By Rafael Santa Maria (PO ’20) Last Friday, the Department of Defense began implementing a new policy that effectively prevents transgender individuals from joining the military. Although the policy was announced in a Defense Department memorandum last month, enforcement began on April 12. This development follows efforts to curtail transgender military service by the Trump…
By Christopher Tan (PZ’21) “When China awakes, the world will tremble,” Napoleon once famously said. This statement has never rung truer as China faces an economic slowdown after 30 years of unprecedented growth, with global markets anxious about the trickle-down effects of the country’s sluggish economy. With official numbers from the last quarter of 2018…
By Musa Kamara (PO’22) The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution conveys three major provisions, one of which is perhaps one of the most recognizable constitutional tenets in popular culture. The Amendment guarantees protection from excessive bail, protection from fines, and – most notably– protection from cruel and unusual punishment. The idea of cruel and…
By Alex Simard (PO’22) On March 31, Québec’s ruling Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) introduced Bill 21, a law that would ban public employees from wearing religious symbols. Under Bill 21, a public school teacher, government lawyer, or law enforcement officer would have to remove their hijab, niqab, yarmulke, or cross during work hours. The law…
By Katya Pollock (PO ’21) On March 8th, Finland’s center-right coalition government, led by Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, resigned after failing to pass a promised reform of healthcare programs. A dramatic rise in the population’s old-age dependency ratio and recession-level labor force participation rates have tightened financial pressure on the country’s healthcare, pension, child-care, and…
By Savannah Green (CMC ’20) In June of 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the defendant in Wayfair v. South Dakota regarding online sales tax. Prior to this case, the law did not allow states to collect sales tax from online stores unless said stores owned a physical property in the state. The…
By Kimberly Tuttle (CMC’19) On November 4, 2014, California voters passed Proposition 47, “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.” The initiative reduces certain drug possession felonies to misdemeanors. It also requires misdemeanor sentencing for petty theft, receiving stolen property and forging bad checks when the amount involved is $950 or less. It was intended to…
