Blog

By: Alexa Kort and Matthew Dunn   For migrant workers across the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought an interrelated set of crises. Along with the dangers of the virus itself, migrant workers─who are overrepresented in industries that require in-person work─are experiencing increased housing instability as rent payments become overwhelming

By Sarah Javaid As the first wave of people receive the COVID-19 vaccine, pregnant women—not included in clinical vaccine trials until this month—have been given confusing and contradictory advice: the CDC recommends that pregnant women consult their doctors before getting the vaccine while the World Health Organization advises against pregnant

By Yuliya Shyrokonis There are nearly 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States—more per capita than any other country on Earth. Taxpayers pay an average of $36,299.25 per year for every inmate in federal prison. However, in the nine years following release, 83 percent of former inmates released in

By: Katherine Donelly A traffic ticket should not land you in prison–or in a lifetime of debt. But our current system of punishment leaves many with fines that they cannot pay. Soon these fines compound, and the prospect of paying off this debt becomes less and less realistic. Suddenly, your

By: Aníbal Tornés Blanco, Biology PhD student at the University of Michigan  If you have ever applied to a graduate program, you very likely had to take the standardized Graduate Record Examination (GRE). While historically this exam has been a central part of the application package for most masters and

By: Shaher Zakaria   Last Tuesday, all eyes were on the two Senate runoff elections in Georgia. Because the elections would decide control of the Senate, President Trump made two visits to the state to rally Republican voters for Republican Senators David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler. President-elect Joe Biden, who

By: Trina Shanks, Phd, LMSW; Marquan Jackson, MSW; Alize Asberry Payne; and Patrick Meehan, PhD, MSW As the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines begins, it may appear that the end of the pandemic is in sight. However, vaccines alone do not save lives, vaccinations do. That is, individuals must choose to

By: Shounak Bagchi and Eli Reilly Since March, experts have speculated wildly about the pandemic’s effects on urban life. Many argue that residents of high-demand cities, already financially squeezed from crushing rent and stagnant wages, will abandon these areas in favor of cheaper, less crowded alternatives. Telecommuting and the collapse

By: Sophie Hart As the 2020 election bears down in the midst of a global pandemic, the precarity of our core American democratic process has become unsettlingly apparent. Across the country, early voting sites have been overwhelmed, and voters have been forced to wait up to eight hours to cast

By: Emmanuel Akinbobola and Akinbodunde Akinbobola To secure the frontline against climate change, humanity needs to seriously confront increasing carbon emissions. The United States’ heavy reliance on fossil fuels—especially fossil fuels with high carbon emissions—challenges progress on achieving net zero carbon emissions. However, low-carbon fossil fuels like propane, specifically liquified