Latest news with #CityCollege
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Opinion - DEI stifled my medical career. Remove this divisive racial ideology from education.
I'm cheering President Trump's rollback of 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' from the other side of the world. In fact, the main reason I am a medical resident in Tokyo — having arrived last month — is that DEI made it harder to pursue my career in the U.S. Qualified people like myself have been pushed away by this race-based ideology, which not only insults me but injures America. I wish I was home in the U.S. I was born in New York City. I attended City College. As an undergraduate, I served as an EMT on an ambulance and as a medic in ROTC. When I took the Medical College Admission Test, I scored in the 90th percentile, with a near-perfect score in each of the three science sections — biology, chemistry and physics, and psychology and sociology. I had every intention of entering medical practice in the U.S., where I hoped to stay my entire career. But DEI got in the way. It first reared its ugly head when, despite my Medical College Admission Test scores and experience, only one medical school accepted me of the 75 I applied to — the University of Tennessee. Only three other schools even offered to interview me, almost certainly reflecting the unfair standard to which Asians are held thanks to DEI. I accepted the slot at Tennessee, figuring it would still be the springboard I needed for my career. But the DEI shenanigans were just getting started. In 2022, I was part of the first class of medical students who took the revised 'Step 1' test under the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination, which plays a big role in determining where students get their residencies. Before, medical students had been given a numerical score, clearly indicating our knowledge level relative to our peers. Activists, however, successfully demanded that this be changed to a pass-fail, all in the name of diversity. To put it bluntly, the activists do not want the most qualified candidates with the best scores to dominate the best residency opportunities if too many of them are Asian or white. So by using pass-fail, they pushed the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination administrators to make it easier for less qualified students to appear just as qualified as better-performing students. Never mind that better scores tend to indicate which students will become the best physicians, providing the best care to patients. This was the beginning of the end of my hopes of staying in the U.S. I took the Step 2 test in 2023. Although I wish my score had been higher, it put me in strong contention for a residency in neurology. Unfortunately, despite applying to 50-plus residencies, I got one rejection after another. I understood when Ivy League schools said no. I did not understand it when schools like Rutgers and Hofstra rejected me. The University of Tennessee gave me two residency offers, but that would have told future employers that I couldn't succeed without a home-field advantage. I spoke with numerous students of different races who had scored lower than me but got better residencies. That's exactly what's supposed to happen under DEI. Spurned by American institutions, I did something I never thought I would do — I looked overseas. I was invited to present a research paper in Germany, winning an award in the process. I was also asked to present at the University of Osaka. I also submitted a research plan to Dr. Masashi Hamada at the University of Tokyo School of Medicine, who offered me a residency. I am now the first foreign trainee and researcher that school has ever had. In Japan, thanks to American DEI. I am grateful that a top-tier university finally accepted me. But it pains me that, while Japan wants me, America does not. The United Kingdom and Australia have also given me a license to practice medicine in their countries. They recognize merit in a way that the U.S. no longer does, to the detriment of our medical system and the 340 million Americans who rely on it. Will I return to the U.S. to continue my career? I certainly want to, but I am coming to love practicing medicine in a country where the focus is treating patients, not checking ideological or racial boxes. I would be more likely to return if President Trump and state leaders continue to get divisive racial ideology out of higher education — especially out of medical school. There's much more to be done when it comes to restoring a system based on merit. DEI has pushed me away. But if Trump keeps rolling it back, it will be much easier to come home someday. Saivikram Madireddy is a neurology trainee and researcher at the University of Tokyo in Japan. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
DEI stifled my medical career. Remove this divisive racial ideology from education.
I'm cheering President Trump's rollback of 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' from the other side of the world. In fact, the main reason I am a medical resident in Tokyo — having arrived last month — is that DEI made it harder to pursue my career in the U.S. Qualified people like myself have been pushed away by this race-based ideology, which not only insults me but injures America. I wish I was home in the U.S. I was born in New York City. I attended City College. As an undergraduate, I served as an EMT on an ambulance and as a medic in ROTC. When I took the Medical College Admission Test, I scored in the 90th percentile, with a near-perfect score in each of the three science sections — biology, chemistry and physics, and psychology and sociology. I had every intention of entering medical practice in the U.S., where I hoped to stay my entire career. But DEI got in the way. It first reared its ugly head when, despite my Medical College Admission Test scores and experience, only one medical school accepted me of the 75 I applied to — the University of Tennessee. Only three other schools even offered to interview me, almost certainly reflecting the unfair standard to which Asians are held thanks to DEI. I accepted the slot at Tennessee, figuring it would still be the springboard I needed for my career. But the DEI shenanigans were just getting started. In 2022, I was part of the first class of medical students who took the revised 'Step 1' test under the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination, which plays a big role in determining where students get their residencies. Before, medical students had been given a numerical score, clearly indicating our knowledge level relative to our peers. Activists, however, successfully demanded that this be changed to a pass-fail, all in the name of diversity. To put it bluntly, the activists do not want the most qualified candidates with the best scores to dominate the best residency opportunities if too many of them are Asian or white. So by using pass-fail, they pushed the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination administrators to make it easier for less qualified students to appear just as qualified as better-performing students. Never mind that better scores tend to indicate which students will become the best physicians, providing the best care to patients. This was the beginning of the end of my hopes of staying in the U.S. I took the Step 2 test in 2023. Although I wish my score had been higher, it put me in strong contention for a residency in neurology. Unfortunately, despite applying to 50-plus residencies, I got one rejection after another. I understood when Ivy League schools said no. I did not understand it when schools like Rutgers and Hofstra rejected me. The University of Tennessee gave me two residency offers, but that would have told future employers that I couldn't succeed without a home-field advantage. I spoke with numerous students of different races who had scored lower than me but got better residencies. That's exactly what's supposed to happen under DEI. Spurned by American institutions, I did something I never thought I would do — I looked overseas. I was invited to present a research paper in Germany, winning an award in the process. I was also asked to present at the University of Osaka. I also submitted a research plan to Dr. Masashi Hamada at the University of Tokyo School of Medicine, who offered me a residency. I am now the first foreign trainee and researcher that school has ever had. In Japan, thanks to American DEI. I am grateful that a top-tier university finally accepted me. But it pains me that, while Japan wants me, America does not. The United Kingdom and Australia have also given me a license to practice medicine in their countries. They recognize merit in a way that the U.S. no longer does, to the detriment of our medical system and the 340 million Americans who rely on it. Will I return to the U.S. to continue my career? I certainly want to, but I am coming to love practicing medicine in a country where the focus is treating patients, not checking ideological or racial boxes. I would be more likely to return if President Trump and state leaders continue to get divisive racial ideology out of higher education — especially out of medical school. There's much more to be done when it comes to restoring a system based on merit. DEI has pushed me away. But if Trump keeps rolling it back, it will be much easier to come home someday. Saivikram Madireddy is a neurology trainee and researcher at the University of Tokyo in Japan.
Bloomberg
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Charles Rangel, a Voice for the Poor in Tax Debates, Dies at 94
Charles Rangel, the dapper, voluble US congressman from New York's Harlem district who for four decades used his perch on the House tax-writing committee to advocate for inner cities and the people who live there, has died. He was 94. The former congressman died on Monday, according to a statement from the City College of New York, where he had served as statesman-in-residence. No cause of death was given.
Washington Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Former US Rep. Charles Rangel of New York dies at 94
NEW YORK — Former U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, an outspoken, gravel-voiced Harlem Democrat who spent nearly five decades on Capitol Hill and was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, died Monday at age 94. His family confirmed the death in a statement provided by City College of New York spokesperson Michelle Stent. He died at a hospital in New York, Stent said.
CNN
26-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Former Congressman Charlie Rangel dies at 94
Charles B. Rangel, the former New York lawmaker whose trailblazing career saw the high school dropout represent Harlem for four decades in Congress, died on Monday. He was 94. Rangel's death was announced by the City College of New York, where after retiring from Congress in 2017 he served as Statesman-in-Residence and launched the Charles B. Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative to boost infrastructure jobs in areas of Manhattan and the Bronx that he called home. First elected to Congress in 1970, Rangel would eventually serve 23 terms in the body, where he co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus and became the first Black chairman of the influential Ways and Means Committee.
