The Baines Report
By Geoffrey Carlisle (he/him) In the first two weeks of this year, 26 states introduced 75 pieces of legislation targeting transgender individuals. This legislation ranges from bans on transgender students participating in sports, to prohibitions, and even criminalization of seeking gender-affirming healthcare. Such bills represent an all-out assault on the rights and dignity of an […]
By Sabrina Page Abortion, guns, and religion. The U.S. Supreme Court has already heard cases on all three during its current argument session. With some of the country’s most controversial constitutional issues on the docket, it is paramount that the public trusts the Court to be independent in their decision-making. Without this trust, the Court […]
By Shelby Frye In 2020, the birth control pill celebrated the 60th anniversary of its approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Six decades after this stamp of approval, the pill remains one of the most popular contraceptive options in the United States. There are two types of birth control pills- the combined oral contraceptive […]
By Abdullah Dowaihy Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres started the general assembly debate by telling leaders that “the world must wake up,” because it is “on the edge of an abyss.” The Secretary General also warned world leaders are “moving in the wrong direction” given that human rights are backsliding, there is […]
Introducing Community-Anchor Engagement By Ryan Cramer Much like the character arc of the T-800 from “Terminator 1” to “Terminator 2”, the mission of universities as anchor institutions has evolved over time for the better. While anchor institutions are traditionally universities and hospitals, that definition has expanded to include non-profit and for-profit institutions, which have a […]
By Brittany Head The ongoing partisan squeeze of the American Families Plan has pushed reform of the community college and public university system out of discussion in Congress. Democratic policy makers eliminated a provision to subsidize and support access to community college in the United States along with several other major policy proposals in the […]
A Rocky Start to Repairing Relationships By Kate Munro During a July 11, 2019 speech in New York City, candidate Joe Biden promised “as president, I will do more than just restore the historic partnerships, I will lead an effort to reimagine them to better meet the challenges we’re grappling with today in the next […]
An Uncertain Future for North Korean Human Rights Activism in South Korea By Kenneth Nienhuser The Korean Peninsula has struggled to foster peace and communication since the end of the Korean War and the South Korean government’s latest attempts to reconcile differences have left human rights organizations on the peninsula questioning their future. Human rights […]
By Kathleen Hillery Experts project Iran may cross the nuclear threshold this month, meaning Iran would have the technology and enough weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear weapon—without actually having built one. Recently elected Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has delayed negotiations to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), possibly to allow his […]
This morning, our two 2019 Baines Report Op-Ed Contest Winners, Salimah Jasani and Lynn Murphy, were both featured in the Texas Tribune‘s op-ed section, TribTalk. Congratulations! You can find their pieces here: Salimah Jasani’s “The gas pump is no place for a child to play” Lynn Murphy’s “The silent victims of zero-tolerance immigration policies” Interested […]