Social Sciences
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A community remembers Mike Rotkin
Lookout Santa Cruz is working to memorialize Mike Rotkin and record the many lives he touched by collecting stories, anecdotes, and tributes from people around the community. Additional coverage by Lookout Community Voices editor Jody K. Biehl and the Santa Cruz Sentinel editorial board.
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Was Pres. Donald Trump’s order to strike Iran constitutional? Bay Area experts weigh in on what happens next
“Most polling shows the majority of the nation did not want the United States to get involved at all, let alone further involved, in the Israel and Iran conflict. So, it is quite historical to see a president really disregard public opinion in such a way, when it comes to war,” said Nolan Higdon, a…
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Mike Rotkin, former mayor and an essential figure in Santa Cruz progressive activism, dies at 79
Mike Rotkin arrived in Santa Cruz in 1969, not long after the University of California, and soon not only became a pillar of UCSC’s Community Studies Program but launched into the progressive politics that reshaped the city. Additional coverage in Santa Cruz Sentinel and on KSBW.
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In the Arizona desert, a farm raising fish raises questions about water use
The seafood industry needs to reduce its reliance on catching small wild fish to feed bigger farmed ones that humans eat, said Pallab Sarker, an assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who studies sustainability in the aquaculture industry. He said seabirds and mammals rely on small species like anchovies and mackerel commonly…
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A dawn bus ride, a Capitol showdown and a last-minute deal: How Santa Cruz activists fought health care cuts
Students from UC Santa Cruz’s Everett Program for Technology and Social Change travelled to Sacramento to urge California lawmakers to reject Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed cuts to Medi-Cal for undocumented immigrants.
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Celebrating Pride while fighting Trump’s anti-LGBTQ policies
Phil Hammack, professor of psychology & director of the Sexual & Gender Diversity Lab at UC Santa Cruz, discusses how LGBTQ+ communities are celebrating and fighting back against the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies.
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Scams Targeting Immigrants Take Advantage of Fears of Immigration Status and Deportation
Juan Pedroza, a sociology professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said uncertainty and rapid changes to immigration laws and regulations “opens up new opportunities for scam artists to get creative.”
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Watsonville High co-valedictorian Jesus Nolasco-Vega takes organizational skills outside of classroom
Jesus Nolasco-Vega took part in a Youth Participatory Action Research project, which allowed him to work closely with UC Santa Cruz students and faculty to understand and address mental health issues through research and community engagement efforts.
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Too little, too late: A media in crisis blames Democrats for the Biden cover-up
In an opinion article, Nolan Higdon, a lecturer in the Education Department at UC Santa Cruz, argues that the general public is disenfranchised with the media and that the damage is done not just to journalism, but to democracy.
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US Aims to Abolish Birthright Citizenship: Italy Already Knows the Consequences
Associate Professor of Sociology Camilla Hawthorne coauthored an opinion article arguing that Italy’s upcoming popular referendum on citizenship offers important lessons for the birthright citizenship debate in the United States.
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Do You Hear What I Hear? Audio Illusions and Misinformation
Psychology Professor Nicholas Davidenko, a researcher at the High Level Perceptions Lab at UC Santa Cruz, studies illusions and explained how context and visual information can be used to manipulate how we interpret audio and other stimuli.
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From rules-based negotiation to alpha male tactics: In US-China trade war, norms take a back seat
Distinguished Professor of Economics Nirvikar Singh wrote an opinion article about changes in U.S. trade tactics, arguing that bilateral negotiations are no longer conducted with rules in mind that require equal treatment of countries not included in the negotiations.