Washington
Yalies to rally in Washington against budget bill
Students are hosting a press conference with Connecticut senators and lobbying against a Republican budget proposal that could significantly increase taxes on universities’ endowments.
Baala Shakya & Henry Liu
Staff Reporters
Baala Shakya, Photography Editor
Yale students will gather at the United States Capitol on Thursday to advocate against changes to federal higher education policy that they believe could devastate Yale’s financial aid and research funding.
The coalition of students from multiple colleges — which calls itself “Fight for Higher Education” — will hold an “advocacy day in defense of higher education” in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. Programming includes a rally and press conference with Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, which 25 student-advocates registered to attend.
Multiple student organizers told the News that the coalition has received financial support from Yale College for travel costs, and coaching from the University’s federal relations office. The News could not independently confirm University involvement with the student coalition.
“There is a general consensus among young people that there is something about this moment that is urgent and profoundly unsettling, and yet, despite the urgency that we feel, we have failed to follow through and act on that urgency,” Conor Webb ’28, an organizer of the advocacy effort, told the News.
Fight for Higher Education, which does not associate itself with any singular college, organized the advocacy day in Washington in response to a recent budget proposal passed by the House of Representatives in May that would raise the tax on Yale’s endowment from 1.4 to 21 percent, narrow eligibility for Pell Grants, eliminate subsidized student loans and impose a lifetime cap on student borrowing.
The coalition bills itself as nonpartisan, though no Republican officials are slated to be involved in the Thursday rally. At least one registered Republican student will be in attendance, Zach Pan ’27, one of the organizers, told the News.
Four student organizers told the News that Yale College is providing reimbursements for travel expenses to and from Washington for Yale students participating in Thursday’s rally. Pan told the News that Fight for Higher Education was formed specifically to obtain funding for students separate from funds already allocated to participating student organizations.
An outside donor, who organizers refused to name, is covering the travel costs for students from other schools. Many students traveling to D.C. will be housed by volunteers who live in the area, the organizers said.
Several student groups, including the Yale College Democrats, the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, the Yale Student Environmental Coalition and the Yale First-Generation Low-Income Advocacy Movement, have joined the coalition and plan to send members to Thursday’s event. Students from Southern Connecticut State University, Hudson Valley Community College, Macalester College and West Virginia University will also join the coalition in Washington, Pan said.
In addition to the press conference and rally, the coalition is coordinating meetings with senators from swing states, including Republican Senator David McCormick of Pennsylvania, per Pan.
Pan said that Yale’s Office of Federal and State Relations has provided coaching and logistical support to students preparing to meet with their senators about the budget proposal bill which includes the tax hike on universities’ endowment gains. The News could not verify the Yale office’s involvement.
Yale has publicly signaled its opposition to the budget proposal, posting on social media to encourage community members to “tell Congress to protect discovery and opportunity” and “speak up for the future.” In one Instagram post, Yale warned that the proposal could jeopardize the University’s ability to remain debt-free for 85 percent of undergraduates and tuition-free for many middle-class families — arguments that Fight for Higher Education has echoed in their digital campaign.
University President Maurie McInnis sounded the alarm to members of the Yale community when the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill in May, urging members of the Yale community to contact their senators and share a set of talking points that emphasize the potentially harmful impacts of the bill on universities.
Emi Glass ’26, co-president of the Yale First-Generation Low-Income Advocacy Movement, or YFAM, told the News that after McInnis stated how the endowment tax would severely affect financial aid funding, she “stepped in to support” lobbying efforts against the bill.
“Given the fact that myself and many of the people involved in YFAM would definitely not be able to attend Yale if they didn’t receive very generous financial aid from Yale, it was really concerning to all of us,” Glass said.
Glass plans to travel to Washington on Thursday to join the coalition of students in advocating against the budget bill. She plans to meet with policymakers and an education staffer for Jon Husted, her Ohio senator, she told the News.
Jake Siesel ’27, co-president of the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, told the News that he too will attend the rally in Washington because the Republican budget proposal is “antithetical” to YUPP’s commitment to equal justice.
“If enacted, the bill would amount to the largest cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in American history,” Siesel said. “Our organization stands in solidarity with this advocacy effort and will dedicate all available resources to support it.”
The current 1.4 percent tax on the endowments of most private colleges was signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017.
Washington
19-Year-Old Transgender University of Washington Student Fatally Stabbed
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This story contains descriptions of fatal violence against a transgender person.
The Seattle Police Department are searching for a suspect after a 19-year-old University of Washington student was stabbed to death in an off-campus student apartment complex on May 10.
Seattle Police Department Detective Eric Muñoz told NBC News that the victim is “believed to be a 19-year-old transgender female” who was enrolled at the university. The victim has not yet been publicly identified by name. She was found in the housing complex laundry room shortly after 10 p.m. on Sunday night.
The housing complex, Nordheim Court, is privately managed but affiliated with the university, located near an upscale shopping center in Seattle’s U-Village neighborhood. According to NBC News, residents received an official alert from UW to stay inside their homes and lock all windows and doors — an alert that was lifted around 1 a.m. with the acknowledgment that “a death investigation remains ongoing.”
According to SPD detective Eric Muñoz, police and the fire department attempted lifesaving measures but ultimately “pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.”
“Officers are actively searching for the suspect, believed to be a black male with a beard, 5’6-8” tall, wearing a vest with button up shirt, and blue jeans,” Muñoz wrote in a blotter report.
Muñoz noted that the victim would be identified by the medical examiner’s office in “the coming days.” The SPD did not immediately respond to Them’s request for comment.
This is the seventh known trans person to be violently killed in 2026. In mid-April, 39-year-old transmasculine farmer Luca RedBeard was fatally shot in rural New Mexico. Last week, police in Marion County, Florida opened a homicide investigation into the shooting death of a 29-year-old who went by multiple names and referred to “transitioning” on social media. In Kentucky, an investigation into the disappearance of 22-year-old trans college student Murry Foust remains ongoing.
Police are asking anyone with information about the University of Washington case to call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000, emphasizing that anonymous tips are accepted.
This is a developing story.
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Washington
How the Sea Mar Museum Is Preserving Latino History in Washington
On a quiet stretch of Des Moines Memorial Drive in South Seattle, the Sea Mar Museum of Chicano/a/Latino/a Culture rises like a long‑overdue acknowledgment. Its brick exterior doesn’t shout; it invites. Inside, the rooms hum with the stories of families who crossed borders, harvested fields, organized classrooms, and built communities across Washington state—often without seeing their histories reflected anywhere on a museum wall.
For Rogelio Riojas, founder and CEO of Sea Mar Community Health Centers, the museum is a promise kept. “We wanted to make sure the contributions of Latinos in Washington state are recognized and preserved for future generations,” he told The Seattle Times when the museum opened in 2019. It was a simple statement, but one that captured decades of work—both visible and invisible—by the region’s Latino communities.
Walking through the galleries feels like stepping into a living archive. One of the most arresting sights is a pair of original farmworker cabins, transported from Eastern Washington. Their narrow wooden frames and sparse interiors speak volumes about the migrant families who once slept inside after long days in the fields. The cabins are not replicas or artistic interpretations; they are the real thing, weathered by sun, dust, and time. They anchor the museum’s narrative in the physical realities of labor that shaped the state’s agricultural economy.
Sea Mar describes the museum as “dedicated to sharing the history, struggles, and successes of the Latino community in Washington state,” a mission that plays out in photographs, letters, student newspapers, and oral histories contributed by community members themselves. These aren’t artifacts chosen from afar—they’re family treasures, personal archives, and memories entrusted to the museum so they can live beyond the kitchen tables and shoeboxes where they were once kept.
The story extends beyond the museum walls. Just steps away is the Sea Mar Community Center, a sweeping, light‑filled gathering space designed for celebrations, performances, workshops, and community events. With room for nearly 500 people, a full stage, a movie‑theater‑sized screen, and a catering kitchen, the center was built with one purpose: to give the community a place to see itself, gather, and grow. Sea Mar describes it as “a welcoming space for families, organizations, and community groups to gather, celebrate, and learn,” and on any given weekend, it lives up to that promise.
Together, the museum and community center form a cultural campus—part historical archive, part living room for the region’s Latino communities. Students come to learn about the Chicano activists who reshaped the University of Washington in the late 1960s. Families come to see their own histories reflected in the exhibits. Visitors come to understand a story that has long been present in Washington, even if it wasn’t always visible.
The Sea Mar Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., offering free admission to anyone who walks through its doors. For many, it’s more than a museum—it’s a recognition, a gathering place, and a testament to the people who helped shape the Pacific Northwest.
Preserving Latino History and Community Life in Washington was first published on Washington Latino News (WALN) and republished with permission.
Washington
Mother’s Day Bunch at Lady Madison | Washington DC
Celebrate Mothers Day with à la carte brunch at Lady Madison featuring seafood, entrées, desserts, and premium beverage options.
Celebrate Mothers Day in sophisticated style at Lady Madison, located inside Le Méridien Washington, DC, The Madison. Join us on Sunday, May 10, 2026, from 12:003:00 PM for an elevated à la carte brunch experience in downtown Washington, DC.
Enjoy a refined selection of chef-driven brunch classics, fresh seafood, seasonal salads, and elegant entrées. Highlights include a Build Your Own Omelette, Crab Benedict with lime hollandaise, Chilled Seafood Trio, and signature mains such as Roasted Rack of Lamb, Cedar Plank Sea Bass, and Marinated New York Strip Loin.
End on a sweet note with classic desserts including Crème Brûlée Cheesecake, Fruit Tart, Strawberry Shortcake, and Passion Fruit Cake.
Enhance your experience with beverage offerings, including bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Marys for $30 with house selections. Piper-Heidsieck Champagne is also available by the glass for $16 or by the bottle for $49.
Reserve on OpenTable:
https://www.opentable.com/booking/experiences-availability?rid=1426987&restref=1426987&experienceId=695240&utm_source=external&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=shared
À La Carte Menu
Les ufs & Brunch
Egg White Frittata $24
spinach, tomato, mushrooms, green onion
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit
Build Your Own Omelette $24
ham, smoked salmon, vegetables, cheeses (choose up to 3)
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit
Crab Benedict $24
lime hollandaise, salsa cruda
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit
Brioche French Toast $17
berry compote, whipped butter, maple syrup
Les Froids & Salades
Chilled Seafood Trio $28
Jonah crab claws, shrimp, cocktail sauce
Spring Berry Salad $17
brie, berries, champagne vinaigrette
Golden & Crimson Beet Salad $18
red wine vinaigrette
Add protein: shrimp, salmon, skirt steak +18 | chicken +16
Les Plats Principaux
Roasted Rack of Lamb $42
mint sauce, huckleberry reduction, sweet potato purée, asparagus
Cedar Plank Sea Bass $49
saffron rice, spring vegetables
New York Strip Loin $42
mushroom sauce, truffle croquette potatoes, haricots verts
Les Desserts $14
Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
Fruit Tart
Strawberry Shortcake
Passion Fruit Cake
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