Digital Commons Network^™

Rising Seas Are Coming For The Dead, Kristen Ancillotti

Capstones

When people think of preparing for a disaster, they focus on how to safeguard homes, prevent damage to roads, and create efficient flood drainage. But as sea levels rise, it’s not only the living that are affected. Coastal cemeteries are washing away or slowly turning into marshland, and in some instances, caskets can be seen floating in the streets after storms. Projections from NOAA indicate that the global mean sea level is likely to rise at least 12 inches by 2100, and in a worst case scenario in which greenhouse gas emissions are at their highest, as high as 8.2 …

Among America’S Oldest, Opioid Overdoses Are On The Rise, Emma Davis

Capstones

Often overlooked in coverage of the opioid crisis, American seniors have experienced a dramatic increase in addiction in the last two decades. Drug overdoses in adults ages 55-64 have risen six-fold since 1999, according to the Center for Disease Control, and emergency visits due to opioid misuse tripled among those over 65 from 2006-2014, a study from Towson University found. This print and video piece investigates how heroin and prescription opioid use among older adults in New York City has contributed to the overdose rate; the consequences of opioid restrictions for geriatric pain patients; and the treatment options for seniors …

South Bronx Waterfront, Noah Lewis

Capstones

The waterfronts of New York City have seen dramatic transformation and development over the past several decades. Developers have taken advantage of the coveted real estate space and constructed glass monoliths along Manhattan’s shores on the East and Hudson Rivers.

More recent developments in Long Island City and Williamsburg’s waterfront have seen waterfronts transform, and neighborhoods are unrecognizable from where they used to be. But as development continues in those areas, many developers are being priced out, and the Bronx is the logical next step in the process.

This project includes photos, videos, and animations of the South Bronx Waterfront. …

The Unsung History Of Prince Hall Freemasonry, Ann Seymour

Capstones

Historical review of the history of Prince Hall Freemasonry examined through the experiences of a modern-day member. Prince Hall Freemasonry, the African American branch of the organization, has faced marginalization from the mainstream version of the organization since its inception in the late 18^th century. Despite these struggles, members have remained committed to both the fraternal organization and to fighting for the rights of African Americans in the United States. However, this history has been largely overshadowed by the attention given to mainstream Freemasonry. By speaking with contemporary members of both Prince Hall and mainstream Freemasonry, I created a …

Feeding The Future Meat Doesn’T Come Cheap, Lukas C. Southard

Capstones

Cultured – or as it is referred to by companies innovating the technology clean – meat is expected to be the next innovation to change the way the world gets its animal protein. Meat from animal cells grown in a lab seems like science fiction but it is around the corner from hitting your supermarket shelves. The technology has been developed but how these companies intend on scaling up their production to meet retail demands remains a mystery. So far companies have relied on seed and early stage investment from venture capital companies and private sources to fund research. Predictions …

How New York City Is Failing Students With Special Needs—And Why Minority Kids Have It The Worst, Pamela Subizar

Capstones

Under federal law, children are guaranteed free, appropriate education, but reports have found failures at every level of the New York City special education system. Despite some improvements by the city in recent years, initial evaluations are still delayed, and mandated services go unprovided. Complaints filed against the city have multiplied. Thousands of parents have to sacrifice savings and time fighting for better services. This report describes the particular challenges faced by minority families using data analysis, interviews with experts, and stories.

Latino students depend on these public services the most—they represent half of NYC students in special education programs. …

Google Has A Labor Problem, And It’S Not Just Coming From Its Employees, Daniel Whateley

Capstones

For decades, technology companies have used temporary and contract workers to lower costs, creating a shadow workforce of thousands of indirect employees. That business model is now under threat.

In September 2019, 80 contract workers at Google’s Pittsburgh office voted to unionize with the United Steelworkers, the first time that white-collar tech workers in the U.S. have successfully organized with a union. These contractors are employees of HCL Technologies, an Indian multinational IT and consulting company that partners with Google around the world.

Tech and office workers face a different set of workplace issues from blue-collar and factory employees, which …

Whatever Happened To The Movie Theme Song?, Luka Vasic

Capstones

Film music is as important as it’s ever been and a good theme song can absorb you into the world of a movie. Despite this, our idea of the theme song has changed a lot, and the kinds of themes that have traditionally been memorable parts of classic cinema have now lost their importance and role in modern filmmaking.

http://lukavasic.com/capstone/

Maternidad, Denise Cervantes

Capstones

It was a hot summer day in 1985 when my mother, Ada Reyes, left El Salvador and crossed the border into the United States. Behind her, she left her one-year-old son and a war-stricken country. I sat down with her and she told me the story of how she built a life in the United States and raised my brother and me alone as a single mother.

Link: https://denisecervantes.com/capstone

The Miss America Pageant Should Restore Prioritizing The Evening Gown Segment, Keishel Williams

Capstones

Evening gown in pageants, as in society, has always represented a woman's way of expressing her personality and femininity through fashion. Miss America's attempt to stop requiring evening gowns implies that wearing formal gowns does not equate to being a modern, empowered woman.

Instead of attempting to erase the evening gown as an outdated part of a modern woman’s wardrobe, the Miss America pageant should restore the original gown segment and use this opportunity to reshape America’s perspective on how modern women can choose to wear gowns and still be empowered.

https://keishelawilliams.wordpress.com/

Using Engagement Journalism To Serve The Needs Of Caregivers Of People With Autism, Ariam Alula

Capstones

I’m Ariam. I worked with a diverse group of families who are intimately impacted by the autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities through caring for a loved one with the diagnosis. During the program, I used my journalism education, advocacy work, and interpersonal skills to support the emotional and informational needs of the community. The majority of the caretakers I engaged over the duration of the program reside in the Bronx, my home borough. I chose to focus on the lived experiences of people in this community because they represent my own. I have an older brother on the spectrum …

Boys Will Be, Victoria Hoffman

Capstones

SocialJ Presentation

SocialJ Report

Despite Overcrowding, School Siting Process Stalls New Buildings, Megan Conn

Capstones

More than half of New York City’s 1.1 million students attend an over-utilized school, where the number of students enrolled exceeds the official capacity. But for years, the School Construction Authority has been slow to identify and acquire sites to build new schools. When City Council ordered a task force to review nearly 30,000 potential sites, the SCA excluded parent representatives from the analysis process, then reported that only two sites could potentially be used for schools. Though the SCA contracts with commercial real estate brokers to identify sites, the agency has declined to specify how many sites the brokers …

Students With Mental Health Disabilities Suffer From Discrimination Across College Campuses, Abigail Nequa Napp

Capstones

Over the course of several months, we investigated and reported on how colleges and universities have been discriminating against students with mental health disabilities. We FOIA'd the Department of Education for a history of pending and resolved cases (from 2008 - November 2019) to uncover violations committed by colleges. In several instances, institutions discriminated and punished students instead of accommodating their mental health disabilities as required by law. We also reviewed recent lawsuits involving students against universities that focused on punitive leave of absence policies as well as wrongful death suits. This revealed further inefficiencies, deficiencies and tragedy in the …

The Battle For Bushwick, And Beyond: Inside The Radical Grassroots Movement To Reshape Urban Planning In New York City, Chase Brush

Capstones

Mi Casa No Es Su Casa, Take Back The Bronx, Northern Manhattan Is Not For Sale -- in neighborhoods all across New York City, a movement is afoot to take back community control of the urban planning process. These groups and others, faced with increasing gentrification in their own neighborhoods, are fighting back against city-led rezonings that they say would further exacerbate the displacement of longtime residents. Among those leading the charge is Mi Casa No Es Su Casa, a team of social justice activists using the tools of radical grassroots organizing to oppose a slate rezoning of Bushwick, a …

In The Midst Of The Apocalypse, Artificial Intelligence Can Save Brick And Mortar Retailers, Vrushank Nayak

Capstones

You might have heard that brick and mortar stores are closing by the thousands but I bet you didn't hear that brick and mortar stores are using artificial intelligence and customer data to help them counter closures and stay relevant in the transitioning retail industry.

https://coveringcompanies.journalism.cuny.edu/2020/01/07/in-the-midst-of-the-apocalypse-artificial-intelligence-can-save-brick-and-mortar-retailers/

Finding Justice, Hannah Miller

Capstones

Finding Justice tackles the devastation caused by wrongful conviction through the journey of Jeffrey Deskovic. After serving 16 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, Deskovic has strived to rebuild his life. The film follows him as he finishes law school and runs a foundation that frees the wrongfully convicted, all while dealing with lingering trauma.

Not Manly Enough: Femmephobia’S Stinging Impact On The Transmasculine Community, Tat Bellamy - Walker

Capstones

My capstone project is about femmephobia in the transmasculine community. In interviews with at least six trans men and non-binary people, they explained the struggles they faced accessing health care and the discrimination they faced within their families for having a femme gender presentation. In the story, I speak to Rhea Hoskin, one of the leading researchers on femmephobia in Canada who details why this issue is harmful to the transmasculine community. Additionally, the director of the National Center for Transgender Equality talks about how femmephobia can rear its head and contribute to suicidality and depression in the transmasculine community. …

W()Men, Natalia M. Keogan

Capstones

W()MEN is a short documentary that examines the horror movie genre and the way that it focuses on women’s bodies. It integrates talking head interviews, clips from over 50 horror films, and narration in order to critically examine how women’s bodies have been portrayed as monstrous within the genre.

nataliakeogan.com/thesis-film

The Rockaway Project - Townes, Diara Jepris D. Townes

Capstones

The Rockaway Project is a story-driven website that provides information on the government response to Superstorm Sandy recovery on the Rockaway peninsula in Queens, New York. Dozens of climate resiliency projects have been delayed or remain unfinished, despite millions of dollars in funding and six years of promises. The website hosts audio, visual and digital content, gathered through interviews and data collection.

Link to capstone project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAq2BeR4bS0&t=1s

New York State's Landfill Problem, Olivia Raimonde, Chris Polansky

Capstones

Documents reviewed in a NYC News Service investigation of the environmental and health hazards caused by mismanaged landfills in New York State revealed problems at landfills that ranged from emitting dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide in the air in close proximity to schools to leaching chemicals into nearby ground and surface water. The issues at these landfills — which are jeopardizing the safety of the environment and nearby communities — are causing activists, residents and experts to questions how well these facilities are being regulated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conversation, which is responsible for landfill oversight. …

Gay Social Networking Apps Are Fueling Crystal Meth Use, Moises A. Mendez Ii

Capstones

Selling crystal meth on gay social networks is a problem nobody is talking about; two men tell their stories. The LGBT+ community has a long standing relationship with the use of drugs. From the 70s to present day, there has been a popular drug used – currently, it's crystal meth. Adam and Christopher have dealt with their addiction to crystal meth for many years and the introduction of gay dating apps like Grindr, Scruff and Jack'd posed new problems for them when they were trying to stay sober.

https://medium.com/@moises.mendez/gay-social-networking-apps-are-fueling-crystal-meth-use-ac34f38fa636

Beyond The Elevators: How The New York City Subway System Can Better Serve Blind, Deaf And Cognitively Disabled People, Ethan B. Stark-Miller

Capstones

Many blind and visually impaired, deaf and cognitively disabled New Yorkers face challenges when using the subway. A large portion of the system is still missing key accessibility features that would make the subway usable for these groups. And while this problem is on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) radar – the MTA has launched a pilot program to address it – the agency still has no clear plan or timeline for quickly expanding these features to the entire system. Link to full project: https://medium.com/@tough_coquelicot_muskrat_287/beyond-the-elevators-132c31e3ef48

They Dance To Bring Attention To A War. But Who’S Watching?, Fruhlein Chrys Econar

Capstones

Potri Ranka Manis Queano has been at the helm of Kinding Sindaw, the heritage dance troupe she founded, for the last 27 years. When a group of ISIS-affiliated local terrorists attacked Marawi City, the home of the Maranao people, it infused a sense of urgency into her group’s work.

http://www.fruhlein.com/kindingsindaw

Undocumented Survivors Of Domestic Violence Struggle To Get Resources In New York City, Florence Mafomemeh

Capstones

Many undocumented survivors of domestic violence in New York City struggle to gain access to resources they need to survive due to their undocumented status. City officials tell them that help is available at the Family Justice Centers located in all five boroughs. But some undocumented survivors say they don’t get all the help they need. These victims and survivors bring with them the scars of abuse from their exes, to seek help from the city.

Link to full project:

https://florence-mafomemeh.weebly.com/capstone.html

Trump’S Trade Policies Deflate The American Beer Industry, Megan E. Myscofski

Capstones

You can’t tell the story of the U.S. economy under President Trump without his trade policy being front and center. As a presidential candidate, he promised to shrink the trade gap. It has widened by $6 billion since his inauguration and was at $52.5 billion as of this past September.

Farmers and small business owners have been on the front lines of the trade war, and the beer industry, which is full of farmers and small business owners, the damage is evident.

Link: http://meganmyscofski.com/capstone/

What If The Key To Climate Change Is Hiding Under The Sea?, Shira Feder

Capstones

“We know more about outer space than we do the ocean,” says Vicki Ferrini, a research scientist at Columbia University with over 20 ocean expeditions under her belt. And as the woman leading Seabed 2030, the charge to map the world’s oceans—which are 85% unexplored—she knows how vital this is to combat climate change and exactly how she’s going to do it. Read it here: https://medium.com/@shira.feder/what-if-the-key-to-climate-change-is-hiding-under-the-sea-4503565c33a2

Locked Out: Thanks To State Policies, Minorities Are Being Left Behind By The Cannabis Industry, Nikitha Sattiraju, Evelina Nedlund

Capstones

Locked Out: Thanks to State Policies, Minorities Are Being Left Behind by the Cannabis Industry

Social justice provisions in states with legal cannabis usually include a percentage of business licenses for minorities and expungements for those formerly incarcerated for cannabis possession so they can participate in the industry. But that isn’t enough for minority communities to successfully start cannabis businesses. Expensive start-up and operation costs, competition from corporate cannabis, lack of banking services for the industry, and fear stemming from decades of over-policing for cannabis use continue to be major roadblocks.

Cannabis legislation across the country is failing to address …

Someday We'll Look Back On This And Laugh, Ben Masten

Capstones

The People's Improv Theater was an oasis for young New York comedians. Its own success-- and a volatile owner-- changed that. Project contains a narrative journalism piece and an an audio documentary.

Full Project here: https://medium.com/@benmasten/someday-well-look-back-on-this-and-laugh-e6b1dc8468db

Healing The Black Mind, Vanessa Etienne

Capstones

Due to an oppressive history, the African American community is more likely to have issues regarding mental health, but less likely to pursue professional treatment for it. However, as the perception of mental health care in the Black community starts to shift, many are finding unconventional ways to approach healing. http://vanessaetienne.tilda.ws