 Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America. I'm Dan Friedel. And I'm Katie Weaver. This program is aimed at English learners. So we speak slowly, and we use words and phrases, especially written for people learning English. Today, on our last podcast of the year, Ana Mateo is here for a conversation about goals and our plans for 2024. I have a story about solar panel recycling. Then Kelly Jean Kelly joins us for a review of Barack Obama's presidency. But first, a look at the biggest higher education stories of 2023. Since 2023 comes to a close, we take a look back at the top stories and developments in higher education. They include a major high court decision on college admissions, the return of international students at U.S. colleges, the closure of small colleges and study programs, and an Ivy League president stepping down under pressure. In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that universities could no longer consider the race of a student when making admissions decisions. The announcement effectively ended the idea of affirmative action, which had been in place in higher education and the workforce for over 50 years. In making its decision, the court looked at cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, students must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual, not on the basis of race. He noted that many who make choices about which students will be permitted to attend universities have given too much importance to the color of a person's skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice, he continued. A group called Students for Fair Admissions brought the case through the U.S. court system over a number of years. The group believed that many Asian and white students were not getting a fair chance to attend the most selective colleges and universities in the U.S., because some places were being held for black students. U.S. President Joe Biden spoke in favor of racially diverse colleges and universities after the decision came out. Many universities said they will change the writing requirements of their applications in order to learn of the life experiences of applicants. The first group of students affected by the new rules will be applying to college in early 2024. The next step for activists who want to change the way colleges choose students, legacy admissions. A group based in Boston took legal action against Harvard University, saying it should no longer give preference to students whose parents attended Harvard or give money to the school. More and more young people from India are now attending college in the United States. As a result, the number of international students studying in the U.S. has returned to pre-pandemic levels. While students from China are still the largest group, the number of Chinese international students in the U.S. is dropping. But the 269,000 Indian students made up that difference. Kostas Chassapis works at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. Chassapis told VOA Learning English that many university leaders in the U.S. are ecstatic about the increase in Indian students, but he said the increase will not last forever. The increase is partly due to new rules put in place by Joe Biden's administration. VOA permits students who complete study programs in STEM, science, technology, engineering and math to stay in the U.S. for extra work experience. As international students return to the United States, many American young people are expressing concern about the value of a college degree. The number of American college-age students seeking higher education started falling before the COVID-19 pandemic. Today's young people find that they have work possibilities that pay well even without a college degree. Some say the cost of attending college is simply too high. West Virginia is the only state in America with a population that is lower today than it was in 1950. The state's public university, West Virginia University, WVU, feels the effects of the population loss. Today, its main campus has about 25,000 students. That number is 10% lower than it was in 2015. WVU is facing a $45 million budget deficit. Last summer, WVU announced plans to cut some study programs. The school will end some language studies, music instruction and writing programs. In addition, 100 educators will likely lose their jobs. Lisa De Bartolomeo is one of the language professors concerned about her students. She said, the best and the brightest students don't see a future for themselves in West Virginia. But at least WVU remains open. Some small colleges and universities closed or made plans to close in 2023. One of those schools was Alliance University in New York City. Heather Garcia studied and worked there. She said the university tried to remain open, but its financial problems were too large. She said she is sad to see the school close. Brian Alexander is a researcher who looks at the future of higher education. He said small American colleges first try to reduce their costs. When they can no longer cut their costs, they must close. He said many people in higher education are concerned about the number of small schools that have closed in recent years. I think within higher ed, the alarm has already been sounded, Alexander said. Presidents, deans, provosts. This is the stuff that keeps them up at night. Liz McGill of the University of Pennsylvania stepped down from her job in early December. McGill along with Harvard President Claudine Gay and Sally Cornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology appeared in front of Congress on December 5th. Lawmakers asked the presidents if they felt calls for violence against Jewish people should be against school rules. The Republican-led Congressional Committee chose the three leaders because their schools have been at the center of the rise in anti-Semitic protests, a committee spokesperson said in a statement. The protests are related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. One of the three school leaders directly spoke against calls for violence against Jewish people. Instead, they said some speech, even deeply hateful speech, is protected by the U.S. Constitution. On December 9th, McGill resigned from her position under pressure from influential donors and alumni. Gay and Cornbluth received support and criticism, but both were permitted to keep their jobs. One group of professors at Harvard said colleges and universities should not be influenced by political pressure. A top legal expert from Harvard, Lawrence Tribe, said universities should not be bullied into micromanaging their policies. I'm Brian Lynn. And I'm Faith Perlow. The first generation of solar panels in use on homes and other buildings will soon be too old to work anymore. Owners will need to replace them. But what can be done with the old equipment, aside from adding it to waste landfills? Adam Sage, in the U.S. state of Arizona, hopes he has the answer. He is the leader of a business called We Recycle Solar. He said most solar panels last about 30 years. So many of the first panels put to use in America are reaching the end of their usefulness. Most will go to landfills, he said. However, his company and a few others are working to collect old panels and make them useful again. He said the process is part of what he called the circular economy. Solar is a sustainable form of energy. There needs to be a plan for the retirement of those assets, he said. For example, Sage said many of the panels that fail only have a small problem. Often it can be easily fixed. Then the repaired piece can be offered in new markets, often in other countries. Sage said the company's engineers learned how to recover valuable material from the old solar panels. They can remove silver, copper, glass, and silicone from the broken panels. All the materials have market value. It took the engineers three years to perfect the materials recovery process, which Sage called urban mining. The company can process up to 7,500 solar panels every day at its center in Yuma. Sage said they can recover up to 99% of the useful material from each panel. Meng Tao is a professor at Arizona State University and an expert on sustainable energy systems. He said solar panel installations will reach their highest numbers in about 20 years. At that point, he said, the number of new panels being produced will equal the number of old panels going out of service. The cost to recycle the old panels, however, may be too high. At that point, he said, it will be very easy for homeowners to decide to send their panels to a landfill. But the US government, he said, should provide money for solar panel recycling projects as part of its environmental policies. That way, making a better choice will be easier for homeowners. Sage said he hopes his company is getting into the business at the right time. Recovering the materials from old panels is costly work. He said it takes a lot of labor, time, and energy. But he thinks taking out the valuable materials and sending them back into the supply chain is a winning idea. These are markets that are growing, Sage said. What's exciting is we're at the forefront. I'm Dan Friedel. And now, words and their stories from VOA Learning English. December 31, 2023 means the new year 2024 is nearly here. At this time of the year, many people set new year's resolutions. Many people want to make a change in life, and others set a goal. So today, we talk about the word goal. You may know this word because you shout, goal when your team scores. It is exciting. It is also exciting when we reach our personal goals. A goal is something we want to reach. It is something we work toward. It is important to have goals in life, and a plan to achieve them. A football player's goal is to score a goal, and a goalie's goal is to stop a goal. Let's continue talking about sports. Many sports involve not only goals, but also a goal line. A goal line gives the space on the field in which you can score or make a goal. Let's talk about American football for a minute. That sport involves tall goal posts. To make a point, a kicker can kick a football between the posts and score. Now, imagine if you are kicking that ball. You have the goal posts in your sights. You kick. It looks good. It looks like the ball is going to go between the posts. But then, at the last minute, someone moves the goal posts, and your ball does not go through. To move the goal posts as you are kicking the ball would not be fair. If someone moves the goal posts, they are changing the rules of the game, or a situation, to meet their own needs. Let's say you are building a house for someone. Both of you agree on a design, plan, and price to build the house, and a date to complete the building. As the date of completion arrives, the soon-to-be owner wants to change the design of the house. She says that she wants the new design for the same price. You could say that she has moved the goal post, or you could say that she has moved the goal line, because some sports use a line and not a post. And some sports use both. People who have the goal line or goal post moved on them may fall short of their goals. If you fall short of your goal, you do not accomplish it. You do not succeed. To reach your goals, it is a good idea to have a plan. Set out small steps you can do to reach your goals. And when you complete those small steps on your way to your end goal, make sure to celebrate. And make sure no one moves the goal line on you. And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories. Until next year, I'm Anna Matteo. I'm Dan Friedel, and you're listening to the Learning English Podcast. We just heard Anna Matteo talk about the New Year, Goals and Goal Posts. Anna joins us now. Hi, Anna. Hi, Dan. Thanks for having me, and happy New Year. Anna, thanks. Happy New Year to you too. Before we look forward to 2024, let's think back about 2023. I thought this was going to be a big year for me, and it was. It was my first full year being married, and my wife and I worked on a lot of home projects. We even sold our home late in the year and looked for a new home in a new state. We also got to see our puppy, Bernie, grow up. She's over one year old now and quite a handful. What about you? How was 2023, Anna? I am going to celebrate the wonderful things that happened in 2023. I took a trip to Bangladesh and worked with some really great high school students in Dhaka. That was in person, and it was fabulous. And online, in 2023, I have been working with some amazing teachers and students in Ukraine. So I would love more of those things in 2024. Anna, that is a year to be proud of, for sure. You made a difference in the lives of many people. What are you planning for 2024? Do you have any big resolutions or goals? For 2024, I am also looking forward to getting back to some things I really enjoy doing, like studying Chinese, playing the piano, and writing songs. What about you? Well, as I mentioned before, my wife and I are moving to a new home in a new state. So I think one big goal is to make some new friends. It's not always so easy when you're an adult moving to a new place. Do you have any suggestions for making new friends? Dan, I think you should just put yourself out there and try a lot of new things. That way, you will meet new people and maybe find some people you like spending time with. That sounds like some good advice, Anna. We are talking about goals for the new year right now, but you also mentioned the idea of moving the goalposts or moving the goal line in this week's episode. Have you ever been in a situation where someone has moved the goal line on you? I can't think of a time this happened to me, but recently I was watching a show about buying real estate and one of the agents used this expression. Okay, so the house hunters gave the real estate agent a list of things they wanted in the property. And one of the things was the house must be near the city center, so the agent based the search on that. But then after viewing only one house, they said they wanted to live way out in the country. They completely moved the goalposts on the agent, and she had to start the search over from scratch. Wow, as someone who was recently looking for a home, I can imagine how that might have been frustrating for the agent. Yes, it was, but luckily it is a TV show, so she was probably getting paid pretty well for her work. That's true. In the end, I'm sure it worked out for everyone, but perhaps a goal or resolution for 2024 should be goal lines that do not move, right? That's right, Dan. Well, Anna, we seem to have reached our goal for this program, so it's time to say goodbye. It's been great talking with you this year. It's been one of the highlights of 2023 for me, and I'm sure for our listeners as well. Thanks for all your hard work this year. Thanks for having me, and again, Happy New Year. VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents. Today we are talking about Barack Obama. He first took office in 2009 and was re-elected in 2012. Because his presidency is so recent, this program will not try to offer a historical perspective. But one part of his legacy is already clear. Obama is the United States first African American president. His father was a black man from Kenya. His mother was a white American from the Midwestern state of Kansas. For many Americans, Obama's presidency was an important symbol in a country that permitted black people to be enslaved. And even after the U.S. Constitution officially banned slavery in 1865, African Americans have been extremely underrepresented in the U.S. government. By 2009, only five African Americans had ever served in the U.S. Senate, and Obama was one of them. Even many people who did not vote for Obama said his election to the country's highest office made them proud or hopeful. A public opinion survey immediately after Election Day found that two-thirds of Americans believed that the country's racial conflicts could be resolved. Obama's parents met as students at the University of Hawaii. His father had won a scholarship to study economics. His mother went on to earn a degree in math there, as well as a graduate degree. The two married and had a son, whom they named after his father, Barack Hussein Obama Jr. But the couple soon separated. The older Barack Obama returned to Kenya, where he later died in a car accident. Barack's mother went on to marry another man. He was from Indonesia. The family moved to Jakarta, and the couple had a daughter named Maya. When Barack was 10, his mother sent him back to Hawaii to live with her parents. She wanted him to get a good education. Barack finished high school in Hawaii, then went on to Occidental College in Los Angeles. After two years, he transferred to Columbia University in New York. There, he completed a degree in political science. But Obama said the best education he received was in one of his first jobs. He worked as a community organizer in Chicago. He helped people who lived in public housing put pressure on the city government to improve their conditions. Obama later said the work showed him how important it was to understand the legal process. So he entered Harvard Law School. Over the next years, Obama worked as a lawyer, wrote a book about his experience as a person of mixed race, and married Michelle Robinson, a woman he worked with at a law firm. She and Barack Obama settled in Chicago and had two daughters, Malia and Sasha. When he was in his mid-30s, Obama began his political career. He was elected three times to the Illinois State Senate. After 10 years there, he won a seat in the U.S. Senate in a landslide victory. That same year, Obama attended the Democratic National Convention, the meeting where the party officially nominates a presidential candidate. Obama was not one of the candidates, but the Democrats asked him to make an important speech. In it, Obama famously talked about how his life story was an American story. He said he was confident the U.S. could overcome its divisions and achieve unity. There is not a liberal America and a conservative America, he said. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America. There's a United States of America. Only four years later, Obama would be elected its 44th president. I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. And that's the Learning English podcast for today. Thank you, Kelly, for that report. And thanks to our VOA colleagues for their work on today's program. Most importantly, thank you for listening. For more, visit our website at learningenglish.voanews.com. I'm Katie Weaver. And I'm Dan Friedel.