Probe sought in racial bias claim at Boston club

Probe sought in racial bias claim at Boston club

A Boston city councilor is calling for an investigation after a group of black Harvard and Yale students and alumni were denied entry to a downtown club over concerns they would attract criminals.

City Councilor Ayanna Pressley said she was contacted by Harvard students who told her they had been denied entry to the Cure Lounge.

According to an e-mail from a Harvard Business School student, the group was turned away after he said club managers complained that a large group of young black men and women in line would attract “local gang bangers.”

George Regan, the chairman of a public relations firm who is a spokesman for the club, said the Cure Lounge’s management did nothing wrong. He said some people in line were known to police as “bad people” and probably couldn’t spell Harvard.

Urban 8th-graders in Mass. face high dropout risk

Massachusetts education officials say new data show that more than a third of eighth-graders in urban school districts during the last academic year are considered at risk of dropping out of high school.

The state Education Department used a new system for measuring students’ likelihood of dropping out by looking at factors including low MCAS scores, high absenteeism and suspensions.

The system found that about 7,700 urban students are at risk. The rate at suburban and rural districts was 8 percent.

Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester told The Boston Globe that the numbers should “instill a sense of urgency” in school officials.

Education experts say districts and parents should respond with tutoring, mentoring or other assistance.

Associated Press