Blog

foreign policy

Dissecting the Haspel Nomination: Fulfilling a Civic Obligation

This post was contributed by a member of Roosevelt @ MSU. On this Fourth of July, our politics is characterized by the bitter partisanship and outrage which has plagued our politics for the past several years. So, it only seems right to try and return some degree of civility to that politics—hence this piece. High-profile … Continue reading Dissecting the Haspel Nomination: Fulfilling a Civic Obligation

Rethinking Communities, technology

What’s Testimonial?: The Fifth Amendment in the Digital Age

One of the perils of our increasingly-connected lives is the extent to which many of the constitutional protections we rely on in our non-digital lives either do not apply or work differently when applied to our electronic devices. Perhaps the most important example of this lies in fifth amendment jurisprudence, or what is more commonly … Continue reading What’s Testimonial?: The Fifth Amendment in the Digital Age

Human Rights, MSU

The Gag Rule: How Present Sexual Assault Policy Silences and Limits Survivors on College Campuses

In college, there are experiences that you will want to savor and there are experiences that you want to forget. I was at a party and having a great time. Slowly, my friends began to leave. One by one they slipped out of the room promising that at some point they would return. I thought … Continue reading The Gag Rule: How Present Sexual Assault Policy Silences and Limits Survivors on College Campuses

economics, Michigan

Trains to Nowhere: Mobility as a Right in Southeast Michigan

On May 12, 2018, the QLine celebrated its first anniversary. Though the QLine was championed as a step in public transportation, the streetcar only operates a 6.6-mile loop on Detroit’s Woodward Avenue. With its twelve locations limited to major entertainment and sport complexes including the Detroit Institute of Arts, a series of parking lots, the … Continue reading Trains to Nowhere: Mobility as a Right in Southeast Michigan

foreign policy, Human Rights

Reconsidering Refugee Camps

The ongoing refugee crisis has left more refugees than ever living in host communities and refugee camps for long periods of time. While host communities and refugee camps are supposed to be temporary situations ending in either resettlement or repatriation, nationalistic rhetoric and expanding crises have made refugee camps especially more permanent places. However, for … Continue reading Reconsidering Refugee Camps

economics

Starving the Beast

Editor's Note: This piece was originally published on Roosevelt's national blog under the title "Roosevelt@: Starving the Beast: How the SALT Deduction Exposes Conservatives’ Economic Strategy." During last year’s tax debate, one particularly contentious issue involved the state and local tax deduction, commonly known as the SALT deduction. A mainstay of federal tax policy for decades, … Continue reading Starving the Beast

environment

Endangering the Ecosystem and Lying Lawmakers

Wolf hunting has become a hot topic in recent years. Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are all going through this controversy together and at different rates. Legislation began after wolves nearly disappeared from the region in the 1970s, which is when the Endangered Species Act was introduced to protect and rehabilitate the populations. However, wolf hunting … Continue reading Endangering the Ecosystem and Lying Lawmakers