Reaping What We Sow: The Implications And Outcomes Of Mississippi House Bill 1125, The “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (Reap)” Act, Kerigan Brewer

Honors Theses

Mississippi House Bill 1125 (MS HB1125), also known as the “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (REAP) Act,” was signed into law by Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves in early 2023 (REAP Act, 2023). It is one of multiple policies passed into law that limit the rights of transgender people. This thesis aims to clarify the history of the trans community, dispel myths around gender-affirming health care and the trans identity, and discuss the current state of anti-trans laws and transgender rights. Using a policy analysis framework by DiNitto (2011), MS HB1125 is analyzed on points like its social and economic costs, the …

City On A Hill: A Reflection On Christian Ethic And Human Morality, Mayce Combs

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

In John Winthrop’s sermon A Model of Christian Charity (1630), he spoke to his congregation of the mission God had called them to. With the creation of a new blended nation, the only way to be exceptional was to reflect the gospel in policy, action, and foremost thought. Philosophers from ancient times to today acknowledge that an individual is made up of the soul and their body. From the soul, comes thought, reason, empathy, and a connection to a divine being who deciphers what is morally unjust. The body is a sinful, self-seeking vessel that does not have the ability …

Sister City International Project Exchange: Providing Resources For Migrants, Claire Saldaña

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

Migrants continuously enter the United States through the southern border and overwhelm Texas border cities’ resources. Many migrants entering U.S. have travel plans; however, they need basic resources to continue their journey. San Antonio has one of the best migrant resource center models in the country but are increasingly overwhelmed with the continuous surges. This proposal focuses on the City of San Antonio, as it is the main port of transportation for migrants to the rest of the U.S. Through the Sister City International program San Antonio will create a letter of intent for an exchange program. The creation of …

Rhetorical Demagoguery: An Exploration Of Trump’S And Hitler’S Rise To Power, Tanner Horne

Undergraduate Honors Theses

While many scholars have examined the rhetoric of President Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler individually, there is a void of scholarly work that highlights the similarities between the two leaders’ use of grandiloquent language to stoke the passions of their perspective nations. In the past one hundred years, rhetoric and propaganda have been employed to push political agendas that are divisive and dangerous. Trump’s incendiary vocabulary–“enemy of the people,” “vermin,” “retribution,” etc., employed frequently throughout his campaign and presidency, in many ways echoes Hitler's speeches and declarations. While their political strategies ultimately differed greatly, a close analysis of their speeches, …

When Ballots Are Blank: Write-In’S Serving Local Government And The Implications For A Healthy And Vibrant Democracy, Thomas J. Ruter

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

Our democracy depends on having a supply of candidates running for elected office, but in some instances, no one wants to run. This phenomenological study asks what the effects on a healthy and vibrant democracy are if ballots are blank and the seat is filled through write-in or appointment. Rooted in democratic theory, this study explores small, rural city elections where write-ins won election. Understudied, local governments are responsible for decisions affecting the lives of millions of people each day. Workforce scarcity, the alienation of young Americans from politics, government bashing, nasty campaigns, threats of physical harm, and other barriers …

Identifying Youth Appeals In Alcohol Alternative Social Media Content Through Framing, Melina Oneal

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Proposed regulations for alcohol advertising prevent beverage companies from targeting people under the legal drinking age. However, similar regulations for alcohol alternative beverages are less explored, which could allow alcohol alternative products to create awareness for alcoholic beverages among youth. Alcohol alternatives beverages, including no-alcohol and low-alcohol products, are increasing in popularity and can function as compliments to alcoholic products to decrease the total alcohol volume consumed or as substitutes for alcoholic products. Framing theory can be operationalized through the Content Appealing to Youth Index, an index of content elements found in research literature to be appealing to youth, to …

Exploring The Factors That Influence Female Offending In The U.S. And Mexico, Dana Villasenor

CMC Senior Theses

Hollywood has painted a picture of the criminal woman as a sexy, sneaky, and often psychotic female fatale. This is because men run Hollywood. Much like movies, research on why women offend had historically focused on men as their stellar. However, towards the turn of the century and with the disproportionate rise in female incarceration, literature caught up to the fact that women and men do not experience the same socialization, standards, or reality and, therefore, have different reasons for and ways of offending. This research explores those reasons for women in the U.S. and Mexico and paints the picture …

The Permanence Of Racism In Tennessee Public Schools, Jarral Yokley

Dissertations

The qualitative case study exposed the permanence of racism beginning in the antebellum public schools of Nashville and continued in the current actions in the Tennessee legislature with the expulsion of two Black male legislators. Critical race theory is used as the main descriptor for the actions of White politicians and legislators in Tennessee who continue the oppressive treatment of Black people in the state of Tennessee.

White members of the Tennessee legislature have attempted to strategically continue white supremacy in their decision to display a depiction of one of the most deplorable, racists in the history of the state …

From "Our Poor" To "Personal Responsibility": Changing Welfare Rhetoric In Political Party Platforms Of The Carolinas And The Nation, 1950-2005, Felicity N. Ropp

Senior Theses

In this thesis, I track political rhetoric surrounding poverty and welfare from 1950-2005. I first provide thorough context on the history of welfare policy in the United States and the way these issues were framed by politicians leading up to the period my data covers. My analysis centers on 108 political party platforms from the national Republican and Democratic parties and from state parties in North and South Carolina, ranging from 1950 to 2005 (31 of which I located in archives and manually digitized for the first time ever). I explain the significance of party platforms and review the literature …

Historical Trauma: Literary And Testimonial Responses To Hiroshima, Mariam Ghonim

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of trauma is controversial in literature. While one may be able to come up with ways to describe trauma in fiction, representing historical trauma is a hard task for writers. Some argue that trauma can not be described through those who did not experience it, while others claim that, provided some elements are added, one can represent trauma to the reader. This thesis focuses on twentieth-century historical traumas related to a nuclear catastrophe and explores the different literary and testimonial responses to the catastrophic man-made event of Hiroshima (1945). In this thesis, Kathleen Burkinshaw’s historical fiction The Last …

The Impact Of The Deinstitutionalization Policies On Homelessness, Henrique Krigner

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Homelessness is a growing issue in America. In 2019 there were 567,715 homeless individuals in the United States, distributed in emergency shelters (63%) or residing unsheltered on streets (27%). In 2021, even though specialists argue that the Covid-19 restrictions greatly harmed an accurate counting, the total number of unsheltered homeless in America increased in 20%. Such increase became a central discussion not only to regular citizens and neighborhood associations, but it also became a great concern within the federal government which has been appropriating billions of dollars each year to “end homeless”.

Specialists point out that the growth of the …

The American Debate Between Toleration And Liberty Of Conscience, Zachary Federico

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

No abstract provided.

A Wedge Issue For The 21st Century: The Conditional Effect Of Party Identification For Predicting Feelings Towards Immigrants And Refugees In A Higher Ed Setting, Nicholas Bauroth, Kjersten Nelson

Online Journal of Rural Research & Policy

The issue of immigration played an important role in recent U.S. elections. How did the salience of immigration and refugees in the 2016, 2018, and 2020 elections play out amongst young voters? Did increased opportunities to interact with immigrants and refugees affect respondents’ feelings towards these groups, as social contact theory might predict? The analyses here focus on a sample of college students, given that the higher education experience presents conditions for social contact theory to play out. We find that party identification is a key piece of the puzzle – measures of social contact theory operate differently for Democratic …

No Refuge From The Fields Vol. 2: Revitalization Of Farmworker Housing Research, Manda Laporte

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

Farmworkers in the U.S. are often subjected to substandard living situations. However, since they are primarily seasonal, migrant, or temporary work visa holders, limited attention is focused on their quality of life. Although farmworkers are some of the hardest working people, they are typically exposed to extreme weather and working conditions, have the highest percentage of people among the working poor, face restrictive access to education and health care, etc. While service providers, such as housing developers and healthcare specialists, are concerned about these individuals’ well-being, there is still minimal research available about current farmworker trends. This report seeks to …

How Do Black Congressional Members Frame The Issue Of Gun Violence? An Analysis Of Twitter Posts, Speeches, And Press Releases From The 117th Congress, Solena Ornelas

Political Science & International Studies | Senior Theses

Black Americans are disproportionately affected by gun violence. In fact, in 2022 Black Americans were projected to be ten times more likely than White Americans to die by gun homicide.1 One of the responsibilities of Congress is to represent people within their district by developing and voting on legislation that protects constituents by making their communities safer. It is the responsibility of Congress to address the issue of gun violence because it is an issue that jeopardizes the safety of many American communities, as there are roughly 100,000 victims of gun violence each year.2 Research has shown that the race …

Unwilling Gamblers And Loaded Dice: Considering Recession And Crisis As A Natural Effect Of Financial Capitalism, Darlene N. Moorman

The Downtown Review

Under financial capitalism, ordinary people are increasingly becoming 'unwilling gamblers' of a risky and unstable system. This paper explores the social and institutional change behind the neoliberal movement and considers how the politics and policies of neoliberalism have contributed to a certain environment of financial instability. Looking at the changing nature of the economy, the rapid expansion of the financial sector, and the persisting issue of moral hazard underlying risky and speculative behaviors among other items, reveals a financial system in which recessions and crises can be considered a natural, although not inevitable, effect.

The Future Of Universal Basic Income: The Impact Of Organizational Strategies On Alleviating Poverty And Maximizing Outcomes, Anna Mathews

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Universal basic income is gaining traction, with pilot programs being conducted all over the world. These programs are all organized differently, from their sources of funding to their eligibility criteria. This research draws correlations between organizational strategies of UBI programs and the outcomes their recipients experience. Specifically, it analyzes three contemporary UBI programs within the United States: the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED), Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (APFD), and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians per capita payments (EBCI). The research assesses the physical health, mental health, and economic outcomes of the participants in each case study, in order to …

Communities Moving Past The Daddy Daughter Dance: Adapting Gender-Exclusive Events For The 21st Century, Ezra Temko, Emily Love, Destiny Baxter, Heidi Masching, Adam Loesch

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Executive Summary

Parent-child community events like father-daughter dances are a celebrated tradition in many communities. However, when these events specify the gender of who can participate, they exclude many families. They also tend to reinforce gender stereotypes (e.g., a dance for girls and a sports event for boys), and are legally questionable for public school and associated P.T.A./P.T.O. sponsors that may be violating federal Title IX requirements and for local governments that may be violating the 14^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.

Contemporary U.S. society is made up of families that come in diverse forms and …

Interns And Institutions: Interactions Between Unpaid Interns And Public Policy, Hannah G. Waterman

Honors Projects

Political, and especially Congressional, internships are all but mandatory to launch a career in politics. This text examines the demographics of how these internships are dispersed, how they are paid, who is paid, and how this manifests in full-time Congressional staff demographics. Data shows that both paid and unpaid Congressional internships belong disproportionately to white students. Top staff in the House of Representatives is similarly disproportionately white. The text also examines the inherent danger of working in Congress and the broader case for paid internships.

Why Does Equality Matter Anyway? How Indifference To Inequality Relates To U.S.-Born White, Latino, And Black Americans' Attitudes Toward Immigration Policy, Trisha A. Dehrone

Masters Theses

Research on attitudes towards immigration policies typically considers the economic and cultural threats that compel many Americans to favor exclusionary policies that curb immigration. Less is understood about how indifference to inequality shapes Americans’ attitudes towards immigration policies—that is, how ‘not caring’ about the unequal conditions faced by immigrants likely has detrimental consequences for their safety and wellbeing. The present research examines indifference to inequality as a predictor for policies that impact opportunities for immigrants to come to the U.S., and who are otherwise undocumented and/or at great risk for exploitation. Using survey data from the American National Election Studies …

Mental Health In Massachusetts Prisons, Jeffrey Yung

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

In November of last year, former Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division released the findings of an investigation of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections (MDOC). They found several violations of prisoner’ constitutionals rights for mental health cases under the Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishments for criminal defendants. The findings reveal a lack of structured mental health care for MDOC prisoners, untrained employees, and unnecessary abuse of restrictive housing for prisoners designated under a mental health watch program.

The Commonwealth Takes An Important Step In Protecting Our Democracy, Ashish Vaidya

eJournal of Public Affairs

Northern Kentucky University’s President Ashish Vaidya wrote an article celebrating Kentucky’s new bipartisan voting rights bill. Signed into law in April, the legislation is contrary to what we are seeing in other states and expands voting options in Kentucky. As an immigrant to the U.S. from India, President Vaidya has a unique perspective on democracy in America, and he is very passionate about higher education’s role to inform its students on their responsibility.

Keeping Our Distinctions Straight: A Response To “Originalism: Standard And Procedure”, Mitchell N. Berman

All Faculty Scholarship

For half a century, moral philosophers have distinguished between a “standard” that makes acts right and a “decision procedure” by which agents can determine whether any given contemplated act is right, which is to say whether it satisfies the standard. In “Originalism: Standard and Procedure,” Stephen Sachs argues that the same distinction applies to the constitutional domain and that clear grasp of the difference strengthens the case for originalism because theorists who emphasize the infirmities of originalism as a decision procedure frequently but mistakenly infer that those flaws also cast doubt on originalism as a standard. This invited response agrees …

Exclusionary Spillage: A Reckoning Of Belonging And Mass Incarceration, Valentina Flores Mayen

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Can Discourse Ethics Be Applied To Emergencies?, Brenna Giblin

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Emergencies arise unexpectedly and when they occur, it is the job of our governments to respond to them. They often do so by using emergency powers, designed to return the nation back to its original state. Ensuring that our responses to emergencies are ethical is essential if we wish to return to a state of normalcy. To ensure that everyone is treated fairly, not only during the emergency, but also during the rebuilding and healing periods of the post-emergency world, we must critically analyze our emergency response. In this paper, I propose that Discourse Ethics, a normative theory suggesting that …

Covid, Care, And The Carceral State: American Disposability Politics And The Selective Weaponization Of Public Health Guidelines During Covid-19, Uma Nagarajan-Swenson

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines the American state's role in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on marginalized communities, arguing that the state used the frame of disposability politics to justify expanding its carceral capacities and withdrawing as a provider of welfare during the pandemic.

"Ethnic" Some Days, White The Rest: Whittier, Ca As A Case Study In Mexican-American Racialization And Assimilation In Los Angeles County, Maria Gutierrez-Vera

CMC Senior Theses

Per the U.S. Census Bureau, the Latino population in the United States stands at 60.5 million. This thesis tells the story of a few hundred-thousand Mexican-Americans in Southeast Los Angeles County’s suburbs, who live in a region nicknamed the “Mexican Beverly Hills.” This is a unique site of middle-class ethnic affluence, but also a place where questions of “Hispanic” racial identity, assimilation, and belonging are played out. The Mexican Beverly Hills promises residents the fulfillment of their own (Mexican-) American Dream, but also plays into tropes of model minorities, demands assimilation and ethnic betrayal from its residents, and is the …

Reproductive Freedom For All: A Policy Brief, Noa J. Cook

The Downtown Review

Reproductive freedom in the United States has been a source of controversy throughout history and current legislation places these rights under attack. Divided into three parts, this policy brief seeks to address the lack of accessible reproductive healthcare for women, with special attention to economic, racial, and ethnic disparities. Part 1 includes a historical overview of abortion access and significant legislation in the U.S., describes the present status of the problem, and the populations affected. In Part 2, the pros and cons of current policies such as the federal contraceptive guarantee of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Hyde Amendment, and …

Young People’S Perception Of Opportunities To Participate In Democratic Governance, Jennifer Nga Yu Tang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations General Assembly, 1989) accords all young people the right to be heard and make decisions on matters affecting them. Despite the fact the United States remains the only country in the world not to have ratified this document, a number of American cities have nevertheless begun to engage young people in community decision-making (e.g., in neighborhood associations or community boards). However, as of yet there are few actual opportunities for youth to participate fully in the governance of their cities. This study examined the perspectives of young people …

Victim Impact: The Manson Murders And The Rise Of The Victims’ Rights Movement, Merrill W. Steeg

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.