Latest news with #CommunityCollegeofPhiladelphia
Axios
13-05-2025
- Axios
Philadelphia marks 40th anniversary of MOVE bombing
Forty years ago today, Philadelphia police dropped a bomb on a city rowhouse. Why it matters: The bombing of MOVE's headquarters was among the most tragic and polarizing events in Philly history — killing 11 members of the Black liberation group (including five children) and destroying 61 homes. Driving the news: The Community College of Philadelphia is hosting a daylong symposium on the 40th anniversary of the bombing today from 9am to 4pm inside the Winnet Building's Great Hall. Scholars, journalists, artists and cultural leaders will discuss the bombing and its aftermath. Michael Africa Jr., the legacy director of MOVE, is the keynote speaker. What else: At 5pm, the MOVE Activist Archive will hold a commemoration in front of the historical marker at Cobbs Creek Parkway and Osage Avenue. A narration of the events from that day will begin at 5:27pm — the time the bomb dropped. Context: On May 13, 1985, hundreds of officers laid siege to MOVE's rowhouse in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood after a violent confrontation between police and the group's members. Police fired more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition in under an hour and a half. Despite knowing about children inside, police dropped a bomb made of C-4 explosives on the house — with approval from city officials. Law enforcement allowed the resulting blaze to burn out of control for over an hour. No one was ever criminally charged.
Axios
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Will Smith honored with West Philly street renaming
👑 Philly native Will Smith was on hand for yesterday's street renaming ceremony in West Philly, where he was also given a key to the city. The city rechristened a stretch of 59th Street as Will Smith Way. The street is near Overbrook High School, Smith's alma mater. (NBC) 🤝 Strike averted: The union for the faculty and staff at Community College of Philadelphia reached a tentative agreement with school leadership. The four-year deal for the 1,200-member union includes wage increases and reduced class sizes. (Inquirer 🔒 ) 🗳️ Democrats will maintain their slim majority in the state House after the party won a special election in western Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Community College of Philadelphia staff, faculty strike deadline set for Wednesday morning
The Brief The Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) set a strike deadline for 7 a.m. Wednesday. Both the Federation and CCP will continue negotiating throughout the night in order to reach an agreement. PHILADELPHIA - A deadline has been set for CCP faculty and staff to go on strike if its union and the college cannot come to an agreement. This comes after 15 months of negotiations. What we know The union representing faculty and staff at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) set a strike deadline for 7 a.m. Wednesday. The co-presidents of the Faculty and Staff Federation of CCP said 97 percent of its 1,200 members voted to authorize a strike two weeks ago. Currently, the Federation said it's negotiating for higher wages, increased staffing and SEPTA passes for students. Negotiations have been going on for nearly 15 months. "Classes would be shutdown. The college will pretty much come to a halt," said Rainah Chambliss, Co-President of the Faculty and Staff Federation of CCP. "We have not seen the type of movement that we feel like was important and there are still some issues that there hasn't been any movement on." "Dignity, respect, wages that allow our families to thrive. Right now we are here at the bargaining table. We are willing to bargain all day today, all night," said Junior Brainard, Co-President of the Faculty and Staff Federation of CCP. "We are in a staffing crisis here at the College. We've seen a 25 percent reduction in the staff who work here since the pandemic but our enrollment numbers are back up that means students can't get access to the services they need here on campus." CCP filed for a factfinder through the PA Labor Relations Board. The college said the factfinder will meet with both sides, take a look at each side's proposal and provide neutral feedback on a path to settlement. However, the Federation believes the College is using the factfinder as a stall tactic in negotiations. "We're not stalling anything. We've been continuing to negotiate while the factfinder has been doing their job. The only thing that we're stalling right now is the strike that would upend our students' lives," said Shannon Rooney, VP for Enrollment Management and Strategic Communications for CCP. "The College decided to go that path because we wanted to avoid the harm that would come to our students especially this close to graduation in the event of a strike. If we wind up suspending classes roughly a week and a half or more, that could threaten the timeline for end-of-spring semester, beginning-of-summer semester so it could really disrupt student lives depending on that graduation date." About 13-thousand CCP students would be impacted if a strike were to happen. Many of them support the workers and teachers. "You want quality, you got to pay for quality," said student Mary-Jo Donnelly. "They're not just negotiating for themselves. They're negotiating for students as well." "They deserve to get paid for the hours they put in you know because they're good professors, they're good staff workers here and it's not like the College doesn't have the money," said student Deedee Haw. "I kind of don't like the idea because I kind of need to graduate on time. I know that'll push our graduation back," said student Zoe Wilis. "I definitely think the staff should be getting their needs met." Frank Bufford is a maintenance mechanic at CCP and is going on five years on the job. He said they haven't received a raise in four years and have been working without a contract since last August. "Food bills are going up and we've been getting the same pay," said Bufford. "Thirty-five cents, we can't live off of that. So, I'm hoping they come up with a decision now or we've got to strike." What's next Both the Federation and CCP said they would continue negotiating throughout the night if that's what it takes to reach an agreement. The Source The information in this story is from the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) .
CBS News
04-03-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Community College of Philadelphia's new vending machine offers free reproductive health supplies
A new vending machine at the Community College of Philadelphia aims to keep college students safe and healthy thanks to a new program. Research shows condoms can dramatically reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, along with preventing pregnancy. Doctors say they're more likely to be used when they're free and easily accessible Inside the student center at CCP, you'll find a special kind of vending machine – instead of snacks, this one has sexual health supplies. Everything from male and female condoms, to pregnancy tests, a variety of tampons and sanitary products. "It's amazing. Everyone loves it. It's such a great resource. So many people benefit from it. Anyone that just happens to need something from it can grab it," said Asalah Ibrah, a student at CCP. And it's all free. "It's very popular. We've had to restock the machine basically every week," student Kelly Lake said. Lake is the manager of the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center at CCP. "We just want to make this a very normal thing," Lake said. "There's no stigma attached to this. There's no barrier to getting what they need." The condoms in the vending machine are donated by the Philadelphia Health Department, part of their program called Take Control Philly. "They're trying to distribute 1.2 million condoms throughout the city for the year of 2025. So we get a lot of products from them," Lake said. The vending machine is also stocked with free menstrual products that Angie Orozco-Rasique gets donated. "I did face my menstrual inequity and period poverty in my own life," Orozco-Rasique said. Orozco-Rasique started the Period Poverty Project at CCP, to help other young women who can't afford sanitary products. "It's very disparaging. It does take a hit to your dignity, you know, so yeah, it's hard," Orozco-Rasique said. But not anymore, with the help of this popular new addition to the college, called the "Health Jawn."
