By Rafael Santa Maria (PO ’20) A Texas court ruling might end the Military Selective System’s male-only draft policy. In a potentially groundbreaking decision, Judge Gray H. Miller of the federal court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that the military draft’s exclusive targeting of men is unconstitutional. In his opinion, Judge Miller notes that, “Congress obliquely relied on assumptions...
By Kimberly Tuttle (CMC’19) The average woman spends over six years of her life on her period. Though it varies for each woman, nearly 70 percent of women use tampons. This means that nearly 115 million women in the United States buy tampons regularly. Yet, tampons and other feminine hygiene products, like sanitary napkins, are taxed in 39 states. Taxation on menstrual supplies is not only...
By Musa Kamara (PO’22) On February 19, the Supreme Court refused to hear a defamation suit filed by Kathy McKee, an actress active in the 1970s who appeared in The Bill Cosby Show, Saturday Night Live, and Sanford and Son. The suit McKee filed was particularly notable in that it was filed against Bill Cosby, a prominent public figure of the last fifty years who was convicted of numerous sex...
By Alex Simard (PO’22) Scroll down any parent’s social media and you’ll find countless images of their children. A recent piece in the Atlantic notes that social media has become the new family album. But unlike the albums of past, stored away in garages or attics, the modern album is profoundly public. What will happen when an incredulous child discovers their parent’s social media feed...
By Rafael Santa Maria (PO ’20) Rodrigo Duterte, the current President of the Philippines, regularly garners controversy for his profane speech and uncompromising policies. From instigating a violent war on drugs to spurning the U.S. in favor of closer diplomatic ties with China, Duterte challenges the legal and political status quo of the Philippines with questionable justifications and a gung-ho...
By Savannah Green (CMC ’20) On the evening of February 11, California Governor Gavin Newsom delivered his State of the State speech and defied Trump on border security, criticizing the “border emergency.” As seen in the news throughout Trump’s presidency, the president has large plans to build a wall along the border between Mexico and the United States. Trump has stressed the need for more...
By Katya Pollock (PO’21) In July 2018, 36 independent California colleges and universities signed an agreement to guarantee admission for California community college students who have completed at least 60 semester units in an eligible major. The agreement, called the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) Commitment, aims to reduce uncertainty for students entering community colleges who...
By Alex Simard (PO’22) Mere hours after signing a measure to avoid a second government shutdown, President Trump declared a National Emergency in order to advance his campaign promise to build a wall along the southern border. A litigious storm followed the announcement as advocacy groups amassed and began contemplating how exactly to block the President’s emergency declaration in the...
By Isaac Cui (PO ’20), Managing Editor The Supreme Court yesterday acted on Bobby Moore’s death penalty case and ordered that Moore cannot be executed because of his intellectual disability.[1] It was a small step on an arcane issue, one that does not fundamentally change the Court’s capital punishment jurisprudence. But it was nevertheless a moral victory for our Constitution. In 2002, the...
By Savannah Green (CMC ’20) In April of 2016, the government of the Czech Republic approved and adopted ‘Czechia’ as the official English-language name of the country. This initiated the United Nations to update their database for official country names, and supposedly ended the century-long naming debate within the country. The English version has been up for debate since 1918 with various names...
