U.S.
On September 30, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed State Assembly Bill (A.B.) 1780—which bans consideration of family legacy and donor status in admissions for all California universities—into law [1]. While these practices do not guarantee an applicant’s acceptance, they often boost a subpar or borderline student from the waitlist or rejection to admission. Donor and...
U.S.
Three and a half years after passing an unprecedented drug decriminalization ballot initiative, Oregon has reversed its radical experiment, criminalizing drug use and possession once more [1]. Proponents hailed the referendum as a way to reverse racial disparities in drug policy and provide necessary help to drug users. After failing to live up to expectations, however, the Oregon State Senate rol...
U.S.
In 1992, Bill Clinton was in a presidential race for the White House against incumbent George H. W. Bush while the U.S. economy recovered from a recession. Economic hardship was one of the primary issues keeping voters up at night, and the mood in Clinton’s campaign headquarters reflected that of the country. “It’s The Economy, Stupid” was not meant to take on a life of its own beyond camp...
U.S.
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, a compelling new individual has emerged at the center of political discourse: Trump’s recently appointed vice presidential nominee, JD Vance. His journey from a working-class Midwest upbringing to the Marines, Yale Law School, the United States Senate, and the national bestseller list with his memoir Hillbilly Elegy is well-documented, and ...
U.S.
It’s a familiar vision: an American family gathered around the TV to enjoy a football game with barbeque, condiments, and a generous bucket of popcorn. Except this is not a football game at all. Instead, it is another uniquely American spectacle: a two-party electoral race. As Election Day approaches faster than you can say “TOUCHDOWN,” polls are increasingly prevalent. They are ...
World
On October 1, 2024, Mexico swore in its first female president: Claudia Sheinbaum. She won by a landslide victory, with the largest number of votes of any candidate in Mexican history [1]. Sheinbaum, the former mayor of Mexico City, has long been a loyal ally and mentee of Mexico’s former president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). Running with the country’s largest le...
World
A year after the October 7th Hamas-led attack on Israel, the discourse surrounding Israel and Gaza remains deeply polarized. The war against Hamas has left millions displaced and tens of thousands dead [1]. As news coverage shifts towards escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, one critical question has been largely overlooked: Why did Hamas attack Israel in the first place? The current media...
World
The ongoing Sudanese civil war has caused one of this decade’s worst humanitarian crises. Millions of civilians have been caught in the crossfire between two warring factions, and indiscriminate violence has displaced over 11 million people [1]. In Darfur, the Rapid Support Forces (R.S.F.) have been accused of systematically targeting Black non-Arab residents, raising fears of genocide. Meanwhil...
World
In name, at least, the peace in North Ireland has persisted since the Good Friday Agreement. However, the core issues at the heart of the period known as “the Troubles” have not been resolved, resulting in legacies of violence, colonialism, and religious division. The subsequent complacency and misguided efforts towards reconciliation by the states involved have contributed to an absen...
World
As global political alignments shift and solidify, Latin America has become a particularly contested arena caught between the economic and political visions of the U.S. and China. Within this context, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has offered an opportunity to observe how the nations of Latin America navigate international disputes with weighty formal and informal alliances on either side of the...