The case for a commemorative stamp honoring Chinese railroad workers

Meng Photo

This May marks the 150th anniversary of the completion of the country’s first Transcontinental Railroad.

What some may not know is the role of Chinese immigrant laborers who helped make it happen.

That’s why Congresswoman Grace Meng and 34 other members of Congress are calling for a commemorative postage stamp to honor the 12,000 Chinese-Americans who contributed to the railroad.

Chinese laborers constituted nearly 80 percent of the workforce of the Central Pacific Railroad Company. Nearly 1,200 of them died from work-related accidents.

Meng first introduced the idea of a commemorative stamp for the 150th anniversary in 2014.

The push has support from many notable Asian-American lawmakers, including Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Congresswoman Judy Chu of California and Congressman Andy Kim of New Jersey.

Queens College gets “Best Value” designation again

Queens College campus

For the second straight year, and the fourth in six years, Queens College has been named a “Best Value College.”

The Princeton Review bestowed the designation on the school for providing a “first-rate education to generations of students from all backgrounds.” The company noted that QC maintains “an incredibly affordable price tag while constantly expanding its offerings, programs, centers and institutes.”

QC was previously given the designation in 2014, 2015 and 2018.

Selections are made based on a Return on Investment (ROI) rating score with more than 40 data points, including institutional data, surveys of students and alumni surveys.

“Queens College has consistently provided equal opportunity for our students to achieve their dreams,” says QC President Felix V. Matos Rodriguez.

Meet the Dreamer Rhodes Scholar attending the State of the Union

Jin Park Photo

When you watch the president deliver the State of the Union tonight, you may get a glimpse of Jin Park.

Park, from Flushing, is the first-ever Rhodes Scholar who is also a Dreamer, an undocumented immigrant who was brought here at a young age.

He will be the guest of Congresswoman Grace Meng for the speech in the U.S. Capitol.

Park, 22, recently graduated from Harvard University and a chapter leader of the advocacy group Define American. After winning a Rhodes Scholarship, he planned to study at the University of Oxford in England this fall.

But the Trump administration moved to end DACA, which brought about fears that Park won’t be able to re-enter the country when he leaves for school.

“Inviting Jin Park to Washington for the State of the Union will bring more attention to his plight and show firsthand how President Trump’s un-American immigration policies are shattering the lives of DREAMers,” Meng said.

The State of the Union will begin at 9 p.m.