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Vol. 33 No. 38
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Will governor put cellphone use on hold? have texting capabilities. This i s s e e n a s a c o m p ro m i s e between educators, who argue Gov. Kathy Hochul is consid- that cellphones are a signifiering a legislative proposal to cant distraction, and parents, limit or ban cellphone use in who worry about being able to schools across New York, a contact their children in emermove that has sparked wide- gencies. In an email to the Herald, spread debate among parents, Hochul’s office refeducators and erenced a roundtaschool administrable in Yonkers on tors. The governor, Aug. 5, when she who has been on a stressed that while listening tour this she is considering summer, recently legislative action, indicated that she she wants to make has gathered sure the issue is enough infor maaddressed carefully. tion to move for“It would take ward with the idea. from now until the While the proposal next session in Janis still in its early uary to be able to stages, Hochul said talk about this in she hopes to intro- AlExANDRA any way,” Hochul duce a bill in the MARTINEz said in the email. next legislative sesHigh school teacher “We looked into sion, beginning in and mother Executive Orders, January. but the most effecThe challenge is how to balance reduced distrac- tive and proper way to do this tions in the classroom with the is through legislation.” According to a recent Pew need for parents to communicate with their children during Research study, more than 70 the school day. Hochul has sug- percent of high school teachers gested that one possible solu- nationwide described cellphone tion could be to allow students distraction as a “major probto carry simple phones that lem” in classrooms. National can’t access the internet but do Continued on page 4
By RoKSANA AMID
ramid@liherald.com
Roksana Amid/Herald
gov. Kathy Hochul joined Steve israel, director of the institute of politics and global affairs, in a Fireside Chat to discuss antisemitism in the state.
Visiting Holocaust center, Hocul discusses antisemitism By RoKSANA AMID ramid@liherald.com
Gov. Kathy Hochul visited the Holocaust Museum and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, in Glen Cove, on Sept. 6 for a Fireside Chat, at which she discussed her commitment to combating antisemitism. The event, hosted by Steve Israel, former U.S. representative and director of the Institute of Politics and Global Affairs, alongside Dana Arschin, HMTC’s first Storyteller, focused on the rise of antisemitism in the state, home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. “You speak with other governors routinely on both sides of the (political) aisle since they have similar challenges in their states with the rise of antisemitism and hate crimes,” Israel said to Hochul. “What’s the dialogue like? This is a national phenomenon.”
Although hate crimes have risen nationally in recent years, Hochul said New York is the epicenter of antisemitism, even more so since the Oct. 7 attacks when Hamas terrorists waged the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. “They’re looking at us,” Hochul said about other state governors. “They want to see what we’re doing here because they don’t deal with anything of this scale at all.” A report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli revealed a significant increase in hate crimes across New York. In 2019, there were 644 reported incidents, which dropped to 505 in 2020, due to underreporting during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, by 2023, the number had surged to 1,089 — a 69 percent increase since 2019 and more than double the total from 2020. Of these 1,089 incidents, nearly half, 543, involved religious bias, with the vast majority — 477 cases — targeting Continued on page 9
I
see the negative impact cellphones have on student learning and attention daily.