AG HEALEY URGES FEDS TO USE MONEY FROM NATIONAL FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE SETTLEMENT TO PAY DOWN STUDENT DEBT

AG HEALEY URGES FEDS TO USE MONEY FROM NATIONAL FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE SETTLEMENT TO PAY DOWN STUDENT DEBT

Education Management Corp. – Operator of New England Institute of Art – Settles Allegations of Federal and State False Claims Act Violations

            BOSTON – Following today’s announcement of a $95.5 million multistate-federal False Claims Act settlement with Education Management Corp. (EDMC), the second-largest for-profit education company in the country, Attorney General Maura Healey is urging the federal government to use the funds it received to provide immediate relief to students harmed.

EDMC, headquartered in Pennsylvania, operates nationwide under four post-secondary school brands: South University, Argosy University, Brown-Mackie College, and the Art Institutes – which includes the New England Institute of Art (NEIA) in Brookline. Student enrollment across EDMC’s school brands exceeds 100,000 students. Massachusetts will recover approximately $75,000 from the settlement and will use the money to pay down state loans given to NEIA students. AG Healey has argued that the Department of Justice, with its share of $52.62 million in recoveries, to do the same for students nationwide.

“Every single dollar recovered in this settlement can and should be used to help students struggling with loans from EDMC,” AG Healey said. “While this settlement sends a strong message to the predatory for-profit education industry, I urge the Department of Justice to apply these funds to bring down student loan balances immediately. As millions of students struggle with their college loans, it is our hope that the federal government will not continue to pursue borrowers victimized by this scheme for debt that has already been recovered by this settlement.”

Part of today’s settlement with EDMC, to which the AG’s Office is a party, is the result of four separate qui tam, or whistleblower lawsuits, filed in federal court in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Nashville, Tennessee, under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) and various state false claims statutes.

The primary allegation was that EDMC violated federal regulations by paying bounties to its admissions personnel based purely on the number of students they enrolled. Regulations under Title IV of the federal Higher Education Act prohibit schools from making certain types of payments to recruiters. From 2003 to the present, EDMC allegedly falsely certified to the U.S. Department of Education and various state offices of higher education that it was complying with Title IV regulations, in order to be eligible to receive federal grant and loan dollars.

In addition to resolving these and other FCA claims, the settlement was completed in parallel with the resolution of a multistate consumer protection investigation focusing on ways that EDMC misled potential students.  That settlement does not result in a separate monetary recovery for the states involved, but does provide conduct relief and require EDMC to forgive institutional loans made to certain short term students. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office did not join this multistate, and instead is continuing its ongoing review of how EDMC allegedly committed unfair and deceptive practices against students in Massachusetts. 

Current and former students of the New England Institute of Art who have concerns regarding NEIA’s conduct or their experiences at the school should call the Attorney General’s Hotline at 888-830-6277.

The False Claims Act case was handled by Division Chief Glenn Kaplan and Legal Analyst Diana Hooley of Attorney General Healey’s Insurance and Financial Services Division.

羅德島大學孔子學院辦第四屆中文演講比賽

羅德島大學孔子學院與羅德島大學中文領航項目、語言系，布朗大學中文項目日前聯合舉辦“第四屆羅德島地區中文演講比賽” ，共20名選手參賽，選出4名一等獎。

這次比賽分主題演講、即興回答和才藝展示三個環節。參賽選手按中文水平，分初、中、高三個級別，依序演講限時1、2和3分鐘。

參賽選手們選擇的演講主題豐富多彩，從講述中文學習經歷，描述日常家庭生活，比較中美文化差異、評析社會現象等切身性話題，到涉及經濟、政治、環保等專業領域的主題演講，應有盡有。

選手們幾乎都能以準確發音、流利語速、充實內容、優雅台風和真摯感情，充分展示自己的中文水平和文化素質，特別是即興回答問題環節，他們都展現了紮實語言功底、良好心理素質和機智應對能力。

才藝表演是今年新加入的環節。選手們的表演精彩程度，絲毫不弱於他們的中文水平，從經典中文歌曲《夜來香》、《橄欖樹》到時下流行的《小蘋果》；從字正腔圓的詩歌朗誦到幽默詼諧的啞劇表演；從吉他到電子琴，從空竹到武術，各種才藝輪番上陣，觀眾贊不絕口，整個比賽的可看性大為提高。

羅德島中文領航項目新設的報社，還派出小記者現場採訪參賽選手，分享幕後趣聞軼事。

整個比賽長約2小時，最好選出不同中文水平組一等獎4名，二等獎6名，三等獎10名。

羅德島大學的孔子學院院長何文潮、中國文化俱樂部主席楊慶、布朗大學中文項目主任胡龍華一一頒發證書及獎品給獲獎參賽者。比賽承辦人員之一的周靂表示，學生們都表示，希望明年有機會再次參賽。

圖片說明：

            得獎學生與評審合影。（圖由羅德島大學孔子學院提供）

            羅德島大學的孔子學院院長何文潮（左）頒獎給得獎學生。（圖由羅德島大學孔子學院提供）

傷獨子車禍身亡 楊崇偉父親年年抵波追悼

11月12日傍晚，波士頓市哈佛道和布來頓道交界處，燭光搖曳出“24“，無聲申訴著，如果那場單車、巴士相撞意外沒有發生，楊崇偉今年就24歲了。

楊崇偉的父親楊瑞，今年又從僑居地飛來，和十幾名學生一起悼念，默哀。波士頓經文處副處長陳銘俊也特地出席，以示關懷。

            楊瑞對當年的事發經過，究竟如何，始終心懷梗蒂，儘管他認為各方調查結果不得要領，一時也不知還能怎麼辦，只能諄諄告誡學生，出門在外，交通，人身安全都很重要，出任何差錯，最傷心的就是父母，親人。

            楊瑞也不滿MBTA至今沒有道歉，理賠或做任何說明。

            薩福克郡地方檢察官辦公室去年回覆本報查問時表示，調查結果為當時巴士行駛很慢，大約時速五哩，並沒有突然停下來或轉彎，巴士上乘客也沒感覺，因此未起訴巴士司機。（圖由經文處提供）

加斯林 AADI 第二屆點心宴 繼續提醒亞裔預防糖尿病

加斯林糖尿病中心亞裔糖尿病研進會（AADI）響應世界糖尿病日，昨（13）日在帝苑大酒樓舉辦第二屆“糖尿病點心宴”，邀熱心大眾共享港式飲茶，索取健康食譜。帝苑大酒樓承諾捐出當日所得，贊助糖尿病的研究，防治義行。

世界衛生組織和國際糖尿病聯合會為喚起全世界對糖尿病危害的關注，1991年時把11月14日，發現胰島素的加拿大科學家班廷出生這天，訂為“世界糖尿病日”，並由聯合國於2006年決議通過。

加斯林糖尿病中心的執行長Peter Amenta，首席科技總監金良城醫師、亞裔診所醫療中心主任徐千田醫師和波士頓市長幕僚長高丹尼（Daniel Arrigg Koh）等人聯袂出席活動，並在致詞中分別提及亞裔染患糖尿病比率仍高，但此病治療，預防有方，從調節飲食，適度運動著手，是最簡便，直接的方法之一。

他們指出，許多亞裔看來苗條，但染患二型糖尿病的風險卻比其他族裔高，在檢查身體時，發現自己身高體重指數（BMI）23時，就應該檢查自己是否患有糖尿病。

”點心宴“從早上8點一直進行至下午3點。亞裔糖尿病協進會在現場提供免費糖尿病教材及健康食譜，安排醫生及營養師提供免費諮詢。

帝苑大酒樓東主黃官羨，黃秀英兩父女捐出兩張，價值500元，將於波士頓美術博物館舉行的第十二屆「薑味（A Spoonful of Ginger）」門票兩張。

圖片說明：

            加斯林糖尿病中心首席科技總監金良城(右起)、波士頓市長幕僚長高丹尼（Daniel Arrigg Koh），加斯林執行長Peter Amenta，亞裔診所醫療中心主任徐千田，帝苑大酒樓東主黃官羨，黃秀英父女，經文處副處長陳銘俊等人聯袂出席“第二屆糖尿病點心宴”。

哈佛藝術博物館慶翻修週年 11/16入場免費

Free Admission Day at the Harvard Art Museums

Monday, November 16, 2015, 10:00am–5:00pm

One year ago, on November 16, 2014, the Harvard Art Museums’ renovated and expanded facility opened to the public. To mark this anniversary, the museums are offering free admission to all visitors all day.

Event link: harvardartmuseums.org/visit/calendar/free-admission-day-6

Current Exhibitions

Corita Kent and the Language of Pop

This exhibition situates Kent within the pop art movement of the 1960s. A Roman Catholic nun, artist, and educator, Kent created striking works that directly engaged with the artistic, social, and religious movements of her time. Her vibrant design for the Boston Gas (now National Grid) tank alongside I-93 gave Boston its own pop art landmark. More than 60 of Kent’s screenprints will be presented, along with a similar number of works by her contemporaries, including Warhol, Ruscha, and Lichtenstein.

European and American Pop Art, 1955–1975

This installation presents works by some of the central figures in the history of international pop art, from David Hockney in Great Britain and Gerhard Richter in Germany to Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol in New York. It accompanies an undergraduate seminar that considers historical accounts of how a mass cultural iconography defined artistic production at that time, while also addressing some of the era’s key theoretical questions concerning the relationship between avant-garde and mass culture in the 20th century.

A History of Photography

The objects on display are hung in conjunction with a Harvard course and have been chosen to enable students and visitors to address key moments and issues in the complex history of photography as an engine of belief.

Images of the Harvard Art Museums may be downloaded here:

dropbox.com/sh/vxe74g5jsxh1nnk/AAAksc1MRCwkkfOaVT_5GKVaa?dl=0

任雪麗分析台灣選舉直言各界咸認蔡英文贏面大

台灣研究專家任雪麗（Shelley Rigger）日前在波士頓大學和教育部合作的“台灣論壇”中直言，台灣明年原本一定會打破記錄出現一名女總統，還幾無疑義會是蔡英文當選，如今就不是完全沒變數了。

            波士頓大學的亞洲文化研究中心和經文處教育組合辦的這場“台灣論壇”，請戴維森學院政治系副教授、華府智庫”外交政策研究中心“資深研究員任雪麗，講談“台灣的選舉動盪及選出女總統的可能性”。沒想到在10月中，國民黨陣前換將，朱立倫上，洪秀柱下，還又跳出個宋楚瑜參選，女總統就不再是鐵定局面。

            任雪麗引用凍蒜博客（Frozen Garlic)的選情預測指出，前述三名候選人，蔡英文的支持率高逾45%，朱立倫不到30%，宋楚瑜更是僅約10%，大勢似乎已經底定。

談及台灣年輕人對選舉的影響時，任雪麗直指台灣在一代人與一代人之間的變化非常大，20到29歲的年輕人中，約60%都支持蔡英文。

任雪麗的講談角度，重點原本在探討台灣選舉中的女性地位。她指出，包括紐約時報，華盛頓郵報，華爾街日報，衛報（The Guardian），六，七月時，都發表文章，預測台灣將打破紀錄，選出一名女總統。

她認為，從呂秀蓮的當選為副總統，陳菊的當選為高雄市長，以及以“代夫出征”等類型而當選的其他女性公僕，民代，台灣有著全世界最多的民選女性公職人員及議員，女性在台灣政壇，早就佔有相當份量。但是從蔡英文，洪秀柱依序有“空心菜”，“小辣椒”這帶有性別歧視意味的暱稱，又顯然性別在選舉中是有關係的因素。

            任雪麗指出，在國民黨換朱替洪之前，做選舉模型的人幾乎都說，這次選舉，民進黨不但會贏得總統席位，還會在立法院中取得大多數席位，第一次形成民進黨執政，還在議會中居主導地位的不分裂局面，議長當然就也會換人。將來的台灣政壇局面，一定很有意思。

            任雪麗坦言，過去這一年間，她們有一批學者曾赴兩岸訪問。中國大陸方面的領導人，學術界都十分擔心蔡英文上台後的兩岸政策，怕她會被深綠派推著走，採取激進路線。也有學者認為，台灣應該幫習近平舒緩憂慮。

        在回答提問時，任雪麗指馬英九，蔡英文，奧巴馬都是律師出身，有著謹慎，處事不戲劇化的慣性，以至於譬如馬英九，和奧巴馬很像，雖然有很多成就，但卻沒什麼人稱讚，她不確定蔡英文上台後，表現是否會好些。

圖片說明：

            經文處教育組組長黃薳玉（右二起）和講者任雪麗，波士頓大學亞洲文化研究中心主任葉明慧等人會後合影。（菊子攝）

            經文處副處長陳銘俊（中）會後還繼續向任雪麗（左）請教。（菊子攝）

            台灣研究專家任雪麗談台灣選舉。（菊子攝）