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• 16 December 2020

Coronavirus and public holidays: what the data say

• Giorgia Guglielmi

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As worldwide coronavirus cases continue to surge, countries are grappling with how to manage big public holidays such as Christmas and Lunar New Year, which researchers are warning could become superspreader events.

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Nature 588 , 549 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03545-1

Chen, S., Yang, J., Yang, W., Wang, C. & Bärnighausen, T. Lancet 395 , 764–766 (2020).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Du Plessis, L. et al. Preprint at medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.23.20218446 (2020).

Wang, Z., Ma, W., Zheng, X., Wu, G. & Zhang, R. J. Infect. 81 , 179–182 (2020).

Brauner, J. M. et al. Preprint at medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.28.20116129 (2020).

Mecenas, P., Bastos, R. T. d. R. M., Vallinoto, A. C. R. & Normando, D. PLoS ONE 15 , e0238339 (2020).

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From religious and patriotic observances to celebrations of ethnic pride, explore the history of Easter, Passover, New Year's Day, Veterans' Day, Memorial Day and much more.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day started in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971 to honor those who served and died in wars.

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When Is Eid al-Adha 2024? In the United States, Eid al-Adha 2024 is predicted to begin on the evening of Sunday 16 June (depending on sightings of the moon) and will end with the culmination of the Hajj a few days later. The Story of Eid al-Adha In the Quran, Ibrahim has a dream in which Allah […]

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Celebrations of mothers can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”

Take a look at the holiday marking the unofficial beginning of summer and America’s most solemn occasion.

Flashback: Easter 1941

1941’s Easter celebrations would be the last before the United States officially entered WWII. It was a time to celebrate peace, even under the specter of global war. This episode of Flashback takes a look at how the U.S. celebrated Easter during a time of conflict.

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American holidays

The United States recognizes 12 federal holidays. Learn about federal, state, and cultural holidays celebrated in the U.S. 

Federal holidays

Many government offices and some private businesses close on annual federal holidays. If the holiday falls during the weekend, the government may observe it on a different day.

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Various ethnic and religious groups in the United States celebrate days with special meaning to them. These holidays include Easter for Christians, the High Holy Days for Jews, Ramadan for Muslims, Day of Vesak for Buddhists, and Diwali for Hindus.

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Bipartisan Support for Early In-Person Voting, Voter ID, Election Day National Holiday

Widening partisan divides over vote-by-mail and registration policies, table of contents.

• Shifts in support for some election policy proposals
• Age differences on voter registration policies
• Views of election policies across ideological groups
• Acknowledgments
• The American Trends Panel survey methodology

Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand Americans’ views of voting policies and procedures in the United States. For this analysis, we surveyed 5,140 adults from Jan. 16-21, 2024. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for the report and its methodology .

Americans generally believe that voting is an effective way to bring about positive change in the country . But in recent years, there have been contentious debates in a number of states over the rules around voting and elections.

A new national survey finds deep partisan divisions over some voting policies, especially voting by mail.

Yet other proposals draw widespread public support, including from majorities in both partisan coalitions:

• Requiring paper ballot backups for electronic voting machines (82% favor this),
• Requiring people to show government-issued photo identification to vote (81%),
• Making early voting available for two weeks prior to Election Day (76%),
• Making Election Day a national holiday (72%) and
• Allowing convicted felons to vote after serving their sentences (69%).

The Pew Research Center survey, conducted Jan. 16-21 among 5,140 adults, also finds smaller majorities supporting allowing anyone to vote by mail if they want to (57%), as well as automatic and Election Day voter registration (57% each).

Americans are more divided on whether groups should be banned from collecting completed ballots to return to official voting centers (47% favor, 50% oppose) and whether people should be removed from registration lists if they have not voted recently or confirmed their registration (44% favor, 55% oppose).

Proposals with broad bipartisan support

More than eight-in-ten Republicans and those who lean to the Republican Party (85%), and a similar share of Democrats and Democratic leaners (82%), favor paper ballot backups for electronic voting machines.

While there is substantial support in both parties for requiring a photo ID to vote, there is a sizable partisan divide in these views: Nearly all Republicans (95%), compared with 69% of Democrats, favor this requirement.

At least six-in-ten among both parties also favor allowing two weeks of early in-person voting, making Election Day a national holiday and allowing convicted felons to vote after serving their sentences. Yet support for each of these policies is higher among Democrats than Republicans.

Proposals with narrow majority public support, and wide partisan differences

About six-in-ten adults (57% each) support allowing anyone to vote by mail if they want, automatically registering eligible citizens to vote and allowing registration on Election Day.

However, Democrats are far more supportive of these proposals than Republicans. At least three-quarters of Democrats support each of them, while there is more opposition than support for them among Republicans.

Proposals that divide the public

Nearly half of Americans (47%) favor banning groups from collecting completed ballots to return to official voting centers, while roughly the same share (50%) oppose this. The public is also relatively divided over removing people from voter registration lists if they have not voted recently or confirmed their registration, with slightly more opposing this (55%) than supporting it (44%).

Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats (60% vs. 27%) to support the removal of inactive records from registration lists. Republicans are also more likely than Democrats (56% vs. 41%) to favor banning groups from collecting and returning ballots.

Support for – and opposition to – many election policy proposals is similar to views in recent years, though there have been some notable shifts.

Election Day policies

Americans have long supported making Election Day a national holiday. But support for this has risen in recent years, from 65% in 2018 to 72% today. Currently, 78% of Democrats and 68% of Republicans favor this.

By contrast, support for allowing Election Day voter registration has dropped over the last several years –from 64% in 2018 to 57% now.

• This decrease is largely driven by declining support among Republicans: 39% currently favor Election Day voter registration, down from 49% four years ago.
• 76% of Democrats favor allowing Election Day registration, little different from the 78% who said this in 2018.

Voting by mail

The single widest partisan gap on the voting policies asked about in this survey is over “allowing any voter to vote by mail if they want to.” And that gap is now substantially wider than it was in April 2020, the result of a sharp decline in support among Republicans:

• Today, just 28% of Republicans say any voter should be allowed to vote by mail if they want to. Four years ago, 49% of Republicans said this.
• An overwhelming share of Democrats (84%) continue to say voting by mail should be available to all voters. Democratic support is essentially unchanged over this period.

Majorities in both parties continue to back requiring all voters to show government-issued photo ID to vote.

• The share of Democrats supporting this has risen from 61% to 69% since last year.
• Support for voter ID remains nearly universal among Republicans (95% favor).

While there are only modest age differences on many of the voting policies asked about in the survey, there are wider gaps on two policies related to voter registration.

Older adults are far less supportive than younger adults of same-day voter registration. They are also more supportive of removing people from registration lists if they have not voted recently.

These differences are particularly pronounced among Republicans.

Election Day registration

• About six-in-ten Republicans ages 18 to 34 (57%) favor same-day voter registration. The share backing this drops among older age groups. Just 24% of Republicans ages 65 and older support allowing Election Day registration.
• There are only modest age differences on this question among Democrats, with about seven-in-ten of those 50 and older supporting same-day voter registration, along with about eight-in-ten of those under 50.

Removing inactive registration records

• Nearly three-quarters of Republicans ages 65 and older (73%) support removing people from registration lists if they have not recently voted or confirmed their registration, as do 61% of Republicans 50 to 64 and 58% of Republicans 35 to 49. Republicans ages 18 to 34 are less likely (44%) to say this.
• Among Democrats, age differences are far more modest: 24% of those under 50 and 31% of those 50 and older favor the removal of registration records for inactivity.

Views of voting proposals among racial and ethnic groups

Across racial and ethnic groups, large majorities favor requiring paper ballot backups for electronic voting machines, photo ID requirements for voting and making Election Day a national holiday.

• Majorities also favor allowing two weeks of early in-person voting and allowing convicted felons to vote after serving their sentences, with Black adults more likely than any other group to strongly favor these policies.
• While about half of White adults (52%) favor policy proposals that would allow anyone to vote by mail if they want, automatically register all citizens to vote, or allow people to register on Election Day, they are far less supportive of these policies than other racial and ethnic groups. About three-quarters of Asian adults favor these policies, as do similar shares of Black adults and about six-in-ten Hispanic adults.

For the most part, partisan and ideological differences in support or opposition to voting policies find wide gaps between liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans, with moderates in both parties falling somewhere in between. But there are a few exceptions:

• Liberal Democrats are particularly likely to support making Election Day a national holiday. But there is no gap in opinion between other groups: 88% of liberals favor this, compared with about seven-in-ten of those in other ideological groups.
• Wide majorities across all groups favor requiring paper backup ballots – with nearly identical shares of conservative Republicans (88%) and liberal Democrats (86%) saying this.

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Expert Commentary

Seasonal holiday injuries: A research roundup

Holidays are a time for celebration, but also a source of injuries. Several research studies examine both common and uncommon types and sources of seasonal holiday injuries, which usually peak on the week after Thanksgiving and continue until the end of the year.

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

by Naseem S. Miller, The Journalist's Resource December 20, 2023

This <a target="_blank" href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/seasonal-holiday-injuries-a-research-roundup/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist's Resource</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cropped-jr-favicon-150x150.png" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;">

Winter holidays bring celebrations, family traditions, light decorations, special foods and delicacies, and indoor and outdoor activities.

But they can also bring injuries and health problems. Research shows a range of injuries in kids and adults stemming from swallowing Christmas ornaments and decorations, falling from a ladder when putting up lights — or falling from Santa’s lap , suffering burns from touching the candles on a menorah or from biting into a hot deep-fried donut. In some, binging on alcoholic drinks can induce atrial fibrillation, leading to a condition known as “holiday heart syndrome.”

Each year, nearly 18,400 people visit emergency rooms because of accidents with Christmas decorations, according to USAFacts , a non-profit organization that provides U.S. data and reports, using data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The peak of those injuries is usually the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

To be sure, compared with other holidays such as Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Halloween, Christmas has a lower number of injuries, a 2010 study found . But seasonal holiday injuries and health issues make headlines each year.

Earlier this month, a Michigan woman suffered significant burns after her robe caught fire at a church’s Christmas event, reported Hometown Life , a Gannett-owned publication. “Someone put a candle in the wrong place,” the fire chief told the news outlet. A 9-year-old boy suffered injuries after falling from a float in the West Alabama Christmas Parade, according to WVUA 23 News . And ABC News ran an explainer about holiday heart syndrome.

For journalists looking to inform their audiences about health-related holiday topics, we’ve gathered several studies. They’re listed in order of publication date.

Research roundup

Enjoy the Holiday Spirit, Not the Holiday Heart Ali Syed, Benjamin D. Seadler, David L. Joyce. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, January 2023.

Alcohol is typically part of holiday celebrations and gatherings in Western society. Short-term alcohol use in excess and binge drinking are linked with memory loss, impaired judgment, unintentional injury, violence and driving under the influence.

But a less commonly known consequence of binge drinking is alcohol-induced atrial arrhythmia, known as “Holiday Heart Syndrome,” which was first described in the 1970s, the authors write. (In the United States, 5% to 10% of new atrial fibrillation diagnoses are related to alcohol abuse.)

Symptoms include palpitations, shortness of breath, anxiety, weakness and chest pain.

The authors note that the exact biochemistry of the syndrome is unknown, but the correlation between atrial fibrillation and binge drinking is “undeniable.”

Avoiding A Crisis at Christmas: A Systematic Review of Adverse Health Effects of ‘Chrishaps’ Caused by Traditional Hazard Sources and COVID-19 Ursula Wild, David M. Shaw, Thomas C. Erren. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, February 2022.

This study aims to find out “which hazards have been scientifically associated with old Christmas essentials such as decoration, gifts, menus, and Santa himself, as well as new challenges associated with COVID‐19?”

The authors examined the findings of 30 studies, most of which were case reports or retrospective analyses, which are types of studies that examine data collected in the past.

The various hazards of Christmas included allergic reactions to poinsettias, Christmas trees and candles; swallowing of Christmas decorations; and falling from ladders, roofs and furniture. In one case , a patient had a supposed case of cyanosis — a condition where the skin, lips and nails turn blue — after receiving a blue bed linen as a Christmas gift.

Christmas dinners can also pose risks, such as higher cholesterol levels and weight gain, the authors write. Also, “two other risks from eating were documented: abdominal pain after eating without chewing and eating a piece of Christmas cake together with a plastic robin ,” which was part of the cake decoration, they write.

Pediatric Ingestions of Christmas Past, Present, and Future: A Review of Holiday Trends, 1997 to 2015 Patrick T. Reeves, Jayasree Krishnamurthy, Eric A. Pasman and Cade M. Nylund. Clinical Pediatrics, February 2019.

The authors use National Electronic Injury Surveillance System data from 1997 to 2015, focusing exclusively on cases of children, up to 17 years old, who went to an emergency department due to ingesting Christmas decorations, including ornaments, bells and candles during December and January.

There were an estimated 22,224 such cases over the period studied. Children aged 2 and younger accounted for 84% of the cases. Almost 96% were either treated and released or examined and released without treatment.

The peak of such injuries occurred during the Christmas week.

 “Future advocacy efforts might focus on improving social awareness, parental education, or even federal oversight with regard to these possibly dangerous decorations,” the authors write.

“Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful”: Severe Injury Secondary to Falls While Installing Residential Christmas Lights Michael R. Driedger, et al. Injury, January 2016.

The study examines the health outcomes of 40 patients in Canada who were admitted to a level 1 trauma center from 2002 to 2012 with severe injuries suffered due to falling while installing Christmas lights. The researchers found this activity can result in life-altering injuries.

In total, 95% of the patients were men with a mean age of 55. Most of the falls (65%) were from ladders and 30% of the patients fell from a roof.

The most common injury was to the head and torso. About 43% of the patients had spine injuries.

“Given the heights associated with this activity, as well as the often hazardous weather conditions, adherence to safety precautions is essential,” the authors write.

Seasonal Foreign Bodies: The Dangers of Winter Holiday Ornamentation Andrew T. Trout and Alexander J. Towbin. Pediatric Radiology, October 2014.

Children can suffer minor or severe injuries if they swallow winter holiday decorations and ornaments. These injuries mostly occur in children under 5.

In this “pictorial essay,” the authors provide radiology images of a wide range of holiday ornaments they’ve seen in children, including whole glass baubles, large and small, metal hooks used to hang ornaments on trees, small plastic ornaments, individual Christmas lights and Hanukkah decorations, including spinning tops and foil-wrapped coins.

Radiologists play a key role in identifying these foreign bodies in children, the authors write.

“Around the winter holidays, ornaments and decorations can become a source of foreign bodies for pediatric patients, and familiarity with the appearance of these seasonal foreign bodies can be helpful in their identification,” they write.

Jewish Holidays and Their Associated Medical Risks Jacob Urkin and Sody Naimer. Journal of Community Health, June 2014.

This study summarizes the findings from the existing literature regarding the health hazards related to celebrating Jewish holidays, including Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Passover, Sukkot, Purim and Hanukkah.

The authors highlight several injuries related to Hanukkah, which lasts eight days — starting in late November or in December — and is observed by lighting candles on a candelabrum called a menorah.

“Most of the injuries in Hanukkah are related to burns in children who were carelessly handling lighted candles,” the authors note.

Children often receive foil-wrapped chocolate coins, or gelt, during Hanukkah. Another source of injury is children ingesting the foil covering gelt.

The most popular sweet during Hanukkah — deep-fried donuts called sufganiyot — can be a source of burns in the mouth.

“We assume that the reason for these injuries is that the fluid cream, jam or caramel at the center of the pastry tends to heat much quicker than the surrounding baked dough, especially when heated in the microwave oven. Then, without sensing its extreme heat at the center, the hungry subject will bite into burning hot fluid,” the authors write.

Epidemiology of Pediatric Holiday-Related Injuries Presenting to U.S. Emergency Departments Anthony D’Ippolito, Christy L. Collins and R. Dawn Comstock. Pediatrics, May 2010.

The study investigates eight major holidays in the U.S. and finds that among children younger than 19, approximately 500,000 holiday-related injuries were treated at emergency departments between 1997 and 2006.

Labor Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Halloween were the holidays with the highest number of injuries per year overall. Christmas, in fact, had the least number of injuries.

Among the study’s other findings:

• Overall, boys sustained 62% of the injuries.
• Nearly 30% of injuries were in children younger than 5.
• The most common injuries were cuts, bruises, fractures and sprains.
• Nearly 66% of the cuts were to the face.
• The greatest proportion of deaths occurred around the Fourth of July and New Year’s.

“Parents should closely supervise children who are younger than 5 years on Thanksgiving and Christmas when the proportions of injuries were significantly greater among these younger children compared with the other age groups,” the authors write. “On New Year’s, those aged 15 to 19 years had a significantly greater proportion of injuries compared with all other holidays.”

The BMJ Christmas issue

The BMJ, a prestigious medical journal, has a well-established annual Christmas issue that includes a mix of light-hearted features and peer-reviewed research. Below are highlights from this year’s issue:

• One study makes the case for the Barbie doll to expand her range of medical and scientific professions.
• Another study draws a link between a new Doctor Who episode shown during the holidays, especially Christmas Day, and lower death rates in the following year across the UK.
• To the relief of coffee drinkers, a study finds that coffee machines are not responsible for spreading disease in hospitals.
• A small study finds putting a chair beside a patient’s bed in the hospital room nudged physicians to sit during the visit, which in turn resulted in higher patient satisfaction.
• If you’re a fan of the Great British Baking Show, you’ll appreciate this study, which examines the health benefits and harms of Christmas recipes on the show. Results: you can have your cake and eat it too.
• And if you’re popping the cork on a sparkling wine bottle on New Year’s Eve, be careful, because cork eye injuries can be significant, according to this study . It takes 0.05 seconds for the cork to travel from the bottle to your eye, the authors write. They also share a useful guide for opening a bottle of sparkling wine.

About The Author

Naseem S. Miller

2023 Holiday Outlook and the U.S. Consumer

As the holiday shopping season kicks off seemingly earlier each year, the focus is on retailers and their strategies for adapting to the ever-evolving consumer landscape.

During this webinar CFRA’s Director of Equity Research, Ken Leon, Moderator, and Equity Analysts Arun Sundaram, CFA, CPA, and Zachary Warring did a comprehensive analysis of the current state of the U.S. consumer and CFRA’s outlook for the 2023 holiday season and beyond.

The webinar will also delved into key factors influencing consumer spending in a climate of economic uncertainty. Additionally, our retail experts offered an in-depth look at the current retail landscape, discussing how macroeconomic challenges like elevated inflation, high interest rates, dwindling savings, and weakened consumer confidence are shaping consumer behavior.

Our discussion examined a broad spectrum of retailers, from big-box stores like Walmart and Target to department stores like Macy’s, off-price retailers including TJX Companies, and apparel/footwear retailers like Nike and Lululemon.

The session detailed:

• Current sector recommendations (Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary)
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• In-depth insights and investment views on various retailers, including Walmart, Target, Macy’s, TJX Companies, Nike, Lululemon, and others.

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The Faculty Senate on Thursday approved a resolution to adjust the start dates of certain academic years in which the first day of class conflicts with Jewish high holidays. (Image credit: Andrew Brodhead)

The Faculty Senate on Thursday approved a resolution to adjust the start dates of the fall quarter for certain academic years in which the first day of class conflicts with Jewish high holidays.

For academic years 2026-27, 2036-37, and 2050-51, the academic year will now begin on Tuesday instead of the traditional Monday start date to avoid classes beginning on Yom Kippur, which is observed from sundown to sundown, or the first day of Rosh Hashanah, which is observed over two days.

Before voting to approve the resolution, senators discussed various concerns regarding consideration of other possible options, the impact of losing one day of instruction, the significance of the issue for the university’s Jewish community, and more.

Kate Maher , chair of the Committee on Undergraduate Standards and Policies, co-chair of the Academic Calendar Subcommittee, and professor of Earth system science, noted that the resolution doesn’t fully resolve all conflicts with holidays. When the evening of Rosh Hashanah aligns with the first day of classes in academic years 2025-26 and 2052-53, there will be no change to the academic calendar.

“This last piece is really important because it reflects a compromise that was made between honoring the observance of the holidays and minimizing the impacts to the academic calendar,” Maher said.

There will also be years when the first day of the quarter will be on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, or on the first two days of Sukkot, another Jewish holiday. For those years, the university should be proactive in messaging and accommodations, Maher said.

In contemplating this change, the subcommittee considered potential impacts on summer programs, STEM courses, and more, said David K. Stevenson , chair of the Committee of Graduate Studies, co-chair of the Academic Calendar Subcommittee, and the Harold K. Faber Professor of Pediatrics. The subcommittee also explored shifting the academic calendar forward or backward by a week, as well as other possibilities.

“We considered really carefully these different options,” Stevenson said. “…When it came down to it, because of the infrequency of these conflicts which we mapped out, this was the most reasonable solution.”

One senator asked whether other religious holidays were considered when reviewing conflicts with the academic calendar. Maher and Stevenson said that question came up early in the subcommittee’s work, but since they focused on the start of the fall quarter, Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah were the holidays applicable for that time period. “The overarching senate policy that is in place would suggest that any religious observance would take precedence for the start of the quarter,” Maher said.

Brian Conrad, professor of mathematics, read part of a letter signed by 11 colleagues expressing concern about losing a day of instruction and asking the senate to hold off on the vote until another solution could be reached. STEM courses “have lectures, labs, problem sets, and discussion sections that are carefully designed to fit around many constraints,” Conrad said. “And because the material is cumulative, rushed or omitted coverage early on leads to weaker foundation and increased student anxiety.”

Ruth O’Hara , the Lowell W. and Josephine Q. Berry Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, said that while she supported the resolution and appreciated the subcommittee’s work, it’s important to not minimize the impact that some courses and instructors will face as a result. Other senators noted that while it’s impactful, the loss of an instruction day will occur infrequently over the next several decades.

Deborah Hensler , the Judge John W. Ford Professor of Dispute Resolution and a Jewish faculty member, said that she had reorganized her classes in the past so that she and other Jewish students could observe the holidays, but that doing so “made me actually feel unwelcome.”

“There is a symbolic effect of this, when you’re in a community and the community chooses to take [the first day of the academic calendar for instruction] … and it is the most important day of your religion,” Hensler said. “I think it’s valuable for this community to take note of that.”

In other matters

Against a national backdrop of protests to the Israel-Hamas war across college campuses, President Richard Saller in remarks to the senate said the university has worked to plan for the management of campus activities during Admit Weekend as well as in the future. “We’ve talked through many scenarios, and our primary aim is to maintain the safety of the campus and the continued operations of our academic work,” Saller said.

Philip Levis , professor of computer science and of electrical engineering, asked Saller to clarify the policy for free speech and tabling in White Plaza during Admit Weekend. The university’s general policy is that free speech and tabling are allowed in White Plaza, except during a Big Five event, which includes Admit Weekend, Saller explained. “In terms of the enforcement of the policy, we will make judgments about how best to maintain the safety of the community and the peace of the campus,” Saller continued.

During reports from the senate’s Steering Committee, Meagan Mauter , associate professor of photon science, said that the Board on Conduct Affairs has adopted a bylaw that provides guidance for setting the level of review for reported Honor Code concerns. The bylaw emerged from discussions of the Stanford Student Conduct Charter of 2023 and new Honor Code, which were adopted last spring .

Mauter also shared a resolution from the Associated Students of Stanford University, which extends Green Library’s hours effective autumn quarter 2024 and has already been administratively approved.

Senators also heard a memorial resolution for Edwin M. Bridges , a retired professor of education known for applying problem-based learning to the training of educational learning. Bridges died at age 85 on March 18, 2019.

Maher is a senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, and professor, by courtesy, of Earth and planetary sciences. Mauter is a senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and at the Precourt Institute for Energy, and an associate professor, by courtesy, of chemical engineering. O’Hara is director of the Stanford Center for Clinical and Translational Research and Education (SPECTRUM), and senior associate dean for research at the Stanford School of Medicine . Stevenson is a professor, by courtesy, of obstetrics and gynecology.

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70 years after brown v. board of education, new research shows rise in school segregation.

As the nation prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education , a new report from researchers at Stanford and USC shows that racial and economic segregation among schools has grown steadily in large school districts over the past three decades — an increase that appears to be driven in part by policies favoring school choice over integration.

Analyzing data from U.S. public schools going back to 1967, the researchers found that segregation between white and Black students has increased by 64 percent since 1988 in the 100 largest districts, and segregation by economic status has increased by about 50 percent since 1991.

The report also provides new evidence about the forces driving recent trends in school segregation, showing that the expansion of charter schools has played a major role.  

The findings were released on May 6 with the launch of the Segregation Explorer , a new interactive website from the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University. The website provides searchable data on racial and economic school segregation in U.S. states, counties, metropolitan areas, and school districts from 1991 to 2022. 

“School segregation levels are not at pre- Brown levels, but they are high and have been rising steadily since the late 1980s,” said Sean Reardon , the Professor of Poverty and Inequality in Education at Stanford Graduate School of Education and faculty director of the Educational Opportunity Project. “In most large districts, school segregation has increased while residential segregation and racial economic inequality have declined, and our findings indicate that policy choices – not demographic changes – are driving the increase.” 

“There’s a tendency to attribute segregation in schools to segregation in neighborhoods,” said Ann Owens , a professor of sociology and public policy at USC. “But we’re finding that the story is more complicated than that.”

Assessing the rise

In the Brown v. Board decision issued on May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and established that “separate but equal” schools were not only inherently unequal but unconstitutional. The ruling paved the way for future decisions that led to rapid school desegregation in many school districts in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Though segregation in most school districts is much lower than it was 60 years ago, the researchers found that over the past three decades, both racial and economic segregation in large districts increased. Much of the increase in economic segregation since 1991, measured by segregation between students eligible and ineligible for free lunch, occurred in the last 15 years.

White-Hispanic and white-Asian segregation, while lower on average than white-Black segregation, have both more than doubled in large school districts since the 1980s. 

Racial-economic segregation – specifically the difference in the proportion of free-lunch-eligible students between the average white and Black or Hispanic student’s schools – has increased by 70 percent since 1991. 

School segregation is strongly associated with achievement gaps between racial and ethnic groups, especially the rate at which achievement gaps widen during school, the researchers said.  

“Segregation appears to shape educational outcomes because it concentrates Black and Hispanic students in higher-poverty schools, which results in unequal learning opportunities,” said Reardon, who is also a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and a faculty affiliate of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning . 

Policies shaping recent trends 

The recent rise in school segregation appears to be the direct result of educational policy and legal decisions, the researchers said. 

Both residential segregation and racial disparities in income declined between 1990 and 2020 in most large school districts. “Had nothing else changed, that trend would have led to lower school segregation,” said Owens. 

But since 1991, roughly two-thirds of districts that were under court-ordered desegregation have been released from court oversight. Meanwhile, since 1998, the charter sector – a form of expanded school choice – has grown.

Expanding school choice could influence segregation levels in different ways: If families sought schools that were more diverse than the ones available in their neighborhood, it could reduce segregation. But the researchers found that in districts where the charter sector expanded most rapidly in the 2000s and 2010s, segregation grew the most. 

The researchers’ analysis also quantified the extent to which the release from court orders accounted for the rise in school segregation. They found that, together, the release from court oversight and the expansion of choice accounted entirely for the rise in school segregation from 2000 to 2019.

The researchers noted enrollment policies that school districts can implement to mitigate segregation, such as voluntary integration programs, socioeconomic-based student assignment policies, and school choice policies that affirmatively promote integration. 

“School segregation levels are high, troubling, and rising in large districts,” said Reardon. “These findings should sound an alarm for educators and policymakers.”

Additional collaborators on the project include Demetra Kalogrides, Thalia Tom, and Heewon Jang. This research, including the development of the Segregation Explorer data and website, was supported by the Russell Sage Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.   

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When sea otters lose their favorite foods, they can use tools to go after new ones

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A sea otter in Monterey Bay with a rock anvil on its belly and a scallop in its forepaws. Jessica Fujii hide caption

A sea otter in Monterey Bay with a rock anvil on its belly and a scallop in its forepaws.

In parts of the ocean where sea otters face stark competition for their favorite kinds of food, some otters are getting by with the help of tools — like rocks and even glass bottles — that let them bash open tougher prey that they wouldn't otherwise be able to eat.

That's according to a new study of sea otters in Monterey Bay, California, which took a look at the tool use of individual otters to see how it affected their health and nutrition.

The findings, published in the journal Science, reveal how this special skill set may increase their chances of survival in an uncertain world.

Sea otters are large marine mammals that spend their days foraging in kelp forests. They dive to the bottom to grab tasty morsels, plus sometimes rocks that they plan to use as tools. They bring these to the surface and float on their backs, using their bellies as tables as they get to work on opening and eating their snacks.

A female sea otter floats in Monterey Bay, off the coast of California, with an anvil-like rock on her belly that she will use to help open the clam that she holds in her forepaws. Jessica Fujii hide caption

A female sea otter floats in Monterey Bay, off the coast of California, with an anvil-like rock on her belly that she will use to help open the clam that she holds in her forepaws.

"Their preferred prey are usually urchins and abalone," says Chris Law , a biologist at the University of Texas and the University of Washington, who notes that urchins and abalone are relatively easy for otters to break apart.

But in places where lots of otters are living together in Monterey Bay, "unfortunately, all those prey items have been declining or have declined," says Law.

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He says there are areas with an over-abundance of urchins — the so called "urchin barrens" where urchins have eaten all the kelp. Since the kelp is gone, however, these urchins no longer have a good food supply and are thus calorie-poor. They offer little nutritional value for otters, which aren't interested in consuming these so-called "zombie urchins."

"So that means otters have to eat alternative foods," says Law. "A lot of those alternative foods are those super-hard-shell prey items that really require some kind of external force to break into."

Snails, for example, are abundant in the bay, but they're low-calorie and "basically like a rock that you have to break into to eat the insides," says Law.

While sea otters are known for using tools, not all individuals actually wield them. Some otters forgo them entirely and simply specialize in eating soft prey. Some otters use tools occasionally, while others use them most of the time that they're foraging for food.

"We were interested in this tool use variation," says Law, so he and some colleagues analyzed data on 196 otters in California.

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These tagged otters get closely monitored by volunteer "otter spotters." That means researchers know what they're eating, how big and hard the prey is, and whether the otter used a tool to eat it.

It turns out that frequent tool users were able to eat harder and larger prey, according to a report in the journal Science . This was particularly important for female otters, since they're smaller than males and aren't able to bite down with as much force.

"They typically wouldn't be able to break into harder prey," says Law. "But they use tools more than males, so they're able to gain access to these novel sources of food items."

What's more, using tools protected the otters' teeth. The researchers were able to get dental assessments on their otters and found that tool users had less dental damage from crunching down on hard shells.

"Without their teeth, they clearly can't eat anything. So then they die. What we're suggesting is that this behavior really allowed them to continue living on despite not having their preferred prey," says Law.

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He explains that some otters learn to specialize in eating hard, low-calorie snails, using tools very frequently to "basically become really, really, really good at processing lots and lots and lots of snails every day," instead of searching for high-calorie foods that don't require tools to open but are in short supply.

"This is such an important paper," says Rob Shumaker , president and CEO of the Indianapolis Zoo and one of the authors of a book called Animal Tool Behavior.

He says scientists have spent decades documenting tool use in dozens of species; tool use in sea otters, for example, has been recognized since the 1960s. But now, studies like this one are showing that this field of research is starting to shift.

"It's not about describing the actual tool use or tool manufacture anymore," says Shumaker. "It's describing the impact that it has on that animal's life."

• animal tool use
• animal behavior
• sea urchins