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Published March 9, 2022

Photo by Cody West on Unsplash

Eastern Europe’s escalating tragedy, a disturbing disregard for the First Amendment, and a new day dawning in Garden State schools. Rutgers experts explore the issues.

Has public opinion turned decidedly against masks? The New Jersey Globe covers a recent Rutgers poll on the topic, reporting that 68 percent of New Jerseyans agree with Governor Phil Murphy’s order to dispense with face-covering requirements. “The school mask mandate is one of the last visible public health emergency measures in the Garden State, and its end is a welcome one for many New Jerseyans, according to our numbers,” says Rutgers professor Ashley Koning GSNB’16, who directs the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling. “Parents especially agree with ending the mandate, as do partisans of all stripes, though to varying degrees.”

New Jersey Globe | 68% of New Jerseyans agree with end of school mask mandates, Rutgers-Eagleton poll says

Forbes spotlights a new reporting index that tracks the ways in which brands and businesses respond to the Ukraine crisis. Launched by the nonprofit organization The Good Lobby, the Ukraine Corporate Index monitors some 70 companies while informing investors, consumers, and other stakeholders how business entities are positioning themselves in the conflict. “After professing the virtues of environmental, social, and governance factors, most companies don’t seem to walk the walk when it comes to the…violations committed by such an invasion,” says Alberto Alemanno, founder of The Good Lobby and an affiliate fellow at the Rutgers Institute for Corporate Social Innovation.

Forbes | New index tracks how brands and companies respond to Ukraine crisis

A Washington Post story examines hostility toward Russian Americans and Russian-themed businesses in the United States following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. David Foglesong, a professor in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, says widespread anti-Russia sentiment in America dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Instead of blaming all Russians for Putin’s aggression, says Foglesong, Americans should build connections “outside of the Russian government, to the Russian people. And instead of terminating cultural exchanges and person-to-person contacts, we should be seeking to maintain them.”

The Washington Post | As Ukraine war intensifies, some Russian speakers far from Moscow are feeling hostility

Linda Stamato DC’62, GSNB’77, codirector of the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, writes an op-ed for Morristowngreen.com about the new wave of book bans in school districts across the country. “It’s a grim day in America,” says Stamato. “The rise of book bans [reveals] a growing movement on the right to…push an ideologically slanted vision of what children should learn, even feel, about American culture, society, and history.”

Morristowngreen.com | Commentary: The ‘Ed Scare’ takes hold in America

 

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