Blog

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

By: Sophie Ordway In this time of mass incarceration and renewed focus on the carceral state, the Michigan prison system is in desperate need of profound transformation. Popular prison reform proposals address problems that contribute to mass incarceration, such as long sentences, prosecutorial discretion, the cash-bail system, and barriers to