1970s parents didn't complain about compulsory vaccines

+ the future of work is hybrid US Edition - Today's top story: Parents were fine with sweeping school vaccination mandates five decades ago – but COVID-19 may be a different story [View in browser]( US Edition | 22 October 2021 [The Conversation]( As a mother of young children, I’ve been eagerly focused on a future time when they’ll be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. (Soon, please!) And I’d certainly have no problem with their school adding an approved COVID-19 shot to the list of what’s already required to enroll. But I know there are some parents who do not agree. The controversy surrounding vaccine mandates during the pandemic got our editors wondering how parents reacted decades ago when schools’ lists of required vaccines first expanded. I turned to public health historian James Colgrove, who literally wrote the book on the politics of vaccination in the 20th century U.S. He explains why a wave of [compulsory vaccination laws passed in the 1970s]( were met with little resistance – and why a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for schoolchildren would likely face a very different path. Also today: - [California faces the risk of mudslides]( - [War as a driver of innovation]( - [Are presidential papers private?]( Maggie Villiger Senior Science + Technology Editor Children and parents lined up for polio vaccines outside a Syracuse, New York school in 1961. AP Photo [Parents were fine with sweeping school vaccination mandates five decades ago – but COVID-19 may be a different story]( James Colgrove, Columbia University Public health experts know that schools are likely sites for the spread of disease, and laws tying school attendance to vaccination go back to the 1800s. Environment + Energy - [Extreme rain heads for California’s burn scars, raising the risk of mudslides – this is what cascading climate disasters look like]( Amir AghaKouchak, University of California, Irvine Studies show climate change is raising the risk of cascading hazards that alone might not be extreme but add up to human disasters. Communities and government agencies aren’t prepared. Science + Technology - [The horse bit and bridle kicked off ancient empires – a new giant dataset tracks the societal factors that drove military technology]( Peter Turchin, University of Connecticut Did ancient technological advancements drive social innovation, or vice versa? Studying cause and effect in the ancient world may seem like a fool’s errand, but researchers built a database to do just that. Politics + Society - [Trump wants the National Archives to keep his papers away from investigators – post-Watergate laws and executive orders may not let him]( Shannon Bow O'Brien, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts Donald Trump’s lawsuit to stop the release to Congress of potentially embarrassing or incriminating documents puts the National Archives in the middle of an old legal conflict. Economy + Business - [The future of work is hybrid – here’s an expert’s recommendations for success]( Alanah Mitchell, Drake University Even when the pandemic ends, the vast majority of US companies are expected to let many employees continue to work at least part time from home. Podcast 🎙️ - [Taiwan: what is China’s long-term strategy? Podcast]( Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation; Justin Bergman, The Conversation; Daniel Merino, The Conversation Plus, an extract from the Don’t Call Me Resilient podcast on the damage done when North Americans pretend to have Indigenous identity. Listen to episode 38 of The Conversation Weekly. From our International Editions - [We are filmmakers who work with firearms. This is what is important in on-set safety]( Christopher Gist, University of South Australia; Sarah Mayberry, The University of Melbourne Voluntary modifications to behaviour – such as mask wearing when it’s not mandatory – are probably helping to keep the virus in check. - [Deciphering the Philosophers’ Stone: how we cracked a 400-year-old alchemical cipher]( Richard Bean, The University of Queensland; Megan Piorko, Georgia State University; Sarah Lang, University of Graz The secret recipe came from Arthur Dee, 17th-century alchemist and royal physician to the Tsar. - [How Johannesburg’s suburban elites maintain apartheid inequities]( Benjamin H. Bradlow, Harvard University In an on-set accident, Alec {NAME} has fatally fired a prop gun. When using weapons on screen, safety must always be paramount. The Conversation Quiz 🧠- What year did the pentagram – a five-pointed star associated with Wicca – become a permitted symbol for military gravestones? - A) 1970 - B) 1997 - C) 2007 - D) 2017 [Click here for the answer.]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](