September, 2022 - Sampan

September 7, 2022 0

A Bridge Towards Tomorrow: Sampan speaks with Monique Tú Nguyen – Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement

Government policies and mission statements are always driven by terms and phrases. Whether they exist beyond looking good on paper and sounding strong in stump speeches is the dream that isn’t always realized. For Boston’s MOIA (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Advancement), the driving motivation rests in that final word: advancement. What does it mean? How is it measured? Can immigrants advance without successfully integrating themselves within the social fabric of their chosen land? What measures need to be taken in […]

September 6, 2022 0

Gun Possession in Morocco: Sampan Interviews a Citizen about Gun Culture in his Homeland and the US

by Christopher John Stephens

In a 2018 failed bid for the 2026 World Cup, Morocco highlighted its limited threats from gun crime, especially compared to the United States. At that time, Morocco’s murder rate was 3 in 100,000, which looks comfortable against 5.3 in the United States. The rate has stayed more or less the same in Morocco over these past four years. In comparison, the United States experienced more gun-related deaths in 2020 than any other in recorded history. This reporter recently had […]

September 5, 2022 0

Aspirin, Heart Disease, and You

by Jeff Millman

Once upon a time, bloodletting and lobotomies were common medical procedures. Cocaine was prescribed for depression, and doctors treated asthma with cigarettes. Conventional medical wisdom – fortunately for us – changes over time. The progress of science is cumulative: as we gather more evidence, we build upon our existing knowledge and abandon those practices for which there is little empirical support. Earlier this year, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a volunteer panel of experts that issues evidence-based […]

September 4, 2022 0

The Shutting Down of Orange Line: How It Affects Bicyclists

by Max Wei

Starting from Friday night, August 26, the MBTA’s month-long shutdown of the Orange Line for overdue repairs will be scheduled to resume service until Monday, September 19. According to Governor Charlie Baker, in this way, the subway will get faster track maintenance instead of five-year-maintenance on nights and weekends. What does this public transportation decision mean? What population will it affect? When reading this article, the readers of SAMPAN might already sense the influence of the temporary shutdown of the […]

September 4, 2022 0

Lantern Stories, by Yu-Wen Lu, at Chinatown’s Chin Park, Boston, MA. August 2022

by Sampan Staff

The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy recently re-installed Lantern Stories in Chinatown’s Chin Park. It’s by Taiwan native and Boston-based interdisciplinary artist Yu-Wen Wu. While its first iteration in 2020 was embraced by the community, it faced COVID-19 restrictions. With this new iteration, Wu created new images that evoked the reality of exclusion acts and racial hatred and the necessity of unity and cohesion. This 2022 version of Lantern Stories also features contributions from other local artists. Wu’s themes cover migration, displacement, arrival, assimilation, and […]

September 3, 2022 0

Labor Shortages and Climate Crises: Immigrants Impacted in Food Supply Industry

by Giselle Chu

Immigrants have long played a key role in the creation of the national food supply. Previously, the US faced a labor shortage in the food industry before COVID, only to have it exacerbated by the pandemic. According to a July 2022 report from the American Immigration Council, the existing labor shortage consists of two key parts: “an increase in retirements as the baby boom generation reaches retirement age, and lower labor participation rates since the pandemic.” Immigrants’ positive impact on […]

September 2, 2022 0

Unprecedented T Shutdowns: Finding Alternative Public Transport

by Kristen Si

Since August 19th, the T’s Orange Line has faced the beginning of its unprecedented month-long shutdown in service. This disruption has since been followed by the closure of Green Line stops north of Government Center, with neither shutdown being lifted until September 18th. Even with the Orange Line opening up on September 18th, there seems to be little reprieve from T shutdowns. The Green Line has been undergoing the Green Line Train Protection System (GLTPS) renovation this summer, with tracks […]

Month: September 2022