In the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, guilty on all counts in the death of George Floyd, the verdict stands as a historic moment in the nation’s quest for racial justice. It is a decision we should treat with solemnity and gratitude.

Still, a just verdict in a single, high-profile case is not the achievement of justice. Floyd’s murder should remind us of the magnitude of the task ahead—the work still needed to realize a society in which people’s skin color no longer significantly predicts how they will fare in life.

Lorna Hofer and Kerry Stager are much more than instructors in business and accounting at Lake Area Technical College. They're also highly involved advisors who go the extra mile to make their students feel a sense of belonging.

Between them, Hofer and Stager keep close tabs on 80 students—not just academically, but personally. It’s a dual role embraced by every faculty member at the South Dakota college.

An increase in anti-Asian hate crimes is leading Asian and Asian American student groups at colleges across the country to renew their activism and advocacy efforts and demand more accountability from school leadership. 

Among other things, students are calling for the establishment of Asian American studies programs, expansion of mental health services for Asian American and Pacific Islander students, increased resources for cultural centers, improved processes for reporting hate and bias incidents, and more.