WGBH News

WGBH News covers news from Boston, New England and elsewhere.

A young woman on a laptop screen

Colleges brace for steep drop in international enrollment this fall

Nearly 90% of colleges expect international enrollment to decrease next semester due to the pandemic.

Colleges brace for steep drop in international enrollment this fall
Man walks as cameras follow him.

US researchers on edge as foreign funding comes under increased scrutiny

US researchers on edge as foreign funding comes under increased scrutiny
Employment authorization forms

International students hoping for work training visas face long delays, denials

International students hoping for work training visas face long delays, denials
A woman holds up a picture of her father on a cellphone.

Uighur restaurant owner speaks out: 'I should fight for my father'

Uighur restaurant owner speaks out: 'I should fight for my father'
street

Dalit Americans make a pilgrimage to Ambedkar Avenue, named for civil rights hero

Dalit Americans make a pilgrimage to Ambedkar Avenue, named for civil rights hero
Students walking on the UCLA campus.

As decision nears in Harvard affirmative action case, another legal fight brews in California

In the next few months, a decision is expected in a case involving Harvard University and alleged discrimination against Asian American student applicants. But the University of California system is also facing a similar lawsuit — with allegations that administrators are considering race in admissions even though California bans the practice. A scandal is also raising larger questions about merit in college admissions and who has unfair advantage.

As decision nears in Harvard affirmative action case, another legal fight brews in California
A woman looks to the side.

Caste discrimination exists on college campuses. Some schools are trying to change that.

Brandeis University has moved to ban caste-based discrimination in its own campus policy. Other universities may be following suit.

Caste discrimination exists on college campuses. Some schools are trying to change that.
An man sits at a desk with a book and looks at the camera

The US isn’t safe from the trauma of caste bias

Many Dalits say the kind of caste-based discrimination and violence that erupts in India also exist in the US.

The US isn’t safe from the trauma of caste bias
An Indian woman in a sari and glasses and an Indian man in a suit and glasses sit for a portrait.

Love conquers caste for this couple, but Indian marriage traditions continue in US

The writer's parents defied Hindu conventions by marrying in India outside their caste, but decades later, members of her father's upper caste promote sticking with tradition in America.

Love conquers caste for this couple, but Indian marriage traditions continue in US
Several women in saris and a man laugh

Even with a Harvard pedigree, caste follows ‘like a shadow’

Suraj Yengde, part of the Dalit or "Untouchable" caste in Hinduism, rose from a segregated slum in India to a fellowship at Harvard, collecting advanced degrees along the way.

Even with a Harvard pedigree, caste follows ‘like a shadow’
Shamso Ahmed smiles with red lipstick and a white hijab

Massachusetts gets its first hair salon that’s exclusively for women who wear hijab

In a neighborhood peppered with beauty shops, what makes Shamso Hair Studio and Spa unique is not the silver and black décor — or even the henna body art or the hammam steam spa — it is who is allowed in and who is not. 

Massachusetts gets its first hair salon that’s exclusively for women who wear hijab
A former sex buyer, now in recovery, revisits Boston's Chinatown where he sometimes frequented erotic massage parlors. He says such establishments are all over the state.

Across the US, many illicit massage parlors avoid police detection

Prosecutors from Massachusetts to Minnesota detail cases where mostly foreign-born women work seven days a week, 12-24 hours a day, sleeping in parlors or nearby flophouses, and are managed by a network of interstate traffickers and business people.

Across the US, many illicit massage parlors avoid police detection
botanist

Spring's early arrival is a troubling indicator of climate change

Since 2004, Boston University professor Richard Primack and his students have been documenting the same things as Henry David Thoreau did in his book, "Walden."

Spring's early arrival is a troubling indicator of climate change
South Vietnam fall of saigon

Vietnamese Americans in Boston mark the day their country ceased to exist

Vietnam is in the midst of a four-day holiday. Their jubilant festivities mark the reunification of North and South Vietnam. But in Boston’s Vietnamese community, the "Fall of Saigon" is a day of collective mourning.

Vietnamese Americans in Boston mark the day their country ceased to exist
Joe Milano

One of the oldest bars in America is now the place to go for Thai visas

Joe Milano is the owner of Union Oyster House. He also happens to be the honorary consul general for Thailand.

One of the oldest bars in America is now the place to go for Thai visas