With a millenary tradition, Chinese food is a must when talking about gastronomy. This Lunar New Year will be the perfect plan to bring fish, ravioli, spring rolls, rice balls, and Nian Gao to the table.
The Chinese New Year brings with it several traditions; however, when it comes to eating, there are seven foods that are present in every table of the descendants of this millenary culture.
Seven, that magic number that shows us, among other things, the symbolism between the sacred and the earthly, as well as those foods that in this New Year seek to obtain from the gods good luck, prosperity, abundance and good health.
1. Wantán or Chinese dumplings
This traditional Chinese food has a history of 1,800 years. Chinese wantan or Chinese dumpling is a classic food and a traditional dish eaten on Chinese New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
The traditional dish calls for abundance, as it usually refers to gold and silver bullion. Legend has it that the more empanadas you eat during New Year's celebrations, the more money you will attract in the coming year.
Wantanes are usually filled with finely chopped meat and vegetables wrapped in a thin, elastic skin. Among the most popular are those filled with pork, shrimp, fish, chicken, beef and vegetables. They can be boiled, steamed, fried or baked.
The superstition in this dish is not lacking, and is that the Chinese do not fill this dish with cabbage, at least not during the Spring Festival, as it implies a poor and difficult future.
Besides, they should have a good number of folds, for if the joint is too flat, it is believed that there will be poverty. Some Chinese put a white thread in the wantan, and it is supposed that whoever eats it will have a long and good life.
In addition, they should never be served in a circle, but in a straight line, because the life of the person who eats it will go round and round without getting anywhere.
2. Spring rolls
You can't imagine Chinese food without those delicious rolls stuffed with vegetables,
Spring rolls get their name because they are traditionally eaten during the Spring Festival. It is an especially popular dish in Eastern China: Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Fujian, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, among others.
The dish that resembles a goldenrod is Cantonese. Thin dough is wrapped around vegetables or meat and these are fried and then served with a particularly sweet sauce.
3. Fish
Fish on the table is a Lunar New Year staple. It can be boiled, steamed or simmered. The most famous Chinese fish dishes include steamed fish, western lake fish with pickled cabbage and chili, steamed fish in vinegar sauce, and boiled fish with spicy broth.
In the New Year, the fish to be eaten is selected by name and meaning.
Thus, carp [鲫鱼] sounds like the Chinese word "good luck" [吉], so eating carp is considered to bring good luck for the coming year.
Chinese mud carp: The first part in Chinese for "the mud carp" [鲤鱼] is pronounced like the word for gifts [礼]. This is why the Chinese think that eating the mud carp during Chinese New Year symbolizes wishes for good fortune.
Catfish: The Chinese characters of "catfish" [鲶鱼] sound like [年余] which means "surplus of the year". So, eating catfish is a wish for a surplus in the year.
4. Nian Gao
The image of a sweet rice cake [红糖 年糕], or Nian Gao, is a welcome sight during Chinese New Year.
Nian Gao [年糕] symbolizes progress, advancement and growth. Nián [年] means "year" and "gāo" [糕] is a homonym of "gāo" [高], which means high or expensive.
Year after year Chinese families inevitably buy or make this gift for the New Year celebration, hoping for a better year ahead.
5. Tangyuan. Sweet rice balls
Another delicious dessert made with rice in Chinese cuisine is tangyuan. They are small balls made with this cereal, filled with peanut or black sesame paste. They are cooked and served in a curious sugary broth.
It is the main food for the Lantern Festival of China, however, in southern China, people eat them during the Spring Festival. The pronunciation and round shape of yangyuan are associated with gathering and being together. That is why they are favored by the Chinese during New Year celebrations.
6. Good luck fruit
Certain fruits are eaten during Chinese New Year, such as tangerines, oranges and grapefruit. These fruits are selected for their color, as they resemble the golden color, which symbolizes fullness and wealth.
By eating and showing tangerines and oranges, it is believed that you will attract good luck and fortune because of their pronunciation and even their spelling. The Chinese character for orange - and tangerine - is [橙], which sounds the same as "success" in Chinese [成]. One of the ways of writing mandarin [桔] contains the Chinese character for luck [吉].
7. Longevity noodles or yi mein
These noodles are served on birthdays as well as Chinese New Year, representing the wish for a long, happy and healthy life. The noodles can be served stir-fried; with oyster sauce and shiitake and bok choy mushrooms in a simple broth lightly seasoned with soy and ginger.
This dish is composed of plain and uncut noodles, either fried or boiled and are made with flour, egg and carbonated water. They have a golden color and a slightly hard texture. They should never be cut.
This time, to celebrate the close of the New Year, we will be celebrating big in Redwood City. Saturday, February 20th at 5pm at the following link: peninsula360press.com/lunarnewyear2021
Last Tuesday, February 9, around 3 p.m., the oil company Chevron reported an oil leak near the dock of its refinery in Richmond, Contra Costa County, California, the second oil spill in the last two years.
As of yesterday, Feb. 10, cleanup and recovery efforts continued in the Richmond area following Tuesday's leak at Chevron Long Wharf, according to the Unified Command that responded to the incident.
The Unified Command was comprised of Chevron, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response, Contra Costa Health Services and the U.S. Coast Guard, who after laboratory analysis determined that approximately 12 to 18 barrels - 500-750 gallons - of a mixture of low-sulfur diesel fuel and rinse water were released.
As of yesterday, cleanup and recovery efforts were ongoing, including the deployment and recovery of absorbent booms used to capture diesel from the water.
In addition, Coast Guard helicopter crews and incident response personnel conducted the first overflight. Responders also conducted a shoreline assessment, on foot and by drone, which revealed no visible impacts to wildlife.
The only coastal area known to have been affected is immediately adjacent to the Chevron dock.
As a precaution, two public access sites on Western Drive and Keller Beach remained closed to allow water response teams to concentrate on their work.
The Unified Command continues to evaluate any potential public health concerns related to the incident. Air monitoring by law enforcement has not detected any levels that could cause health impacts or injuries. The public health order issued by Contra Costa County Health was rescinded at 9 p.m. on February 9.
It should be noted that no oiled animals have been reported so far, but if the public encounters potentially affected wildlife, stay away from the animal and report the sighting to the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at 1-877-UCD-OWCN (1-877-823-6926).
Chevron and its other spill 'accident' in California
Just a couple of years ago in 2019, a Chevron oil well spilled more than 800,000 gallons of crude oil and water in Kern County, which is why state regulators imposed a notice of violation and an order to halt some oil drilling in the area around the spill on the San Ramon-based energy company.
The leak, which the company, it said, promptly stopped, began on May 10, 2019. Crews at the time reported that a mixture of oil and water was leaking from a well in the sprawling oil fields near the town of McKittrick and about 35 miles west of Bakersfield.
Chevron, as well as other firms, operate thousands of oil wells in the area, many of which use a technique in which steam is injected more than 300 meters into the ground to heat the crude oil and facilitate its extraction.
The situation did not stop and, by June 8, oil began to leak again.
On June 11, the company, in a brief incident report to the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, said a total of about 6,000 gallons of liquid had spilled by that time. On July 11, a month later, the amount was nearly 795,000 gallons.
The spilled material consisted of about one-third oil and two-thirds water, according to Chevron's entries in the hazardous spill database, which would mean more than 265,000 gallons of oil were discharged.
Richmond, California. January 10, 2021. Bruce Joab, Senior Environmental Scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Chevron Environmental Unit staff collect water and sand samples at Point Molate Beach to determine the area impacted by the Chevron refinery oil spill on February 9, 2021.
State and federal officials have offered to help Chevron take over the cleanup of a petroleum product leak that spilled an estimated five gallons per minute Tuesday afternoon at the long dock of Chevron's Richmond refinery.
About 600 gallons ended up in the bay between 2:40 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., when the leak was stopped, according to Contra Costa supervisor John Gioia, who said, "It's unacceptable."
The Redwood City Police Department will begin limited implementation of body cameras on its officers beginning in May to document on video the procedures and actions taken by the police force, as well as to improve its practices in interacting with citizens.
This was reported by the chief of the Redwood City Police Department, Dan Mulholland, who said that it will be until June, when the use of the body camera is fully deployed in all its officers.
And while the city was fortunate enough to receive federal grant funding for a portion of the total cost of the body cameras, he said, it still needs to install hardware and software for their operation, which is expected to be ready by April.
During a virtual briefing on the Redwood City Police Department's new body camera policy Wednesday, Chief Mulholland pointed out that members of the police force also need to be trained in the proper use of the devices.
However, he noted that the task of training will not be easy, as the COVID-19 pandemic complicates it.
"We've experienced some significant setbacks that are related to COVID-19, and that's timelines, something as simple as bringing in an outside provider from another state to come in, get 50 people in a room and have them get instruction in one day and then another 50 in another day. Obviously, that's very difficult to do right now in the current crisis environment, so there is the potential for delays," he stressed.
Thus, he explained, this month will be the software configuration with servers and storage in the "cloud", in March, will open the recruitment for the position of administrator of body cameras programs, while in April will be hired the manager of body cameras and finalize the installation of the system for the operation of the devices.
According to the presentation by the police chief, data suggests that the use of body cameras by law enforcement has proven effective in reducing violent confrontations during law enforcement contacts and complaints against officers.
He also detailed that body-worn camera recordings provide contextual documentation of police encounters and have become an important tool for increasing public confidence by transparently reviewing an officer's performance and documenting a police contact or law enforcement action.
However, he stressed, body camera recordings cannot provide all the information necessary to make a fair and accurate judgment about police contacts or law enforcement activity.
Indeed, Chief Mulholland emphasized that two-dimensional video evidence provides a limited view of a police encounter and must be considered along with all other available evidence, such as witness statements, independent officer observations, forensic video analysis and documentary evidence, when assessing the appropriateness of an officer's actions.
The above, after even with multiple camera coverage of an encounter, a video cannot interpret what an officer may have heard, felt, observed or been informed through personal knowledge or specific information provided that helped inform their decision making process; before, during or after a contact.
In that sense, he explained that the videos collected by the agents will be downloaded through software to servers, and then be available in a cloud that can be accessed by the public, with prior authorization, unless the fact is under investigation.
He also explained that anyone who accesses any video made by the police will leave "a trail of crumbs" that will allow them to know their name, the video reviewed, the time of access, if a modification was made or a file was saved, so the security of this documentation will be a priority.
Finally, Dan Mulholland says that body cameras should not be expected only to lead to dramatic reductions in use of force or complaints or other large-scale changes in police behavior, but that this starts with recruiting personnel with "strong morals and ethics.
"We want to make sure they're going to be the right person that's going to provide public safety service to this community ... maintaining very high standards and making sure we get good quality people," he said.
He noted that, as chief of police, nearly 86 percent of his promotions to the rank of sergeant "have been of a person who is of color, LGBTTTIQ+, a female officer, or some combination of the three."
Similarly, he explained that "having the right person in the Police Department, serving our community, with such a diverse workforce, can reduce the opportunities or potential for officers to use force in the field."
However, he stressed that this is not all, as it is necessary to ensure that personnel are not only properly equipped with physical tools or on their belts, but with mental skills that will allow them to contain or resolve a crisis.
"More than 90 percent of our officers and 92 percent of our communications operators have received crisis intervention training, as well as gender, racial and cultural sensitivity training," he said. "We want to make sure that we have a well-trained and well-equipped staff. And there is also an audit that takes place along the way, we have a Use of Force Review Committee that looks at situations where force is applied. We do an analysis.
In that regard, he recalled that, over the past 10 years, Redwood City has had very few instances where police have used force, ranking well below the state and even national average.
"The Redwood City Police Department is committed to the belief that audio and video recordings captured by a body-worn camera (BWC) provide an unbiased documentation of a member of the Department's daily encounters with the public," states a new body-worn camera policy document issued by the Redwood City Police Department.
Notably, in 2016, a San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury recommended that agencies not using body cameras implement a plan to obtain them, but lack of funding delayed their acquisition, according to the city.
Two years later, the Redwood City Police Department received $150,146 from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to implement a body camera program that meets federal, state and local guidelines.
So, in November 2020, the City Council approved a $612,605 contract with AXON Enterprises, Inc. for the purchase of 100 body cameras, plus related services, however, the majority of the funding comes from the Police Department budget.
"Learning kung-fu has only one purpose: to train the reaction into a natural response. Such a reaction is essential," said Taoist priest Yuan Xiu Gang.
When you read or hear the word "kung-fu", you think of kicks, poses, punches and a series of acrobatics that are far from what the word really means, which is far from being a martial art.
Kung-fu, also known as Gong fuis any kind of study, apprenticeship or practice that requires hard work, patience and time to master the technique.
Gong means work, achievement or merit, while fu means man or is used as a nominal suffix with various meanings, so Gongfu would be translated as "man's achievement".
The California Institute of kung-fu and taichi has brought the ancient wisdom of China to Redwood City.
The professional Chinese martial arts school that has been teaching kung-fu -also known as Wushu-, taichi and qigong to children and adults since 2004, seeks to promote the physical and spiritual growth of its students by teaching both external and internal martial arts styles.
Through various programs that help students achieve different goals, they seek to improve a student's life through the understanding, application of the values and disciplines taught in the methods, traditions and culture of the Chinese martial art.
According to the institute, the classes use a systematic teaching methodology developed in China.
Such an approach means that students develop their natural talent for martial arts, as well as self-confidence, to eventually compete successfully in tournaments.
Moreover, they offer their students the opportunity to contribute to the community through martial arts performances at local festivals, participation in neighborhood school multicultural events, through charitable donations, and through support of local outreach such as the library's summer health and reading programs.
Currently, the California Institute of Kung Fu and Taichi is offering a temporary program due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to online tutoring.
This time, to celebrate the close of the New Year, we will be celebrating big in Redwood City. Saturday, February 20th at 5pm at the following link: peninsula360press.com/lunarnewyear2021
After an oil spill at the Chevron refinery in Richmond yesterday afternoon, Contra Costa County authorities have joined in the cleanup of the oil to prevent the situation from becoming an environmental catastrophe in the area.
A leak in one of the refinery's pipelines caused five gallons per minute of hydrocarbon to spill along the Chevron Richmond dock yesterday afternoon.
The company said yesterday afternoon that at about 3 p.m., workers at the Richmond refinery observed a sheen in the water near its dock, at which time, they said, they immediately initiated their response protocol and began working to isolate and contain the release - of oil - and notified all necessary agencies.
"The release of oil has stopped at this time and cleanup is ongoing. Chevron is cooperating fully with authorities, including the U.S. Coast Guard and OSPR," he said.
Through their Twitter account, they detailed that they issued a warning to the community and asked the public to stay away from the area so that crews can quickly contain and clean up the released volumes.
Criticism from elected officials and an environmental group was swift, and a team of county, state and federal officials joined Chevron to take charge of cleaning up an oil leak.
The unified command is made up of officials from Contra Costa Health Services, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the U.S. Coast Guard, along with Chevron.
It should be noted that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is "actively monitoring the situation to assess any potential public health concerns related to the incident".
To mitigate the problem, an additional 2100 feet of containment barrier has been placed around the spill site and three skimmers -devices designed to remove oil floating on a liquid surface- from oil will be operating overnight.
The state's press release confirmed Chevron's account of its initial response, which quickly drew local criticism as about 600 gallons reached the bay between 2:40 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. yesterday when the leak was stopped, according to Contra Costa supervisor John Gioia, who said "This is unacceptable!" in a social media post.
Chevron's initial response was "inadequate" and "the oil quickly breached Chevron's containment boom," the Oakland-based environmental watchdog group San Francisco Baykeeper said in a statement in which it released photos to back up its claims.
The ecological accident was classified at Level 2 and Contra Costa Health Services issued an advisory shortly before 4 p.m. for Richmond, San Pablo and unincorporated North Richmond, warning people with sensitive respiratory conditions to stay indoors to avoid nose, throat and eye irritation.
Booms were initially put in place to control the spread of the spill, but the East Bay Regional Park District had to close the beaches as a safety precaution and "the oil came ashore in South Richmond, which will harm wildlife and marine life," Gioia said.
State officials report that although no animals have been reported to be affected, the public should report any wildlife encounters or sightings they have oil to the Wildlife Enhanced Wildlife Care Network at 1-877-UCD-OWCN (1-800-823-6926).
A 33-year-old pediatrician was arrested Friday on suspicion of attempted child abuse, Redwood City police said Tuesday.
Dr. Dylan O'Connor, a pediatrician at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, was arrested at 1800 El Camino Real in Redwood City and arraigned on charges of sending harmful material to a minor, meeting with a minor for sexual purposes, both felonies, police said.
Redwood City police initiated an investigation after receiving an anonymous tip about a possible sex crime involving a Redwood City minor to the San Jose Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, which monitors illegal electronic image sharing and illegal activity involving minors.
A lengthy investigation and follow-up electronic media communication by the Redwood City Urban Crime Suppression Team involved "the evaluation of personal photographs of a pornographic nature sent by the suspect," police said. "The investigation revealed that an adult male was attempting to lure an underage female minor to a designated location with the intent to engage in sexual activity. When the suspect arrived at the location, he was taken into custody without incident."
Redwood City, in collaboration with the San Jose and Hillsborough departments and the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office Inspectors Unit, conducted a search warrant at O'Connor's residence where electronic devices were seized that will serve as evidence in both the minor's case and to identify other possible victims, police said.
Redwood City Police are asking anyone with information about that investigation or about other victims who may have had similar contact with the suspect to contact Sergeant Nick Perna at (650) 780-7672. Information can be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477 or online at www.BayareaCrimeStoppers.org.
Just three days before the Chinese New Year festivities begin, millions of people are preparing to celebrate the arrival of the Metal Ox, the animal that will rule until January 2022 -according to the Chinese horoscope- and where, according to tradition, order, effort, discipline and work will rule.
This year, to celebrate the close of the new year we will be celebrating big in Redwood City. Saturday, February 20th at 5 PM at the link: www.peninsula360press.com/lunarnewyear2021
In some cities like San Francisco, there is a Chinatown, which is just hours away from dressing up. But how do the Chinese celebrate this long-awaited day in China?
Here are 10 facts about how the New Year is celebrated in China:
1. The preparations begin earlier to say goodbye to the past year and prepare to receive the coming year with special enthusiasm. So from the 4th of February they dedicate themselves to cleaning the house.
It is a thorough cleaning. This preparation takes the name of "sweeping away the dust" and represents a desire to put away old things and to get ready to receive new ones.
The Chinese do not clean their house on the first two days of the new year - February 12 and 13 - because it is believed that this would eliminate the incoming good luck.
2. They do pre-shopping.
February 11 is New Year's Eve and is dedicated to buying food, snacks, decorations and clothes for the New Year. That is why one day before the Chinese New Year, the Asian country experiences a very important commercial boom.
They don't skimp on their most important celebrations. It is very common for the Chinese to buy new clothes for the festival, as it is a good omen to wear and carry new things as the year begins.
3. New Year's Eve is also full of rituals.
On February 11th, in China, people place images of gods on their doors, an important custom during the Spring Festival, as a prayer for blessings, health, longevity and peace to come to their homes.
It is common for the gods that are placed on the doors to carry weapons, as they will be the ones who fight against demons and evil spirits, so that they cannot enter the home.
New Year sayings are also placed on the door frames, they are typical phrases of 7 Chinese characters each, written on red paper and with black ink, phrases with four or five characters are pasted on the top of the door. They are also a call for good fortune and against evil spirits.
It is traditional that during New Year's Eve a dinner is held with all the members of the family, which means that many people travel to the Asian country to be reunited with their families.
This year, travel will be postponed or complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, however, in 2019 it was recorded that 415 million people travelled for the festivities, which was a world record.
On that day, Chinese people eat, among other things, traditional dishes of the holiday such as the jiaozi [饺子]-Chinese ravioli, made with wheat flour and meat filling-, and niangao 年糕]-a cake made of rice flour.
Money Calls MoneyThe saying goes, and for the Chinese it is important because every year, it is a tradition to give each other red envelopes with money inside.
Parents give their children red envelopes in the afternoon, with good wishes for their children to continue to grow financially in the coming year.
Red envelopes always have money in them. And they are wrapped in that color because it is believed to bring good luck.
For the closing of the eve, nothing like the sound of a bell, traditional symbol of the Chinese New Year. Temples, houses and squares ring their bells at midnight, as they believe that the sound keeps bad luck away and brings fortune closer.
4. New Year's Eve! To celebrate.
As the Chinese New Year begins, it's all color, noise and joy. Pyrotechnical fireworks are booming in the skies of millions of villages in China.
In major cities, lighting and firecrackers are among the most important customs of the Chinese New Year celebration, but because of the danger and noise disturbance they cause, the government has banned the practice in many large cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.
However, fireworks and rockets that explode in the air are still allowed in most parts of the country.
5. Brand new.
On the first day of the New Year, Chinese people put on new clothes and say "gongxi" [恭喜] which literally means "respectful joy", which could be translated as "best wishes", wishing each other good luck and happiness.
6. The Dragon and Lion Dances.
Lion dances and Dragon dances can also be seen on the day during the New Year. These dances used to be very popular in China, but are rare nowadays.
However, in Chinese neighborhoods of different latitudes it is very expected to see these dances that are performed by dozens of young people who rehearse for days the choreography, as they must carry on their bodies giant puppets in the shape of dragon or lion, to the rhythm of drums that call for good fortune.
7. Public New Year Celebrations.
New Year celebrations held in parks and temples in China are common. An example of this are the temple fairs in Beijing, where traditional activities are held throughout the day and until the last day of the celebration, when the Lantern Festival is held.
8. Offerings and sacrifices to ancestors.
Making offerings and sacrifices to ancestors is a popular custom in China since ancient times, its forms vary from one area to another: from the sweeping of tombs, to ancestor worship in ancient halls or temples.
Many people - especially in rural areas - offer sacrifices to their ancestors in the main living room of the house, where they place an altar in memory of the ancestor, and then family members kneel and bow in front of the chapel mounted on the wall, the whole family participates in the tradition.
The Chinese consider this act a sign of respect and piety, as well as a deep belief that the ancestors will protect their own descendants and that they will be prosperous for them.
9. It's not over yet.
Day two of the Chinese New Year. Unlike in the West, the Chinese celebrate big and for several days, and on the second day it is common for married women to visit their parents' house, bring gifts and red envelopes.
In addition, people offer sacrifices to the god of wealth, to whom they ask for abundance, prosperity and fortune.
From the 3rd to the 6th of the New Year - February 14th to 17th this year - people visit family and friends, some people visit family graves, and others stay at home, as it is believed that these are the days when demons roam the streets.
These days the cleaning starts again. In no way is it done before, even if there are red papers on the floor, firecrackers or other wrappings of presents that were given during the New Year's celebration, because they are a symbol of good luck.
On the seventh day of the New Year, February 18, the festivities end in most parts of the country, everyone goes back to work, and government agencies and businesses return to their daily routines.
10. New Year, Lantern Festival.
On the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival [元宵节] (Yuánxiāo Jié /ywen-sshyaou jyeah/) is celebrated. It is the traditional end of the Spring Festival celebrations.
People send many bright lanterns into the sky while others allow the lanterns to go to sea, into rivers, or set adrift in lakes. Some go alone, others with messages calling for peace, love, and prosperity.
But this year, to celebrate the close of the new year we will be celebrating big in Redwood City. Saturday, February 20th at 5 PM at the link: www.peninsula360press.com/lunarnewyear2021
After a 91-year-old Asian-American man was pushed to the ground for no reason by a hooded man in Oakland's Chinatown, alarm bells have gone off throughout the community, and the events have echoed all the way to the White House.
This Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki addressed, during a press conference, the rising tide of attacks against people from the Asian American community, which have not stopped since the start of the pandemic by COVID-19, and were exacerbated when the former president, Donald Trump, called the disease the "Chinese virus".
Given the facts that, in some cases, have been recorded and have spread through social networks, it is possible that the White House and President Joseph Biden have taken action on the matter, as the president himself has branded these acts as unacceptable.
While Psaki said he did not know if President Biden had been able to view the videos of the assaults, he noted that "he is concerned about discrimination and actions against the Asian-American community. That's why he signed the executive order and why he's been outspoken in making clear that attacks, verbal or otherwise, are unacceptable.
And, President Biden issued an executive order during his first week in office that recognizes that racism is directed against Asian Americans and Asian Pacific Islanders.
In addition, it also ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to avoid using language that could be offensive to the AAPI community.
Amid growing fear from the AAPI community in several California cities, including San Francisco, just this Monday, the Oakland Police Department was able to identify the attacker and also discovered that on the same day, the same man assaulted two more bystanders, a 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman, all with the same mode of operation.
The city of San Francisco also has its own nightmare, as police recently arrested a 19-year-old suspect following an attack in January, which was captured on video, where an 84-year-old man was killed.
Students in the AAPI community have received constant attacks from their peers, and the situation has not changed despite holding virtual classes.
So said Akil Vohra, executive director of Asian American Youth Empowerment and Leadership Development (AALEAD), who pointed out during an Ethnic Media Services briefing that Asian American and Pacific Islander communities today have seen a significant increase in bullying and harassment, "I think it's part of the rhetoric we've heard from the previous administration - from Donald Trump - about the source of this pandemic."
This, she said, includes verbal attacks, denial of service and physical assaults, "this really puts the well-being of our children at greater risk," she said.
In outlining his views on the potential return to the classroom for millions of students across the country, he stressed that they must address "not just COVID-19 safety protocols in place, but really making sure that schools and districts are taking steps to ensure cultural competency. And the equity agenda is a key part of that decision-making calculus," otherwise, "marginalized API communities will not be part of the back-to-school process and will become invisible.
Nearly a year after schools across the U.S. began a massive lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic - a disease caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus - that has affected 41.6 million students, experts say it's not yet time for students to return to classes because there is no way to ensure the safety and health of students, teachers, school staff and parents.
This was pointed out by experts, teachers and mothers during a panel discussion entitled: "When can we reopen schools? Seeking Common Ground on a Dividing Issue," by Ethnic Media Services.They also agreed that prior to the return of millions of students in the country, there should be more research on the consequences and repercussions of returning to the classroom, as well as not returning to them.
"The most important thing that needs to be done to reopen schools as soon as possible is safety. I think we have to make sure that black, brown and poor kids are not going to be left out of the steps we take to reopen schools," said Tyrone Howard, professor of education, chair in Family Empowerment Education and director of the Black Male Institute at UCLA.
"Standards are the number one priority in schools. I've always said this is not learning. Our number one priority is for kids to be safe. So I would say that's the number one issue - safety, safety, safety!" she said.
For Louis Freedberg, executive director of EdSource and founding director of California Watch at the Center for Investigative Reporting, more information is needed because "we need to take the research done by the CDC on safe return to the classroom and see how it applies to our own communities, not take the research at face value.
And, he explained, there is a lack of information about a possible "safe return," especially for those communities where English is not the primary language.
I think that's an additional complication for many of you to the Ation of the research that's being developed and I think there needs to be some focus on that to make sure that research is available in other languages.
However, Akil Vohra, executive director of Asian American Youth Empowerment and Leadership Development (AALEAD), says the issues and questions go beyond the opening of schools to ask "how we are supporting our students to move forward.
He pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the inequities that exist in the Asian American community. "So we're going to come back with more equity issues than before, just opening the school is not going to fix what's going on."
A member of the National Parents Union, Bernita Bradley said that all parents need to be involved in decision-making to create a plan for back-to-school that works for everyone.
"Parents need to sit at the decision-making table. Where the money is going to be allocated. Parents don't need to be detached. There is no plan without the parents," she stressed.
Karla Franco, a parent, explained at the time that, at the end of the day, you also have to think about the parents, because at this time they live under too much pressure and uncertainty about what will happen to their children's lives, and they must also be aware that their children, after returning to school, do not return home with the virus, which will only trigger more problems.
"We have to protect everyone because if we send children to school and the children bring the coronavirus into our homes, who protects us, who will be responsible for that?" she said.
Before coming to all these conclusions, specialist Louis Freedberg pointed out that the issue of the return to face-to-face classes has become a battle throughout the country.
The debate, he said, begins after research shows that children are less likely to acquire the SARS-CoV-2 virus because they produce fewer ACE-2 receptors, which make it easier for the virus to enter human cells and infect them.
He further detailed that according to advances in knowledge of COVID-19, children are used to fighting common colds and their immune systems are better prepared to fight the virus. Research suggests that children are more likely to get the coronavirus at home than at school.
"Transmission of the virus among students is very rare. And research also shows that the risk of transmission in elementary schools is very low, not so in middle and high schools, so there's been a big push to get elementary students back in school," he said.
He stressed that the level of spread of the virus depends a lot on how it has developed in the community, as well as the levels of care used to contain the pandemic, such as the use of masks, social distancing, and hand washing.
In that sense, he said, "having small classes is another reason why it's better to have elementary school students. You can control the classroom and have a smaller number of students as opposed to a high school, where there are thousands of students moving from class to class.
Likewise, he said it will be decisive that for the safe return there are good ventilation systems in the classrooms, and the opportunity for these schools to have sufficient testing to detect a possible almost COVID-19, in addition to teachers being properly protected, as they will be at high risk.
And, he said, there is a serious concern: "the impact of distance education on children. For reports of high rates of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder due to social isolation.
Today, Louis Freedberg noted, children are in a home where parents are often struggling with the impact of new economic stresses due to job losses, coupled with the stress of getting on the Internet and the new way of learning.
In addition, he said there are reports of increased food insecurity, because for many families, school used to be a place where children could count on one or two meals a day, so many school districts are even distributing food.
"The Los Angeles school district announced last week that it has distributed 100 million meals since the beginning of the pandemic, which is extraordinary, but that hasn't been the case in every district in the country. So that's another factor - to force a return to schools," he said.
All of the above has been reflected in the poor learning of many students, including those entering kindergarten, where early literacy tests show that there has been a decline.
Similarly, Freedberg noted, there has been a decline in distance learning participation rates, particularly among low-income students, as student absences are higher during the pandemic.
"There are numerous obstacles to going back to school, when you add it up it's pretty overwhelming. The pandemic is at extremely alarming levels, deaths are at an incredibly high level, which makes many people cautious about sending children and teachers back to school," Louis Freedberg stressed.
"Not all parents want to go back, I think most of the focus has been on anxiety, and I fully understand that parents are on edge in many cases, there are districts that have done surveys. In general, black and Latino parents are a little more reluctant and, in some cases, much more reluctant than white and more affluent parents to send their kids back to school. So that's another caveat," he said.
One of the main obstacles to opening schools is the vaccination of teachers. In California this week, the CDC director said schools should reopen regardless of whether teachers are vaccinated, but the teachers' union in California and elsewhere say they won't be immunized again, "and the problem is that the supply is very limited."
Finally, he pointed out that the gap between those who have access to the Internet and devices that allow them to take their assignments continues despite great efforts by the government and private initiative, so there is still much to be done so that everyone can have access to the Internet with the necessary speed to take their courses.
Dr. Tyrone Howard, professor of education at UCLA noted that "as we reopen ... I think the number one point that needs to be a big part of this conversation, especially in communities of color, are issues related to the social and emotional well-being of students right now."
He brought this up because, he said, according to a report from the UCLA Center for Health and Policy Research, half of all teens in California reported having some kind of mental health problems in the past year, and a third of those young people said the levels of depression they felt were so high that it weakened their ability to do their work.
"This is a serious problem and I don't think we can get to the issues around learning loss and learning in general until we address the social and emotional well-being part of our students," he said.
He said one of his concerns in reopening schools is that many of them don't have the bandwidth, nor the resources to invest in social workers, counselors and therapists. "So what will happen is. When we reopen the schools, kids will still be suffering from anxiety and depression, and the schools they're going back to won't have the support they need to help them. And this has a particular effect on black children and children of color."
And, he said, "some students become disconnected and shut down, others become more aggressive, more vocal, and often schools, without understanding the root of those factors, tend to expel those students, tend to suspend them, tend to discipline them, and part of what we can't do right now, when our kids are struggling socially and emotionally, when we see that the behaviors are there in the remote space or in the in-person space, is respond to their pain with additional punishment.
Like Freedberg, he said the problems of learning loss are going to be even more severe in the near future, especially for African-American and Latino communities, who, he said, lag "far behind their white and some Asian counterparts.
To that, he added that there is no rush to return to the classroom "without making sure that teachers feel protected, valued and safe on that journey."
In turn, he said that for many of the students the remote format worked much better for them than the in-person format.
"So as we have teachers who may not feel comfortable going back to in-person instruction. I think distance learning should be here to stay in some form for those students who suffer from high levels of anxiety, for those who suffer from bullying in school," he finished.
Akil Vohra, of the leading Asian-American organization, said he agreed with the other speakers, adding that minority students often lack access to tutors and learning centers that many more affluent communities are taking advantage of during this time.
He added that teachers have observed that students tend to get bored and disengage from the whole process of virtual classes, "It's exhausting to be on screens all day and, as adults, we've been doing it for a long time. It's exhausting for us and for the children.
He added that, currently, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, have seen a significant increase in harassment and bullying, "I think it's part of the rhetoric that we've heard from the previous administration - from Donald Trump - about the source of this pandemic."
This, she said, includes verbal attacks, denial of service and physical assaults, "this really puts the well-being of our children at greater risk," she said. "We need to address not only COVID-19 safety protocols in place, but really ensure that schools and districts are taking steps to ensure cultural competency. And the equity agenda is a key part of that decision-making calculus," otherwise, "marginalized API communities will not be part of the process - back to school - and will become invisible."
Bernita Bradley of the National Parents Union also stressed that since the virtual education that arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to rethink education in schools.
He said there is no real, concrete plan to explain how children, teachers, and staff will be able to safely return to the classroom.
"Right now we have to figure out what we do to make sure the kids are safe, to make sure the educators are safe," he said.
