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Student Forum Op-Eds, Discussions, Writing, and Recent Research, Contributed by Undergraduate Public Policy Program Students

December 20, 2024

A Convergence of Two Crises’ and NYC’s Obligation to Care

New York City is undergoing a crisis: an affordable housing crisis. According to the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey, in 2023, the net vacancy rate for all housing…  

December 16, 2024

Abolish the Sales Tax, Yesterday

Sales taxes are regressive, meaning that the poor pay a higher share of their income in these taxes than the rich. This is in contrast to progressive income taxes, which…  

December 2, 2024

Treasure Hunting: How Can the IRS Uncover More Revenue from the U.S. Assets Hidden in Offshore Accounts?

Say your profession is hunting after treasure chests. You find one treasure chest, but it almost always only has a key to the next one. The next one, however, is…  

November 26, 2024

Collective Action and the Stigma of Asking for Help

“Pull yourself up by the bootstraps” is a commonly used phrase, intended to indicate that if one is in a difficult situation, the solution is for them to just get…  

November 18, 2024

When Freedom of Movement is Actually Costly

What is the role of police? If you ask the police themselves, they will likely respond with some variation of the LAPD’s motto “to protect and serve.” But even beyond…  

November 15, 2024

Postal Banking Can Work if Done Right

Study after study shows that people of color who are living paycheck to paycheck use predatory lending services. Government is part of the problem. It allows traditional banks to impose…  

November 6, 2024

Eric Adams: Fighting Problems with Problems

On May 19th, 2021, one of my mother’s closest friends, known to me as Auntie Kelli for as long as I have been alive, was brutally stabbed at the Union…  

October 29, 2024

“[Democratic Presidential Candidates] Could Jump Up and Down and Say ‘We Want to Lift the Embargo’ and Are Not Going to Lose or Gain One Vote in the Cuban-American Population”

That’s what I was told recently by Guillermo Grenier, the co-director of the FIU Cuba Poll, a biennial poll that has researched Florida Cuban-Americans’ opinions on US policies toward Cuba…  

May 19, 2021

Tipping the Scales of Homeless Dollars; the Profitable Business of Homelessness

New York City has spent $3.5 billion since 2014 sheltering the homeless but has done very little to improve the poorly maintained and unsafe living conditions endured by these populations….  

April 28, 2021

Invest in CUNY Students by Addressing Campus Food Insecurity

Giving up food to feed a child. Choosing a MetroCard over a meal. These are some of the stories that researchers have collected on student food insecurity at the City…  

“Kids in Cages” Became “Migrant Facilities for Children” — And Nothing Has Changed

Contrary to popular belief, family separation has not ended at our southern border. The inhumane process still exists, under a new name, hurting the most vulnerable migrant populations fleeing violence,…  

April 1, 2021

Decriminalizing Sex Work

We have come a long way to addressing the issues of sex work and defining concepts when discussing the matter. However, the problems with sex work still exists. To mitigate…  

Emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reopening Schools

In early February 2021, the CDC released its guidelines for operating schools during the Covid-19 pandemic. Following the release of these guidelines, President Joe Biden in early March, showed his…  

March 26, 2021

Socioeconomic Conditions and Mental Health

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has put people in difficult situations. From people losing their jobs to students having to adjust to online learning many people have…  

March 18, 2021

Does the American Rescue Plan do enough for Americans?

Government assistance is a heavily debated topic. Should the government bailout individuals or companies? How far is far enough? We need to discuss questions like this when we look at…