Camryn Fujita (SCR ‘21) The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has amplified Hawaii’s age-old issues with economic inequality and the state’s heavy reliance on the tourism industry. The pandemic has shown no mercy in disrupting plans for the fall and winter months, and as the United States trudged through months of quarantine, economic hardship, and spikes in…
Jon Burkart (PO ’24) If the past 6 months have proved anything, it’s that nothing is wholly immune to COVID-19. Institutions of higher education (IHE) are certainly no exception. On October 15th, National Student Clearinghouse reported that average undergraduate enrollment for the fall 2020 semester is down 4%, and overall enrollment is down 3% compared…
By Jon Burkart (PO ’24) “A $1.5 trillion crisis” “…exceeds accumulated car loans and even credit card debt” “…43 million Americans held federal student loans” “…roughly seven million borrowers are in default” Year after year, these punchy phrases populate news headlines, underscoring the unending specter of student loans in America. The crisis continues to grow…
David Ruiz (PO ’23) I, along with three other students from the Claremont Colleges in Southern California, was scheduled to attend the University of Washington’s Model EU conference in Seattle this weekend. As headlines from Washington worsened over the course of the week, my colleagues and I became deeply concerned about the status of the…
By Rowan McGarry-Williams (PO’ 21) For many Americans, the relationship between home and school seems simple enough: they live in a neighborhood and they go to their neighborhood’s public school. But this simplicity belies an entire, constructed network of policy decisions. For example: how does one define a neighborhood, or a school zone? Why do…
By Andy Liu (HMC ’23) During the ongoing 2020 Democratic primaries, many candidates have proposed varying levels of tuition-free public college, ranging from moderate proposals involving free community college, some level of student loan forgiveness, or the complete elimination of tuition and fees at all public colleges. Yet, while these plans have come under fire…
Rowan McGarry-Williams (PO ’21) The integration of American public schools, once at the center of education reform, today tends to be overshadowed by debates over charter schools, accountability, and funding. Despite extensive research on the widespread benefits of integration, our schools are more racially and economically segregated now than they have been in decades, with…
By Calla Li (PO ’22) American universities across the country have long regarded international students as a means of not just increasing campus diversity, but increasing revenue too, as international students receive (on average) far less financial aid than their American peers. In the 2017-2018 school year alone, 1.1 million international students representing over 100…
By Musa Kamara (PO’22) 2019 has thus far seen the emergence of an ever-growing field of candidates hoping to challenge President Donald Trump. Among the field are individuals with a variety of personalities, ideologies, and levels of visibility; senators, representatives, governors, and mayors all run alongside one another. One of the more well-known figures in…
Liz Murray (PO ’21) Cafeteria food has become as much a part of the American public-school experience as recess and standardized testing. The National School Lunch Program, while perhaps only famous among children for chicken nuggets and mystery meat, has been serving meals to countless elementary, middle, and high school students since 1946. In fact,…