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

April 19, 2019

Title X Funding: Supporting Planned Parenthood

What happens when a widely known healthcare service such as Planned Parenthood loses the capability to provide all their services to the public? In recent news, our President of the…  

April 11, 2019

Health Care of Undocumented Immigrants

February 15, 2019 seemed like quite the average Friday for our country; however, in the eyes of our President, we were in a State of National Emergency. The Trump administration’s…  

March 18, 2019

When Racism Isn’t Enough: A Critique of Mathematical Justice

Since its founding in 2011, politicians and police departments have united in lauding PredPol (predictive policing) as the next stage of the “War on Crime.” PredPol is a private company…  

Plastic Bags: Flimsy, Convenient – and Dangerous

Plastic bags are, more often than not, used only once. They are flimsy, yet convenient. I am certain you can imagine a plastic bag whose entire lifespan and purpose consisted…  

December 11, 2018

Zero Waste: Possible in NYC’s Foreseeable Future?

The Department of Sanitation has created “Zero Waste Guidelines” in partnership with GrowNYC to reduce city government spending on waste. There are several reasons why New York City’s goal of…  

The Working Homeless: Economic Precarity of Low-Wage Workers

A recent article from the New York Times describes the difficulties faced by low-wage workers experiencing poverty despite being employed. The author documents Vanessa Solivan and her three teenage children,…  

United States Foreign Policy and its Role in the Refugee Crisis

What exactly is a refugee? Who defined the word, and who decides how many are let into the United States? The term “refugee” has been used frequently in numerous contexts…  

The Illusory American Dream: Poverty and Income Inequality in the United States

The American dream of economic success and wealth accumulation continues to slip away from the tired hands of most Americans because of low wages, unchecked poverty, and the sexist gender…  

The NYC Ferry System: Analyzing Investment in Infrastructure

In June 2016, the NYC Economic Development Corporation began working on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to expand the ferries destinations along with creating new boats to fit the new…  

Year of the Woman: How New York’s Progressive Women Are Changing Politics

Many glass ceilings shattered for the first time in New York. Groundbreaking women like Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, and Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to…  

Why ‘Public Charge’ Hurts the American Dream

The traditional American Dream refers to a classic rag-to-riches story; the self-made visionaries who worked tirelessly to provide a better life for themselves have become integral to the image of…  

December 7, 2018

Expanding Cycling in New York’s Outer Boroughs

New York City has awakened to the potential of two-wheeled transportation. Since 2006, the city has built over 250 miles of protected bike lanes. CitiBike, the nation’s largest bike share…  

What the Democrats Have Failed to Learn Since 2016

The morning after Election Day on November 8, 2016 was supposed to be one of reckoning for Republicans in their support of an unpopular and divisive Presidential nominee. Instead, Democrats…  

How Vegetable Oil is Destroying the World’s Rainforests

It may seem counter-intuitive that vegetable oil as a biofuel could be hurting the planet. Using biofuel instead of coal, diesel, or petroleum sounds like a step toward a more…  

Innovative Mental Health Partnerships to Reduce Incarceration

As the campaign to close Rikers Island gains momentum, leaders and activists have proposed a host of reforms, from eliminating cash bail to ending solitary confinement for young inmates. But…