COVID goes to college, driving students away

New data shows that many would-be college students are choosing not to enroll in undergraduate institutions during the coronavirus pandemic. In total, first-time beginning student enrollment this fall dropped by 16.1% from the previous year—and this subset of enrollment losses has driven an overall decline in undergraduate enrollment on the national level.

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B Clary
A changing mix of voters could decide three Midwestern battlegrounds

A subtle shift in the composition of eligible voters could prove pivotal in three battleground Midwestern congressional races being closely watched: Minnesota’s 1st and 7th districts and Nebraska’s 2nd. All have experienced a changing electorate since the 2018 midterms—in ways that mostly favor Democrats. In all three, voters of color have swelled, while only one has seen its number of White voters grow.

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Guest User
Immigrant voters could decide this election

Did you know that 1 in every 66 potential voters is a Mexican immigrant? Immigrants now represent nearly 10% of all eligible voters in the U.S. In the 13 battleground states that President Trump won or lost by five percentage points or less in 2016, immigrants now make up a higher proportion of potential voters than his margin was in every state but Maine. Explore the number and countries of origin for immigrant voters in every state.

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Guest User
Our summer of grief: COVID deaths, once slowing in pace, now rebounding for all race groups

Our latest analysis shows the summer of 2020 has been marked by a troubling U-shaped trend in reported COVID-19 deaths across all race groups, with the sharpest rise most recently in deaths among Latinos. With the school year already begun in many parts of the country or just around the corner in others—introducing countless new avenues for coronavirus exposures—these trends foretell a frightening fall for all Americans.

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Guest User
Amid the pandemic, the logistics of grief change, but the emotional mechanisms remain the same

My family buried my grandmother the day that coronavirus deaths in the United States crossed the 100,000 threshold. It was a small Catholic mass; only her four living children (including my mother) and their spouses attended. They sat in separate pews, and the priest who led the service wore a face mask.

And I watched the whole thing—the viewing and the service—on a webcast from the comfort of my apartment in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

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Guest User
Farmers have an edge on the rest of us when it comes to water knowledge, but they still have blind spots

Water is essential for almost every dimension of farming and raising livestock, from determining when to plant and harvest to irrigating and fertilizing crops throughout the growing season. So it’s not surprising that farmers are often more knowledgeable and action-oriented when it comes to water resources than the broader public, according to two national surveys.

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Craig Helmstetter
What grown-ups think children should learn: Identifying false information, mental health, the economy, and water protection

More than 90% American adults say it is important that children learn how to identify false information on the internet, including 79% who say it is “very important.” Similarly strong majorities indicate that children should learn about mental health, how the U.S. economy works, and how to protect water resources.

These are the results of a nationally representative survey we recently did with the Water Main called, Water + Us: How we think, feel, and take action on water.

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Craig Helmstetter
APM Research Lab debuts new explainer series

The APM Research Lab is excited to debut Points of Reference, our new explainer series.

We initially envisioned Points of Reference as a tool to help navigate the vigorous policy debates that naturally arise during a presidential election and unfold in the public sphere. At the APM Research Lab, we feel that debates go better when everyone has access to the facts by which you can form and inform your own opinions.

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B Clary
Bound by boxes: The need for multiracial (and all) Americans to be visible. And whole.

There is a lot of trauma that comes with being multiracial in America. Growing up I never felt like I belonged anywhere, my racial ambiguity met with questions such as, “What are you?” The last thing a middle schooler trying to assimilate wanted to answer. To this day I still have trouble answering that question, whether it be from the mouth of a curious stranger or from forms that still have those curious boxes that say, “only mark one”. There is a thumping anxiety and lonely confusion about race that only multiracial people know.

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Guest UserAPM Research Lab