A “Dubious Distinction”: New Jersey’s Drug-Free School Zones & Disparately Impacted Minority Communities

Richard Nixon fundamentally changed the prison system in America when he launched the “War on Drugs” in 1969, leading to a series of federal laws imposing harsh mandatory sentences on drug offenders. In an attempt to shield children from drugs, New Jersey followed other states in passing a “drug-free school zone” statute. The statute imposed harsh mandatory minimum sentences for all drug offenders arrested within 1,000 feet of schools, regardless of whether children were involved. This law has had a disparate impact on minorities in New Jersey, who disproportionately populate urban communities that happen to be located within all-encompassing drug-free school zones. This Note analyzes the effect of the statutes passed during the War on Drugs, and argues that New Jersey must modify its drug-free school zone statute to create smaller zones, require a nexus to the school, and focus on drug dealers most likely to target children

Shame on You: Campaign Finance Reform Through Social Norms

In 1998, Senator Russell Feingold squared off against Representative Mark Neumann in a heated contest for a Wisconsin Senate seat. During the campaign, Representative Neumann and Senator Feingold voluntarily entered into a number of campaign finance restrictions.\u27 Representative Neumann, despite losing the race to Senator Feingold, asserted that those restrictions showed that campaign finance reform didn\u27t require changes in law and was best handled on a voluntary basis.\u27 In the 2000 New York Senate race, Representative Rick Lazio echoed Representative Neumann\u27s sentiment and declared that it was he and Mrs. Clinton\u27s opportunity, to make a statement about our commitment to campaign- finance reform, to demonstrate that we don\u27t need a law to do the right thing. Soon thereafter, Representative Lazio and Mrs. Clinton agreed to several voluntary campaign finance restrictions that, among other things, banned soft money expenditures by political parties and numerous interest groups. Ironically, Senator Feingold, who is now an avid supporter of increased government regulation of campaign finance, originally proposed the voluntary restrictions, praised by Representative Neumann and used effectively in the 2000 New York Senate campaign

Calculus Students’ Ideas About Functions: Identifying Opportunities to Support Teacher Learning

We describe the first phase of a study aimed at developing video-based instructional modules for secondary mathematics teachers. We began by consulting the literature on figural pattern tasks (c.f. Rivera, 2010) and teachers’ ability to interpret student work (c.f. El Mouhayar & Jurdak, 2012). Interpreting student work on figural pattern tasks requires awareness of different problem solving strategies, such as recursive and constructive, and how students might use them with tasks that require different levels of generalization (El Mouhayar & Jurdak, 2012)

Oxalates as Activating Groups for Alcohols in Visible Light Photoredox Catalysis: Formation of Quaternary Centers by Redox-Neutral Fragment Coupling.

Alkyl oxalates are new bench-stable alcohol-activating groups for radical generation under visible light photoredox conditions. Using these precursors, the first net redox-neutral coupling of tertiary and secondary alcohols with electron-deficient alkenes is achieved

Accumulation of Biomass and Mineral Elements with Calendar Time by Corn: Application of the Expanded Growth Model

The expanded growth model is developed to describe accumulation of plant biomass (Mg ha−1) and mineral elements (kg ha−1) in with calendar time (wk). Accumulation of plant biomass with calendar time occurs as a result of photosynthesis for green land-based plants. A corresponding accumulation of mineral elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium occurs from the soil through plant roots. In this analysis, the expanded growth model is tested against high quality, published data on corn (Zea mays L.) growth. Data from a field study in South Carolina was used to evaluate the application of the model, where the planting time of April 2 in the field study maximized the capture of solar energy for biomass production. The growth model predicts a simple linear relationship between biomass yield and the growth quantifier, which is confirmed with the data. The growth quantifier incorporates the unit processes of distribution of solar energy which drives biomass accumulation by photosynthesis, partitioning of biomass between light-gathering and structural components of the plants, and an aging function. A hyperbolic relationship between plant nutrient uptake and biomass yield is assumed, and is confirmed for the mineral elements nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). It is concluded that the rate limiting process in the system is biomass accumulation by photosynthesis and that nutrient accumulation occurs in virtual equilibrium with biomass accumulation

Majorana Electroformed Copper Mechanical Analysis

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR is a large array of ultra-low background high-purity germanium detectors, enriched in 76Ge, designed to search for zero-neutrino double-beta decay. The DEMONSTRATOR will utilize ultra high purity electroformed copper for a variety of detector components and shielding. A preliminary mechanical evaluation was performed on the Majorana prototype electroformed copper material. Several samples were removed from a variety of positions on the mandrel. Tensile testing, optical metallography, scanning electron microscopy, and hardness testing were conducted to evaluate mechanical response. Analyses carried out on the Majorana prototype copper to this point show consistent mechanical response from a variety of test locations. Evaluation shows the copper meets or exceeds the design specifications