By Emrys Yamanishi This September, by an 8-3 vote, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Assembly Bill (AB) 32, based on the reliance that California currently has on private prisons to house its large prison population. GEO Group Inc, one of the largest prison contractors in the country, brought the case back in 2020. Governor Newsom signed AB 32 back into law in 2019 and declared a...
By Arivumani Srivastava (PO ’26) Cable news attacks accusing schools of indoctrination, parents storming school board meetings, and bills proposing to prosecute teachers are all byproducts of the culture wars that have enveloped the United States during and after Trump’s presidency. Now, opponents’ have their eyes set on a new battleground: the classroom. Schools have become ground zero for...
By Nymisha Desai (PZ ’25) On September 13th 2022, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina introduced a bill to ban most abortions nationwide after 15 weeks except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. Graham decided on the 15 week threshold because in his words, “the science tells us the nerve endings are developed to the point that the unborn child feels pain...
As America finally approaches a Covid-free society with looser mask rules and overall restrictions, the aftermath of the pandemic becomes clearer and highlights one of the near future’s political challenges. In education, schools’ survival and students’ academic progress were defined by the availability of funds and resources. Not surprisingly, the education quality of minority...
by Sami Gottsegen (PZ ’25) On Thursday, March 10, the Florida State Senate passed HB 7/SB 148. Now on its way to the desk of Governor Ron DeSantis, the bill, dubbed the “Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (WOKE) Act,” is part of a series of attacks on critical race theory. In an interview with the New York Times, Trip Gabriel simply defined critical race theory as “a lens or...
by Grayson Shaw (PO ’25) “One of the main reasons I filed the lawsuit was to try to save my life… It was really horrible being sick, and the only access to water I had was poison” This testimony from Lamar Singleton, along with 18 independent lawsuits from former inmates, illustrates the reality of the Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, California. Prisoners were reportedly forced to...
By Sofia Guimaraes (PO ’24) Three months ago, Elon Musk tweeted, “Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock. Do you support this?” This tweet sparked debate on the Biden administration’s proposed billionaire bill and cast attention on the growing income inequality in the USA, highlighting the need for a...
By Grace Fan (PO ’23) For many of us, Facebook has been around for as long as we can remember. Though it might have started as an innocuous platform to connect people, it has transpired into a media platform that breeds misinformation, conspiracy groups, and a toxic environment for its users. Its monopolistic reach into almost all aspects of society has proved to be detrimental to not only...
By Kenyamarie Mahone The issue of telecommunications surveillance has become a marker of political freedoms in the 21st century. With increasing technological capacities in the Department of Defense, and the growing role of technology in everyday American life–Americans have become wary of surveillance and its many forms. This has become especially true in the wake of Edward Snowden’s...
Leonora Willet (CM ’25) More than three years ago, whistleblower Christopher Wylie exposed how Cambridge Analytica, a U.K. based consulting firm, accessed Facebook consumers’ data without their consent. As a former employee of the British consulting firm, Wylie witnessed firsthand Facebook’s use of consumer data to target users for disinformation campaigns. The primary means by which...
