Campbell (HLS 2017) and colleagues at RQI, the nonpartisan “Why Vote?” Tool is a free resource that makes it possible for people to name for themselves the value of voting. It has a simple design that helps people see the connection between services they need — such as food assistance, income support, and child care — and decisions that elected officials make. Direct service providers, educators, community organizers, and volunteers integrate use of the tool into their work with people and their efforts to encourage people to vote. Rothstein and Campbell, along with RQI’s co-founder Luz Santana, create active and participatory webinar experiences. We encourage you to come learn about the “Why Vote?” Tool and consider how you can play a role in making sure it reaches into communities with traditionally low voting rates.

About the presenters: Dan Rothstein '77, is one of the co-founders of the Right Question Institute (RQI) and the co-author with Luz Santana of Make Just One Change: Teach Students to Ask Their Own Questions (Harvard Education Press, 2011). He is also an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where he teaches, teaching a course on "Building Nimble and Democratic Minds." Dan has helped develop RQI's voter engagement resources and trained staff of adult literacy programs and nonprofit organizations working in low-income communities to engage low-propensity voters around the country. Naomi Campbell, HLS 2017, is director of RQI's Legal Empowerment Program, partnering with legal professionals and other service providers working in low-income communities who use RQI's methods to build clients' agency and self-advocacy skills. Naomi also helped develop RQI's unique "Why Vote?" Tool, trained staff of organizations around the country, and supports Executive Director Betsy Smith in promoting RQI's current "Why Vote?" Initiative.

Meet Our Bridge Partner: The Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) Ruth Mullen Memorial Scholarship Program

A scholarship program for undergraduate students attending a historically Black college or university (HBCU) and HBCU alums attending graduate school. 

About the EFA: Founded in 1970, the Editorial Freelancers Association is a national nonprofit professional organization with approximately 3,200 members, including writers, editors, copy editors, proofreaders, indexers, translators, and others who work in publishing, communications, and related fields. The EFA advances excellence among our dynamic community of freelance editorial professionals by providing opportunities for business development, learning, and networking. Our resources help our members and their clients build successful collaborations.

Origins of the EFA scholarship program: The impetus for the program came from EFA members Andrea Reid and Andrew (Andy) Huston, who together formed an ad hoc committee on HBCU scholarships in early 2021. Later that year, the committee proposed to the EFA Board of Governors that the EFA establish and fund a scholarship program for undergraduate students attending an HBCU and HBCU alums attending graduate school.

Andrea Reid—Chairperson, EFA Committee on HBCU Scholarships

“The 2020 societal epiphany that racial inequity had to finally be addressed on a national scale did not mark a racial reckoning, just the beginning of one. The EFA should play a part in the reckoning process by supporting educational equity,” the committee stated in its report to the board. “The entire publishing industry has not equitably provided careers for marginalized groups, and especially not for African Americans. An EFA HBCU scholarship program would be one way to help right that wrong.”

At its November 2021 meeting, the EFA Board of Governors approved the proposed scholarship program.

Program parameters: The EFA provides $5,000 scholarships to undergraduate students attending an HBCU and HBCU alums pursuing a graduate degree. The scholarships are available to students who are Black, African American, or of Black African descent and enrolled in a degree program leading to (1) employment in the publishing or communications industry, or (2) a career that could lead to their becoming a member of the EFA.

Each $5,000 award is paid directly to the scholarship recipient’s HBCU or graduate school in two annual installments of $2,500.

The scholarships, which are awarded in partnership with the UNCF (United Negro College Fund) are named in memory of Ruth Mullen, longtime EFA member and volunteer who died tragically in September 2021. At the time of her death, Ms. Mullen was serving as an EFA co-executive.

The EFA Ruth Mullen Memorial Scholarship program is administered by the UNCF, the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. Founded in 1944, the UNCF is a groundbreaking organization made famous by its slogan, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” More than 500,000 students have earned degrees with the help of UNCF scholarships.

First cycle: For the first scholarship cycle (2022–2023), the EFA provided two scholarships, both funded by the EFA itself. Mauranne Vernier of Evanston, IL, received the undergraduate scholarship, and Kristen Shipley of York, PA, received the graduate scholarship.

At the time of her application for the scholarship, Mauranne was a junior at Spelman College majoring in English. She served as editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper and as an editorial intern for Spelman’s Blue Record podcast. She also worked as a scripted television publicity intern at Warner Bros. Discovery.

Kristen applied as a 2018 graduate of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T), where she studied journalism and mass communications with a concentration in public relations. She was an MBA candidate at Harvard Business School and worked for Google, YouTube, and Obvious Ventures.      

And now we are pleased and proud to announce that Mauranne and Kristen recently graduated from their respective schools. Read about their accomplishments and future plans at Our First HBCU Scholarship Recipients Have Graduated!

Second cycle: For the second cycle (2023–2024), the EFA funded two scholarships itself, and through the generous donations of individuals inside and outside of the EFA, we raised enough money to fund a third scholarship. Gabrielle Heyward of Rock Hill, SC, and Makiydah Berry of Hartford, CT, were the recipients in the undergraduate category, and Jordan Turner of Lawrenceville, GA, was the recipient in the graduate category.

Makiydah Berry, Jordan Turner, and Gabrielle Heyward

Ms. Heyward is a communications major at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) in Greensboro, NC, where her focus is journalism and media studies. Since receiving the EFA scholarship, she has become a Rhoden Fellow with ESPN and Andscape. Gabrielle has also been inducted into Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and she will serve this year as president of the NCAT Section of the National Council of Negro Women and editor-in-chief of the A&T Register (NC A&T newspaper).

Ms. Berry is pursuing a degree in strategic communications with a concentration in advertising at Howard University in Washington, DC. During the past year, she was inducted into Lambda Pi Eta, the national honor society for communications majors. She was also invited to the Vice President’s HBCU Student Leaders celebration for Black History Month.

Mr. Turner is a graduate of Savannah State University in Savannah, GA, the oldest HBCU in the state. He completed his first year as a graduate student at Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he is pursuing his MFA with a concentration in screenwriting.

All three of our scholars have successfully completed the first of their two EFA scholarship years and are about to begin their second. Read more about Gabrielle, Jordan, and Makiydah at 2023 EFA Ruth Mullen Memorial Scholarships Awarded.

Third (current) cycle: The 2024–2025 application window for the EFA Ruth Mullen Memorial Scholarship program opened on April 30 and closed on June 17, 2024. This cycle, we are offering four $5,000 scholarships, three of which will be funded by the EFA and one by private donations. Three of the scholarships will be for undergraduates attending an HBCU, and one will be for a graduate of an HBCU attending graduate school. We and the UNCF are currently reviewing this cycle’s applications, and we expect that the awards will be made at the end of August.

Project Goals and Needs: For the inaugural year of the program, we had 54 applicants for the two scholarships the EFA funded. For the second cycle, 157 students applied for the three available scholarships. This cycle, we had 323 applications for the four available scholarships—for every candidate awarded a scholarship, we’ve had to turn down 80 others! We’re thrilled with the response to the program, of course, but saddened that we are not able to provide more than four scholarships a year.

Each $5,000 scholarship requires $5,750 in funding (including UNCF’s 15% admin fee). The EFA has committed to funding three scholarships per year itself. We are aiming to provide at least six scholarships per year, so we need to turn to outside sources to fund the additional three scholarships annually.

ClassACT has already been helpful, by connecting us with classmate Fred Bartenstein, who has shared his extensive knowledge of fundraising and given us many good ideas. We could also benefit from the knowledge of an experienced grant writer, especially one who can suggest individuals or entities whose mission aligns with the EFA’s and who might be especially receptive to a grant application from the EFA Ruth Mullen Memorial Scholarship program.

To any classmate who might be able to guide us in grant writing, or anyone who has any money-raising ideas at all, we’d love to hear from you. Our email address is hbcuscholarships@the-efa.org.

We have also established a Donate page on the UNCF website. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation, and feel free to post the Donate link on your social media and share it with friends and associates. Thank you!

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The upcoming national, state, and local elections in November 2024 provide opportunities and responsibilities for all citizens to address and improve our environment. In addition to supporting candidates who are strong advocates of protecting and restoring biodiversity, it is critical to also learn about and encourage the passage of numerous environmental initiatives on the ballot. This forum will bring together leaders who will provide information and insights on the most important biodiversity, conservation, climate change, and energy alternative issues that will be presented to voters in the upcoming elections.

ClassACT HR73 is pleased to welcome our latest Benazir Bhutto Leadership Program Fellow, Waheed Ahmad. ClassACT Chair Marion Dry ‘73 and ClassACT Treasurer George Putnam ‘73 met with Waheed over lunch at the Charles Hotel earlier this month to welcome him and share information about ClassACT. As an Edward S. Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management at the Kennedy School, Waheed is a candidate for a Mid-Career Masters in Public Administration.

Over the course of the academic year, we look forward to introducing Waheed to the ClassACT community through in person and online events. Waheed is our first fellow from Afghanistan. To learn more about Waheed and his work, click here.

Waheed Ahmad has more than a decade of experience at the intersection of national security, governance, and development. He  served as a senior National Security staff member of the Afghanistan Democratic Government from 2018-2021. During his tenure, he was responsible for strategy and implementation of security sector reforms, and for developing the 2020 Afghanistan National Threat Assessment, among other projects.

Originally from Baghlan, Afghanistan, Waheed’s passion for public service began during his adolescence. In the early days of the Afghanistan democracy, he led many civic activities in his hometown, including the establishment of a library and sponsoring a radio station for women’s voices.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Balkh University in Mazar, Afghanistan and later pursued a Master of Public Administration degree from State University of New York- Binghamton as a Fulbright Scholar. He has worked at every level of the Afghanistan Democratic Government, from sub-national conflict resolution and community engagement with the Ministry of the Interior to empowering sub-national elected bodies and local councils with the Independent Directorate of Local Governance. In his past roles, he worked closely with the United Nations Development Program, the United States and NATO mission in Afghanistan, and the World Bank, as well as other relevant stakeholders. Waheed has also written many articles on Afghanistan’s security and political challenges that have been published in international news outlets, including a chapter on Afghanistan’s implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He has received several awards, including a top honor from the President of Afghanistan for his public service. He is fluent in English, Farsi, Pashto, and Urdu.

Waheed fled Afghanistan after the Taliban forcibly took power during the U.S. withdrawal from the country in 2021. Once in the U.S., he served as Resident Practitioner at the Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP) at Binghamton University, focusing on human rights issues in Afghanistan.

Read

Highlights include:

-Meet Our New Bridge Partner: FoolProofMe

-Inflation, Housing Concerns Could Swing Nevada to Republicans in November, by Jacki Swearingen '73 and Susan Okie '73

-Update on Growing ClassACT

THE MANIPULATION OF CHILDREN ONLINE: What You Can Do to Help Fix This.

23 years ago, Walter Cronkite and a group of young people created the FoolProof Foundation. The Foundation’s goal: To add the teaching of healthy skepticism and caution to the teaching of financial literacy.

After 23 years, FoolProof remains the only major financial literacy resource in the United States focused on teaching the importance of healthy skepticism and caution.

Why aren’t other major financial literacy resources emphasizing the importance of healthy skepticism and caution?

Because the largest funders of financial literacy resources worldwide are the marketing and debt industries. These industries can’t be expected to develop or promote resources that consistently teach consumers to question the industries’ marketing objectives. 

The marketer’s role is to sell, not tell all sides of the story. In fact, around the world, the definitions of financial literacy never focus on the importance of questioning marketers’ messaging.

Please feel free to search “definitions of financial literacy” and tell us if we are wrong.

Children are damaged if they do not understand that financial literacy does not exist in the absence of healthy skepticism and caution.

Filling the holes in the cheese.

And that’s where FoolProof comes in. We fill the holes in the marketing and debt industry’s financial literacy training.

Our middle and high school financial literacy curricula are unique and respected. Last year, 90,000 middle and high school students spent over 510,000 hours on our web-based resources. We feature peer-to-peer teaching. And teachers love us: Nationwide, 78% or teachers who see a FoolProof presentation sign up and use our curricula.

The giant in financial literacy also respects us.

 In April, FoolProof received the Jumpstart Coalition's national “Innovation Award” for our work that “significantly benefited students, consumers, and the financial literacy community at large."

The JumpStart Coalition is composed of 100 national organizations and 51 state coalitions to promote financial literacy.

Five nationally respected leaders accepted the award on our behalf: Sheila Bair, the 19th Chair of the FDIC, Walter Cronkite IV, Neiman Fellows Roberta Baskin and Jim Trengrove, and Washington Post syndicated finance columnist Michelle Singletary. All sit on our boards or strongly endorse FoolProof (pictured above).

An important reality.

Despite FoolProof’s broad reach and support, our opportunity to do dramatic good must start this fall and winter. That’s why we’re talking to you today.

FoolProof tackles the manipulation and safety of young people online.

The web poses a significant threat to the mental and physical safety of children.  

In 1973, kids looked at screens at the age of four. They looked at TV screens. But today kids start looking at screens at the age of four months–and the screens are looking back. New research shows that any significant screen time by itself in the first 18 months of life can lead to significant cognitive damage.

And of course, the amount of time kids spend in front of screens increases as they get older. Nine to twelve-year-olds now spend an average of 4-6 hours online every day. For teens, that number increases to about 8 hours per day.

Just looking can hurt.

Kids simply looking at screens for long periods of time is linked to a host of problems including sleep deprivation, obesity, depression, anxiety, and decreased school performance. But that’s only the beginning of the problem.

About 33% of kids online have experienced some form of cyberbullying. Victims of cyberbullying are twice as likely to attempt suicide as those who don’t experience it.

Kids are increasingly vulnerable to sexual harassment on social media platforms. About 100,000 children per day are subjected to sexual harassment on Facebook and Instagram, according to internal Facebook and Instagram communications. 

And that’s just 2 of the 34 social media platforms that have over 100 million monthly active users.

Even features we all use online without thinking can be more detrimental to young people: The impact of “share” buttons, “likes” and “comment” opportunities trigger chemical reactions in kids similar to the effects of drug use.

It’s a tough world out there to be a kid. Many adults know this and are concerned. But few have the time or understanding to consistently tackle these extraordinarily complex issues.

Middle schools as the battlefront.

Middle school children are primary targets for online manipulation. Middle schoolers are at a developmentally vulnerable stage in life.  At the same time, schools are at a developmentally vulnerable stage in their relationship with the web. Cash-strapped school systems are looking for free and online ways to teach traditional subjects–like math and English.

But here’s an uncomfortable reality. Many of the free resources being offered to schools to teach traditional subjects have been developed by the same businesses that are manipulating kids online. Consider the gaming industry.

The commercial gaming industry tackles teaching math to middle school students.

Under the guise of teaching math, about 90,000 middle schools have relied on a “free” game called Prodigy to teach math. But according to experts, it doesn’t teach math. And it can pose a threat to children’s mental health.

Prodigy uses its classroom access to encourage children to play the game at home, where they and their parents are constantly shamed into paying to play.

More than 24 million primary and middle school students—representing half of all elementary and middle school students in North America—have signed up for Prodigy.

This is precisely why consumer advocates, not marketers, need to be in schools when it comes to addressing online manipulation and safety. States are developing those guidelines right now.

How we propose to address the issue.

FoolProof needs to become the battle HQ to help schools prepare their students to be safer online.

We have the respect of the educational and the consumer community to lead this initiative. We must be at the table in every state when those decisions are made.

The businesses that manipulate children online are already at the table.

Our first task: Creating a “National Online Safety Hub” for use by educators.

Effective resources are already available to counter issues of childhood safety and manipulation. But few of these resources have been converted into teachable moments or scaled for a national audience. FoolProof has the ability to develop those teachable moments and scale them. And we will include them in our existing curricula.    

Our initial focus. Middle school teachers and their students.

Working with experts.

FoolProof is increasing its research and resource development in this area. Fairplay for Kids—the leading child advocacy initiative in the online arena—is FoolProof’s key partner in our work.

Timing

FoolProof currently has preliminary resources that address online manipulation. Starting in October we will begin to incorporate these and other resources from respected experts into our middle school curricula. Starting in January, our goal is to add new resources every month.

Why we need your help.

The enormity of the dangers a child faces online makes any thought of a solution daunting. But here’s the reality. The tidal wave of manipulation aimed at children comes down to a single moment of contact with a single child. We can address that moment and help protect that child, child by child, school by school. 

How you can help. 

Some of FoolProof’s most important achievements have come from people who thought they could not help. You could be one of those people.

What we need now.

We need your help to expand the use of FoolProof’s current financial literacy resources in your city and state. Our new work addressing the safety of children online will be housed in our current middle and high school curricula. To build an audience for our new resources, we need to expand FoolProof’s overall educational reach.

We need contacts.

Help us establish a FoolProof Leadership Council in your state. We need feet-on-the-ground to make a major impact in a city or state. The Leadership Council’s role is to help us have those feet-on-the-ground.

We need funding, of course.

Help us identify funding sources in your state. 

FoolProof is a small foundation with a limited budget. We operate nationally with only 6 full-time team members. Our whole team works remotely. Our boards are volunteer based. We currently have only three team members available to travel the country and meet with educators. Just one of our commercial competitors has 200 full-time staff members.

But when FoolProof has the funding to put feet-on-the-ground, we are recognized as the David against Goliath. Our resources are almost always adopted.  

Does money really do its job when it comes to FoolProof?

It does.

Take Orlando, Florida.

A $25,000 grant from the Fairwinds Foundation allowed FoolProof to be on the ground in Orlando. The result? In one year, over 13,000 high school students completed over 47,000 FoolProof sessions.

Did they learn anything?

They did. The pre- and post-test financial literacy scores based on standardized testing rose from 46--an F grade—to 84%--a B Grade.

Take Oklahoma.

Over the years, 200,000 students in Oklahoma have completed FoolProof’s curricula. Ask us for details.

A legacy FoolProof would like to create with HR73

HR73 and FoolProof have a unique opportunity: Today, in your community, every child on any device is a target for manipulation. FoolProof has the integrity and software capability to help each of those kids protect themselves. Classroom-by-classroom, school-by-school we can empower them to tackle the financial and emotional issues they relentlessly face in today’s web-driven world. 

But to accomplish this, we need a partner with vision, national reach, and integrity.

We’re hoping that partnership can be with HR73 and we hope that partnership can begin with you.

Next steps

First, bookmark this page.

Second, contact us. Simply opening a door for us in one state can change the lives of thousands of children.  

Remar Sutton

FoolProof Co-founder and Team Leader

404-229-5094

William Mears

The Manipulation Project Team Leader

will.mears@foolprooffoundation.org

310-923-4191

Third. Learn more about FoolProof.

 The Walter Cronkite Project drives the vision of FoolProof.         

 Review our middle school curriculum to understand FoolProof’s unique approach to teaching.

Our Kids in Poverty website focuses on economic and emotional inequality.

Fourth. Think about a donation. We would appreciate that!

Want more details? Email us and we’ll send you a footnoted copy of this article.

Since our inception, ClassACT HR73 has made it a priority to share our model with other Harvard classes and alumni groups. ClassACT chair Marion Dry, who is also a member of the Harvard Alumni Association Board of Directors, has been using her time as a director to share the ClassACT story with HAA leadership. On June 1, leaders from the ClassACT groups of ‘73 ‘75, ‘78 and ‘85 held an open house for reunioning classes in Sever Hall. We shared our stories with our visitors from reunioning classes and with one another while having a wonderful time together.

Click below to watch the video of the June 1 Open House, edited by Rick Brotman '73.

We are growing the movement. Would you like to help us move this along? If so, email Marion Dry with your interest/ideas and let’s talk soon!