Good morning. Today is Tuesday. We’ll see why Columbia University dropped to 18th place in US News & World Report’s university rankings. We’ll also look at what a Manhattan congestion pricing scheme could mean for Bronx air quality.
Columbia dropped to 18th from 2nd place in US News & World Report’s annual college rankings on Monday. The last time Columbia was 18th was in 1988, when Ronald Reagan was president, Edward Koch was mayor and Michael Sovern was Columbia’s president. It rose to 8th place the following year.
College admissions officers train themselves against a certain amount of exaggeration on student applications—more extracurricular activities, more debate tournaments, or more concerts. the school orchestra more than any student could squeeze in. But what if a university rose on its own and almost climbed to the top of the US News rankings?
Michael Thaddeus, a Columbian math professor, claims that his school has done just that. He challenged Columbia’s #2 ranking with a statistical analysis that said the supporting data the school had provided was “inaccurate, unclear or highly misleading”. Thaddeus said he discovered discrepancies when comparing statistics from Columbia with data from public sources.
Columbia initially defended its data, but in July said it had pulled out of the 2022-23 rankings. In turn, US News announced that it would eliminate Columbia.
But US News changed its mind and reinstated Columbia in the rankings, which it announced on Monday. It said it had gathered information about Columbia on its own, relying on outside sources. Columbia is behind at 17th, Cornell, another prestigious Ivy League university, and ahead of 19th, the University of Notre Dame, among national universities.
Last week, Columbia admitted that it had miscalculated on at least two measures Thaddeus questioned — class size and faculty with the highest degrees that can be granted in a given field. Columbia, at least in part blaming the “complexity” of reporting requirements for the mistakes, said it changed its methodology.
After the new rankings were released on Monday, Thaddeus said he would not draw conclusions about the quality of Columbia’s education from the rankings, whether Columbia ranked 2nd or 18th.
“The broader lesson people should keep in mind is that US News has shown its activity to be so shoddy that both are meaningless,” he told my colleague. Anemona Hartocollis, who include education. “If any institution can drop from 2nd to 18th in a year, it just discredits the entire ranking operation.”
US News, which has been ranking colleges since 1983 and likes to say they’re providing a consumer service, says that given the cost and importance of education, it’s more important than ever that parents and students must have some guidance.
Eric Gertler, chief executive officer of US News, said in a statement, “For most of these students and their families — aside from buying a home — college is the most consequential investment that ever made. they will perform.
The rankings are based on 17 criteria, including reputation (20 percent) and student selectivity (7 percent, where SAT and ACT scores are weighted 5 percent). Many critics are particularly worried about the reputation factor, based on a survey sent to presidents and deans.
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Expect mid-80s temperatures with showers and possibly thunderstorms before 2pm. At night it will be clear with mid-60s temperatures.
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Cleaner air in Manhattan, dirtier air in the Bronx?
How infamous is the Cross Bronx Highway?
We can count the ways.
We could count three long and often painful miles from Arthur Avenue to Zerega Avenue. They make up one of the most congested corridors in the United States, according to Inrixa traffic research company.
If we look at the proposed congestion pricing scheme for New York City, we can count the number of additional trucks – an additional 704 trucks per day, in addition to the 27,000 that passed through the Cross Bronx.
We can count air pollution, starting with soot from truck traffic, which will increase by about 5%. According to analysis of MTA data by the New York Times, the total amount of soot (also generated from boilers in buildings, factories and other places) will increase by 1%.
Or we could count how much money motorists would save by circling the Bronx and avoiding Manhattan below 60th Street, where a new toll would be imposed – $23 on cars, more for trucks.
Congestion pricing aims to reduce pollution and congestion in Midtown and Lower Manhattan while raising money for public transportation. But as my colleague Ana Ley explainSouth Bronx could end up with dirtier air from traffic currently running through Midtown en route to locations outside of the five boroughs.
The South Bronx is not the only place affected. Motorists who avoid the new toll could add traffic and soot to parts of the Bronx, Staten Island, and Nassau County on Long Island, according to an environmental assessment released by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. and Bergen County in New Jersey.
The MTA board has yet to approve congestion pricing, although it is expected to adopt it in some form; Governor Kathy Hochul, who controls the board, supports it. The MTA is exploring toll rate options. Officials said they also continue to study the environmental report and collect comments from the public.
The MTA has had enough concerns about the Bronx that it has launched a plan to consider a flat toll for all vehicles instead of a higher toll for heavy trucks, which are a major source of air pollution. . The hope behind a flat toll is that it sends fewer trucks into the Bronx. But the benefits in the congested area of Manhattan may be diminished.
Advocates of congestion pricing say it will be a key element in the fight against climate change. They note that the MTA study found a significant reduction in pollution in Midtown would be larger than a smaller increase around the Cross Bronx and other hotspots.
Along the Cross Bronx, residents say even one more truck would be too much. Earlene Wilkerson, 63, has lived near the slopes around the Cross Bronx intersection with Major Deegan Freeway for 40 years. She said she also suffers from asthma and her children, and she brings with her memories of her five eldest daughters being hospitalized because they couldn’t breathe.
“They missed a lot of school,” Wilkerson said as she sat on a bench at the bus stop, too short of breath to walk to her fifth-floor apartment. “Now, the grandchildren are going through the same thing.”
METROPOLITAN . Diary
Have time?
Dear Diary:
I’m on 125th Street and in a hurry. I need to know how late I ran and didn’t have a clock. I saw a man with one and asked if he had time.
“What,” he said, “we both bought this watch?”
Surprised by his answer, I paused. He also stopped and stood there facing me.
“Because I remember buying this watch,” he said, “and I don’t remember you being there with half the money.”
Unable to keep his composure, he let out a laugh he had managed to contain.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Someone said that to me once, and I think it’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in my life. I just thought I would share. “
He walked away laughing, leaving me with a new answer if anyone ever stopped me on the street with the same question.
– Patrick Cornbill
Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and Read more Metropolitan Diary here.
So glad we can get together here. See you tomorrow. – JB
PS This is for today Small crosswords and Spell Bee. You can find all our quizzes here.
Ashley Shannon Wu, Francis Mateo and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at [email protected].
