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National Policy

<h1>Rethinking Disabilities in the Workplace</h1><h6><i>Pandemic-Inspired Accomodations Benefit the Disability Community</i></h6>
National, National Policy

Rethinking Disabilities in the Workplace

Pandemic-Inspired Accomodations Benefit the Disability Community

art by Lila Johnson It’s no secret COVID-19 has disrupted labor markets around the world. Here in the United States, by early May 2020, over 36 million Americans had filed for unemployment benefits, a figure comparable to unemployment during the Great Depression of the 1930s, according to the London School of Policy and Economics’ United States Centre. It is evident that most individuals in the workforce have been affected by the pandemic, with those in the disability community being particularly impacted. For example, as reported in a Syracuse University article, employment rates between March and April 2020 decreased by 18% among the general population, but by 24% among workers with disabilities. In times of crisis, marginalized and vulnerable populations are often the most advers...
<h1>The Dream of Fifteen: How a Progressive Idea Paved Its Way Into the Forefront of American Policy</h1><h6><i>A federal minimum wage increase is more than likely to come in a matter of time. The question among Congress members is, to what extent and how fast? Progressives have their own idea.</i></h6>
National, National Policy

The Dream of Fifteen: How a Progressive Idea Paved Its Way Into the Forefront of American Policy

A federal minimum wage increase is more than likely to come in a matter of time. The question among Congress members is, to what extent and how fast? Progressives have their own idea.

Illustration by Amanda O'Brien It’s been more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic made its presence known in the U.S., and many Americans are still struggling to deal with the economic aftermath. Progressives have long pushed for a $15 federal minimum wage, and they believe the idea is more important now than it ever has been— but others have raised questions about the effect a wage increase would have on the country. Is $15 a fix-all policy, or will it hurt the economy? Supporters of the $15 minimum wage experienced a glimmer of hope in January when President Biden introduced a massive $1.9-trillion COVID-19 relief package into Congress. A key proposal in Biden’s initial plan included a federal minimum wage increase to $15 an hour.  Their hope was short-lived, however.&...
<h1>Bringing Light to Military Misconduct</h1><h6><i>Although sexual harassment and assault has historically been an issue for the U.S. Military, the recent murder of Specialist Vanessa Guillen is causing many to reevalute how these issues are being handled at an institutional level.</i></h6>
National, National Policy

Bringing Light to Military Misconduct

Although sexual harassment and assault has historically been an issue for the U.S. Military, the recent murder of Specialist Vanessa Guillen is causing many to reevalute how these issues are being handled at an institutional level.

Illustration by Amanda O'Brien Content Warning: Story contains content involving sexual violence and assault On June 30, 2020, entombed in concrete and scattered under the banks of a small river near Fort Hood, Texas, Spc. Vanessa Guillen was finally found after a two-month search.  Months before her death and disappearance, Guillen told her family she had been sexually harassed by a superior at her post. Her mother had urged her to report, but for fear of reprisal, Guillen declined to do so. She was later murdered—bludgeoned to death in her own place of work with a hammer by a supervisor. Guillen’s murder was said to be shocking, horrifying, and beyond comprehension by Fort Hood command leadership and much of Congress. For those congresspeople, these “shocking” repor...
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