Monthly Archives: August 2015

College for the 99%: New paths to a college education

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Vermont students can now take two free college courses while in high school and enroll in a full year of college classes during their senior year of high school, thus saving a year of college tuition. These are some of the many new ways that college is becoming accessible and affordable to Vermonters. To discuss the new choices available for secondary education, including online education and new programs in renewable energy, nursing, STEM, and how VTC has achieved a 96% job placement rate, we speak with:

Joyce Judy, president, Community College of Vermont 

Dan Smith, president, Vermont Technical College

The new face of homelessness in Vermont, 8-19-15

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Vermont has the highest rate of homelessness in New England; at least two thirds of Vermont households do not earn enough to afford the average fair market rent — which is $1,015 for a 2 BR apartment in Chittenden County, 44% higher than the national average. The wages required to afford that rent are $19.48 an hour or $40,518 a year. That may help explain why Vermont’s homeless population rose by 9% in 2014. To talk about the drivers of homelessness and what works to prevent it:

Becky Holt, Development & Communications Director, Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS)

Janet Green, assistant director of rental assistance for the Burlington Housing Authority, where she has worked since 2011. Part of Green’s job is to manage the Authority’s housing for homeless people.

Melissa, a 28-year old mother who has been homeless and now lives in subsidized housing

A lifetime of social change and service: Congressman Ron Dellums on Vietnam, Black Lives Matter, and Nelson Mandela

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Ron Dellums is an American political legend. A native of Oakland, California, Dellums was first elected to Congress in 1970 as an opponent of the Vietnam War. He became an expert in military and foreign policy, he rose to become chair of the powerful House Armed Services Committee. He was re-elected 13 times, retiring from the House in 1998.

Dellums used his leadership positions to question US policy on weapons systems and foreign intervention.He also led the fight against apartheid in South Africa, winning passage of the US Anti Apartheid Act of 1986 over the veto of President Ronald Reagan. His efforts helped win the release of Nelson Mandela. In 2006, Dellums emerged from retirement and was elected mayor of Oakland from 2006 – 2011.

Dellums reflects on his lifetime of social change and service, from Vietnam to helping free Nelson Mandela to his advice to Black Lives Matter activists today.

Lessons from the 2004 Dean for President campaign

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In 2003, Heath Eiden, a Vermont filmmaker and director of Stowe Media Group, traveled through New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa to chronicle Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s presidential campaign. Eiden’s film, Lesson from an American Primary, recounts the meteoric rise and fall of the campaign. Dean’s campaign is generally considered the first presidential run to make effective and extensive use of social media as an organizing and fundraising tool. The filmmaker discusses the lessons that emerged from the campaign trail.

Heath Eiden, director, Lessons from an American Primary