#SocialJustice: Combatting Implicit Bias in an Age of Millennials, Colorblindness, & Microaggressions

Law schools, in an effort to produce practice-ready graduates, are in an opportune position to take the lead in confronting social justice. Many schools are shifting from traditional classroom instruction to more experiential learning environments which place students early in their academic pursuits in contact with clients and legal problems. While academic support originally focused on racial integration in law schools, today’s Academic Support professionals support students who are diverse in various ways. As professionals, we cannot assume that our diverse students do not carry bias. Implicit bias, a bias one is not consciously aware of, has the ability to derail relationships with clients and peers. Complicating matters is the general assumption that Millennials, the “colorblind” generation, are the most tolerant of all previous generations. Yet, studies have found Millennials just as susceptible to bias as previous generations. Thus, law schools have the responsibility to train their students to become lawyers who are capable of working with diverse groups of people and do so with the ability to mitigate their biases, which could potentially bring a fairer administration of justice. This training must go beyond informing students about implicit bias but also teach them mechanisms to combat such bias

Get Out: Structural Racism and Academic Terror

Released in 2017, Jordan Peele’s critically acclaimed film Get Out explores the horrors of racism. The film’s plot involves the murder and appropriation of Black bodies for the benefit of wealthy, white people. After luring Black people to their country home, a white family uses hypnosis to paralyze victims and send them to the Sunken Place where screams go unheard. Black bodies are auctioned off to the highest bidder; the winner’s brain is transplanted into the prized Black body. Black victims are rendered passengers in their own bodies so that white inhabitants can obtain physical advantages and immortality. Like Get Out, this Article reveals academic horrors that are far too familiar to people of color. In the legal academy, structural racism is the monster, and under the guise of academic freedom, faculty members inflict terror on marginalized people. Black bodies are objectified and colonized in the name of diversity and anti-racism. No matter how loud we scream, it remains a Sunken Place. Only time will tell if the anti-racism proclamations of 2020 are a beginning or a killer ending. This Article explores the relationship between structural racism and academic terror in the legal academy and articulates an effective framework for analyzing academic terrorism

The effects of blended learning on critical thinking in a high school Earth Science class

This study analyzed the effects of differing levels of technology use in a high school Earth Science class on student performance on the Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning (CTSR). Blended learning manipulates the combination of hands-on activities, classroom discussions, online discussions, interactive simulations and a variety of assessments that engage, instruct and assess student learning. Critical thinking is the set of skills and dispositions that foster problem solving, reasoning ability and selfregulation. The increasing use of technology in the classroom and fluctuation of content standards prompted this research. The results have implications for the classroom teacher of a wide range of ages and content areas as well as parents. The control group experienced eclectic and reduced use of technology while the treatment group used a Learning Management System and an increased use of technology. Both groups had the same classroom teacher, curriculum, and assessments. The CTSR was given at the beginning and end of the semester in conjunction with a qualitative survey. All students improved their CTSR score. There was no statistical difference in CSTR scores between treatment and control groups or between genders or age groups. This implicates that the level of technology used in a classroom does not directly impact critical thinking ability. Future studies could provide a more drastic difference in the amount of technology used or measure growth over an entire academic year

Our Collective Work, Our Collective Strength

This essay considers the collective strength of women of color in two contexts: when we are well represented on law school faculties and when we contribute to accomplishing stated institutional diversity goals. Critical mass is broadly defined as a sufficient number of people of color. Though the concept has been socially appropriated, its origins are scientific. While much of the academic literature encourages diversity initiatives designed to reach a critical mass, social change is not a science. Diversity in numbers may positively benefit individual experiences for women of color, however, diversity alone will not change social norms at the root of inequities for women of color in the legal academy. This critique of structural diversity is especially true of diversity initiatives that operate as barriers to diversity and structural change. First, I address the perceived benefits and potential shortcomings of obtaining a critical mass of women of color on law school faculties. Then, I examine barriers to diversity and structural change like diversity ideology and hiring policies that are racist. Finally, I examine the role of women of color in diversifying law school faculties

Risk, power, and knowledge: exploring adolescent girls’ sexual and reproductive health in Kenya

Helping adolescent girls grow up to be healthy, resilient women is an ongoing mission around the world. Adolescence is a period marked by rapid physical, emotional, and social changes. Research shows that when young receive proper support and access to education and health services, it can be a time of immense opportunity during this life phase. In my dissertation, I discuss factors that shape adolescent girls’ transition to adulthood and those that might predispose them to risky behaviors or lifestyles. I shed light on these influences by looking at a wide range of factors operating at multiple levels--individual, peer, family, school, community, and society. The aim of this dissertation, I will highlight three papers that describe the link between social and behavioral risk and reproductive health outcomes among adolescent girls living in low-income areas. The first paper is The Determinants of Sexual Risk Factors among Adolescent Girls in Kenya Using a Social-Ecological Model. In this paper, I focus on predicting cumulative risk using each social dimension (i.e., individual, peer, family, community, and society) to show how these social factors surrounding adolescent girls can lead to higher risk for contracting HIV or unplanned pregnancy. I use a multi-level, social-ecological model developed by Bronfenbrenner (1979) to evaluate the association between each level and cumulative risk. I propose a new level for measuring the influence and opportunities created by virtual networks or connections established by technology. In this paper, I show that the probability of a girl being defined as at-risk for adverse health outcomes is (i) negatively associated with factors at the family level and (ii) positively associated with a girl's physical and virtual network. The second paper is The Determinants of and Associations with Power in the Sexual Relationships of Adolescent Girls in an Urban and Informal Settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. I investigate economic empowerment as a mechanism for increasing sexual relationship power among adolescent girls. I show that a higher sexual relationship power score is associated with (i) fewer reports of intimate partner violence, (ii) greater financial knowledge and savings behavior, and (iii) increased self-efficacy. The evidence suggests that building economic empowerment is an effective approach for increasing sexual relationship power. The third paper is Game Changer? Phones and Sexual and Reproductive Health Knowledge among Adolescent Girls in Kenya. Mobile phone ownership among adolescent girls is growing rapidly in Kenya, yet, documentation or evidence about their virtual life is largely undocumented. The United Nation's suggests that mobile phones could be a game-changer for adolescent girls in low-to-middle income countries, allowing them to become more independent in their choices and control of information. I explore some of the benefits to adolescent girls who own a mobile phone. I show that mobile phone ownership is associated with (i) higher levels of sexual and reproductive health knowledge measured by contraceptive and HIV knowledge scores and (ii) a higher probability of testing for HIV. All three papers use data from the Population Council's Adolescent Girls' Initiative in Kenya, a 2-year intervention focused on empowering girls and reducing the rate of irreversible events related to sex, such as HIV infection and unplanned pregnancy. A cohort of 3,052 adolescent girls was enrolled and interviewed in 2015 and followed up in 2017 and 2019. Participants completed a survey that included questions about their sexual behaviors and reproductive health knowledge at each time point. In my dissertation, I provide perspective on the impact of knowledge, power, and risk on sexual and reproductive health outcomes among adolescent girls in Kibera and Huruma, Kenya

From Academic Freedom to Cancel Culture: Silencing Black Women in the Legal Academy

In 1988, Black women law professors formed the Northeast Corridor Collective of Black Women Law Professors, a network of Black women in the legal academy. They supported one another’s scholarship, shared personal experiences of systemic gendered racism, and helped one another navigate the law school white space. A few years later, their stories were transformed into articles that appeared in a symposium edition of the Berkeley Women’s Law Journal. Since then, Black women and women of color have published articles and books about their experiences with presumed incompetence, outsider status, and silence. The story of Black women in the legal academy has been told. And, in 2021, contemporary voices resemble voices from long ago. This Article updates and contextualizes the treatment of Black women law professors. While cancel culture is intended to punish or shame bad actors, in legal academia, Black women are canceled for simply existing. This Article explores the ways in which white academic norms, like academic freedom and hierarchy, explicitly and implicitly silence Black women and “cancel” their academic careers. As a result of the systemic gendered racism inherent in existing norms, Black women are silenced by intersectional microaggressions, white tears, and tokenism. They suffer intersectional battle fatigue, a consequence of having to negotiate identity in ways that result in physical, psychological, and emotional trauma. After defining law schools as white spaces and exploring cancellation tactics, this Article encourages law schools to reevaluate academic norms to create positive experiences for Black women. Amid social unrest, the legal academy is primed to be a key player in modern social justice movements. But first, it must address inequities within

Tornadoes In Mississippi: A County by County Community Risk Assessment

Mississippi leads the nation in tornado deaths per unit area. Previous risk assessment studies have indicated a connection between housing type and fatalities but have focused only on a national scale. The purpose of this study was to provide a local scale risk assessment for Mississippi. Each county?s individual tornado risks were combined with US Census county housing data for each decade from 1960-2000. The study found that the comparable risk to life and property is highest in Harrison County and Hinds County, but with proper shelters and community planning this risk would be mitigated

Emotional intelligence as a protective factor for risk behavior in adolescence

Emotional intelligence is a concept developed by Salovey and Mayer in 1990. Since the first published work on emotional intelligence, others have modified the original idea by adding personality-like traits to the model of emotional intelligence. Consequently, there is a split in the conceptualization of emotional intelligence and the measurement of emotional intelligence; ability model assessment and mixed or trait model self-report assessment. The ability model of emotional intelligence has stood up to tests of discriminant validity over personality traits, unlike the mixed model of emotional intelligence. It is also distinguishable from cognitive intelligence, yet correlates moderately and therefore is considered related to or a component of intelligence. Little research has used the ability model of emotional intelligence, but there is a growing body of evidence that emotional intelligence is important in the prediction of adolescent risk behavior (Mayer, Perkins, Caruso, & Salovey, 2001; Trinidad & Johnson, 2002). Adolescent risk behavior is a popular area of interest because the leading cause of death of persons between the ages of 15 and 19 years is unintentional injuries resulting from specific behaviors ( e.g., drinking and driving, unprotected sexual intercourse, speeding). The current study adds to the growing body of research that uses ability model emotional intelligence tests through a comparison of emotional intelligence scores with the Five Factor Model personality traits, self-reported risk behavior and risk perception of adolescents and young adults. Several risk behaviors were targeted, and these behaviors are of varying types: Thrill-seeking risk ( e.g., roller blading, sky diving), Rebellious risk (e.g., smoking, staying out late), Reckless risk (e.g., speeding, drinking and driving) and Anti-social risk (e.g., cheating, teasing others). The aim of this study was to answer three important questions. First, is emotional intelligence a protective factor for risk behaviors in adolescence and early adulthood? Second, does emotional intelligence have incremental validity over the NEO-FFI in predicting risk behavior in adolescents and young adults? Finally, do older participants have higher overall emotional intelligence scores then younger participants? Participants were 171 males and females between the ages of 15 and 24 recruited from area high schools, the UNI student population, and the local community. Each participant took the MSCEIT or MSCEIT-YV, the ARQ and the NEO-FFI. The findings of the present study suggest that emotional intelligence is related to risk behavior in high school students. However, in college students, the present results indicate that emotional intelligence is related to risk perception, but not to risk behavior. As expected, thrillseeking behavior was not related to emotional intelligence. Our data show that emotional intelligence provides incremental validity over personality factors in the prediction of risk behavior in high school students and provides incremental validity over personality in the prediction of risk beliefs in college students. We found a small indication of a developmental trend in the college students and a strong trend in the opposite direction from what was expected in the high school participants, which suggests that emotional intelligence may not increase with age

Get Out: Structural Racism and Academic Terror

Released in 2017, Jordan Peele’s critically acclaimed film Get Out explores the horrors of racism. The film’s plot involves the murder and appropriation of Black bodies for the benefit of wealthy, white people. After luring Black people to their country home, a white family uses hypnosis to paralyze victims and send them to the Sunken Place where screams go unheard. Black bodies are auctioned off to the highest bidder; the winner’s brain is transplanted into the prized Black body. Black victims are rendered passengers in their own bodies so that white inhabitants can obtain physical advantages and immortality. Like Get Out, this Article reveals academic horrors that are far too familiar to people of color. In the legal academy, structural racism is the monster, and under the guise of academic freedom, faculty members inflict terror on marginalized people. Black bodies are objectified and colonized in the name of diversity and anti-racism. No matter how loud we scream, it remains a Sunken Place. Only time will tell if the anti-racism proclamations of 2020 are a beginning or a killer ending. This Article explores the relationship between structural racism and academic terror in the legal academy and articulates an effective framework for analyzing academic terrorism