Category: Student Research & Media

On March 28, 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Florida House Bill 1557, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill.” This piece of legislation represents the latest example of politicians using the guise of parental rights in education to further their conservative political agendas.

American education is suffering from an overemphasis on school facilities over teacher pay. As the United States falls further behind in world education rankings, this issue has become even more pressing, and we must save our historically strong education system. Throughout the country, there are a variety of massive ongoing and future building campaigns, coupled with limited teacher pay increases. I’ve witnessed the detrimental effects of this trend in my own community, as large bonds have failed to address the lack of a teacher pay increase for over 6 years, prompting teachers to quit and students to suffer.

For eight years, political wrangling in North Carolina over healthcare coverage has left too many of our residents vulnerable. The state is one of twelve to have not yet implemented Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, which would give coverage to nearly 600,000 additional residents who are currently without health insurance.

Last week, the Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill that makes performing an abortion a felony, punishable by up to ten years in prison. Oklahoma joins states like Texas, Florida, Idaho, and Wyoming in a recent movement aimed to criminalize abortion in the United States — a movement markedly different from one aimed to protect life.

Every decade, after the census is taken, states redraw their district lines in a process known as redistricting. The process is intended to make voting fairer by evening out district populations. However, this process can be used to manipulate elections and disenfranchise voters in a process known as gerrymandering.