Blog

Human Rights

Thinking Local for LGBT Nondiscrimination

Since the moment that Trump was inaugurated, his administration has made direct attacks on the rights of LGBT citizens and undermined the progress made by generations of activism. As of 2018, twenty-eight states including Michigan, still lack explicit legal prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and housing. Due to … Continue reading Thinking Local for LGBT Nondiscrimination

foreign policy, Human Rights

Turning Back the Clock on Human Rights

By: Katarina Huss and Vishnu Kannan  Since the 2016 election, commentators, former officials, and scholars have worried over the state of the “liberal international order.” The order, established in the aftermath of the Second World War, refers to the framework of international institutions, laws, and norms which have reduced war and promoted economic well being … Continue reading Turning Back the Clock on Human Rights

economics, Education, Rethinking Communities, Uncategorized

Burning Bridges: How Michigan’s Tax System has Eroded its Infrastructure

One of the most common maxims of the United States is: “everyone hates taxes.” The collective consciousness of taxes is that they are a heavy social burden and an irreconcilable nuisance. Even those who support raising taxes feel the need to vilify it by complaining about the percentage of their paychecks removed by the federal … Continue reading Burning Bridges: How Michigan’s Tax System has Eroded its Infrastructure

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