Election 2020: Debate, CA Races and Propositions
With just 11 days before election day, President Donald Trump faced off against Democratic rival Joe Biden for their second and final presidential debate held Thursday night in Nashville. The President claimed Biden had little to show for his decades in public office, while Biden castigated the president for his response to the pandemic amid a surge in cases nationwide. Also on Thursday, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nomination of Supreme Court Justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett without a single Democratic lawmaker on the committee in attendance in a symbolic show of opposition to her nomination. Meanwhile, in California, a poll released this week from the Public Policy Institute of California surveyed likely voters about the Barrett nomination and their views on Proposition 15, which would raise taxes on commercial properties, and Proposition 16 which would reverse a ban on the use of affirmative action in the public sector, allowing state-funded universities, for example, to consider race, gender and ethnicity in admission decisions.
Guests:
- Marisa Lagos, KQED politics and government correspondent
- Guy Marzorati, KQED politics and government reporter
College Students and Mental Health
Surveys of thousands of college students in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic reveal high rates of stress, anxiety, feelings of loneliness and other mental health struggles. A survey of graduate and undergraduate students conducted between May and July across nine public universities, for example, found the prevalence of depression to be twice as high this year compared to last year. But for a generation immersed in apps, social media and smartphones, technology may provide digital signposts to guide young people out of isolation and loneliness. Hopelab, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, has developed Nod, an app featuring prompts, exercises and testimonials that has helped first-year students at risk for depression and loneliness, according to a 2019 study conducted at the University of Oregon.
Guests:
- Danielle Ramo, senior director of research, Hopelab
- Will Coleman, intern, Hopelab and senior, Columbia College
Something Beautiful: SkyStar in the Park
We end our show this week by taking an elevated look at a 150-foot-tall ferris wheel that finally started spinning in Golden Gate Park this week, seven months after its arrival to commemorate the 150-year anniversary of the park. The pandemic forced the months-long delay of its maiden spin until Wednesday, when paying customers boarded the SkyStar Observation Wheel for 12-minute rides affording panoramic views that stretch from downtown San Francisco to the Pacific Ocean.