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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Constance Lesold on Medgar Evers College and CUNY Programs
4:09:55
·
3 min
Constance Lesold testifies about the importance of Medgar Evers College and CUNY programs, emphasizing their impact on community engagement and youth education. She shares personal experiences and expresses concerns about the college's future in a changing community.
- Highlights the role of Medgar Evers College in supporting a community garden project that has lasted 50 years
- Stresses the importance of CUNY summer programs in introducing young people to college environments
- Expresses concern about the future of Medgar Evers College serving its traditional demographic as the community changes
Constance Lesold
4:09:55
My name is Constance Lesold, and I am testifying today in regard primarily to Medgar Evers College of the City University, which I have been involved with in past years intensively from the beginning.
4:10:21
Just to give you one example of the very great importance of Medgar Evers, which I see that you have some special funding programs requested, and I am sure that you're gonna be able to push them through.
4:10:39
But to give you an example of the background, I spearheaded the funding of the Franklin Avenue shuttle neighborhood garden which was funded by the Eastern Parkway Coalition, which I've represented before.
4:10:55
And at this present, that garden has gone on for about fifty years.
4:11:02
The reason I'm bringing that into this is that we could not have had that garden and we might not have had the shuttle at all had it not been for Medgar Evers College.
4:11:12
Dean Maxwell gave us the space in the college and the materials for an outdoor summer youth program to build the garden.
4:11:26
This way, those summer youth people were introduced to a college setting and participating there as well as building a garden and a resource, environmentally and in terms of neighborhood recreation fun, etcetera, which has gone on as I say for about fifty years.
4:11:50
And it's very important that you encourage the communities surrounding the colleges to be a part of the colleges in every way possible, particularly the young people.
4:12:07
You have other summer programs.
4:12:11
I know my son participated at Brooklyn College, Hunter College, met Ger Evers.
4:12:17
It was not possible that he not go to college after as a little boy being a part of all those programs that you had in the summertime.
4:12:27
It is so important to begin with the years before the high school even.
4:12:37
And I hope you will encourage all of the city university to stay involved.
4:12:45
We are worried about the future of Medgar Evers as a college that was built to serve primarily black community in that area and the low end community.
4:12:57
That community is changing dramatically, and we don't know who the college will be serving now.
4:13:03
But we want everybody to be served in the city of New York, and I I just beg of you to keep those young people in the process.
4:13:17
Thank you very much.