WSU Urban Studies Blog

The Urban Studies faculty is proud to present the department's 2024 Academic Achievement Award winners and newest inductees into Upsilon Sigma, the Urban Studies Honor Society.  UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS   The Jake Powers Award -- Skylar Adcock Urban Studies student who is an innovative, original thinker, whose time in the department has emboldened them to pursue personal and professional opportunities they may not have previously considered, and to achieve them with determination, grit, and courage. The Maureen Power Service Award -- Lamar Brown-Noguera Presented to students with an impressive track record of service and who can best articulate why service is significant to them and their academic/professional careers, and how it advances the mission of the department. Department Academic Award (Top GPA) -- Elizabeth Stone Given to the highest-ranking senior in Urban Studies who best represents the mission of the Foundation. Standard Bearer for Undergraduate Commencement -- Noah Stuar

  As the warm breeze of spring ushers in a new season, the time to roll up our sleeves and lend a hand to nurture our environment has come. On Monday, April 22, 2024, Earth Day, from 1 pm to 3 pm, we gathered at the Worcester State University (WSU) Teaching Garden for a community event like no other. This Earth Day, volunteers from Bet Shalom, alongside students and faculty came to the garden and assisted in clearing away debris to prepare the soil for planting. The day did not end with just cleaning and clearing. As a special treat for the volunteers, succulent plants are given away, a small token of appreciation from the garden manager, Isabel Bartlett. Succulents, known for their resilience and beauty, are the perfect addition to any garden. Not only do they add aesthetic appeal, but they also symbolize the strength and endurance of our community as we come together to create positive change. More than just a gardening event, this is an opportunity for connection and collaboration.

Student staff of the UAI participated in the Clothesline Project, representing the institute. The event took place in Sheehan Hall, where there were shirts for students to include written messages like facts about sexual assault, parts of their own story or messages of hope to survivors among the WSU community. Students that passed by Sheehan Hall where the shirts were hung up could see what peers had shared and take part in the event. The purpose of the activity/event was to bring awareness to any college student facing that problem, show they're not alone, that there are people available to help them get through it and it doesn't define who they are.

Pascual Vasquez, Ricaury 2024-03-27 On March 12th, the Urban Action Institute (UAI) team hosted its first Housing Justice Summit. With a total of 71 participants and 12 community partners involved, there was an incredible crowd at this event. The Housing Justice Summit, led by Director Danielle X. Morales and Assistant Director Midaly Carrasquillo Delgado, was sponsored by the Urban Studies Department, the Binienda Center for Civic Engagement at Worcester State University, Quinsigamond Community College, and UniBank. The summit was created to bring awareness about how housing insecurity can affect students at Worcester State University and Quinsigamond Community College. Some of the learning outcomes from the event were: a) Building the collective capacity in the local higher education community and advancing housing justice goals, specifically in terms of helping housing-insecure students locate resources and connecting students with city advocates and service providers; b) have an o

    https://news.worcester. edu/community-leaders-tackle- housing-justice-at-university- summit/  

front, l-r: Elizabeth Stone, Abigail Holden back, l-r: Dr. Conroy, Kael Briesacher, Dr. Briesacher WSU students Elizabeth Stone '24 (Urban Studies/Environmental Science) and Abigail Holden '24 (Sociology) presented their recent research at the Eastern Sociological Society national conference in Washington DC. Their qualitative project is a deeper look beyond an earlier  quantitative report  on Advanced Placement Exam participation and performance at Worcester Public Schools that showed since AY 2007, and amid a 300% increase in AP test taking, WPS students fail more than half of their AP Exams. On average over that period, 62.2% of students outright failed their exams (scored a 1-2) with some years reaching 68%. Furthermore, another 20.6% of test takers earned scores of 3, which are also not worth college credit at a growing list of the nation's higher education institutions. Supported in part by a Summer Undergraduate Research Grant from the WSU Foundation, Liz, Abby, and

  Pascual Vasquez, Ricaury January 25, 2024 The WSU Teaching Garden Highlights I interviewed Isabel and Dylan last semester, to learn more about the highlights of the WSU Teaching  Garden and how the growing & harvesting seasons went this past year. Isabel is the Manager of the Worcester State Garden. Isabel shared her difficulties with the Garden and her proudest moments this year. Isabel stated that her most challenging moments were frosts that happened in the middle of May which affected the growth of the plants, making it difficult for her and the community to harvest/produce. Additionally, she explained the water was shut off for a whole month which made it quite difficult to get water for the plants, having to travel to different places and making sure they were getting enough to keep the plants alive. Another thing Isabel would have preferred is less rain, as it was very rainy this year. Isabel's highlight when working in the garden this year was helping the children a

The Urban Action Institute is taking proactive steps to address the pressing issue of housing insecurity in Massachusetts by organizing its first Housing Justice Summit on March 12. This half-day event, open to the public, aims to bring together various community organizations, housing experts, and city officials to shed light on the housing crisis in Worcester and beyond. Through panel discussions, presentations, and networking opportunities, the summit seeks to foster collaboration and action to tackle issues such as high housing costs, a severe shortage of affordable housing, and increasing demand for emergency shelter. With support from key sponsors like the Urban Studies Department,Th e Binienda Center for Civic Engagement,  Quinsigamond Community College, UniBank and many others. You can read more about the event on the article written by Deborah  Alvarez O'Neil at:  https://news.worcester.edu/worcester-state-university-announces-housing-justice-summit-open-to-the-community/

  The latest CityLab Infographic, entitled WPS Discipline Data Update --2024 , was released in January 2024.  CityLab researchers have been following discipline statistics in WPS since 2013 when Worcester was identified as one of the nation's highest suspension schools for Latino students. At the time, CityLab researchers found a disconcerting disparity in the frequency at which Latino students were disciplined relative to their share of WPS enrollment and a corollary disparity among White students who were disciplined far below their percentage of the student body.   The Latino student disparity has decreased over time, but this is due less to a decrease in the rate at which Latino students are disciplined -- it was 53.8% in AY 2013 and 56.7% in AY 2023 -- than it has to do with Latinos comprising more of the school population. In other words, as the Latino population grows, it is catching up to that group's historically high percentage of disciplinary actions. Further, the di