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A Hampshire Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction Friday allowing a Belchertown condominium owner to display a Black Lives Matter sign near her unit after she was ordered to remove the sign by condominium trustees.

Judge Richard Carey issued the injunction allowing Margery Jess, the owner of a condo in the Summer Hill Estates Development on Route 202 in Belchertown, to display her sign in a common area pending the outcome of her suit against the condo association.

Jesss attorneys argued that the condo rules and regulations did not prohibit signs, and besides Article 16 of the state Declaration of Rights declares, The right of free speech shall not be abridged.

Jess, along with the American Civil Liberties Union Western Massachusetts Legal Office and the Northampton law firm Sasson, Turnbull, Ryan and Hoose, filed the lawsuit earlier this month after the Chairman of the Trustees ordered her to remove the sign she had placed in a flower bed in front of her condo unit or face a $50 per day fine twice the amount allowed by condo rules.

According to the complaint filed on October 13, Jess placed her sign reading Black Lives Matter outside of her condo on May 30. The next day Frank Pudlo, Chairman of the Condominium Trust, sent her an email ordering the removal of the sign. At the same time, several other condo units had patriotic or ethnic placards posted and in one case hearts in appreciation of front-line medical workers. Condo trustees called the other signs decorative rather than Jesss political statement.

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Injunction allows Black Lives Matter sign to stay in Belchertown condo complex - masslive.com

FE has some of the most diverse classrooms around and should be setting an example when it comes to representation, writes Teresa Carroll

Teaching and learning at its best should reflect the diversity of our learners worlds.

Covid-19 has brought into focus the disparity in learners experiences from a social and economic perspective. Meanwhile, movements such as Black Lives Matter have highlighted that systems in Britain (sometimes unintentionally) can default to a white, middle-class, heterosexual, ableist norm that fails to acknowledge the full range of our society.

We want learners in FE to see themselves in the curriculum and in the workforce too. Learning is about enriching lives so that learners can become the people they want to be. A learning experience underpinned by if you can see it, you can be it makes this much more likely.

That means that we want our learners to be taught more often by people who look and sound like them. But our most recent staff individualised record report, which brought together findings from 186 FE providers, outlines that the 84 per cent of the staff workforce identify as white British; 81 per cent report having no disability and 81 per cent identify as heterosexual.

Meanwhile, the workforce is predominantly female, at 64 per cent, and the average age is 46 years old.

Thats before we even consider FE staff who experience intersectionality of identities, such as being both black and disabled.

Only by fully acknowledging and embracing diversity in all its forms can the FE sector go some way to narrowing the achievement gap in the classroom.

FE is especially well placed to do this, as many colleges have some of the most diverse classrooms in the education system across age, socio-economic background and ethnicity.

According to the Association of Colleges, 16 per cent of 16- to 18-year-olds claimed free school meals at age 15 last year, compared with just eight per cent in maintained school and academy sixth forms.

An inclusive learning experience is one that is emotionally nurturing

Meanwhile, about 17 per cent of college learners have a learning difficulty, disability or difference, compared with about 15 per cent in schools.

We also know that more than 30 per cent of people who enter the prison system have a learning disability or difficulty. This isnt good enough.

Much more needs to be done. For instance, in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), there is evidence that inequity begins early and becomes more pronounced along the educational journey. Male learners outnumber female learners in STEM apprenticeships by 9:1.

Meanwhile, around 27 per cent of young carers experience educational difficulties, including disrupted school or college attendance a figure that rises to 40 per cent where children care for a relative with drug or alcohol problems.

At the other end of the age spectrum, 99,000 college students are aged 60 and over and we want to make sure that there are opportunities to harness their skills. What are we doing to support them in their next career move?

Finally, almost one-third of adults in FE colleges are from an ethnic minority background, and about a quarter of students aged 16 to 18 are.

So serious work still needs to be done to help teachers challenge stereotypes and avoid reinforcing inequity.

An inclusive learning experience is one that is emotionally nurturing, where learners feel they belong and are valued for who they are, including through the way we listen to them.

We want teaching and learning to be a truly positive experience where learners and staff recognise that learning is about so much more than qualification attainment.

A curriculum that reflects the diversity of modern Britain, and particularly draws on theory and practice from a diverse range of academics, will go some way to engage learners with content that is relevant to their lives.

And remember, its important to remember that every learner is different and learns differently. Get to know your learners if we take the time to listen we have so much to learn from them.

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After Black Lives Matter, its time FE led the way on inclusion - FE Week

The Michigan State Spartans finally take the field on Saturday afternoon against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and when the Spartans play this weekend, the players will be wearing Black Lives Matters stickers on their helmets.

This is part of the United As One initiative developed by the Big Ten Conferences Equality Coalition, whose mission is constructively and collectively recognizing and eliminating racism and hate in our society by creating resources for inclusion, empowerment and accountability.

Rutgers will also participate with a message that says Chop 4 Change on the back of their players helmets.

Michigan State v. Rutgers [BTN] The helmets of Michigan State football players will feature Black Lives Matter stickers. The Rutgers football players will be wearing Chop 4 Change on the back of their helmets.

Every Big Ten school will feature some sort of message, logo, sticker, patch, etc., raising awareness to the issues of social justice, racism and equality this weekend. For the complete list, please check the Big Tens press release on the matter.

All things are possible in the Big Ten when we unite as one, Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said in the press release. I am humbled and deeply appreciative of how our 14 member institutions have communicated, collaborated and committed to develop a conference-wide campaign focused on creating equality and equity in our society.

It is unclear at this point whether or not Michigan State will wear these stickers all season long, but you will definitely see them on Saturday.

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Michigan State will wear Black Lives Matter stickers against Rutgers - The Only Colors

Ms. Prez-Verda said she had a similar experience this year when she objected to someone in another group purportedly about coronavirus information saying that true Catholics cannot be Democrats. She also said she had received videos claiming that Black Lives Matter planned an assault on the White House and that opposing Mr. Trump amounts to supporting the likes of Cuba, the Islamic State and Hezbollah, the filth of the planet.

Theyre using these chats to lie, Ms. Prez-Verda said. Its a massive disinformation campaign. Theyre definitely using these crazy tactics that theyve also used in Latin America.

One example of how conspiracy theories have invaded the mainstream came last month when El Nuevo Herald, The Miami Heralds sister publication in Spanish, admitted that it published a supplement with racist, anti-Semitic, misogynistic and homophobic commentary for more than eight months.

In August, Radio Caracol, a Colombian network based in Miami, aired a paid program from a businessman who spewed racist and anti-Semitic claims about how a Biden win would lead to a dictatorship led by Jews and Blacks. The network quickly apologized, barred the commentator and allotted time on a popular afternoon program to discuss what went wrong.

Last month, Representatives Joaquin Castro of Texas and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida, both Democrats, asked the F.B.I. to investigate disinformation targeting Latinos in South Florida, citing the Herald and Caracol incidents and a Politico report on some of the most vile videos circulating on WhatsApp. A second letter sent on Oct. 7 noted that they had not received a response and asked for a briefing by Oct. 14.

They said they had received no response.

Randy Pestana, the director of education and training on cybersecurity at Florida International University, said the aim of recent disinformation campaigns had been to create zero-sum relationships to blur reality so that in the voters mind, youre either for the police, or youre for Black Lives Matter.

Much of the misinformation has come from the Trump campaign itself. Social media accounts for Equipo Trump and Latinos for Trump, official campaign operations, have claimed that Latin American socialists are promoting Biden and connected protests to actions in Latin American socialists countries, and that Democrats in the United States are responsible for them. Others have claimed that Democrats are ignoring attacks on Hispanic men.

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As the Election Nears, Spanish Disinformation Targets Latino Voters - The New York Times

West Indies captain Jason Holder has expressed his disappointment over none of the IPL teams taking a knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, which, he feels, has gone unnoticed in the worlds most glamorous cricket league.

Holder, who is member of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, made the statement while receiving the prestigious Peter Smith Award on behalf of the West Indies cricket team in a virtual ceremony organised by the Cricket Writers Club.

The Peter Smith Award is an annual honour which recognises outstanding contribution to the presentation of cricket to the public.

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To be honest, I havent had one conversation up here around it (BLM). Sometimes it seems it has gone unnoticed, which is a sad thing, Holder said in his address posted on Cricket West Indies website.

Cricket West Indies has done an excellent job in continuing awareness of it. The women had a series in England where they wore the Black Lives Matter logo and continued to push the movement as well, he added.

Taking a knee as a gesture of support to BLM started in the West Indies Test series in England this summer. It folowed the global furore over African American George Floyds death at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis.

But it was later discontinued for the subsequent tours of Pakistan and Australia.

...its a long debate, a long hard challenge, a long road. We as people need to continue to come together...and genuinely find ways to fix the inequalities in the world, Holder said.

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Holder sad that Black Lives Matter movement not part of IPL - Hindustan Times