Monthly Archives: June 2020

Editor's note: Read the latest on how the coronavirus is rattling the markets and what investors can do to navigate it.

Editor's Picks 15 Companies Committed to Change These companies achieve high Minority Empowerment Scores because they have demonstrated a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion.

What Can You Do to Support Under-Represented People in Finance? The network gap makes it harder for people without connections to break into the finance industry. Here's how we can start to bridge this gap.

How to Improve Retirement Plans for Teachers and Other Public Servants One simple fix to bring down investment costs.

A Compelling Approach to ESG Investing This ETF focuses on financially material ESG risks and opportunities.

10 Cheap Innovative Stocks These names from the Morningstar Exponential Technologies Index are trading at 4- and 5-star levels.

Small Value Stocks: Peril and Opportunity Their fates lie at the heart of today's economic debate.

Portfolio Planning and Personal Finance With Christine Benz Is It Time to Rebalance? Hands-off investors are apt to find that it's time to rebalance not just to bonds from stocks but also to value from growth and to non-U.S from U.S.

Should You Increase Your Stock Exposure? How to approach your allocations when the stock market is a ping-pong ball.

5 Ways Rebalancing Can Benefit Your Retirement Plan The virtues of rebalancing are greater when you're retired than when you are accumulating.

75 Must-Know Statistics About Race, Income, and Wealth Income and wealth disparities along racial lines have repercussions for all aspects of life in the U.S.: education, health, homeownership, retirement, and life expectancy.

Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds Morningstar Awards for Investing Excellence--Outstanding Portfolio Manager Nominees Morningstar recognizes five of the industrys best portfolio managers.

Are Small-Cap Indexers Hurting the Performance of Active Funds? An investigation into a common complaint of active managers.

How to Profit From Two Inefficiencies in the High-Yield Bond Market Higher-quality high-yield bonds are likely better bets for long-term investors than ETFs that track the broad high-yield market.

Stocks Cushman & Wakefield Is Poised to Grow We expect near-term turbulence but healthy growth in the long term.

Top 10 Holdings of Our Ultimate Stock-Pickers' Index Large-cap strategies disappoint on the back of stock market volatility at the end of 2019.

Positive Data Boosts Outlook for Lilly The wide-moat drugmaker's growth prospects are improving.

2 REITs with Robust and Stable Dividends Dependable revenue should allow Healthpeak and Regency Centers to continue paying dividends at current levels.

These Companies Can Box Their Way Out of a Corner COVID-19 has taken a toll on containerboard producers, but we see opportunity.

Stock Analyst Updates What a Proposed Infrastructure Bill Could Mean for Stocks We are maintaining our fair value estimates for these stocks in the basic-materials sector.

Impact of a Possible Infrastructure Bill on Steelmakers We are maintaining a bearish outlook for steel prices.

Rekenthaler Report Private Equity in 401(k) Plans: More Smoke Than Fire The reality is tamer than the headlines suggest.

Advisor Insights Setting Fees That Serve Both Clients and the Advisor's Business During Market Turmoil How best to bill advisory clients has been, and continues to be, a controversial topic--for good reason.

What Investor Biases Are Open Investors Most Prone To? Contributor Michael Pompian shares the results of his new study of personality traits and investment biases.

The Long View Jonathan Guyton: What the Crisis Means for Retirement Planning A noted retirement researcher and financial planner discusses the benefits of Treasuries in retirement, putting guardrails around withdrawals, and why discretionary funds work.

The Short Answer What to Do If Your Employer Cuts Its 401(k) Match A match is a great employer benefit and a powerful wealth-building tool, but there are many reasons to keep contributing to your 401(k) even if this key benefit is suspended.

Big Picture What's Behind the Rise of Direct-Sold 529 Plans? Morningstar research shows that fee-based advisors are increasingly favoring cheaper direct-sold 529 plans.

Commentary Investors Need to Act on Institutionalized Discrimination While shareholder resolutions are a key way for investors to hold companies accountable for action on issues of social justice, they rarely drive firms to change.

Sustainable Funds Weather Downturns Better Than Peers ESG strategies lose less money than non-ESG funds during market declines.

Fund Flows Settle Down in May, but Some Groups Still Set Records Taxable-bond funds see inflows, while U.S. and international-equity funds bleed assets.

Most Requested Stock Quotes Apple Microsoft Amazon.com AT&T Pfizer

Most Requested Fund Quotes Vanguard Dividend Growth T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Vanguard 500 Index Fidelity 500 Index Fidelity Contrafund

Most Requested ETF Quotes Invesco QQQ Trust SPDR S&P 500 ETF Vanguard S&P 500 ETF Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF

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Weekly Wrap: How the Finance Industry Can Commit to Change - Morningstar.com

Thousands of people know Dairy Hollow in one of its incarnations.

Back in 1980, it opened its doors as a country inn and restaurant, once described as "a kind of Algonquin Round Table of the Ozarks" by The Washington Post. Founded by writer and culinary creative Crescent Dragonwagon and her husband, Ned Shank, Dairy Hollow House introduced the idea of farm-to-table dining and "Nouveau'Zarks" cuisine to Eureka Springs and welcomed locals from throughout Northwest Arkansas to sit down alongside famous guests like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Betty Friedan, Helen Walton and Dragonwagon's parents, Maurice Zolotow and Charlotte Zolotow, both acclaimed writers.

In 1998, Dragonwagon and Shank transformed the inn into a nonprofit called the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow, intended to provide "uninterrupted writing time for writers of all genres and all levels of experience," says its current executive director, Michelle Hannon.

"When writers are on deadline or having trouble with some step of their project, they come to the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow to focus without the distractions of family, work and home," Hannon says. "Many of our writers forge bonds that last a lifetime and they return together to the Writers' Colony in future years."

Now, in 2020, Charlotte Zolotow and Crescent Dragonwagon are both returning virtually to Dairy Hollow. As part of a colony-wide refurbishing, mother and daughter are being honored with the naming of one of the writers' accommodations as the Dragonwagon/Zolotow Suite. While others pay homage to national names -- Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes -- another, currently in process, will be the Zeek Taylor Suite, honoring the Eureka Springs artist and author.

"The suites were getting pretty tired," explains Hannon, who is just completing her first year at Dairy Hollow. "They were in desperate need of some updating. Peggy Kjelgaard, current WCDH Board president, had the original vision for a 'Sponsor a Suite' campaign to commemorate 20 years of hosting writers in 2020. We promoted the opportunity to the community and our alumni writers.

"Spring Garden was the first suite to be sponsored," she goes on. "Peggy Kjelgaard and Teresa DeVito, a board member, stepped up to sponsor the transformation into the Maya Angelou Suite. Next, board member Charles Templeton sponsored the Peach Blossom to Langston Hughes Suite update. Another board member, Allyn Lord, sponsored the Muse 4 to Diana Rivers refresh. A Writers' Colony alumna from Fayetteville, Linda Leavell, and her husband, Brooks Garner, sponsored Muse 3, which is now the Marianne Moore Suite.

"Muse 1 is in the process of becoming the Zeek Taylor Suite through the sponsorship of a group of supporters including Marcia Yearsley and KJ Zumwalt. And the Culinary Suite, the only one at a writers' colony in the United States, is going to become the Dragonwagon/Zolotow Suite. The sponsors have been longtime supporters of the Writers' Colony, many from the very beginning -- Crow Johnson Evans, Dida Gazoli, Donna Jackson, Mary Springer and KJ Zumwalt."

Dragonwagon could not be more pleased.

"My mother was not only a children's book writer, but an editor at HarperCollins," she explains. "Though she went inward as a writer, she went outward as an editor, nurturing 'her' writers professionally and personally.

"Publishing has changed since her era; few people go to the lengths of kindness and personal involvement that she did," Dragonwagon adds. "But colonies, and certainly the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow, DO nurture talent. In a different way, but genuinely.

"Charlotte was surprised but delighted when we transitioned the property from an inn to a 501(c)3c writers' colony," Dragonwagon remembers. "She gave quite a bit of money to it during the startup in 1998-2000. Too, back in the days when Dairy Hollow was an inn, she stayed with us once or twice a year, and the suite that is being named after the two of us was the one in which she most often resided.

"That this same suite became the culinary suite -- because I, a co-founder, happened to be a cookbook writer, and was well aware that at the time no colony in the world offered a facility dedicated to and equipped for the use of culinary writers -- is happy coincidence."

Taylor says he couldn't have been more surprised.

"This past New Year's Day, I was invited to have coffee with KJ Zumwalt and Marcia Yearsley. When they told me they were sponsoring a Zeek Taylor Suite at the Writers' Colony, I could not hold back tears. I was overwhelmed by the honor. Every day I keep asking, 'How did I end up in such great company?'"

The Zeek Taylor Suite is a first for Teresa Pelliccio DeVito, the artist and designer charged with its renovation.

"The Zeek Taylor Suite is the fifth of eight suites that have been refreshed thus far," she says. "This is the first suite on which I've had the pleasure of working directly with the author. Because of covid-19, Zeek and I spent a weekend at our computers shopping and brainstorming. It turns out we have similar tastes, and it was a breeze and an absolute joy to work with him.

"In past projects, I have worked with the suite sponsor," she goes on. "Some have a very clear idea about design, style, etc., and others give me free rein. I really enjoy reading up on the authors and trying to capture their spirit, culture and what may have inspired them."

"Teresa said I could have as much say as I wanted in choosing the dcor," Taylor says of his suite. "I did have paint samples with me on the first day, and we started planning the suite around some of my favorite colors. And no surprise to anyone that knows me, one of the colors was purple! The suite will also have personal touches from me that will include my framed art and a chest of drawers that I painted that depicts some of my better known art images. There are other items with a personal touch that will be in the suite such as a pillow that has an image from one of my paintings on it.

"I am primarily a fine art painter, and one who tries to create not only beauty in my work, but a sense of fun and wonder," Taylor adds. "I hope that the Zeek Taylor Suite will envelope the occupant with that feeling, and perhaps he or she will be inspired by my creativity. I think creativity is contagious."

"As her literary executor, and in reading her books aloud lately [on Facebook Live], I rediscover her gifts to the world daily, perhaps going deeper than I could when she was alive and our mother-daughter relationship was paramount," says Dragonwagon of Zolotow. "Now I meet her more as a colleague. I am deeply pleased to know that others, too, will meet 'this quiet lady' -- to quote one of her own book titles."

"It will be writers who document this pandemic for future generations," says Hannon. "By providing uninterrupted residency time and fostering a nurturing environment that allows writers to focus on their work, the Writers' Colony is making a lasting contribution to the literary arts. We provide community and support for writers as they make the long journey from the glimmer of an idea to proudly published work."

Taylor also hand-painted a chest of drawers for the Zeek Taylor Suite, including not only his chimps but some of his other favorite images.(Courtesy Photo)

Taylor also hand-painted a chest of drawers for the Zeek Taylor Suite, including not only his chimps but some of his other favorite images.(Courtesy Photo)

Eureka Springs artist Zeek Taylor displays one of his signature chimps printed on a pillow that will be part of the Zeek Taylor Suite at the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow.(Courtesy Photo)

handout photo for 11/10/98Crescent Dragonwagon and Ned Shank invite you to visit the dairy hollow house before January while its still an inn. In 2000 it will become a writers' colony

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/JEREMY SCOTTNed Shank (middle) of Eureka Springs, the Executive Director of the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow, inc. talks with Dr. Pat Carr (left) of Elkins and his wife Crescent Dragonwagon (right) as they go over applications to join their writers colony Wednesday afternoon at Common Grounds in Fayetteville. 01/05/00

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/LORI McELROYCrescent Dragonwagon and Sandy Wright inside the new kitchen at the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs.7-30-02

On The CoverDesigner Teresa Pelliccio DeVito hangs a print of artwork by Eureka Springs artist Zeek Taylor in the suite named in his honor at the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow.(Courtesy Photo)

I wanted the suite to feel feminine with a touch of Southern Arkansas, and elements of inspiration, empowerment, peace and comfort, says designer Teresa Pelliccio DeVito of the Maya Angelou Suite.(Courtesy Photo)

When I initially toured the suites, the first thing I noticed was the gorgeous, serene setting, says Teresa Pelliccio DeVito, who co-sponsored the Maya Angelou Suite.(Courtesy Photo)

I dont even remember when I first read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, but I was young and identified so much with her story and her trials, says designer Teresa Pelliccio DeVito of Maya Angelou. Maya found her voice and her power through her creativity, another parallel for me.(Courtesy Photo)

The Diana Rivers Suite was sponsored by Allyn Lord, director of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale. (Courtesy Photo)

The Diana Rivers Suite is intended to honor Rivers not only for her writing, but for her activism, her promotion of womens communities, her art and her status as matriarch, says sponsor Allyn Lord.(Courtesy Photo)

The Diana Rivers Suite is intended to honor Rivers not only for her writing, but for her activism, her promotion of womens communities, her art and her status as matriarch, says sponsor Allyn Lord.(Courtesy Photo)

Teresa Pelliccio DeVito, a member of the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow Board and an artist herself, has taken on the task of redesigning the suites for resident writers. Here, she places a pillow in the Zeek Taylor Suite.(Courtesy Photo)

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Writers Colony

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Cozy Spaces, Creative Minds: Writers' Colony honors the local and the legendary - Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

By Janine Moodley Jun 19, 2020

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The campaign was about patriotism and a call for South Africans to work together to build a new and improved country.

Shriya Misra, 24, a post-graduate chemistry student, decided to teach and train unemployed youth to become leaders in health care and wellness in their communities.

She was exposed to health-care systems while working as a research assistant during her studies, and she focused on teaching communities about communicable and non-communicable diseases.

There was a need for advocacy and awareness around communicable and non-communicable diseases. Prevention is always better than cure, and education is the key to prevention, said Misra.

Communicable diseases are illnesses or viruses that can be spread from one person to another and can cause a number of people to get sick. These can include the current novel coronavirus, Ebola, flu, tuberculosis (TB) and hepatitis A and B.

Non-communicable diseases are chronic illnesses that are not passed from person to person, like heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer.

Misra and her brother Shivesh, who both have their second dan black belts in karate, started a youth empowerment company in April 2018 called The Health Ninja.

Shivesh works at Alexander Forbes and is doing a postgraduate law degree in certified financial planning and a Masters degree in management accounting.

He also runs the Divine Life Forum, a separate NPO.

Misra said the aim of The Health Ninja was to visit previously disadvantaged communities and train the youth to become health ninjas and ambassadors for the cause.

The health ninjas can use their training to teach others about communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Its envisaged that the youth of today will become role models for children and adults, and teach them to become active participants in health care rather than recipients of health care.

The Health Ninja has since trained one lay counsellor and four volunteers in TB, HIV and patient care. Misra said lay counsellors offered volunteer counselling, and they should have matriculated and be over 18.

They educate and provide emotional support, and are mostly active in fields such as trauma, psychological first aid, gender-based violence and HIV/Aids.

She said The Health Ninja and the Divine Life Forum also held outreach programmes and advocacy events in schools and community halls, in areas such as Welbedacht, uMlazi, Sydenham and Phoenix.

The focus was on TB prevention, treatment and cure, the importance of community support, teenage pregnancy, HIV/Aids, mental illnesses, the coronavirus and infection control. They hand out educational packs, food and sanitary hampers, as well as a book Misra wrote To be Not TB.

The siblings have also assisted in building screening areas and a flu clinic at King Dinuzulu Hospital, following the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

King Dinuzulu is the centralised drug-resistant TB hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.

In preparation for the surge of infections anticipated as South Africa lifts the lockdown, the minister of health recommended the establishment of flu clinics and screening areas as close to the hospital gates as possible. This was to reduce the risk of symptomatic patients entering and infecting the critical workforce.

Together with the Divine Life Forum, the Divine Life Society and other sponsors, we built the flu clinic and screening area in the hospital car park within 10 days. Every patient that reports to the hospital now joins a screening queue and is screened for symptoms of Covid-19 prior to entry.

Those screened positive will be referred to the flu clinic for further screening by a nurse and a doctor, in special testing booths.

The flu clinic and screening facility include donning and doffing areas, wash-hand basins with elbow taps, hand sanitisers and solar lights. The health-care workers are provided with personal protective equipment and desk screens, to maximise infection control.

Misra said they had received requests from other hospitals to replicate the initiative.

She is currently doing her Masters in organic chemistry: drug development.

Her research topic is the synthesis, characterisation and bio-evaluation of possible lead compounds for the pharmaceutical industry.

My interest lies in lead compounds that have been said to possess potential biological activities, such as anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-TB and HIV inhibition.

To inspire others during Youth Month, Misra advised young South Africans to have a vision and work towards achieving it.

Its important to set small goals and celebrate as you achieve them. This gives you the motivation to carry on and achieve what your heart desires. Along the way, your dreams may change, but thats okay because we live in an ever-growing world and our lives and desires will change accordingly. Just look at the bigger picture and stay focused.

For information on their work in the community, call 0844506520/ 0845058571 or email [emailprotected] or [emailprotected]

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These 'health ninjas' are committed to building a better country - IOL

Fact: You've probs been living a distorted version of reality for months now, and that can be a bit draining on your mental health. It can also be hard to know what parts of your daily routine are still working for you these days andCaptain Obvious alertthats incredibly stressful in itself.

Well, theres a new moon in the Cancer happening on June 20, 2020, and it's here to torpedo those stress levels as much as possible. Itll help refresh your mindset on just about everything, and make you feel more sure about where youre headed in life, according to Donna Page, a certified astrologer in Atlanta.

But, ya know, theres more to it than that. Heres what your zodiac sign can expect from the new moon in Cancer.

First, a little astronomy lesson: The moon has different phases, and a new moon happens when Earth lines up with the sun. That makes the moon look all but invisible to humans. There are 12 new moons a year, and each one is usually tied to a different astrological sign.

This particular new moon is a sensitive one (because Cancers), Page says. Youll mull over your place in the world and how connected you are to everything thats going on out there. Are you working to help create positive change, or can you contribute more?

At the same time, youll have some solid thoughts on what itll take for you to feel safe and secure, both at your place and in your own skin. Feel like youre not ~exactly~ there yet? Its go-time to figure it all out, whether you want to move to a new spot or work on a lil self-empowerment.

One way to empower yourself? Flex those creative muscles by taking up the quarantine-friendly hobby perfect for your zodiac sign:

Its not all about deep thinking, though. This new moon will also make you appreciate the little things in life, like being surrounded by people that give you the warm-fuzzieseven if that's via Zoomor sitting down and having a nice meal at home while catching up with your S.O. All these little moments will help chip away at that constant stress you've been sitting with since what feels like forever (a.k.a. March).

The new moon will impact all signs, but Page says Cancer, Capricorn, and Gemini will feel it the most.

You wont just take a beat to think about what you can do to make the world a better placeyoull actually start to do something about it. Maybe youll start volunteering in your spare time or read more books that can educate you about important social justice issues.

The new moon will also help shine a spotlight on areas in your life where youre not a secure as youd like to be, and youll actually take steps to change all that. That could mean doing stuff like taking online career courses to help solidify your role as a crucial team member, or finding a new place in a neighborhood that better suits your current lifestyle.

Appreciating what you already get out of your friendships will give you a little boost to fuel those connections even more. Youll try harder to step things up in your relationships, whether its sending regular check-in texts to your buddies or making a consistent habit of stocking up on your partners favorite ice cream, just to show you care.

The next new moon is on July 20, also in the sign of Cancer. Its definitely rare to have two new moons in the same sign in a year, but it can happen, Page says. During this time, youll try your best to learn to forgive and forgeteasier said than done, of course.

Until then, take some time to invest a little in your personal growth. Youre worth it.

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June's New Moon in Cancer Is Here To Help You Become A Better Version Of Yourself - Women's Health

Amanda Nguyen was angry. Her opening remarks to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee were blunt: On the day that I was raped, I never could have imagined that a greater injustice awaited me than the one I had already been forced to endure. Assaulted as a college student, Nguyen was shocked to learn how difficult her journey to justice would be, thanks to an inadequate criminal justice system a scenario faced also by millions of Americans. Crucial medical evidence was routinely destroyed. Case backlogs prevented the crimes from being investigated. Without basic rights afforded to sexual assault survivors, including access to their own rape kits containing physical evidence of the crime, the possibility of justice was minimal.

In 2014, after launching a nonprofit advocacy organization called Rise, Nguyen set out to change federal and state law in order to expand legal rights for sexual assault survivors herself and others: I started it because I needed civil rights and nobody else was going to write them, so I decided to write them myself. Powered by data, motivation, personal stories, and supportive legislative allies, Rise was methodical. Success though daunting considering the bureaucratic intricacies of legislative advocacy seemed hopeful. But in 2016, Nguyen and her Rise team aftercollaborating with members of Congress to craft federal legislation, the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights Act were stalled. Although momentum had been building for the bill, and despite bi-partisan congressional sponsors, it was an election year a historically difficult time to get things done within the complicated, gridlocked engine of Congress.

Enter comedy. After meeting with Brad Jenkins, former White House official turned director of the D.C. office of Funny or Die, Nguyen decided comedy was worth a try alongside the Rise teams other organizing tactics. The result of their first creative collaboration, a short-form YouTube comedy sketch video produced by Funny or Die, titled Even Supervillains Think Our Sexual Assault Laws Are Insane, illustrates the stakes: Sitting around a gloomily-lit room, five cartoonishly ridiculous and terrible supervillains, while fiendishly plotting to defeat heroic Captain Brave with a litany of evil tactics, reflect on the idea that requiring sexual assault victims to pay for their own rape kits is shockingly too far its just too evil and outrageous for them to even consider as an option in their menu of nefarious machinations.

The timing, comedy content, and accompanying call to action were all strategic. According to Jenkins: When we did the Senate bill drop, we did it with the Funny or Die video, and it got a ton of attention. First time in the history of Congress Politics and power really do come down to, how do I get this persons attention? The attention-grabbing video-based campaign humorously skewered and explained the absurdity of the structural challenges facing sexual assault survivors navigating the criminal justice system. With a call to action directed from the Funny or Die video, the accompanying online petition on Change.org garnered thousands of signatures, which the Rise team then delivered to Congress to demonstrate public demand.

On October 7, 2016, President Barack Obama signed the Survivors Bill of Rights Act of 2016. The new law, unanimously supported by Republicans and Democrats, codifies a basic set of comprehensive civil rights for at least 25 million rape survivors across the country. Funny or Die and Nguyen continued their creative comedy collaboration as Rise moved next into a state-by-state legislative advocacy effort. To date, at least nine state versions of survivor bill of right laws have passed, modelled after the federal legislation. In Brad Jenkins estimation, the comedy elements of the Rise advocacy campaign were vital to the victories, in large part due to the creative collaboration with Nguyen as a social justice leader who wholeheartedly embraced the genre:

When I tell people we have done this [comedy] for sexual assault the least funny issue, and the most harrowing and personal issue that you can think of they are amazed. Amanda is the perfect partner because she thinks comedy is all about empowerment. Sexual assault isnt funny, but what is funny and what we make fun of is the status quo Thats where the humour comes in.

In 2018, Amanda Nguyen the 26-year-old accidental activist and emergent social justice leader was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her successful civil rights advocacy, which has effectively transformed decades of ineffective policy to empower millions of sexual assault survivors to pursue justice. Armed with a sophisticated understanding of the interplay between participatory civic practice, public engagement, and policy and the dynamic role of culture and creativity she has migrated her efforts onto the world stage, working with the United Nations to pass a global survivors bill of rights. In her unflinching use of short-form, shareable YouTube comedy videos as an anchor for civic practice alongside traditional advocacy tactics, Nguyen epitomizes a contemporary generation of social justice advocates that seeks to change the world through any media necessary. For Nguyen, comedy is and continues to be a vital cultural tool in her global activism:

We were able to do this with humour in particular: Basically, its like taking the medicine with a little sweetener, or taking your vodka with a chaser. This issue is depressing. Its difficult. It is my personal belief that social movements cannot be sustained on anger. Anger will burn out. Rather, they need to be sustained on hope. Humour was a way toentertain people while also hiding a really important message in it, and on top of that, being able to get people to learn about the issue. There is lot of activism fatigue that is happening in todays world. Every issue needs to be worked on. How do you get people to actually care, and get people outside of the low-hanging fruit [those] who already care? Yes, youre trying to activate them too, but youre also trying to get people who may not be predisposed to care about this to care about it.

The synergistic, creative engagement between Amanda Nguyens sexual assault policy advocacy initiative and the cultural prowess and cache of Funny or Die illustrates the power and promise of cross-sector collaboration between two disparate professional worlds: social justice advocacy and comedy. In this example, comedy aimed a glaring spotlight onto the outrage of the existing institutional status quo. In so doing, the humorous, critical treatment of a tough issue garnered attention, and its digital dissemination and call to action provided a crucial public engagement mechanism a way for newly enlightened publics to engage in civic practice, pressuring lawmakers to make a change.

A Comedian and an Activist Walk into a Bar: The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice by Caty Borum Chattoo & Lauren Feldman is published by University of California Press

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Features | Tome On The Range | Why Did The Activist Cross The Road: What Happens When Comedy Gets Serious - The Quietus

Lafayette High School graduates Peyton Sias and Jeff Pham will attend Yale University in the fall. Wednesday, June 17, 2020.(Photo: SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network)

Two friends and classmates at Lafayette High will take their friendship to Connecticut this fall as they start their freshman year at Yale University.

Peyton Sias and Jeff Pham, both 18, will head to the Ivy League school in August, as plans stand right now. They expect to know more in July about what the semester will look like as the COVID-19pandemic continues, Sias said.

Sias and Pham met as ninth-graders through Lafayette High's Gifted program,and neitherconsidered Yale very seriously at first.

Sias was thinking about a historically black college or university like Spelman College or Howard University. It wasthe QuestBridgeCollege Match Scholarship that put Yale on her radar.

She almost didn't apply for the program, which providesafull, four-year scholarship, because her top choices weren't among the program's "college partners." But, she said, she thought, "Might as well."

And she matched with Yale, earning a spot and scholarship to the prestigious university on top of several other accolades, such as thethehighly selectiveGates Scholarship.

Student success: Acadiana students are Louisiana's recipients of highly selective Gates Scholarship

Pham began considering Yale more seriously about two years ago, even more so after he visited the campus last summer.

"It felt right when I was on campus, even though that sounds clich," he said. "I really like the sense of community they try to foster."

Lafayette High School graduates Peyton Sias and Jeff Pham will attend Yale University in the fall. Wednesday, June 17, 2020.(Photo: SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network)

He also has family living in the area, which would help with any homesickness that might arise. Going there with a friend like Sias helps with that, too.

"It's very comforting to have another friend coming, especially because Peyton and I are very good friends," Pham said.

Thetwo will join fellow LHS Gifted program alum David Stanley at Yale.

Phamplansto study electroengineering and computer science, but also is considering economics.

Lafayette High School graduate Jeff Pham will attend Yale University in the fall. Wednesday, June 17, 2020.(Photo: SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network)

He feels prepared for Yale, creditinghis teachers and the extracurricular activities he was involved in at Lafayette High for helpinghim build characters and growas a person.

"They helped me get where I am now," he said.

Sias is looking at a major in political science, with plans to attend law school after undergrad, but another program has caught her eye as well.

"Yale also has a cool major called 'ethics, politics and economics,'" she said. "I think it would open up a lot of doors."

Students must apply to get in to that program for their second year, so she will wait and see.

Like most seniors, she's gotten used to applications this year, submitting essays and packets to colleges and scholarship organizations.

The Gates scholarship process was one of the longer ones, requiring four essays. Thankfully, most of the topics were similar to ones she'd written for other organizations, so she didn't have to start from scratch.

Education amid pandemic: Some Louisiana schools could alternate days students spend on campus in the fall

Her favorite was the one that asked about overcoming challenges, "because it was more personal."

She wrote about how she has overcome internalizing anti-blackness. Since first grade she'd been one of the few Blackstudents in her Gifted class, sometimes the only one.

"It impacted how I viewed myself," Sias said. "It did a number on my self-esteem."

Over time she realized her mom was a role model in this, and she looked to herfor strength and inspiration.

"I get a lot of inspiration from her (my mom)," Sias said. "She carries herself with grace and strength. I looked at her and thought, 'Why don't I?'"

Lafayette High School graduate Peyton Sias will attend Yale University in the fall. Wednesday, June 17, 2020.(Photo: SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network)

Sias also took time to research Black empowerment and learnmore about what it means to be Black in America.

"I found myself acting more myself and being a more authentic version of myself," Sias said.

Earning the Gates award and financial aid from Yale and QuestBridge will allowher to go to college without student loans, something she is especially happy about with plans for law school in her future.

"Law school is expensive," she said.

Her mother, Tanya Sias, is proud of her daughter and relieved to know she won't have to incur any student loan debt now.

"Her getting in to Yale and receiving what she did, it blew my mind," Tanya Sias said. "It was a tremendous relief. I told her, 'The costs compared to when I went to college are just astronomical now.'"

Sias wantsto be a civil rights attorney one day, perhaps with the ACLU.

"I see all the problems going on in our country, including in our law system, and I want to try to fight that from within the system to fight for all marginalized people," she said.

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Lafayette High School graduates who met as freshmen heading to Yale University this fall - Daily Advertiser