Before he became a gun violence researcher, Dan Semenza – faculty in the Criminal Justice graduate program – was chasing something entirely different: music, uncertainty, and a path that didn’t yet have a name. In “How I Became a Gun Violence Researcher (Even Though I Had No Idea What I Was Doing)”, a recent post… continue reading
Debates over voting access are often framed in theory – what might happen, what could go wrong. A recent The New York Times article instead asks a different question: what actually happened when a state tried it. In “Should You Need to Prove Citizenship to Vote? Ask Kansas,” by Chris Hippensteel, the focus turns to… continue reading
As lawmakers across the United States debate reducing or eliminating the property tax, a Rutgers University–Camden professor was selected as one of a small group of nationally recognized experts invited to weigh in on the future of the property tax, one of the most important and controversial sources of local government revenue. Michael Hayes, Associate… continue reading
Research examining the long-term health consequences of violence exposure continues to expand beyond immediate injury and trauma. In “What doesn’t kill us, hurts us longer: a cross-sectional analysis of gun violence exposure and chronic pain in the United States,” published in BMC Public Health, Daniel C. Semenza, who teaches in the Criminal Justice MA program,… continue reading
A recent NPR story, “A red hat, inspired by a symbol of resistance to Nazi occupation, gains traction in Minnesota,” reported by Ava Berger, examines how a handmade red “Melt the ICE” knit hat has emerged as a contemporary symbol of solidarity and community response. The piece connects the hat’s design to the Norwegian nisselue,… continue reading
Wonder does not always announce itself. Sometimes it arrives quietly, overhead, while life continues at ground level. In her third reflection from Finland, Ana Laguna turns her attention to a spectacle so iconic it risks becoming ordinary: the Northern Lights. What happens, she asks, when awe becomes expected, scheduled, even marketed. And what do we… continue reading
