Political Science Commons^™

How Did A Democrat Win In Deep Red Kentucky? A Study Of Andy Beshear's 2019 And 2023 Electoral Victories, Edwin Wilborn

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Democrat Andy Beshear won his first election as governor of Kentucky in 2019, surprising many by defeating an incumbent Republican governor in a GOP-dominated state and a state that Donald Trump had won handedly in 2016. While Democrats had historically been the dominant party in the commonwealth, by the time of Beshear’s 2019 gubernatorial campaign, that was no longer the case. Beshear’s ability to not only win again but to win by a larger margin against a Trump-backed candidate in 2023 begs two questions: how did Beshear win, and is his success replicable for future Democrats?

Following a discussion of …

Examining The Impact Of Political Affiliation And Related Images On False Memories, Shawn Sullivan

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The 2024 election, similar to the 2020 election, promised political divide and rampant misinformation (Pennycook & Rand 2021). Given the intensity of this polarization, the season provided a unique opportunity to gain insight into public perceptions and false memories. False memories can impact how we view and disseminate mass media; further contributing to the emergence and circulation of misinformation, leading to significant implications for digital literacy. This study aims to understand how individuals' self-identified political affiliation contributes to their susceptibility to misinformation. Furthermore, I aim to understand how viewing related images may influence the memory of fictional events. Although both …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 100, No. 1, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Magazine edition of the College Heights Herald for the period October 9 - November 11, 2024.

• Wilborn, Price. Letter from the Editor – Elections
• Ivory, Larkin, Cameron Shaw, Libby Simpson & Abigail Vickers. How WKU Students Are Approaching the Ballot Box
• Todd Alcott Shares Vision for Bowling Green

• Freidhof, Natalie. A College Student’s Guide to the Swing States
• Reed-Whalen, Bradlee. What Is Amendment 22? – School Funding
• Di Palermo, Dominic. More to Accomplish – Todd Alcott, Bowling Green Mayor
• Todd Alcott for Mayor In His Own Words
• Patti Minter for Mayor In Her Own Words
• Randolph, Eli. A Day in …

Ua12/2/2 Talisman: Legacy, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Fall 2024 Talisman:

• Our Mission
• Harrington, Ragan & Cecilia Alali. Legacy
• Muscutt, Carson. The Spirit of Western – Big Red
• Hardesty, Emma. Beyond the Letters – Fraternities & Sororities
• Lein, Samantha. The Iceberg Beneath You – Poem
• Pollard, Evynn. Echoes of the Past – Jonesville
• Sutton, Avery. Tasting Tradition – Recipes
• Phelps, Brett. The Hill
• Colovos, Christina. Pale Blue Dot – Poem
• Rainwater, Riley & Carson Muscutt. Marking Time – Marching Band
• Vickers, Abigail. Grassroots – Political Campaigns
• Muscutt, Carson. Horoscopes
• Legacy Issue 17 Playlist
• Lasting Impact

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald: Big Red By Ai, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Magazine edition of the College Heights Herald for the period March 3 - April 8, 2024.

• Big Red, Is That You?
• Anderson, Alexandria. Letter from the Editor - Artificial Intelligence
• Phelps, Maggie. What is AI? - Artificial Intelligence
• AI’s Impact on Higher Education
• Reed, Bailey. Students Share Opinions on AI
• Abney, Shayla. WKU Faculty Discuss AI in Courses
• Hawkins, Kaylee. AI’s Impact on Blackboard Ultra
• Randolph, Eli. AI Recreates a WKU Tour
• Shaw, Cameron. WKU Department of Political Science Hosts Dead President’s Tour

What Explains American Perceptions Of Russia And China?, Shane Stryker

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This undergraduate senior thesis project aims to investigate the question of how Americans perceive the challenges posed by Russia and China comparatively, and which factors have the greatest influence on these perceptions. This is important for many reasons, such as a greater understanding of American public opinion on foreign affairs that may help frame approaches to U.S. foreign policy. Additionally, finding where the American public agrees and disagrees on competitors and challengers provides us with insight that can be used to explain perceptions.

First, there will be a literature review concerning the importance of understanding public opinion, explanations and theories …

Detriments To Effective High School Teaching In Kentucky, Christopher Wallace

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This quantitative study examines Kentucky public high school teachers’ perceptions regarding the detriments they and their students face when striving to effectively educate and learn. Data was collected by surveying public high school teachers from across the Commonwealth (n=453). Using Likert-style scales, the survey captures the barriers most detrimental to their students’ assessment outcomes. Concluding questions sought additional personal experiences to elaborate findings. 2023 Kentucky American College Test (ACT) scores represent the dependent variable in the ordinary least squared regression models. Further information regarding administrative effort and points of view was gathered through interviews with four Commonwealth Superintendents. This study …

Ua94/6/18 Stephen Flora Student / Alumni Papers, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Stephen Flora during his years as a student at Western Kentucky University.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald: Your Vote Matters, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Magazine edition of the College Heights Herald for the period October 4 - November 6, 2023.

• Anderson, Alexandria. Letter from the Editor – Elections
• Reed, Bailey. Every Vote in This County is Important – Daniel Cameron, Andy Beshear
• Phelps, Maggie. The Importance of Voter Registration
• Daniel Cameron on the Issues
• Andy Beshear on the Issues
• Di Palermo, Dominic. The Bowling Green Rock Band Academy – Musicians
• Costellow, Ali. Students & Campus Organizations Prepare for November Election
• Wilborn, Price. Wokeness Is Not a Bad Thing, and People Need to Stop Saying It Is
• Edmonds, Luke. A Kentuckian’s Guide to Legal Sports …

The 1985 Move Bombing: A Study In Perspectives, Kaci Delisle

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police dropped a military grade bomb on 6221 Osage Avenue, a row house in a Black neighborhood in West Philadelphia. This home was occupied by a revolutionary group called MOVE. The bomb started a fire that the police and firefighters decided to “contain” rather than put out, resulting in the deaths of eleven people and the destruction of sixty-one homes. Only two MOVE members survived the fire. Using court records, documents from the investigation conducted by the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission (PSIC), and other interviews regarding MOVE and the bombing, this paper reconstructs different perspectives …

Terror Management Theory And Legislation: An Analysis Of How Patterns Evolve And Change, Elizabeth Roth

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Recent legislation passed in states including Georgia, Florida, and Kentucky have included clauses that govern “divisive” material and the manner in which this material is discussed, particularly in schools. The term “divisive” is never truly defined beyond content that is “patently offensive to prevailing standards.” The emphasis has been placed on the fact that students should not be biased by the information that they are taught or allowed to access, but definitions are lax as to what constitutes inappropriate information. The loose criteria as to what counts as “unsuitable” opens up divisive material to easy censorship based on partisan and …

Taiwanese Women In And Out Of The Workforce: Perceptions Of Working Mothers And Their Roles, Josie Coyle

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This thesis explores how Taiwanese citizens perceive women in the workforce and at home, with a specific focus on how working mothers in Taiwan are perceived. The first section provides a literature review of perceptions of women in and out of the workforce in Taiwan and how policies surrounding maternity leave and breastfeeding can impact these perceptions. The second section will detail the findings of an original survey that asks the Taiwanese respondents their opinions regarding women in the workforce, division of labor in the home, breastfeeding, and gender roles. The data shows that there may be a greater level …

People Remember Liked Political Policies As Having Been Attributed To Their Own Party, Dalton Thomas Bailey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A robust finding in psychology shows that people tend to like information more when it supports their existing beliefs, or comes from their own ingroup, a finding known as motivated reasoning. These findings are especially prominent in a political context. Quite consistently, research suggests people increase their liking of political information like political policies when they are attributed to their own party. What is unknown, however, is if people also tend to attribute personally liked information to their own party. These studies were conducted to investigate this question.

Two, within-subjects studies were conducted. In both, participants (undergraduate students) saw various …

Assessing Deportations: The Factors That Influence U.S. Deportations And Their Public Perceptions, Madelynn Einhorn

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Deportations are an understudied component of U.S. deportation policy. While a range of literature focuses on the factors that influence immigration inflows and public perceptions of immigrants, relatively few have studied deportations. I studied deportations by conducting time-series analysis of yearly deportations and by analyzing three original public opinion surveys on perceptions of deportations. In my time-series chapter, I used regression analysis to find that the party composition of the U.S. House and Senate, the unemployment rate, and the incarceration rate influence deportations. In my public opinion chapter, I find that a plurality of American’s support deportations, particularly when they …

Electing To Take On Risk: Political Uncertainty, Midterm Elections, And The Cross-Section Of Stock Returns, John Thornhill

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The relatively high average returns on stocks are understood to be partly a function of the risk taken on by investors when investing in stocks. One source of this risk is the uncertainty regarding future government policy. This uncertainty, though, is not constant across time; it is greatest around elections, when new policies are unknown and the impact of the policies will be relatively immediate. As uncertainty resolves following the election, risk premia should decrease & prices should rise. Thus, investors who buy stocks during this period of uncertainty should be compensated with higher average returns in the months following …

No-Knock Warrants: Unlawfully Legitimate, Isabel Pergande

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor was fatally shot when officers of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) executed a search warrant at her apartment. Breonna Taylor’s case brought national attention to no-knock warrants (NKWs), which allow police to enter private residences unannounced. It is estimated that 20,000-80,000 NKWs are executed by American police each year. This thesis explores the development of NKWs as a common, yet controversial, police tactic. The increase in NKWs is largely attributed to the federal government’s War on Drugs, beginning with Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign. However, the Supreme Court laid the foundation for NKWs …

Understanding Public Support For Foreign Aid: A Cross-National Analysis, Erika Manning

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This thesis examines how public support for bilateral foreign aid in democratic donor countries, namely the United States and South Korea, is influenced by various methods of policy framing. Despite the benefits of bilateral aid to both donor and recipient countries, public support for distributing it has been on the decline due to fears that aid is ineffective. However, this trend may also be the product of the publics’ perceptions of where aid is going and for what purpose. To determine the effects of type of aid and perceptions of recipient countries on support for foreign aid, I conducted a …

Will The Real News Reporters Please Stand Up?: A Study Of Bias In The Media, Hannah Claussen

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The goal of my project is to define what news media bias is and examine its history and the effects it currently has on our country and democracy. I will examine its electoral effects as well as how media bias has contributed to lower trust in the news media as a whole.

My project will consist of a general news story on the subject of media bias; a smaller news story focusing on the history of media bias and public perception of the press; an abbreviated research paper on newspaper endorsements and their efficacy in a modern news landscape; and …

A Descriptive Study: Perceptions Of Family Court Judges And Attorneys Regarding Parents Involved With Child Welfare Services As A Result Of Substance Misuse And/Or Mental Health Issues, Nathan Terrell

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

For three consecutive years, Kentucky has dealt with the worst rates of child maltreatment in the United States. Kentucky has implemented numerous measures to address this crisis. While many research efforts have focused on perceptions of children involved with child welfare services, there are few efforts researching the perception of judges and lawyers about parents involved with family court services.

This study used a mixed-methods approach to explore the perceptions of Kentucky Family Court Judges and family law attorneys about parental involvement with child welfare services as a result of substance misuse and/or mental health issues. The qualitative component of …

Watts, John Clarence, 1902-1971 (Sc 3620), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3620. Letter, 18 September 1962, from Congressman John C. Watts to constituent Faye Steilberg, Lexington, Kentucky, updating her on proposed legislation regarding voluntary pension plans for self- employed individuals.

Sanders, William Willard "Whitey," 1930-2021 (Mss 723), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 723. Original cartoons drawn by Bill “Whitey” Sanders during his career as an editorial cartoonist with the Greensboro Daily News, Kansas City Star, and Milwaukee Journal. Includes some created after his retirement.

Sanders, William Willard "Whitey," 1930-2021 (Mss 722), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 722. Photocopies of cartoons drawn by Bill “Whitey” Sanders during his career and after retirement as an editorial cartoonist with the Greensboro Daily News, Kansas City Star, and Milwaukee Journal. Most were clipped from newspapers but some later cartoons were copied from originals.

The Socioeconomics Of Homelessness In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Ben Hanson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Though the city of Bowling Green, Kentucky has experienced tremendous economic growth in recent years, poverty and homelessness have become a problem for residents and city officials. This project seeks to expand research on homelessness in Bowling Green, Kentucky in order to prescribe policies that could be enacted by local government entities. Construction of low-income housing, rent subsidies, rent ceilings, and tougher eviction laws are all policy measures that have been discussed by previous literature. To analyze the effectiveness of these four policies, this project proposes a regression model that explores the relationship between the homeless population and each of …

Democratic Disenfranchisement: Analyzing The Factors That Contribute To Or Hinder The Ability Of Marginalized Groups To Run For Public Office In Kentucky, Isaac Keller

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Much has been written about barriers that lead to unequal representation, focusing largely on situational characteristics of the individual voter (socioeconomic status, efficacy, socialization, etc.) and on structural (institutional) obstacles to voter turnout and participation. However, political participation is inclusive of more than just voting. This research seeks to identify and analyze the factors that contribute to or hinder the ability of marginalized candidates to run for public office. To explore whether or not marginalized candidates face unique obstacles when running for public office, a qualitative approach with one-on-one interviews between a convenience sampling in Kentucky of ten political candidates …

Ua3/1/1 President's Office-Cherry Reports, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Reports made by Henry Cherry to the Board of Regents and departmental reports made to Henry Cherry.

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 15. Wallace's Many "Hats": What Should We Call Him?, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) has been referred to by name through the aid of a variety of labels – some thirty or more, in fact – that link him to his emphases of attention. How many of these labels are/were justifiable? The assessment here is that he is probably best remembered as a ‘naturalist,’ ‘geographer,’ ‘evolutionist,’ and ‘social critic.’

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 96, No. 13, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Burned Out – COVID-19
• Payne, Michael. 15 Years with the Bagel Brothers – Sandra Hurley
• Hargrove, Matthew. Hilltoppers Get in the Win Column, Home Finale Up Next - Football
• Kieser, Nick. All Eyes on the Spring – Basketball, Softball, Soccer, Baseball
• Leboutier, Addison. Little Flock of Jesus Christ Fellowship Comes Home – Clarence Tapp
• Cox, Alex. Editorial Cartoon re: Kamala Harris
• What a Kamala Harris Vice Presidency Means for Young People of Color
• Lattimer, Jacob. Student Government Association Sustainability Committee Looks to Make an Impact …

Ua12/2/1 Adulting, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Special edition of the College Heights Herald, includes articles:

• Spainhoward, Emma. Editor’s Letter
• What to Consider When Considering Grad School
• Norvell, Abbey. Dear Hilltoppers – Mackenzie Moore, Stephen Mayer, Hannah Reardon, Megan Devore, Danny Zeidan
• Harden, Olivia. Cooking (Ahead) for One
• Dressman, Jake. Small Changes Save Big Bucks
• Normalizing Conversations on Sex – Lion’s Den
• Harden, Olivia. Finding Your Place in Politics

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 96, No. 11, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Murray, Debra. Campaigning During COVID-19
• Stryker, Shane. Third Party Candidates Present Options Outside Democrats & Republicans
• WKU Young Democrats
• WKU College Republicans
• Serrano, Francisco. A Voice of Change for the Young Generation
• Thornton, Maggie. Kentucky’s 1^st Congressional District
• Holland, Kelley. Kentucky’s 2^nd Congressional District
• Latimer, Jacob. Senate Candidates on College-Level Issues – Mitch McConnell, Amy McGrath
• Collins, Michael. District 20 Candidates on the Issues – Patti Minter, Leanette Lopez
• Who’s Running for City Commission?

Memorandum Re: Faculty Regent Election Is Tomorrow, Claus Ernst

Faculty Senate

Memo from Faculty Regent Claus Ernst to all WKU faculty and staff regarding the facutly regent election.