Issuu

Spring 2023

The Undergraduate Review

Spring 2023

Volume 4 Issue 1

The Undergraduate Review Spring 2023 Volume 4 Issue 1

Isaiah Dingle, co-editor Nikitha Jeyaprakash, co-editor Tim Pan, co-editor Gretchen Purvis, co-editor Honors College Advisory Board Lee Ann Westman, Director, Honors College Brian Everett, Assistant Dean, Honors College Faculty Advisory Board Ross Allen Michael Boyle Ellen Malenas Ledoux Tamara Nelson Joan Maya Mazelis Cover Art: Crystal Contreras, Spread Kindness and Courage Copyright © 2023, The Undergraduate Review Rutgers University-Camden. All rights revert to authors. The Undergraduate Review is a publication of the Honors College at Rutgers University-Camden. The views expressed in The Undergraduate Review are solely those of the contributors and should not be attributed to the editorial staff, the Honors College, or to Rutgers University.

Table of Contents Editor’s Introduction Sophia Westfall

Frankenstein and the Monstrous Self Gretchen R. Purvis

The Unanswered Question to Explain Jeffrey Dahmer's Quench for Flesh Vienna Monte 12 An Application of Skocpol's Theory of Social Revolution to Tunisia During the Arab Spring Kennedy Samuels 43 The Case of the Minority and the Stranger Acer Paiste

Racial Discrimination and African Americans Health Jada Pulley 61 Complexities of US Occupations Melanie Veliz

Are Private Prisons the Solution? Matthew Brodsky

I Have No Eyes Lili Myers

108

About the Cover Artist: Crystal Contreras Nikitha Jeyaprakash

112

Notes on Contributors

113

Student Editor’s Introduction Sophia Westfall Three-hundred-sixty years ago, the first academic journal made its premiere to the world and to this day is noted as the foundation of educational records. Should these documents not have been preserved, then our diverse community of interdisciplinary research would have vanished. The Undergraduate Review is among these traditional journals, acting as a culmination of outstanding undergraduate research for generations to come. Among these contributions are the individualized stamps of approval from our Rutgers-Camden faculty members who carefully advised our student editors. The Undergraduate Review is a hand-crafted memoir of RutgersCamden’s most accomplished students and a demonstration of both original and scholarly work. Thus, the editorial board is pleased to present our curation of outstanding academic achievement on behalf of the Spring 2023 edition. Gretchen Purvis’ literary essay, “Frankenstein and the Monstrous Self” touches on the concept of societal introspection through Mary Shelley’s classic novel, Frankenstein. This thirst for monstrosity continues in Vienna Monte’s research paper, “The Unanswered Question to Explain Jeffrey Dahmer's Quench for Flesh,” a thrilling exploration of one of America’s most gruesome serial killers. Moreover, Kennedy Samuels research paper, “An Application of Skocpol's Theory of Social Revolution to Tunisia During the Arab Spring” is a geopolitical perspective on the theory of social revolution in context with Arab Spring’s anti-government protests. The Spring 2023 edition further touches on discrimination with Acer Paiste’s research paper, “The Case of the Minority and the Stranger” and then with Jada Pulley’s research paper, “Racial Discrimination and African Americans Health,” highlighting discrimination from a sociological perspective and a medical perspective, respectively. Additionally, Melanie The Undergraduate Review 3

Veliz’s research paper, “Complexities of US Occupations” explores the democratization of the United States in reference to its global occupations according to the democratic peace theory. Mathew Brodsky’s research paper, “Are Private Prisons the Solution?” questions the differences, and therefore benefits, between private and public prisons. Lili Myers’ poem “I Have No Eyes” is a poetic interpretation of her courageous medical journey through cancer, which has been carefully paired with both a censorship as well as a formal introduction prior to the poem. Nikitha Jeyaprakash’s profile of cover artist Crystal Contreras wraps up this issue. Rutgers University-Camden offers a diverse community of academic excellence and creative perseverance. The Undergraduate Review encourages students to elevate their academic standards whilst offering an opportunity to publish their work as pillars of educational success for years to come. It is our greatest pleasure to thank the students for their consistent and outstanding achievements, as well as the professors who guided their work. We extend our most sincere gratitude to both the faculty advisors and the editorial team, for without their dedication The Undergraduate Review would not be possible. On behalf of the editorial team, we encourage both students and staff to congratulate themselves on their tremendous success and can only hope that The Undergraduate Review Spring 2023 edition is an honest reflection of Rutgers University-Camden’s elite accomplishments.

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Frankenstein and the Monstrous Self Gretchen Purvis

“Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow,” Victor Frankenstein tells Walton (Shelley 80), and in doing so frames the entire narrative in terms of knowledge as a burden: that which we should not know, even if we do not realize as much. Victor appears to believe that his mistake was to have sought that knowledge which led to the Creature’s existence, and he seems to want Walton and the reader to believe this as well, but Victor’s remark misdirects his audience. What Victor is really entreating his audience to ignore is the knowledge of self—of our relationships with and our actions towards others—because to reflect would be to see the ways in which he and his society both enable and affirm violence and dehumanization; instead of grappling with his own complicity in creating and guiding his story’s violent events, Victor places all the guilt onto the Creature and calls the actions he does not wish to face in himself monstrous. Were Victor’s statement above to be taken at face-value, there would be no need to see the Creature’s perspective, narrated as it is second-hand through Victor; the Creature murdering William Frankenstein, Victor’s brother, and Henry Clerval, Victor’s friend, would drive Victor’s point home and discourage such experiments’ replication. But the Creature’s narrative’s assertion that he was kind and well-meaning until he was mistreated by Victor and abused by society at large complicates Victor’s appeal to ignorance’s virtues, and reveals Frankenstein’s concern with whose perspectives get to define monstrosity. If a society, through treating people differently, creates monsters, then what does that mean for Frankenstein? The Undergraduate Review 5

Frankenstein’s marginalizing and harmful actions create monsters from these same marginalized people (Cohen 20), demonstrated by the Creature’s existence as first a victim and then a perpetrator. His experiences tacitly posit that a society which can create monsters out of marginalized people, who are further scapegoated and ostracized, while avoiding selfrecognition, is itself monstrous. Victor’s own invocation of monstrosity—as physically embodied by the Creature—warns of divergence from a norm’s punishment, preserving this societal hierarchy in doing so (Cohen 10); in pursuing this knowledge, one becomes an outsider, which only brings one upset. According to Cohen’s Monster Theory: Reading Culture, the act of categorizing simultaneously creates monsters of others and of oneself (18), because this categorization creates a hierarchy valuing some over others. What, or who, is excluded from this order is therefore considered an element of disorder and monstrous. The respective treatment of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature reflects a monstrosity constructed according to social conventions. Frankenstein portrays a society generally more preoccupied with individuals’ social status than kindness towards others. Responsibility for others’ welfare is ignored in favor of maintaining social hierarchy and status, illustrated through Victor Frankenstein and the De Lacey family, who unknowingly serve as the Creature’s surrogate family before rejecting him upon seeing him. Victor appears to see his marriage to Elizabeth Lavenza, his cousin and fiancé, at least in part as his familial duty: “I resolved, therefore, that if my immediate union with my cousin would conduce either to her’s or my father’s happiness, my adversary’s designs against my life should not retard it a single hour,” he says (Shelley 193). In marrying Elizabeth, he keeps wealth and status within the Frankenstein family; this is a fairly common attitude for the late 1700s, as middle- and upper-class marriages were primarily for familial wealth consolidation and 6 The Undergraduate Review

land transfer rather than a compact between individuals for love (Moore 8). His father tells Victor, “I confess, my son, that I have always looked forward to your marriage with your cousin as the tie of our domestic comfort” (Shelley 162). His mother even goes so far as to make it her dying wish: “My finest hopes of future happiness were placed on the prospect of your union,” she tells Elizabeth and Victor (Shelley 72). This would certainly add a feeling of obligation on the two to marry. However, Victor does not seem to care about others outside his social class or family and their wellbeing. He does not appear to see ensuring the Creature has someone to care for him as his responsibility, despite Victor being his creator and father figure and therefore responsible for either taking care of the Creature himself or finding another to take care of him. Victor appears to look down on the Orkney Islands’ very impoverished people as beneath his notice, describing them in only so much detail as to note that their penury allows him to take over their vacant hut and order them to do what he wants: “[It] would have, doubtless, occasioned some surprise, had not all the senses of the cottagers been benumbed by want and squalid poverty…so much does suffering blunt even the coarsest sensations of men” (Shelley 172). The inhabitants have no way to object to Victor’s takeover because of their severe poverty. Victor does not appear to care about either set of people marginalized for their lack of money. The De Lacey family, to whose house the Creature wanders after Victor’s abandonment, shows a prejudice based on appearance. The De Laceys have lost their money and are in exile, but still are treated as human beings with dignity— possibly because they have more social status and acceptance than the Creature, their crimes are not punished or even acknowledged as such. The only person who is kind to the Creature is the blind man who has experienced a fall in social status—the De Lacey father. His physical blindness makes him blind to the prejudices of appearance; “the hearts of men, when The Undergraduate Review 7

unprejudiced by any obvious self-interest, are full of brotherly love and charity… if these friends are good and amiable, do not despair,” he tells the Creature (Shelley 147), shortly before his son Felix returns and, unprovoked, violently beats the Creature. In conjunction with the other occurrences in which the Creature is hated or feared despite his nonviolence, the Creature’s appearance may have been a motivation for Felix’s attack; viewed through the lens of monster theory, perhaps Felix is motivated by a desire to destroy a monster, an entity outside what is considered normal. In destroying the monster, Felix will affirm that the monster, representing disorder through its lack of conformity, has no connection to him; Felix aligns himself with that norm and affirms that despite his economic and social marginalization, he is nevertheless part of a norm which excludes the Creature, as the latter is a composite being. Victor Frankenstein’s status fixation and lack of consideration for those marginalized does not exist in a vacuum, however. Frankenstein uses heavily the idea of tabula rasa: one’s upbringing plays a larger role in personality and actions than innate characteristics does; someone steeped in a monstrous society would likely subconsciously absorb such ideas. Both Victor and the Creature demonstrate the effects of societal conditioning; though their actions are their own, their actions are informed by their childhoods and by the values they absorb from the people around them. Victor Frankenstein often appears to act with narcissistic and self-centered behavior. His parents initially seem kind and loving, doting on his every whim and taking loving care of him, but they enable his narcissism and develop this trait even further than might have been under different circumstances by enabling Victor to seemingly act according to a belief that people are there for his amusement and purposes. They repeatedly tell him that Elizabeth is to be his wife, though she is given no say in this decision; his mother chooses Elizabeth 8 The Undergraduate Review

to be his wife for her “gentle and affectionate disposition” when Elizabeth is a small child (Shelley 66). Elizabeth tells Victor that “our union had been the favorite plan of your parents ever since our infancy. We were… taught to look forward to it as an event that would certainly take place” (Shelley 191), in a letter imploring him not to go through with their marriage. Victor ignores her, and her desire not to marry him is similarly ignored, as she has no agency. Victor thinks of Elizabeth Lavenza as a pet—“I loved to tend on her, as I should on a favorite animal,” Victor says to Walton (Shelley 66)—likely enabling the way he later mistreats the Creature. Victor’s initial dehumanization through words—“wretch” and “daemon” among others (Shelley 84, 99)—opens the door for Victor’s physical violence towards the Creature. If he ignores his own cousin and fiancée’s agency, why should the life of a composite being merit his respect? The Creature, too, is shaped by society and his upbringing—he is innocent and kind at first, wanting only to help others. He cuts wood for the De Laceys and saves a child who almost drowns, despite knowing the girl will likely hate him like almost every other human he has ever met. It is the constant hatred and violence that he is met with that turns the Creature to violence: “This was then the reward of my benevolence!… The feelings of kindness and gentleness… gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth” (Shelley 153). The Creature returns others’ violence in kind yet is the only one to be punished. Within monster theory, the monster’s body is a canvas on which to project the fears of a society, gathered together out of various parts and pieces (Cohen 5)—like the Creature himself. 1752’s Murder Act allowed criminals’ bodies to be used for dissections and study (Ward 2). As this is a likely origin for the Creature’s body’s parts, he represents the disfranchised and the social outcasts—particularly criminals, possibly reflecting a continuation of Augustan-era fears and fascination with The Undergraduate Review 9

criminality (Gay 2787). As a culturally produced entity (Cohen 4), the Creature’s violent actions—resulting from a hate against the world and the people who have wronged him—represent a fear of how people who are mistreated may take revenge, and strike back against the people who have treated them poorly, if given a chance. But the Creature is not just a symbol of fear of marginalized people. He is to be sympathized and empathized with, for though his actions are wrong, the circumstances and emotions which led him there are all too understandable. Here the monster is both something to be abjected and an object of desire (Cohen 16-17), admired for his ability to show the consequences of an uncaring and unsympathetic society and act against it. As someone outside this system of norms, the Creature shows us that our norms do not care for all; thus, he also serves as the monster at the “threshold… of becoming” (Cohen 20). Monstrosity is not innate, but rather constructed, requiring an entire group of people—in this case, a society at large—to construct and maintain its existence. Its construction requires establishing a boundary including only those considered normal, inherently marginalizing those excluded. The Creature’s existence, as someone situated outside of Frankenstein’s normal, shows us the ways that Frankenstein’s privileged groups leverage their power to hurt those who are marginalized. A monster serves as a kind of mirror on society, showing a particular society that its definitions of self are deeply flawed if someone who has the same human emotions and feelings as the “normal,” privileged group is to be viewed as subhuman and monstrous (Cohen 18). Frankenstein thus invites a re-examination of society—if someone like Victor Frankenstein, who appears to care little about anyone other than himself and his needs, can be praised and admired, but someone like the Creature can be ostracized for his appearance,

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that society which affirms and reinforces these reactions is itself fundamentally monstrous. Works Cited Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. Monster Theory: Reading Culture. University of Minnesota Press, 1996. Gay, John. The Beggar's Opera. Edited by Stephen Greenblatt et al., 9th ed. Volume C: The Restoration and Eighteenth Century, Norton, 2012. Moore, Wendy. "Love and Marriage in 18th-Century Britain." Historically Speaking, vol. 10 no. 3, 2009, p. 8-10. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.1353/hsp.0.0038. Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, et al. Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the Original 1818 Text. Broadview Press, 2012. Ward, Richard M. “The Criminal Corpse, Anatomists and the Criminal Law: Parliamentary Attempts to Extend the Dissection of Offenders in Late Eighteenth-Century England.” The Journal of British studies vol. 54,1 (2015): 63-87. doi:10.1017/jbr.2014.167

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The Unanswered Question to Explain Jeffrey Dahmer’s Quench for Flesh Vienna M. Monte “Virtually all existing criminological theories began with a faulty fundamental premise: that criminal behavior requires, in some form, the creation of criminal motivation.” Hirschi (1969) Abstract For years, Jeffrey Dahmer was fascinated with the idea of turning his victims into zombies with dreams of grandeur; they would serve as sexual partners who were youthful and submissive to him. This fascination was more than just an experiment of The Walking Dead; it reveals the answer to his motivation: loneliness and rejection. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that Travis Hirschi’s Social Bond/Social Control Theory can explain Jeffrey Dahmer’s erratic behavior due to weakening social bonds, which triggered his violent criminal career. Criminal Career In June 1978, among Jeffrey Dahmer’s first victims was a hitchhiker named Steven Hicks, 18 years old at the time. After strangling and beating Hicks with a barbell at his parent's house in Ohio, Dahmer dismembered the body and placed the remains in garbage bags. In a 1993 interview, Dahmer stated,

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I always knew that it was wrong, but after the first killing was not planned, I was coming back from the shopping mall back in ’78. I had fantasies about picking up a hitchhiker, taking him back to the house, and having complete control and dominance over him. (Inside Edition, 2018, 3:334:04) In September 1981, Dahmer was arrested for drunken and disorderly conduct. A fine of $60 was imposed on him, as well as a suspended sentence in jail (Bertram, 2021). On August 7, 1982, at Wisconsin State Fair Park, an audience of 25 women and children witnessed Dahmer’s self-exposure. As Masters (1993) described, a fine of $50 plus court costs and a conviction of disorderly conduct was imposed on him due to this incident (p. 86). Similarly, he was arrested in August 1986 for masturbating in front of two 12-year-old boys (Bertram, 2021). Following his admission to indecent exposure, Dahmer claimed he was urinating, unaware of any witnesses. Dahmer’s criminal charges were reduced to disorderly conduct, and he received a year’s probation and instructions to obtain counseling. In September 1987, Dahmer awoke in the morning to find 24-year-old Steven Tuomi dead in his hotel room. The investigation revealed that Dahmer had only intended to drug Tuomi and did not remember beating the man to bloodshed with his bare fist. Tuomi’s dead body was placed in Dahmer’s suitcase, which he carried to the basement of his grandmother’s house to dismember the body before throwing the remains in the trash,

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except for the head, which he continued to boil in industrial detergent and bleach for another week until it was pulverized. Then, in October 1987, James Doxtator, age 14, consented to take nude photos at Dahmer's grandmother's home for $50. Having drugged Doxtator, Dahmer strangled him, disposing of his body in a similar manner as Tuomi. Nichols (2006) revealed that in September 1988, the same day Dahmer had moved into his apartment, he offered a 14-year-old boy named Sounthome Sinthasomphone $50 to pose for photos (p. 250). Instead, Jeffrey gave Sounthome a sleep aid and molested the boy (Nichols, 2006, p. 250). In the 1994 publication A Father’s Story, Lionel cried, “Sounthome Sinthasomphone had been an innocent victim, by law a child, and my son had purposely lured him to his new apartment, drugged, and then sexually abused him” (Dahmer, 1994, p. 74). Nonetheless, in March 1988, in exchange for spending the night with Dahmer at his grandmother’s house, Richard Guerrero was offered $50. During Dahmer’s execution, Guerrero was drugged with sleeping pills, strangled, and subjected to sexual acts. Within 24 hours, Guerrero’s body had been dismembered, but Dahmer ran into a more challenging issue concerning where to hide both his killing and the dismemberments. More killings ensured. In September 1989, during a bar encounter with Dahmer, 24-yearold model Anthony Sears became his fifth victim (Bertram, 2021). Sears was drugged and strangled in his grandmother’s basement by Dahmer as he feared the police were watching his apartment. Sears was the first victim from whom Dahmer took trophies by storing and preserving Sears’ head and genitals in a wooden box. In May 1989Dahmer was sentenced to 12 months in jail and five years of probation for his second-degree sexual 14 The Undergraduate Review

assault conviction, and required to register as a sex offender (Bertram, 2021). In addition, he was given a work release, allowing him to keep his job at the Milwaukee Ambrosia Chocolate Company Factory. In May 1990, just months after Dahmer had been released from being incarcerated, he killed once again by offering $50 to Raymond Smith, a 32-year-old prostitute, for sexual intercourse. He strangled Smith with his bare hands after drugging him in his apartment and took suggestive Polaroid photographs of Smith’s corpse. Dahmer dismembered the body, boiling the remains and dissolving it in an acid container, except for Smith’s skull, which he kept in a cabinet with Sears’ head. Upon hearing neighbors complain about the smell emanating from Dahmer’s apartment, he exclaimed that his refrigerator broke and he was having it repaired, blaming spoiled meat as the cause of the horrendous odor. In June 1990, several months after murdering 27-year-old Edward Smith, Dahmer attempted a preservation process by storing Smith’s body in his freezer. In the end, Dahmer discarded Smith’s frozen corpse after he complained to authorities that his freezer had degraded. Two months later, in September 1990, Ernest Miller, age 22, was promised money for joining Dahmer in his apartment. Dahmer slashed his throat. Since Dahmer did not have access to sleeping pills at the time, he had to change the way he slaughtered. In Dahmer’s apartment, he displayed Miller's head and stored pieces of Miller’s body to eat, which was a trend that he was increasingly engaged in. Dahmer shared, “It was a way of making me feel that they were a part of me” (Inside Edition, 2018, 12:08- 12:12). Three weeks later, David Thomas, a 22year-old, was killed by Dahmer. In later testimony, Dahmer The Undergraduate Review 15

revealed that he realized he was not attracted to Thomas during their encounter. However, he still drugged and murdered him, disposing of his body and not saving any parts of it for later use. Subsequently, in February 1991, in exchange for nude pictures, Dahmer offered money at a bus stop to 17-year-old Curtis Straughter. The tenth victim of Dahmer’s killing spree continued as Dahmer provided cash to a stranger, drugged and strangled the victim before taking pictures and dismembered and preserved the body parts for cannibalism. Moreover, in April 1991, Errol Lindsey, 19 years old, was drugged by Dahmer, and then a hole was drilled into his skull through which hydrochloric acid was poured to produce what Dahmer described as a "zombie-like" state. As he began to regain consciousness, Dahmer drugged Lindsey further before strangling and flaying him to retain the skin on his corpse. In May 1991, he lured 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone to his apartment while Anthony Hughes, age 31 years old, lay cold dead on the bed. Sinthasomphone had been photographed and drugged before Dahmer attempted to render him brain-dead through the drilling of a hole in his skull, followed by a pouring of acid inside the opening. Before leaving the apartment, Dahmer placed Sinthasomphone’s drugged body next to Hughes’ corpse. When Dahmer returned to his apartment building the following morning, he discovered Sinthasomphone lying outside, huddled with three women. Attempting to lead Sinthasomphone back to his apartment, Dahmer explained that he was his friend, but the women declared that the police were already on the way. Ultimately, Dahmer won over the attending police by claiming Sinthasomphone was his 19-year-old alcohol16 The Undergraduate Review

intoxicated boyfriend. Officers then led Sinthasomphone back to Dahmer's apartment, where Dahmer produced the Polaroids that he had taken earlier of Sinthasomphone to prove their relationship. According to the officers, Sinthasomphone and Dahmer had a “boyfriend-boyfriend thing” going on, and everything was fine (Murphy & Brennan, 2022). After leaving, the officers did, however, note that Dahmer’s apartment smelled strange but proceeded to make no further investigation. Using a drill, Dahmer poured more acid into Sinthasomphone's head, this time fatally. Dahmer confirmed that he had no idea of the connection between Konerak and Sounthome, the boy he molested in 1988. But Konerak was the younger brother of Sounthome. Ultimately, Dahmer kept Hughes and Sinthasomphone's skulls after their bodies were dismembered. Likewise, in June 1991, Dahmer persuaded 20year-old Matthew Turner to go to Milwaukee for a photo shoot after meeting him in Chicago. Turner’s head and internal organs were placed in two individual plastic bags and then placed delicately into the freezer once again by Dahmer after drugging, strangling, and dismembering him. On July 7, 1991, Dahmer offered a weekend break to 20-year-old Jeremiah Weinberger at his Milwaukee apartment. The murder was not committed until Weinberger announced his intention to leave the day after they arrived, which prompted Dahmer to complete the act. Two days later, Oliver Lacy, 24, returned with Dahmer to his apartment after agreeing to pose nude. After being drugged and administered chloroform, Lacy was rendered unconscious for the remainder of the day. In the aftermath of strangling Lacy, Dahmer slept with his corpse, which he stored in two places: the refrigerator, where the head and heart were kept, and the freezer, The Undergraduate Review 17

where the corpse was stored. After that, on July 19, 1991, Dahmer strangled 25-year-old Joseph Bradehoft to death and left his body on his bed for two days. Following that, Dahmer placed Bradehoft's head in his refrigerator. In addition, on July 23, 1991, Dahmer offered Tracy Edwards, age 32, $100 in exchange for nude photos taken at his apartment as part of a scheme to kill him. As indicated by Jentzen (2017), after escaping Dahmer's apartment, the man ran away in handcuffs, screaming for help until he was discovered by the Milwaukee Police Department (p. 445). Upon arriving at Dahmer’s apartment, Edwards led the police officers to the room where he claimed to have been assaulted and drugged. Law enforcement quickly took Dahmer into custody after gaining access to the residence. A full criminal investigation was initiated after Edwards showed the police the decapitated head of a male he had previously seen in Dahmer’s refrigerator. While being detained, Dahmer waived his right to legal representation and confessed to killing multiple men and boys dating back to 1978. After his arrest, he admitted to the murders over 60 hours in interviews with detectives that lasted two weeks (Aizman, 2022). On February 17, 1992, following the dismemberment and murder of fifteen young men and boys, Dahmer was sentenced to fifteen consecutive life sentences (Gross, 1995). Throughout Dahmer’s criminal career, he committed 17 acts of rape, murder, and dismemberment between 1978 and 1991 on men and boys ages 14 to 33 (Bertram, 2021). In the later years of his murder spree, parts of his modus operandi changed regarding engaging in cannibalism, necrophilia, and preserving victims’ skeletal body parts, together with documenting his 18 The Undergraduate Review

victims by photographing them at various stages, enabling him to relive the experience afterward. The collection of victims’ skeletal remains stemmed from his deliberate plan to eventually kill enough to build a satanic shrine. Over 13 years, Dahmer carefully selected his victims, generally African Americans, at gay nightclubs, shopping centers, and other establishments. It is important to note that Dahmer received great pleasure preying on young boys, so much so that he molested a 14-year-old boy, among many other monstrous things. Moreover, Dahmer persuaded his victims to come to his home by proposing money for erotic pictures, then laced their alcoholic beverages with illicit drugs. Ultimately, once Dahmer’s victims no longer amused him, he strangled them to death and engaged in other wicked acts. As an illustration, Dahmer performed numerous gruesome acts on his victims, including sodomizing, masturbating on, and having sex with them once dead. Nonetheless, after performing sexual acts on the corpses, Dahmer would dismember them and typically keep their skulls and genitalia as trophies. In addition, Jentzen (2017) indicated that Dahmer stored his victims’ bodies in his refrigerator and a 55-gallon jug filled with hydrochloric acid to preserve for either his consumption or collection (p. 449). During his investigation, Dahmer disclosed to authorities that he drilled holes in his victims’ heads while unconscious, then poured hydrochloric acid into their heads to try and ensure victims would never leave him. Despite Dahmer’s best efforts, the victims always died no matter what he did.

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Background Jeffrey Dahmer was born May 21, 1960, at the Evangelical Deaconess Hospital located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the eldest son of Lionel Herbert Dahmer, “a chemical engineer with a Ph.D. in chemistry,” and Joyce Annette Flint, a teletype machine instructor (Martens & Palermo, 2005, p. 300). Nichols (2006) expressed that a few days after Jeffrey was born, Joyce was hospitalized with severe postpartum depression (p. 246). When Dahmer was a child, his father endlessly worked on achieving a chemistry degree in college while his mother was often bedridden, recovering from physical and emotional illnesses. According to researchers, Jeffrey was the product of a pregnancy affected by his mother's long-standing nausea, anxiety, and dysphoria, exacerbated by her use of tranquilizer medications during pregnancy (Silva et al., 2002, p. 2). From Jeffrey's birth, Joyce lacked fundamental mother instincts such as a desire to love, care, nurture, and protect her child. Similarly, Lionel also took part in avoiding Jeffrey, however, only to a certain extent. Due to Lionel’s university studies, he spent most of his time away from home. As indicated in Silva et al.’s (2002) article, in his early childhood, Jeffrey showed little interest in participating in activities from his social environment (p. 2). However, he did show a genuine interest in animals. At age four, Dahmer first became fascinated with dead animals upon his father's request to help clean an animal carcass under the house. In the aftermath of his dad's disposal of the bones, Dahmer recalls enjoying the sound the bones made. He developed a new fascination with this that his dad never considered problematic. Although Lionel 20 The Undergraduate Review

rarely spent time with his son, when he did, it was spent on grooming Jeffrey to engage in the dissection of dead animals found together along the roadside. Lionel continued his lessons with Dahmer, teaching him new and exciting techniques like bleaching and cleaning bones. Horrifyingly enough, he would later use this acquired skill to clean his victims' bones. In October 1966, Doylestown, Ohio, became the new home for the Dahmer family. That fall, Jeffrey began Hazel Harvey Elementary School. In grade school, his peers considered him both quiet and timid. Dahmer did, however, have a few friends in grade school despite being reserved and uncommunicative. As his friends recall, Jeffrey collected insects and placed them inside jars. He also became keenly interested in examining live animals to determine how their bones were situated in their bodies. During Jeffrey's first-grade year, Joyce spent more time recovering from illnesses in bed. His first-grade report card described him as a reserved child who felt neglected. As his teacher remarked, it appears that Jeffrey’s feelings of neglect were associated with his mother's illnesses. Once, Jeffrey had to call 9-1-1 when, in an attempt to commit suicide, Joyce overdosed on Equanil pills. Ultimately, she became addicted to Equanil. During the same year, Joyce was expecting her second child. After Joyce gave birth on December 18, 1966, Jeffrey was given the honor of choosing his baby brother's name, David. Still, both parents mutually maintained a lack of interest in anything related to Jeffrey, especially once David was born. Consequently, Jeffrey resented his little brother, demanding his parents' attention. Meanwhile, Lionel earned his Ph.D. in The Undergraduate Review 21

chemistry and was hired by Akron as an analytical chemist. Eventually, the family relocated to Bath, Ohio, in 1968, where a neighbor boy sexually molested Jeffrey when he was eight years old (Newton, 2006, p. 59; Hickey, 2015, p. 156). Martens (2011) mentioned that from age six to eight, Jeffrey's family moved three times between different towns, causing confusion, alienation, and restlessness (p. 498). As usual, Dahmer's father was often away from home, but when he returned, he devoted much of his attention to Joyce. Jeffrey’s mother was renowned for starting chaos with his father over trivial matters. A substantial reason why Jeffrey’s parents had little time for him was because of their endless bickering. Dahmer often mentioned in interviews how his parents were always fighting and resentful of each other while he was growing up. Besides being reclusive and shy, Jeffrey seemed to have a limited range of emotional expression. It was evident in even his posture, which became stiff, and in his nervousness that had become uncontrollable. In third grade, Jeffrey caught tadpoles, placed them into a mason jar, and gave them to his teacher as a gift. Dahmer was furious when he learned that his teacher had given the tadpoles to another student. He obtained the tadpoles back after breaking into the student’s home. Afterward, he killed the tadpoles by pouring motor oil into the jar. To Lionel’s knowledge, this was the first violent act that his son had committed (Dahmer, 1994, p. 41). Martens (2011) shared that by age ten, Jeffrey felt responsible for the mental illnesses of his mother, believing he had caused them (p. 498). The experience left him frustrated, depressed, and self-hating.

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Jeffrey’s interests began to darken when he was ten to fifteen, and he withdrew emotionally. Having become absorbed in dissecting roadkill, Dahmer moved on to slaughtering and skinning animals, then removing their flesh with hydrochloric acid. For years, he walked along highways and roads collecting the bones of dead animals to store them in his family's shed. Jeffrey found it challenging to connect with other people, particularly family and friends, feeling like an outsider, belonging neither to his family nor any social group. As a result, his personality gradually changed over time, and he became isolated and socially inept. With the onset of adolescence, he became less interested in hobbies and social interaction, instead turning to animal carcasses and excessive drinking. When Jeffrey reached puberty, he learned that he was gay but never told his family. This is because Jeffrey came from a troubled family, and his father, a fundamentalist Christian, would never have supported his homosexuality. As early as 14 years old, Dahmer began drinking alcohol. During school, he would hide liquor in his jacket. Norris (1992) revealed that even when confronted, Jeffrey falsely claimed the liquor he was consuming was his medication (p. 74). Dahmer attended Revere High School (RHS) in Bath Township, located close to Richfield, Ohio, where he was regarded as an outcast. Conversely, having been enlivened by alcohol, he became a class clown. Due to a lack of attention, he resorted to desperate measures. For instance, in high school, pretending he had epilepsy attacks, he would drop to the ground screaming and make a scene to catch the attention of his peers. The term "Doing a Dahmer" was used by his classmates to refer to the outrageous prank he played. The Undergraduate Review 23

The antics Dahmer performed during his school days were aimed at fetching him money for alcohol. Schechter (2003) disclosed that as a result of being “friendless and neglected,” Jeffrey lost himself deeper into his fantasy world (p. 201). Slowly, these thoughts became entwined with dissection. As a young man, Dahmer envisioned knocking out a male jogger and then sexually abusing his unconscious body as part of a rape fantasy. Using a baseball bat in hand, Dahmer concealed himself in shrubs on the route a jogger took and waited for him with the intent of rendering him unconscious. Despite not being passed by the jogger that particular day, Dahmer believed that even though he never tried to implement such a plan again, this was his first attempt to attack someone. Moreover, Dahmer continued to abuse alcohol and become apathetic towards social interactions and academics, and his grades declined significantly by 1977. His parents hired a private tutor to help Jeffrey in his academic studies, but the tutor could not succeed in teaching their son. In early 1978, Lionel left the family home and relocated to a local motel. In August 1978, Jeffrey’s senior year of high school, after Mr. and Mrs. Dahmer legally separated, David was placed in Joyce's custody. As a result, Joyce decided to move to Wisconsin with David. Both parents became so absorbed in their new lives that they forgot about Jeffrey, abandoning him for months in the family’s home. Dahmer’s mind had been filled with dark thoughts for some time, and he took advantage of the opportunity to act on them. Although he continued to drink throughout high school, he managed to graduate from RHS on June 4th, 1978. In the fall of that year, Jeffrey attended college at Ohio State University to study business, but he only attended for one semester because of 24 The Undergraduate Review

his alcohol addiction. Lionel was shocked to discover empty liquor bottles littering his son's room one day when he paid a surprise visit to Jeffrey. Subsequently, in January 1979, Dahmer was forced by his father to join the United States Army, where he served from 1979 to 1981 as a medical specialist in West Germany. While in the army, Billy Capshaw (Dahmer’s former roommate) claimed that the second night he was there, Dahmer drugged, raped, and brutally beat him (Dr. Phil, 2022, 0:310:35). Mr. Capshaw went on to explain that if he screamed or yelled, Dahmer would beat him even more severely, all to quiet him (Dr. Phil, 2022, 0:35- 0:49). Since Jeffrey never sought help for his alcohol addiction, he was discharged from the army on May 24, 1981 (Ap, 1991). Having been released from the military, Dahmer moved to Miami Beach, Florida, and got a job at a delicatessen, but when he did not pay his rent, he was evicted. In September 1981, six months after he was discharged from the Army, Dahmer returned to Ohio to live with his father and stepmother, Shari Dahmer, for a short period. As part of Lionel's plan to help Jeffrey seek sobriety and regain control of his life, Dahmer moved in with his grandmother, Catherine Dahmer, in West Allis, Wisconsin. However, the amount of alcohol he consumed did not subside. In time, he found a job as a phlebotomist at the Milwaukee Blood Plasma Center but was fired within ten months of employment (Sanders, 2022). After being unemployed for two years in January 1985, Dahmer obtained employment working six nights a week from 11 pm to 7 am at the Milwaukee Ambrosia Chocolate Company Factory as a mixer.

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Throughout this period, he regularly visited a gay bathhouse where he drugged men and then raped them while they were unconscious. Following numerous complaints from victims at the bathhouse, Dahmer’s membership was revoked, which caused him to rent hotel rooms instead. His grandmother grew tired of late-night male visitors and the foul odors emanating from his grandmother's garage and basement, for which she knew Jeffrey was responsible, and she kicked him out of her house for a short period (Bertram, 2021). Therefore, on September 26, 1988, he moved into a single-bedroom apartment at 808 N 24th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Dahmer, 1994). Shortly after, as a result of his conviction for second-degree sexual assault in May 1989, Dahmer served 12 months in jail. In the months following, on May 14, 1990, after being released from jail two months early, Dahmer moved into the Oxford Apartments by himself, located at 924 North 25th Street, Apartment 213, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Masters, 1993, p. 139). On July 23, 1991, Dahmer was finally arrested for his evilness. Shockingly, on November 28th, 1994, in the gymnasium of the Columbia Correctional Institute in Portage, Wisconsin, during their work-detail assignment, Dahmer and another inmate, Jesse Anderson, were brutally murdered by another inmate, Christopher Scarver (History.com Editors, 2010). At the time of his death, Jeffrey was 34 years old. Even though Scarver's motivation for killing Dahmer and Anderson is still unclear, he maintained in court that God directed him to do so.

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Social Control Theory Through extensive research demonstrated in the 1951 publication, Suicide: A Study in Sociology, Émile Durkheim concluded, The more weakened the groups to which [the individual] belongs, the less he depends on them, the more he consequently depends only on himself and recognizes no other rules of conduct than what are founded on his private interests. (Durkheim, 1951) Travis Hirschi’s 1969 publication Causes of Delinquency reiterates this concept more in-depth with his developed Social Bond/Social Control Theory which is the idea that delinquent acts arise from weak or broken bonds to society. The logic Hirschi offered is that it is not surprising that these theories partly explain a majority of aberrant or unusual behaviors since they encompass two highly complex concepts: “the bond of the individual to society” (Hirschi, 2002, p. 16). Most abnormal or aberrant behaviors have been explained using them at one point or another. As indicated in Causes of Delinquency, Social Bond/Social Control Theory has described the elements of the bond to society in many ways, focusing on various units as control points. Hirschi (1969) revealed that the four vital social bonds include attachment to meaningful persons, commitment to a conventional goal, involvement in traditional activities, and belief in social rules. Although much research has been The Undergraduate Review 27

conducted on serial killers throughout history, little has been undertaken using a criminological approach to analyze their causes. Connection of the Theory As indicated by Hirschi (1969), “… given that man is an animal, ‘impulsivity’ and ‘aggressiveness’ can also be seen as natural consequences of freedom from moral restraints” (Hirschi, 2002, p. 18). Growing up in an environment that rejected him fueled Jeffrey Dahmer’s loneliness since childhood. The instability in his life only flourished as he grew older. As a result of societal isolation, Dahmer began dismembering animals, a behavior he would later display when committing monstrous acts on human beings. Based on empirical evidence, Hirschi (1969) determined that a child’s social development depends heavily on parental upbringing. It is evident that Jeffery Dahmer, as shown by his actions, did not receive the socialization bond that he should have received from his parents or other individuals in his life. Consequently, Dahmer developed a sense of being an outsider, rejected by society and ignored throughout crucial developmental stages. Ultimately, loneliness and rejection drove him to commence his spine-chilling criminal career. In Causes of Delinquency, Hirschi (1969) described, The process of becoming alienated from others often involves or is based on active interpersonal conflict. Such conflict could easily supply a reservoir of socially derived hostility sufficient to 28 The Undergraduate Review

account for the aggressiveness of those whose attachments to others have been weakened. (Hirschi, 2002, p. 18) From analyzing Dahmer’s life course, it is apparent that he had no close relationships that could have deterred him from engaging in crime, just as Travis Hirschi implied in Social Bond/Social Control Theory. Considering this, it is clear that the formation and nurturing of social bonds are crucial to children’s socialization and psychological development. Confession During a 1993 Inside Edition televised interview, interviewer Nancy Glass asked Dahmer, having murdered 17 innocent boys and men, what precisely these victims had that Jeffrey wanted. Dahmer replied, “I had these obsessive desires and thoughts wanting to control them too. I don’t know how to put it. Possess them permanently” (Inside Edition, 2018). As a follow-up question, Nancy asked him if that was the reason why he killed them. Dahmer’s response included, “Right. Right, not because I was angry with them, not because I hated them, but because I wanted to keep them with me. And as my obsession grew, I was saving body parts such as skulls and skeletons” (Inside Edition, 2018). Empirical Evidence In the 2015 publication Serial Murderers and Their Victims, Hickey (2015) dedicated portions to the extensive The Undergraduate Review 29

research conducted by Travis Hirschi. To elaborate, the author discussed Hirschi’s work in 1969 regarding Social Bond/Social Control Theory. In that case, for an individual to have the ability to be conscious of others, as well as to adopt social norms, it is imperative to establish attachments to peers, schools, diverse social institutions, and, most importantly, family members. Based on Travis Hirschi’s empirical findings in 1969, Hickey (2015) demonstrated how maintaining a steady commitment to one’s property, conventional goals, reputation, education, and other related organizations would reduce the likelihood of committing crimes and losing what one has worked hard to achieve. Beyond that, Hickey (2015) explained how Hirschi found criminal activities limited by involvement in conventional endeavors. In addition, Hirschi (1969) revealed that people are more likely to conform to societal expectations if they share a standard set of beliefs. Therefore, the author of the present study reiterated that based on extensive research conducted by Travis Hirschi in 1969, juveniles with a strong attachment to their parents are shown to be less likely to commit delinquent crimes and engage in illicit behavior (Hickey, 2015). Consequently, it should be no surprise that a common thread among serial killers is the absence of meaningful relationships between themselves and their families. Indeed, research has found that most serial killers during childhood experienced prolonged or traumatic separation from one or both parents. According to historical evidence, Hickey (2015) explained how several other serial murderers demonstrated a lack of adherence to conventional values by engaging heavily in drug use, alcohol consumption, and other “marginal” activities, 30 The Undergraduate Review

including, Ted Bundy, Aileen Wuornos, Edward Kemper, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Henry Lee Lucas. In general, serial killers’ social isolation and distant nature often prevent them from having meaningful relationships with their peers. Consequently, Hirschi’s Social Bond/Social Control Theory should be applied to understand serial killers and their behavior more thoroughly, formulate a better explanation for why they commit crimes, and devise strategies for deterring similar future offenders, as stated by Hickey (2015). Equally important, Hickey (2015) uncovered that serial killers do not have the same relationships with their families, peers, and communities that Hirschi found among noncriminal offenders. Similarly, in Hirschi’s view, conformity derives from social bonds, which give us something to lose by committing crimes. Costello and Laub (2020) reiterated that attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief are among Hirschi’s four interrelated elements of the social bond, which are analytically distinct. Therefore, it is our emotional connection to others that we refer to as attachment, and our perception of others depends on how much we like, love, or respect them. Consequently, Hirschi believed social order was based on consensus, following Hobbes and Durkheim. As per Hirschi, disruptive, dishonest, and hurtful behavior is disapproved by parents, teachers, and others (Hirschi, 1969). Hence, an individual who engages in these behaviors will experience negative consequences. Another critical point Costello and Laub (2020) argued is that, unlike Merton’s view, Hirschi maintained that committing to long-term educational or occupational goals could deter delinquency since violating social institution rules that provide education and employment The Undergraduate Review 31

rewards jeopardizes the successful attainment of these goals. The article indicates Hirschi (1969) suggested delinquent criminal activities are significantly reduced when students are involved in conventional activities such as school, sports, and after-school jobs. Correspondingly, Costello and Laub (2020) included in the article that Hirschi explained that different people view the moral validity of laws differently. Explaining that in strain theories, we violate laws that we believe due to deprivation and desperation; in cultural deviance theories, group norms are not violated by individuals (Hirschi, 1969). Contrary to that, control theory suggests that due to a lack of attachment to others, some individuals feel that laws and rules have no moral implications on their behaviors, so they deviate from them as they see fit (Hirschi, 1969). Nonetheless, more often than any other prediction from the Social Bond/Social Control Theory, attachment to parents has been tested for its relationship with delinquency, and subsequent research has strongly supported it (Kempf, 1993). As a final emphasis, Costello and Laub (2020) reported that it is apparent across a wide range of historical periods and studies that attachment to parents is negatively correlated with crime or delinquency, including the Glueck study during the 1930s and 1940s, collected in the United States. Given these points, Martens and Palermo (2005) claimed that throughout his childhood, Dahmer was lonely due to his parents' neglect, their turbulent marriage, his mother's mental illness, and his frequent moves in and out of towns (p. 303). As a child, he lived in a state of seclusion, suffered from severe social isolation, and exhibited impulsive and aggressive behavior. 32 The Undergraduate Review

Between age six and age 8, he developed apathetic, atypical, and bizarre behaviors. Because of this, he missed out on learning how to interact socially and emotionally. Jeffrey was prone to selfdestructive fantasies, consumed alcohol frequently, and began to see himself as an outcast at the age of 10. When he was 14, he systematically abused alcohol in order to control the compulsive, violent, sexual thoughts associated with social and emotional frustrations and with being unable to form friendships, and therefore the loneliness associated with them. Dahmer’s hesitation in establishing emotional connections with others eventually led him to ignore further inquiries. Jeffrey began to experience necrophilic fantasies at the age of 15, and he became aware that he was homosexual. He had violent sexual and necrophilic fantasies after turning 17 and may have been defending himself against unbearable reality by lusting after someone and needing to control them. In the years following his 18th birthday, he suffered from such overwhelming feelings of loneliness and desire for companionship that the destructive fantasies he had been experiencing became a reality (Martens & Palermo, 2005, p. 303). As a result of their study, Martens and Palermo (2005) demonstrated that a combination of loneliness and other risk factors, such as “depression, social withdrawal, lack of social and coping skills, neglect or abuse, and aversive family factors (parental divorce or antisocial behavior, chaotic family life)” may be especially detrimental to people at risk of antisocial behavior (p. 306). Having destructive attitudes like impulsivity, hostility, or aggression can lead to loneliness, as such attitudes can disrupt existing relationships and bonds, which can prevent new relationships from growing. Loneliness has been regarded The Undergraduate Review 33

as a significant issue in psychiatry, psychology, and psychotherapy by many psychiatrists. Empirical Research As indicated in the 1950 publication Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency, Juvenile court judges are ever searching and hoping for a formula to help them recognize the probable future criminal and separate him from the casual or accidental victim of circumstances who may appear before them for the first time for juvenile delinquency. (Glueck & Glueck, 1950, p. 32) The logic that Glueck and Glueck (1950) offered is that social background, interpersonal relations in the family group, and the relationship between the boy and the parents were significant indicators of future development, particularly the discipline provided by the parents for the boy, their affection for him, and the family's cohesiveness. By combining the results from the 1950 publication Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency with the findings of the Rorschach tests and psychometric evaluations, Glueck and Glueck (1950) developed insightful tables that showed the delinquency pattern of the delinquents studied was reasonably predictable. Through the ideas of Laub and Sampson (1988), they argued that Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck’s Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency (UJD), published in 1950, had been one of the 34 The Undergraduate Review

most influential studies in criminological research. The UJD study had a robust research design, but the researchers often lacked methodological and theoretical rigor in their conceptual and statistical analyses. Because of this, the study's methodological and ideological criticisms have been directed at the researchers. Laub and Sampson (1988) aimed to assess the family characteristics of 500 delinquents and 500 nondelinquents within the original Glueck data. Based on theory, this study revealed a direct correlation between family process variables and severe and persistent delinquency. Moreover, the findings of the multivariate analyses concluded that the mother’s supervision, parenting style, and parental attachment are the most significant predictors of the severity and persistence of criminal delinquency. Another critical finding suggested that delinquent criminal behavior is not directly affected by family process variables, such as a parent’s criminal history or household division, even though these factors can indirectly affect it. Additionally, the study reanalyzed the original UJD data to provide updated information on Glueck and Glueck's (1950) contributions to criminology and support current studies on family and delinquency. With all perspectives taken into consideration, Hickey (2015), Costello and Laub (2020), Glueck and Glueck (1950), and Laub and Sampson (1988) support Travis Hirschi’s Social Bond/Social Control Theory, emphasizing that the establishment and nurturing of social bonds are imperative to children’s socialization and psychological development.

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Solution Sociologists and criminologists, notably Travis Hirschi, Robert Sampson, John Laub, and Michael Gottfredson have studied the causes and effects of certain crimes in certain areas to learn and understand how offenders operate. With the guidance of empirical evidence, researchers develop strategies to prevent future offenders from engaging in the same crimes. When it comes to cases like Jeffrey Dahmer's, researchers ask themselves: “What can we do earlier in the life course to protect people exposed to that kind of abuse?” The answer is to develop comprehensive methods for preventing crime that aim to interfere at early intervention points. Based on research, where you see the most positive impact, interventions tend to be those initiated early on. Accordingly, the most effective approach to preventing crime focuses on individual traits, families, schools, peer groups, and community factors. To adequately address those things, you need programs capable of doing so. Several of these programs are available, including Child-Parent Centers (CPC), Becoming A Man (BAM), Boys & Girls Clubs of America, One Summer Plus, Big Brothers Big Sisters, School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS), and Girls on the Run. Conclusion The world will forever remember Jeffrey Dahmer as the notorious serial killer who cannibalized his victims. However, the devastated family members will never forget Jeffrey for his sinister purpose of preying on the innocent and instilling life36 The Undergraduate Review

altering events in countless people. They relive the horrors of Dahmer every day, reflecting on how he took their loved ones from them while at the same time shattering their world. As his actions indicate, Jeffery did not receive the socialization bond that he should have received from his parents or other individuals in his life. Based on Travis Hirschi’s Social Bond/Social Control Theory, this paper suggests Jeffrey Dahmer’s violent criminal career began as a result of erratic behavior caused by weakening social bonds. References Aizman, D., Esq. (2022, October 14). Infamous Criminals: Jeffrey Dahmer. Aizman Law Firm. https://aizmanlaw.com/infamous-criminals-jeffrey-dahmer/ Ap. (1991, July 26). 17 SLAYINGS TIED TO MILWAUKEE MAN. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/26/us/17-slayings-tiedto-milwaukee-man.html?auth=logingoogle1tap&login=google1tap Bertram, C. (2021, August 11). Jeffrey Dahmer: A Timeline of His Murders, Arrests and Death. Biography. https://www.biography.com/crime/jeffrey-dahmer-timelinemurders Clingan, G. (2022, December 16). 35 Horrific Facts About Jeffrey Dahmer, The Milwaukee Cannibal Who Kept Body Parts In His Fridge. Thought Catalog. The Undergraduate Review 37

https://thoughtcatalog.com/gina-clingan/2018/07/35horrific-facts-about-jeffrey-dahmer-the-milwaukee-cannibalwho-kept-body-parts-in-his-fridge/ Costello, B. J., & Laub, J. H. (2020). Social Control Theory: The Legacy of Travis Hirschi’s Causes of Delinquency. Annual Review of Criminology, 3(1), 21–41. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-011419-041527 Crime Museum, LLC. (2021, August 20). Jeffrey Dahmer | Crime Library | Serial Killers. Crime Museum. https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/serialkillers/jeffrey-dahmer/ Dahmer, L. (1994). A Father’s Story (1st ed.). William Morrow and Company, Inc. Dr. Phil. (2022, November 15). Jeffrey Dahmer’s Former Roommate: “The Military Had to Know About Him.” YouTube. Retrieved November 26, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KKt_t2oKmk Durkheim, E. (1951). Suicide: A Study in Sociology (J. A. Spaulding & G. Simpson, Trans.; 1st ed.). The Free Press. Glueck, S., & Glueck, E. (1950). Unraveling juvenile delinquency. Juvenile Court Judges Journal, 2(3), 32–34. https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/juvfc2&i=10 2

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https://heinonline.org/HOL/PrintRequest?handle=hein.jour nals/juvfc2&collection=0&div=45&id=102&print=section&s ction=45 Gross, S. R. (1995). The Romance of Revenge: An Alternative History of Jeffrey Dahmer’s Trial. Law Quad, pp. 1, 44–51. https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article= 1637&context=articles Hickey, E. W. (2015). Serial Murderers and Their Victims (7th ed.). Cengage Learning. Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. University of California Press. http://public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullre cord.aspx?p=3410859. Hirschi, T. (2002). Causes of Delinquency: ([New ed.]). Transaction Publishers. History.com Editors. (2010, February 9). Jeffrey Dahmer murdered in prison. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jeffrey-dahmermurdered-in-prison Inside Edition. (2018, November 27). Inside the Mind of Jeffrey Dahmer: Serial Killer’s Chilling Jailhouse Interview: Originally Broadcast: February 1993 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWjYsxaBjBI

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Jentzen, J. M. (2017). Micro Disasters: The case of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Academic Forensic Pathology, 7(3), 444–452. https://doi.org/10.23907/2017.037 Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (1988). UNRAVELING FAMILIES AND DELINQUENCY: A REANALYSIS OF THE GLUECKS’ DATA*. Criminology, 26(3), 355–380. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1988.tb00846.x Macneil, D. H. (1951). GLUECK, SHELDON, and ELEANOR GLUECK. Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency. Pp. xv, 399. New York: The Commonwealth Fund, 1950. $5.00. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 274(1), 246–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/000271625127400178 Martens, W. H. J. (2011). Sadism linked to Loneliness: Psychodynamic dimensions of the sadistic serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Psychoanalytic Review, The, 98(4), 493–514. https://doi.org/10.1521/prev.2011.98.4.493 Martens, W. H. J., & Palermo, G. B. (2005). Loneliness and Associated Violent Antisocial Behavior: Analysis of the Case Reports of Jeffrey Dahmer and Dennis Nilsen. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 49(3), 298–307. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624x05274898 Masters, B. (1993). The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer. Hodder and Stoughton.

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McBride, J. (2022, September 27). Catherine Dahmer, Jeffrey Dahmer’s Grandmother: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. Heavy. https://heavy.com/news/catherine-dahmer-jeffreygrandmother-grandma/ Murphy, R., & Brennan, I. (Directors). (2022). DAHMER MONSTER: THE JEFFREY DAHMER STORY. Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/81287562 Newton, M. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (2nd ed.). Checkmark Books. Nichols, D. S. (2006). Tell me a Story: MMPI responses and personal biography in the case of a serial killer. Journal of Personality Assessment, 86(3), 242–262. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa8603_02 Norris, J. (1992). Jeffrey Dahmer. Constable Limited. Sanders, C. (2022, September 30). What did serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer actually do for a living? You’ll be surprised. Country Living. https://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a4139579 3/what-did-jeffrey-dahmer-do-for-a-living-job/ Schechter, H. (2003). The Serial Killer Files: The Who, What, Where, How, and Why of the World’s Most Terrifying Murderers. The Random House Publishing Group.

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Selected Technologies LLC. (2019, June 6). Aug 7, 1982 - Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested for indecent exposure (Timeline). https://time.graphics/event/3087924 Silva, J. A., Ferrari, M. M., & Leong, G. B. (2002). The Case of Jeffrey Dahmer: Sexual Serial Homicide from a Neuropsychiatric Developmental Perspective. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 47(6), 15574J. https://doi.org/10.1520/jfs15574j

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An Application of Skocpol’s Theory of Social Revolutions To Tunisia During the Arab Spring Kennedy Benjamin Samuels The Arab Spring’s broader and transregional impact can trace its roots to December 17, 2010, when a street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, committed self-immolation in Tunisia directly in front of a local government building to protest not only the authoritarian manner in which the contemporary regime had continuously governed, but also the personal humiliation and hardship inflicted with these actions, including the confiscation of his goods that his livelihood so depended upon.1 This incident sparked outrage and numerous protests, later producing a larger national uprising against the Tunisian government, and a series of revolutions that would spill over into neighboring Arab nations under which other authoritarian regimes were toppled. Since that initial period of revolt in the Arab world, there have been varying outcomes among those states in that region. Some governments have become more democratic, while others were replaced with religious extremists who governed far worse and arguably were substantially more brutal than the previously overthrown regime. While it is crucial to understand the impact of these revolutions in neighboring countries, this subject deserves a separate space for in-depth discussion. Despite this, it is possible to establish a contextual—though cursory— understanding of these revolutions through an initial analysis of the country where the Arab Spring first began: Tunisia. With the last major series of revolutions in the world having occurred in Eastern Europe over twenty years prior, it is of the utmost importance to grasp what initiated this phenomenon in this former French colony. There were numerous factors that ultimately contributed to this, with several political science theories concerning class and political structure being applicable, but Theda Skocpol’s (b.1947) social revolution theory The Undergraduate Review 43

provides the most sound reasoning as to why the revolution occurred in Tunisia when it did. Many analyses of revolutions have centered on class and economic reasonings as the main catalysts for revolutions, but have neglected the social class structures in the countries in which they have occurred. This is one of the first major differences noted in Skocpol’s theory of the “social revolution.” A social revolution, according to Skocpol, is defined as “rapid, basic transformations of a society’s state and class structures; and they are accompanied and in part carried through by class-based revolt from below.”2 Theories of Marxism, Ted Gurr’s (b.1936-d.2017) notion of relative deprivation, and others, display the government of the state to be an entity where groups with varying beliefs go to conduct battle. Skocpol, differing from the case studies of her contemporaries, made it important to remember that “state” and “society” are separate, though not irrevocably unamenable. First and foremost, as she notes, often prior to a revolution in which the regime is overthrown a series of outside events, including natural disasters, occur that weaken the power of the state and force varying classes to coalesce to satisfy common interests often at odds with the goals of the regime in said state. Second, a social revolution requires a class-based uprising from below to transform said society. Tunisia fulfills both of these criteria for Skocpol’s outline of a social revolution. Tunisia did experience a natural disaster shortly before the events of the Arab Spring. The country had witnessed and endured notable cases of flooding in September of 2009.3 Although approximately a mere dozen or so people in this faraway region unsupervised by the government were killed, or in some manner negatively affected by this flash flood, this does not on its own account for the later revolution, as many other states with similar social and class structures have or do experience these events on a consistent basis, but no revolution follows thereafter.4 The economy of the country was hit hard 44 The Undergraduate Review

(although to a lesser degree in comparison to other states) by the Great Recession (2007-2008), which initially began in the United States of America. It had been heavily reliant on outside sources of income, such as exports and tourism, for state revenue. Tunisia also faced a serious issue of unemployment among the citizenry. It had a large population of young unemployed university graduates, standing (or rather sitting) at a number of 14.2% in 2008.5 As history has shown, however, it is quite rare that leaders of a revolution come from the peasantry, let alone a successful one, and more often it is a member of the intelligentsia or upper-class that provides the spark for the masses to fan flames, such as Vladimir Lenin (b.1870-d.1924), Karl Marx (b.1818-d.1883), et cetera. In addition, it was estimated that the overall unemployment rate among Tunisian youths was approximately 40%.6 With this, there raises a question: if this data happens to fall in line with Skocpol’s theory of a social revolution, then what other details pertaining to the domestic sphere of Tunisian society might also synchronize with Skocpol’s theory of a social revolution? What had been the atmosphere in the country that ultimately led up to the revolution in Tunisia? The regime of Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali (b.1936-d.2019) was notably oppressive and ruled with brute force (r.19872011). From a certain perspective, his regime could be comparable to the more contemporary regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin (b.1952-), who has hampered (to put it lightly) political opponents and news outlets that challenge the government’s narratives. By the end of the 20th century, Tunisia had failed to become a democratic state in the decades after independence and it was thought to be “hampered by its MENA [Middle East and North Africa] location, to some extent its own history and political culture, and by the sheer weight of the burden of catching-up that lies before it.”7 Prior to the Arab Spring of 2010-2011, Tunisia and its North African neighbor, Egypt, were given freedom scores of 5.5 and 6.0 in The Undergraduate Review 45

1973 and 2002, respectively.8 It is generally accepted that the closer a freedom score is to 10, the said country has more domestic liberty, (with Western European nations ranked among some of the highest). “The conditions producing Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s 1987 ‘constitutional coup’ show that the leadership was ill-prepared to handle domestic opposition when it came.”9 When domestic opposition did come, it came through the utilization of newer technologies which only highlighted to a greater extent the regime’s inability to tackle coordinated opposition from within. There were new technologies available at the time of the revolution in 2011 that enabled it to succeed in a manner that would have been more difficult to achieve, though not impossible, without those technologies. One of the most important programs utilized by these oppressed Tunisians was Facebook. This social media platform allowed for discourse that had not been available in the format before and was not available to them for quite a substantial amount of time due to the efforts of President Ben Ali’s then-long standing regime. Wael Ghonim (b.1980), the former head of marketing for Google, once stated after the fall of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, “(t)his revolution started online.”10 Although the regime had been repressive, the citizenry of Tunisia was not only able to communicate electronically via social media to discuss sensitive information and sow resentment for the government of the state, but had the capability to consume video and literary material, such as international cable news programs that had previously been inaccessible. “The emergence of al-Jazeera radically transformed the political and strategic environment, bringing into the public eye not only graphic footage but also arguments that had previously taken place only in the elite press and in private forums.”11 Despite the media corporation’s initial creation being in the latter half of the final decade of the previous millennium, it would be during the events of the Arab 46 The Undergraduate Review

Spring that al-Jazeera was able to come into its own. It has distinguished itself as the first self-proclaimed “independent news channel in the Arab World,” and when compared to previous sources of news in the region this would not be wholly inaccurate; however, it is also crucial to note its ties to Qatar.12 “(T)he government’s ability to control the political narrative” was disrupted with this introduction.13 Some individuals, including College of the Holy Cross Professor Vickie Langhor, have studied “the role of civil society organizations in mobilizing dissent in Tunisia.” Important to the application of Skocpol’s theory, she concluded that “literature on transitions…on the experience of Latin America, Eastern Europe, and other democratizing regions, has singled out women’s, environmental, and other advocacy associations as…groups to steer democratization forward.” The weakness of authoritarian rule historically, and when applied to the circumstances of North African despotism, can be attributed to powerful outside influencers such as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).14 This would fall into place with Skocpol’s theory of the social revolution involving a classbased uprising. In conclusion, even though Skocpol’s theory does not entirely explain the case study of Tunisia, as it fails to mention how the institutions of the state are capable of adapting to prevent or forestall revolution, many of the events that occurred prior to and during the revolution in Tunisia, kickstarting the broader and transregional Arab Spring, do fit Theda Skocpol’s theory of a social revolution. With the assistance of newer technologies, a class-based uprising was able to take place from below supported by mass demonstrations. As is characteristic of social revolutions, there were attempts at reform shortly before President Ben Ali left the country for Saudi Arabia, in conjunction with a small natural disaster and a floundering economy with increasing numbers of unemployed university graduates in the midst of The Undergraduate Review 47

the Great Recession.15 Since the end of the revolution, under the supervision of Presidents Beji Caid Essebei (b.1926d.2019) and Kais Saied (b.1958-), the country of Tunisia has nurtured a democracy (although, as is natural with newfound governance, it continues to face threats to its progress) with a seemingly far brighter future than some of its North African neighbor states that also were affected through the Arab Spring. Notes James L. Gelvin, The Arab Uprising: What Everyone Needs to Know, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 18-19. 2 Theda Skocpol, States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia, and China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 4. 3 “Tunisia: Floods (as of 28 Sep 2009),” ReliefWeb, https://reliefweb.int/map/tunisia/tunisia-floods-28-sep-2009 (Accessed Feb. 28, 2022). 4 “Deadly Floods Hit Mining Town,” France24, https://www.france24.com/en/20090924-deadly-floods-hitmining-town- (Accessed Feb. 28, 2022). 5 “Tunisia: 2009 Article IV Consultation: Staff Report; and Public Information Notice,” International Monetary Fund, https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/002/2009/329/ article-A001-en.xml (Accessed Feb. 28, 2022). 6 Yahia H. Zoubir, “The Democratic Transition in Tunisia,” ACCORD, https://www.accord/org.za/conflict-trends/democratictransition-tunisia/ (Accessed Feb. 28, 2022). 7 Emma C. Murphy, Economic and Political Change in Tunisia: From Bourguiba to Ben Ali, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), 244. 8 Eva Bellin, “Coercive Institutions and Coercive Leaders,” in Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Regimes and Resistance, eds. Marsha Pripstein Posusney and Michele Penner Angrist. (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005), 22. 1

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Jason Brownlee, “Political Crisis and Restabilization: Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Tunisia,” in Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Regimes and Resistance, eds. Marsha Pripstein Posusney and Michele Penner Angrist. (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005), 50. 10 Michael S. Doran, “The Impact of New Media: The Revolution Will Be Tweeted,” in The Arab Awakening: America and the Transformation of the Middle East, (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2011), 39. 11 Marc Lynch, Voices of the New Arab Public: Iraq, al-Jazeera, and Middle East Politics Today, (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006), 132-133. 12 “Who we are (2023),” Al Jazeera Media Network, https://network.aljazeera.net/en/about-us (Accessed Dec. 9, 2023). 13 Shibley Telhami, “Arab Public Opinion: What Do They Want?” in The Arab Awakening: America and the Transformation of the Middle East, (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2011), 13-14. 14 Marsha Pripstein Posusney, “The Middle East’s Democratic Deficit in Comparative Perspective,” in Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Regimes and Resistance, eds. Marsha Pripstein Posusney and Michele Penner Angrist. (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005), 10. 15 Elie Abouaoun, “Tunisia Timeline: Since the Jasmine Revolution,” United States Institute of Peace, https://www.usip.org/tunisia-timeline-jasmine-revolution (Accessed Feb. 28, 2022). 9

Bibliography Abouaoun, Elie. “Tunisia Timeline: Since the Jasmine Revolution.” United States Institute of Peace. https://www.usip.org/tunisia-timeline-jasmine-revolution (Accessed Feb. 28, 2022). The Undergraduate Review 49

Al Jazeera Media Network. (2023) Who we are. Retrieved December 9, 2023, from https://network.aljazeera.net/en/about-us. Bellin, Eva. “Coercive Institutions and Coercive Leaders.” In Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Regimes and Resistance , edited by Marsha Pripstein Posusney and Michele Penner Angrist, 2142. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005. Brownlee, Jason. “Political Crisis and Restabilization: Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Tunisia.” In Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Regimes and Resistance, edited by Marsha Pripstein Posusney, and Michele Penner Angrist, 43-62. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005. “Deadly Floods Hit Mining Town.” France24. https://www.france24.com/en/20090924-deadly-floods-hitmining-town (Accessed Feb. 28, 2022). Doran, Michael S. “The Impact of New Media: The Revolution Will Be Tweeted.” In The Arab Awakening: America and the Transformation of the Middle East, 39-46. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2011. Gelvin, James L. The Arab Uprisings: What Everyone Needs to Know, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Lynch, Marc. Voices of the New Arab Public: Iraq, al-Jazeera, and Middle East Politics Today, New York: Columbia University Press, 2006. Murphy, Emma C. Economic and Political Change in Tunisia: From Bourguiba to Ben Ali, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999. 50 The Undergraduate Review

Posusney, Marsha Pripstein. “The Middle East’s Democratic Deficit in Comparative Perspective.” In Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Regimes and Resistance, edited by Marsha Pripstein Posusney and Michele Penner Angrist, 1-20. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005. Skocpol, Theda. States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia, and China, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979. Telhami, Shibley. “Arab Public Opinion: What Do They Want?” In The Arab Awakening: America and the Transformation of the Middle East, 13-20. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2011. “Tunisia: Floods (as of 28 Sep 2009).” ReliefWeb. https://reliefweb.int/map/tunisia/tunisia-floods-28-sep-2009 (Accessed Feb. 28, 2022). “Tunisia: 2009 Article IV Consultation: Staff Report; and Public Information Notice.” International Monetary Fund. https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/002/2009/329/ article-A001-en.xml (Accessed, Feb. 28, 2022). Zoubir, Yahia H. “The Democratic Transition in Tunisia.” ACCORD. https://www.accord.org.za/conflicttrends/democratic-transition-tunisia (Accessed Feb. 28, 2022).

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The Case of the Minority and the Stranger Acer Paiste Georg Simmel, a German sociologist from Berlin, and W. E. B. Du Bois, an African American sociologist from Massachusetts, existed in groups that were cast, through both de facto and de jure discriminatory practices, to the outskirts of society (Pampel, 2007). Simmel, an ethnic Jew, was born shortly after the Jewish Emancipation in the late 19th century and faced the struggles of being a perpetual outsider in his own city. Du Bois grew up in a nation whose environment was still defined by slavery, although he did not experience personal hardship in relation to this until his teen years (Pampel, 2007). Du Bois’ and Simmel’s theories reflect a deep understanding of what it means to be an outsider—a stranger—in one’s own community. As Du Bois (1903) mentions in his work, Double-Consciousness and the Veil, the perpetual state of the “other,” the “stranger,” rests in this question: “How does it feel to be a problem?” (p. 168). There is considerable overlap between the tenets of impersonal separation as described by Simmel’s The Stranger and the shadowy veil that cloaks one’s humanity from others in distorted ignorance, as described in Du Bois’ DoubleConsciousness and the Veil. The relationship between being both within a community and outside of it, as described by Simmel’s stranger, can be compared to the contradicting identities within an individual, as portrayed by Du Bois’ double-consciousness. It is through these similarities the reader can imagine how W.E.B. Du Bois and George Simmel, despite their distinct cultural and racial backgrounds, provide complementary insights into the 52 The Undergraduate Review

dynamics of race and “otherness” across continents. By expanding the theories of the stranger, double consciousness, and the veil towards their nexus, it may be possible to gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which ascribed identities manifest as a symptom of a societal rejection of marginalized truths, particularly those reflecting the experiences of Black Americans in the United States. It is impossible to talk about the linking joint of Du Bois’ and Simmel’s work without first addressing their theories individually. Beginning with Simmel’s idea of an “outsider” figure, the stranger exists at the intersection between closeness and distance to a community (Simmel, 1908). The stranger is a form of interaction that is defined by freedom. When first entering a community, one lacks any personal ties or sense of moral obligation to those already existing within the community, and therefore, there are no restrictions to one’s mobility, be it spatial or social, that would deter one’s conscious departure from the group. Due to the impersonal nature of the stranger, they are given the gift of objectivity. The stranger is free from the perceptions fostered within a community that would distort one’s perspective on a given subject. This removed attitude from the dynamics of the community may make the stranger an appropriate individual through which members within may seek advice or guidance. In this way, the relationship with the stranger is rather transactional—the stranger is kept close to the group so long as it is useful to keep them close and kept at a distance to the extent that it benefits the community. By keeping the stranger distant, the community allows for this transactional relationship to exist in which neither the community nor the stranger is particularly The Undergraduate Review 53

concerned about the state of the other outside of the scope in which an exchange is taking place (Simmel, 1908). The stranger is able to be abstracted in this way due to the nature of the commonalities that join the stranger with the community (Simmel, 1908). Individuals within a community are united through their shared individualities, or the aspects of themselves that differentiate them from the larger group. It is less of a concern what members of a community have in common as a group with other groups. When these shared interests can encompass numerous groups, the personal quality of the community is removed and replaced with the impersonal. It is rather difficult for an individual to form a close and personal attachment to someone with whom the only shared quality between them is that of “humanness,” which is precisely the quality that is shared between the stranger and the community. This generalized nature of unity between the stranger and the community removes the stranger as an individual and instead replaces them as a “type” of stranger. Therefore, the stranger exists as an abstraction of common ideals shared amongst groups—categorizable archetypes of humanity (Simmel, 1908). Simmel goes on to define two groups of strangers: the trader and the Jew (Simmel, 1908). The trader by their very nature must be a stranger to the community to which they sell products, as the trader markets to outside groups. The trader can move freely between localities and lack any obligation towards the members of the communities from which they make their living. In this sense, Simmel views the state of the stranger as a positive and free form of interaction. In contrast to the untethered state of the trader, Simmel described the nature of the Jew in society in relation to a religious tax imposed by the 54 The Undergraduate Review

Christian-dominated Frankfurt in the mid-14th century. Tax rates for Frankfortian Christians were adjusted according to income level, but the tax for the Jew was fixed because the Jew was considered a perpetual outsider—a Jew—who is somehow fundamentally different from the average Frankfurtian citizen and whose only commonality with the Christian population rested in the state of being human (Simmel, 1908). Across the ocean at a similar time, Du Bois began his attempts to define the incongruous identities held by Black Americans. He settled into three key concepts, two of which will be discussed: double consciousness and the veil (Du Bois, 1903). Double consciousness refers to the emergence of identities which, although not inherently mutually exclusive, result from a cultural framework which gives polarizing significance to their characteristics. In American society, this manifests itself with the identities of being Black and being American. A Black person in the United States was, and to a large extent still is, viewed as culturally, socially, economically, and biologically inferior to the White majority. The trials and tribulations of Black America are therefore expected, not as an outcome of historical enslavement and the system built around the subjugation of Black bodies, but rather as a natural result of Black people left to their own devices. Therefore, to be American, or to be a socially accepted member of the functional society, is to be White. Although being Black and being American are not inherently mutually exclusive identities, they are culturally polarized and, for those that exist in the intersection of Blackness and Americanness, one must battle with two contradicting ideals: Black liberation and White supremacy (Du Bois, 1903). The Undergraduate Review 55

In this sense, the external conflict of greater society is turned inward on the individual, who must reconcile the very nature of their existence between two competing worlds (Pampel, 2007). Ideally, this individual would want to reform their double consciousness into a singular identity, which incorporates the positive aspects of being both Black and American (Du Bois, 1903). However, there is a barrier which maintains the separation of the individual from society, which shields them from others insomuch as others are shielded from themselves; this cloaking of the shared humanity between groups of people is what Du Bois refers to as the “veil.” The veil prevents those on the other side from engaging with a person as an individual and instead casts them as a perpetual stranger, a generalized other, a monolith of “Blackness,” whose encompassing characteristic rests on the amount of pigment in their skin (Du Bois, 1903). It is entirely possible, and perhaps likely, that those on either side of the veil lack any investment in its deconstruction (Du Bois, 1903). The figure beyond the distortion is obscured, abstracted, and easily vilified. The other side is viewed with scorn and contempt. Just as Black Americans may garner a distrust in anything associated with White society, White Americans, according to Du Bois (1903), harbor “the allpervading desire to inculcate disdain for everything Black” (p. 171). It is in this sense that the concepts of double consciousness and the veil come together, as the seemingly contradicting nature of Blackness and Americanness can only exist insofar as the veil is maintained by its residents and accepted in its obscurity as an objective body reflecting the social realities of race (Pampel, 2007).

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The veil in its fundamental properties is strikingly similar to Simmel’s concept of the stranger. By obscuring the human quality of the other, the veil can function as a barrier which perpetually separates the stranger from the community. There is a sense of individuality that is lost to the generalized other that permeates both concepts. Through the removal of the individual, the community loses any sense of personal investment in the stranger and is instead engaged in the relationship only to the extent in which it may be to their benefit (Pampel, 2007). There is an impenetrable distance, the veil, which shuts the stranger out from achieving a closeness to the community and wiping, from those within the communal sociocultural boundaries, any moral concern for the stranger that may otherwise occupy one’s mind (Du Bois, 1903). Du Bois observes this disconnect in relation to White apathy toward the suffering of Black folks (Pampel, 2007). Initially believing that people simply lacked education on the suffering that Black Americans continue to face, Du Bois published a number of studies detailing the disparities in education, income, and opportunities. The motivation generated to rectify such a situation remained virtually unchanged—consistently nonexistent (Pampel, 2007). In the United States, the Black American is the stranger. There lacks, on the part of the White majority, a desire to support Black communities which rests on the basis of the perpetual state of “strangerhood” that is ascribed to Black identity. Being Black in America is to be a particular “type” of stranger. A type of stranger upon whom anti-American values are overlain, a type of stranger who is deemed wholly unwanted, unbeneficial—an impingement on society (Du Bois, 1903). It is The Undergraduate Review 57

in this way that Simmel’s conceptualization of the stranger can be related to the experience of the Black American, for although Simmel clarifies that this particular insidious character of “strangeness” in its relation to “anti-humanness” is not the form of interaction he seeks to describe, there is something inherently alienating about Simmel’s “stranger” that intertwines with the Black identity laid out by Du Bois’ works (Simmel, 1908). The community in Simmel’s The Stranger, then, can be seen as the whole of White American society, whose racial veil obscures the possibility of entry for all those holding the quality of “strangeness” (Du Bois, 1903). In the case of both Jews in Europe and Blacks in the United States, their strangerhood is viewed with both suspicion and contempt by the majority population (Pampel, 2007). The relationship is not merely transactional, as in the case of the tradesman, as many Black and Jewish people were permanent members of their communities. Instead, a relationship between the stranger and the community is imposed by the stranger upon the majority population (Pampel, 2007). This may create feelings of intrusion within the community, as the stranger is now acting within their same economic market and may compete with community members for jobs and opportunities (Du Bois, 1903). The very quality of their character as a “stranger” obscures the acknowledgement of any of their merits. Despite the converging similarities between these theories, there are also paths of divergence, such as the differing weights that Simmel and Du Bois gave to the quality of “otherness.” Simmel viewed the state of the “stranger” in its pure form as having a positive relationship with the community (Simmel, 1908). Du Bois on the other hand, although he considered the 58 The Undergraduate Review

veil as a gift, to some extent, it was a gift defined by tragedy (Du Bois, 1903). Of the nature of Blackness and the veil, Pampel (2007) states: “As strangers in their own society, Blacks gained a special perspective of the world” (p. 230). It was this gift that gave Black Americans perspective and the ability to attempt to reconcile two identities which appeared to be diametrically opposed. Whereas Simmel’s stranger was united with the community through the shared quality of their humanity, Du Bois’ veil concealed the humanities of different racial groups in post-Emancipation America and double consciousness formed as a result of some identities being considered “less human” than others (Pampel, 2007). Both Simmel and Du Bois, despite being brilliant academics, struggled intensely to be recognized as such (Pampel, 2007). Du Bois’ work was often dismissed as “radical,” while Simmel’s was considered of “poor quality.” However, given the political climate of their era as well as some rather explicit letters of dismissal written by their higher-ups, it is clear that their character of being the “stranger” heavily factored into these hardships (Pampel, 2007). Du Bois (1903) asked, “Why did G-d make me an outcast and stranger in mine own home?” (p. 168). The ways in which humans ascribe qualities of the “stranger,” of the unknown, and of the marginalized “other” have endured for centuries. Black Americans and Jews still face similar stereotypes that they dealt with hundreds of years ago and still are viewed by the majority society as a perpetual outsider, a stranger in their own homes. In the same ways Simmel’s stranger existed at the intersection of nearness and distance from a community, so too is the existence of Black Americans, who can only remain in society undisturbed insofar as they do not impinge on the will The Undergraduate Review 59

of the majority—whose will involves the continued subjugation of Black people—and whose humanity is obscured by an impersonal, unyielding veil (Pampel, 2007). Works Cited Du Bois, W. E. B. (1903). “Double-consciousness and the veil.” In C. Lemert (Ed.), The Multicultural and Classic Readings (4th ed., pp. 167-172). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Pampel, Fred C. 2007. Sociological lives and ideas: An Introduction to the Classical Theorists, 2nd Edition. New York: Worth Publishers. Simmel, G. (1908). “The stranger.” In C. Lemert (Ed.), The Multicultural and Classic Readings (4th ed., pp. 185-188). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

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Racial Discrimination and African Americans’ Mental Health Jada Pulley As African Americans’ mental health continues to decline in the United States, scholars continue to learn more about the effect of racism, prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism towards a person or a group of people based on cultural differences (American Psychological Association, 2011) which may present differently in this population as exposure differs (Tao & Fisher, 2021). Although older adults may have received racism more physically and verbally, younger generations have been exposed to more racial discrimination on social media and technology. African American Youth Ages 13-19 The consequences of African Americans’ mental health declining can be quite substantial and attributed to trauma and other physical health disparities between African Americans and other populations in the United States (American Psychological Association, 2011). For example, watching viral videos showing police killings of unarmed African Americans and the detainment of undocumented immigrants have been associated with feelings of helplessness in youth ages 13-19. Yet it is important to understand other potential, yet relevant, factors that may increase the likelihood of unstable mental health. For example, racism may be one potential risk for African Americans’ mental health becoming worse, as previous research has identified a connection between social discrimination and the status of one’s mental health (Tao & Fisher, 2021). Additionally, there are many factors that may affect an individual’s experience with racial discrimination, including the use of social media (Tao and Fisher 2021). However, little has been done in this area. Thus, the purpose The Undergraduate Review 61

of this study is to examine the relationship between African Americans’ mental health and multiple forms of racial discrimination among a sample of African Americans and different age and sex groups. Further studies have been completed in regard to the different ways an African American experiences racial discrimination and how it affects them. A study done by two scholars examined the relationship between social media exposure and the effect on a youth’s mental health. Notably, Tao and Fisher (2021) analyzed the relationship between social media and mental health among African American, Asian American, and Latinx youth. In addition, the authors evaluated the relationship between increased use of social media platforms and the exposure of social media racial discrimination and the consequences on mental health. The participants in this study included Black, East/Southeast Asian, Indigenous and Latinx youth, ages 15-18, in grades 10-12, who used social media at least 5 days per week in the past month, lived in the United States and had English language competency at the 8th-grade level. Participants completed surveys that measured the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media use, and mental health. Findings demonstrated that Black respondents reported more hours of social media use per week than Asian and Latinx respondents. Asian respondents reported significantly higher levels of social media intergroup contact than Black and Latinx youth. Further, respondents had higher prevalence rates on all mental health indices than prior adolescent population surveys. Overall, depression, severe anxiety, and illicit drug and alcohol use results were all higher than previous national diagnosis rates in minoritized youth. According to this study, increased social media use is associated with increased use of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. Increased social media use permits a person to see a lot of content, some of which could be harmful to a child’s mental health, more specifically, an 62 The Undergraduate Review

African American child’s mental health as they most likely have not had physical experience with racial discrimination. As mentioned before, an African American person can be exposed to racial discrimination in multiple ways. The next study examines the environmental and social media factors on minoritized youth. For example, Njoroge et al. (2021) analyzed the impact of racial discrimination and the mental health of minoritized youth. In addition, the author evaluated the quality of the schools they attended, the number of toxicants in the air they breathe, and the extent to which they possessed equitable access to health care. The participants in the studies included Non-Latinx White, African Americans, Indigenous, and Hispanic youth between the ages of 13-19, who were affected by racism. Participants were drawn from national web-based surveys. Overall, participants self-reported the frequency of their observances and watched viral videos showing police killings of unarmed African Americans and the detainment of undocumented immigrants. Findings demonstrated that racist events encountered online led to feelings of helplessness even in non-Latinx youth, ages 13-19. It was also found that following death exposure, Black adolescent males were associated with a 46% increase, on average, in salivary cortisol. At such a young age, exposure to this kind of media can be dangerous to a child’s mental health. Increased cortisol levels and feelings of helplessness all resulted in decreased mental stability. Younger generations will usually experience racial discrimination on social media while older generations have been exposed to racial discrimination in a totally different way. The next study reveals how older African Americans experience racial discrimination.

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Older African Americans (ages 55+) Mouzon et al. (2017) analyzed the relationship between discrimination and psychiatric disorders among older African Americans. In addition, the authors evaluated the impact of discrimination daily, including racial and nonracial among older African Americans. The participants in the study included 3570 African Americans, 891 non-Hispanic whites, and 1621 African Americans of Caribbean descent ages 55+ years old. Participants in the study were born during the period preceding the Civil Rights movement, leaving the participants the last to endure traumatic and racist experiences due to the Jim Crow system of legalized discrimination. Participants completed interviews that measured different psychiatric disorders as well as psychological distress. Findings demonstrated that participants suffered worse mental health, which being associated with racial and nonracial daily discrimination. Further, these participants who experienced higher levels of overall everyday discrimination had higher chances of having any psychiatric, lifetime mood/anxiety, and more DSM-IV disorders. DSM-IV disorders can include tic disorders, mental retardation, motor skills disorders, and more. Mental health coincides with overall health, meaning it can also affect your physical health and wellbeing. In children and adult relationships, a black parent who has experienced negative mental health and has children can influence the parent-child relationship. The next study discusses how this could affect an African American child's mental health. Galán et al. (2022) analyzed the relationship between racial experiences and health consequences. In addition, the authors evaluated Black parents’ experiences of racial discrimination, parental depression, and the potential increase of parent-child conflict in early adolescence. The participants in the study included 252 black parent-child dyads. Participants completed questionnaires during a home-based assessment at wave 1, then 64 The Undergraduate Review

were assessed 1 and 2 years later. Findings demonstrated in wave 2 that Black parents’ experiences of racial discrimination were related to increased levels of parent-child conflict. Further, in wave 3, results from wave 2 predicted a greater youth-reported depression. However, no evidence supported a serial mediation model via parental depression and parent-child conflict. Despite limitations, the study still represents an effect of racial discrimination on African Americans’ mental health. Knowing that racism can affect an African Americans’ mental health, it is also important to know which mental health disorders specifically are prevalent. The next study was done by African American males and their depressive symptoms from racial discrimination. Interestingly, Kogan et al. (2014) analyzed the relationship between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms. In addition, the authors evaluated the effect of exposure to racial discrimination and racism related stress. The participants in the study included 222 male African Americans from ages 16-18, age 20 being the endpoint. Participants provided self-reported data that measured racial self-concept and self-control. Findings demonstrated that participants who experienced race related micro stressors from ages 16-18 predicted change in self-reported depressive symptoms, ranging from ages 16-20. Further, the present study identified effects of racial micro stressors on older male adolescents’ racial self-concept in grades 9-12. Similarly, Walker et al. (2022) analyzed the relationship between African American children’s racial discrimination experiences and mental health. In addition, the authors evaluated if racial discrimination and depressive and anxiety symptoms had significant differences in sex. The participants in this study included 73 African American children (48% males) between the ages of 7 and 12, who had racial discrimination experiences. Participants completed semistructured interviews that measured the frequency of racially The Undergraduate Review 65

discriminatory experiences in their daily lives. Findings demonstrated that racial experiences that are experienced in early childhood have important associations with children’s mental health. However, it was shown that there were no significant sex differences in racialized experiences or any significantly predicted depressive symptoms. Despite the limitations of this study, there were still findings relevant to racism and mental health. Being that racial discrimination is associated with negative mental health outcomes, some scholars say that personality traits play a role in racial discrimination and mental health. The next study focuses on a group of African Americans to test this hypothesis. Mekwawi et al (2021) analyzed the relationship between racial discrimination and negative mental health outcomes. Further, the authors evaluated the positions of personality traits and the effect they may have on these associations. The participants in this study included 419 African American adults that ranged from 18-78 years old (note: There are in fact differences in how these different age groups have been exposed to discrimination but this paper is intended to bring the different together to give an overall look at statistics, people’s experiences, and results of those experiences). Participants completed interviews along with questionnaires measuring trauma history and psychological variables such as posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression symptoms, negative affectivity etc. Findings demonstrated that personality traits did not entirely explain associations between racial discrimination and negative mental health outcomes. The authors suggested that these findings reported the detrimental impact of racial discrimination on African Americans’ mental health. Knowing that mental health coincides with physical health, it is not surprising that John Henryism was a theory used to measure the next study discussed. John Henryism theory has to do with people living with low socioeconomic

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resources having a higher blood pressure rate than people who do not suffer from low economic resources. Jones et al (2019) analyzed the relationship between John Henryism, active coping, racial discrimination experiences, and behavioral health outcomes. In addition, the authors evaluated opioid use and the use of mental health services. The participants in this study included 319 African American adults, who were at least 18 years of age. Participants completed primary health care screenings, self-reported survey questions, experiences with racial discrimination, and lastly self-reported behavioral health. Findings demonstrated that an association was found between John Henryism, active coping, racial discrimination experiences, and behavioral health incomes. Further, an association was also found between JHAC, having opioid problems, and the need for mental health services. However, there was no association found between racial discrimination and the need for mental health services. Some researchers say that there is no gender difference when it comes to the effects of racial discrimination on mental health, but some researchers have focused more on African American men as mechanisms of the underlying racial discrimination and depression is poorly understood (Derrick et al, 2013). Derrick et. al (2013) analyzed the relationship between racial discrimination and depression. In addition, the authors evaluated masculine self-reliance and John Henryism. The participants in this study included 478 African American men between the ages of 15 and 19, who were from West and South regions of the United States. Participants completed selfadministered surveys that measured depressive symptomatology. Findings demonstrated that a positive relationship was found between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms among African American men are influenced by their sense of masculine self-reliance as well as their active coping mechanisms. Further, the role of gender in the stress and coping processes, the findings find John The Undergraduate Review 67

Henryism is slightly inspired by traditional male norms which encourage masculine self-reliance. Research has demonstrated a relationship between racial discrimination and African Americans’ mental health. Whether that be on social media, physical interaction, gender, and even socioeconomic status there are many ways that African Americans experience racial discrimination. However, very little is known about the differences in sex that affect racial discrimination and mental health. The purpose of the study is to explore the relationship between different forms of racial discrimination and African Americans’ mental health. It is hypothesized that African American men and women will experience racial discrimination differently and it will affect their mental health differently as well. With all the studies, it is clearly shown that racial discrimination in fact does have an effect on racial discrimination on mental health. The age differences in African Americans can differ how the person experienced racial discrimination and the different effects it had on their health. Disparities such as environment, socioeconomic status, age, and sex all have an impact on how a person experiences racialized experiences. Method

Participants

Participants will be 150 college students, of whom 50% will be over the age of 18. The majority of the students will be African American or of African American descent. These students will represent low-income communities and families. Measures

Demographics

To gather information concerning participants’ background and experiences, a short demographics questionnaire will be 68 The Undergraduate Review

developed (Appendix A). This questionnaire will consist of questions related to their age, gender, level of education, and employment status.

Ethnic-Racial Identity

Ethic-racial identity will be assessed with the Cross EthnicRacial Identity Scale: Adult (CERIS-A, Worrell et al., 2016), which consists of 41 items reflecting the two factors: ethnic racial identity attitudes and living in America (Appendix B). Example items include, “Life in America is good for me” and “I go through periods when I am down on myself because of my ethnic group membership.” Each item is responded to on a 7- Likert- point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Confirmatory analyses support the structural validity of the CERIS-A. The validity of the responses were supported by (a) CFI and TLI values were in the acceptable and/or excellent range, greater than .95 and (b) RSMEA value lower than .08, indicating excellent fit (Worrell et al., 2016).

Daily Racial Discrimination

Daily racial discrimination will be assessed with the Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS, Williams et al., 1997), which consists of 20 items reflecting two factors: the lifetime discrimination scale and the daily discrimination scale (Appendix C). Example items include, “In your day-to-day life, how often do any of the following things happen to you?” Participants are instructed to respond to each item by using one of the following responses, almost every day, at least once a week, a few times a month, etc. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses support the structural validity of the EDS. The validity of the responses were supported by Conbach’s alpha (0.74 or greater) and test-retest reliability correlations (r=.79). It was significantly associated with (a) its positive correlations with psychological distress, (b) cigarette smoking among blacks and Latinos. (Krieger et al., 2005). The Undergraduate Review 69

Mental Health

Mental Health will be assessed with the Multiculturally Sensitive Mental Health Scale (MSMHS, Chao et. al., 2010), which consists of 60 items, reflecting two factors: mental health and well-being (Appendix D). Example items include, “People treat me differently because of my racial background” and “I feel discriminated against because I am Black.” Each item is responded to on a 5 -point Likert-scale from 1 (almost never happened to me) to 5 (almost always happened to me). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the structural validity of scores on the MSMHS. The validity of the responses were supported by (a) its significant positive correlations among the Racism/Discrimination subscale of MSHMS, IRRS and SRE, (b) correlations between two existing measures of mental health and mental health subscales of the MSMHS, (c) correlations in the hypothesized direction among the four subscales of the MSMHS and (d) cultural difference in perceiving racism between African Americans and Whites (Chao et al., 2010). Procedures Using convenience sampling, individually, potential participants will be approached, and the study will be briefly explained. Those interested in volunteering will be provided with a consent form to read and sign electronically. Once the informed consent is signed, participants will be provided with the surveys. The first survey to be completed is the CERIS-A, followed by the EDS, and the MSMHS scale. Lastly, participants will complete the demographic section. As participants finish, the survey materials will be collected and kept separate from informed consent forms. If enrolled at Rutgers University, participation slips will be provided. Participants will be thanked for their assistance and will be 70 The Undergraduate Review

asked not to discuss the study with friends for at least other days so that others might volunteer. All completed surveys and consent forms will be submitted to my instructor and stored in a locked office for the required time period of 5 years. References American Psychological Association. (n.d.). About Apa. American Psychological Association. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/about/ Chao, R. C., Olson, A. N., Spaventa, K. Z., & Smith, C. (2010). Multiculturally Sensitive Mental Health Scale (MSMHS): Development, Factor Analysis, Reliability, and Validity. Retrieved from http://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas10/Article_66. pdf Galán, C. A., Meza, J. I., Ridenour, T. A., & Shaw, D. S. (2022). Racial discrimination experienced by black parents: Enduring mental health consequences for adolescent youth. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 61(10), 1251–1261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2022.04.015 Jones, S.C.T., Brooks, J.H., Milam, A.J., et al. (2019). Racial discrimination, John Henryism coping, and behavioral health conditions among predominantly poor, urban African Americans: Implications for community-level opioid problems and mental health services. J. Community Psychol. 2019; 47: 1032– 1042. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22168 Kogan, S. M., Yu, T., Allen, K. A., & Brody, G. H. (2014). Racial microstressors, racial self-concept, and depressive symptoms among male African Americans during the The Undergraduate Review 71

transition to adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(4), 898–909. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0199Krieger, N., Smith, K., Naishadham, D., Hartman, C., & Barbeau, E. M. (2005). Experiences of discrimination: Validity and reliability of a self-report measure for Population Health Research on racism and health. Social Science & Medicine, 61(7), 1576–1596. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.03.006 Matthews, D. D., Hammond, W. P., Nuru-Jeter, A., ColeLewis, Y. & Melvin, T. (2013). Racial Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms Among African-American Men. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 14 (1), 35-46. doi: 10.1037/a0028436. Mekawi, Y., Hyatt, C. S., Maples-Keller, J., Carter, S., Michopoulos, V., & Powers, A. (2021). Racial Discrimination Predicts Mental Health Outcomes Beyond the Role of Personality Traits in a Community Sample of African Americans. Clinical Psychological Science, 9(2), 183–196. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702620957318 Mouzon, D. M., Taylor, R. J., Keith, V. M., Nicklett, E. J., & Chatters, L. M. (2017). Discrimination and psychiatric disorders among older African Americans. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 32: 175– 182. doi: 10.1002/gps.4454. Njoroge, W.F.M., Forkpa, M. & Bath, E. (2021). Impact of Racial Discrimination on the Mental Health of Minoritized Youth. Curr Psychiatry Rep 23, 81. https://doiorg.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/10.1007/s11920-021-01297-x Tao, X., Fisher, C.B. (2022). Exposure to Social Media Racial Discrimination and Mental Health among Adolescents of 72 The Undergraduate Review

Color. J Youth Adolescence 51, 30–44. https://doiorg.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/10.1007/s10964-021-01514-z Walker, C.J, Williams, C.D, Winter, M.A et al. African African children’s racial discrimination experiences and mental health. (2022). J Child Fam Stud 31, 1621-1629 https://doiorg.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/10.1007/s10826-022-02311-3 Williams, D. R., Yan Yu, Jackson, J. S., & Anderson, N. B. (1997). Racial differences in physical and mental health. Journal of Health Psychology, 2(3), 335–351. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910539700200305 Worrell, F. C., Mendoza-Denton, R., & Wang, A. (2017). Introducing a new assessment tool for measuring ethnic-racial identity: The cross ethnic-racial identity scale–adult (ceris-A). Assessment, 26(3), 404–418. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191117698756 Appendix A Demographic Survey 1. Age __________ 2. Gender ( ) Female ( ) Male ( ) Other ( ) Prefer not to say 3. Completed level of education: ( ) Elementary ( ) High School / GED The Undergraduate Review 73

( ) Associate Degree ( ) Bachelor’s Degree ( ) Graduate Degree 4. Employment Status ( ) Full-time ( ) Part- time ( ) Student ( ) N/A Appendix B Ethnic-Racial Identity Read each statement and indicate to what agreement it represents your own thoughts and feelings in relation to the ethnic group/racial group you identify with, using the 7-point scale.

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Appendix C Everyday Discrimination Scale

*This scale can be used for a person’s experience both on social media and in real life. This scale is more of a general questionnaire. Appendix D Multiculturally Sensitive Mental Health Read each statement and indicate to what agreement it represents your own thoughts and feelings in relation to your own thoughts and feelings using the 5-point scale (1-almost never happened to me to 5-almost always happened to me). 1. People treat me differently because of my racial background 2. I feel discriminated against because I am Black 3. I feel that our society doesn’t treat everyone equally in regard to their racial backgrounds 4. My teachers gave me poor grades because of my race The Undergraduate Review 75

5. Being Black, I have to tolerate racist policies or systems in institutions 6. I would have fewer difficulties in school or work if I were a Caucasian White 7. Being Black, I was followed by salespeople while shopping 8. I feel that people look at me through their stereotypes 9. Being Black, despite my capabilities, I am not appreciated by my boss or co-workers 10. People have biased racial impressions about Blacks, e.g., Blacks are lazy 11. I feel depressed 12. I feel tired or fatigued 13. I worry about things 14. I think I am less interested in things now than before 15. I feel blue or downhearted 16. I feel stressed or pressured 17. Quite often nothing turns out as I wanted 18. I feel like crying 19. I tend to feel lonely 20. I feel happy 21. I am satisfied with my life 22. I feel calm, peaceful, or relaxed 23. I do not have much to be proud of 24. I feel refreshed when I wake up 25. I tend to feel not supported by family or friends 26. I feel I am loved or wanted by family or friends 27. I tend to be nervous. 28. I feel anxious for no reason 76 The Undergraduate Review

29. It’s not easy to calm down 30. I feel jittery or jumpy 31. I feel impatient. 32. Sometimes I have thoughts of ending my life 33. Things would be better off if I die 34. I sometimes think of taking my own life

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Complexities of U.S. Occupations Melanie Veliz Introduction Introducing democracy in other states has been a practice conducted by the United States on a regular basis. The implementation of democracy is known as democratization, which is the shift of a non-democratic political regime into a democratic one. Throughout the world, the United States has attempted to democratize states including Haiti, Japan, and Venezuela. However, this isn’t necessarily done through diplomatic meetings, but rather by military occupations. A military occupation is the provisional control by a ruling power over another state. It differs from colonization in that it is intended to be temporary, as there are particular goals in mind to achieve. In the case of the United States, the goals have varied in their ability to be executed and accomplished. This brought me to the question that sparked my research, why are some occupations by the United States effective in comparison to others? Democratization was an approach that was emphasized by the democratic peace theory. The theory puts forth that democracies are hesitant about engaging in armed conflicts with other identified democracies. It was popularized by philosopher Immanuel Kant, who in his book, Perpetual Peace, noted that republics only go to war in self-defense and therefore if all nations were republics, there would be no wars. Due to this, it can and has been assumed by democratic states that the more democracies there are in the world the better chances it has at avoiding conflict, ensuring its survival, and therefore maintaining its place in the international system. The United States is largely considered to be one of the world’s leading democracies. This follows after the Cold War where columnists Charles Krauthammer notes, the United 78 The Undergraduate Review

States shifted the world into a unipolar system (Mearsheimer, 2010)1. As a result of this, Krauthammer urged American leaders to guide the world unashamedly and be prepared to enforce the rules of world order. Krauthammer’s advice for the United States most closely parallels the ideas presented in The End of History (Fukuyama, 1992). Francis Fukuyama takes a more specific approach arguing that since the United States, a Western liberal democracy, won against communist Russia it would then take the lead in bringing democracy to less developed countries. Though the United States was posed by the previous scholars to be fit to spread democracy, it has not been able to consistently or effectively do so. For the purpose of this analysis, an effective occupation by the United States would be defined as one that creates a new self-sustaining government. Alexander Downs (2013)2 is divided over whether military occupation is able to achieve that. Instead, he points to two aspects that are overlooked, or insufficiently contributed towards, that can cause an occupation to be unable to achieve its goal(s). The two factors that largely attribute to the effectiveness of an U.S.’ occupation are the previous regimes of the occupied state and the distribution of funds by the United States. My research will explore how the previous regimes in place play a role in the potential success of an occupation. Michael Kraft (2020)3 details in his thesis that there are certain components required by a government in order for democratization to be sufficient. These attributes include the level of human development, previous regime type, and democratic experience, which sufficiently alone influence the 1

Imperial by Design by John J. Mearsheimer Forced to Be Free? Why Foreign-Imposed Regime Change Rarely Leads to Democratization 3 Preconditions of Democracy: How forced democratization depends on transformation and state-building characteristics 2

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outcome of an occupation. Further, the combination of the variables of high GDP and an ethnically homogeneous society can also play a role in determining regime transition ability. Without democratic tendencies, it is unlikely that a state will transition into a democracy willingly or without resistance. The United States is undoubtedly a militarily powerful force in the world. However, the military on its own cannot liberalize a targeted state (Downs, 2013). Often in cases of occupation, the job of the military is to secure the interests of the occupying power and prevent the occupied territory from becoming a source of instability. In order to achieve this and therefore deem the occupation a success, David M. Edelstein (2004)4 states that military occupations must maintain their own interest in a long occupation and convince an occupied population to accept extended control by a foreign power. This is a difficult task to accomplish, especially with an occupied state that is not in favor of the occupation. To supplement this issue, my research will propose how a shift in investment towards institution building can formulate a more reliable way to make a foreign regime change successful. This proposal is largely supported by Seva Gunitsky (2018)5 who finds that democratization is heavily reliant on institutions, as well as other democratic components mentioned in the previous paragraph. Considering the possible goals of an occupation, it is unclear if imposing the military is the best way to achieve that. Especially given the withdrawal from Afghanistan, questions begin to arise of whether U.S. occupations are a successful tool in creating a stable democracy. On the contrary, the United States has in the past been able to impose effective foreign imposed regime changes (FIRC) in other areas such as Germany. The ineffectiveness of an occupation can be attributed to the lack of necessary democratic components in 4 5

Occupational Hazards: Why Military Occupations Succeed or Fail Democracy's Future: Riding the Hegemonic Wave

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the occupied state and the insufficient financial investment in institutional resources by the United States. Methods The validity of my thesis statement will be explored through a qualitative comparative study. This study will consist of two U.S.’ occupational cases that will be compared to each other in regard to the occupied state’s democraticness and the allocation of funds by the U.S. in each case. The U.S. occupations that I will compare are Germany 1945-1952 and Afghanistan 2001-2021. The occupation of Afghanistan is widely deemed as failed FIRC, while Germany is a success. These states were chosen for my research due to their common regime type being a dictatorship prior to U.S. military involvement. However, the reconstruction of Germany versus the primary use of military force in Afghanistan allowed me to compare cases with vastly different occupational approaches. Though I will not be exploring the approach of each occupation exclusively, it did allow for well-rounded cases to be included in my analysis on the methods that the U.S. used in each and why they led to differing results. Each case examination will include a brief background on the countries, the type of government in place prior to U.S. involvement, and democratic tendencies, if they existed at all. In terms of democratic tendencies, this would include political rights: electoral process and political participation, as well as civil liberties. The comparison aspect of research will be demonstrating how the two elements of my thesis, democratic tendencies and proper financial investment, led to differing effectiveness outcomes. Analyzing each of these aspects of the occupied state will allow me to determine if the state had the capability of becoming a democracy and if it endured a lasting change post U.S. involvement. My hypothesis is that the United States tends to not achieve democratization in its The Undergraduate Review 81

occupations due to prioritizing a military approach over a diplomatic one that prioritizes financial investment in institutions. Literature Review Why does the U.S. intervene? Though the circumstances that cause the United States to lead a military intervention may vary, the reasoning as to why can be generalized into the following: interests and stability. According to Occupational Hazards: Why Military Occupations Succeed or Fail6, the primary goal of a military occupation is to secure the interests of the occupying state and to ensure that the state being occupied does not become a source of instability. In the case of the United States, the use of democratization, and attributes of it such as open markets, can not only benefit them economically, but create a stable global environment. Why do democracies fall in some places? The effectiveness of an imposed democracy can be determined by the existence of favorable democratic conditions in a foreign state. Jonathan Monten7 notes that democracy can be attempted to be built anywhere. The key word here is attempted, as the lasting stability of a democracy can only be achieved if the state that's being occupied has democratic qualities. Characteristics of a democracy can include basic human rights, representation in government, and a middle class. An absence of any of these democratic qualities 6

by David Edelstein Intervention and State-Building: Comparative Lessons from Japan, Iraq, and Afghanistan 7

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can cause transitional issues for the occupied state, as these regulations are unfamiliar. Governmental change involves a particular set of realistic adaptations to the structures and lifestyles of foreign states and typically that is a direct contrast to their current regime. The last point that I will address that can explain why occupations tend to fail is due to the lack of coordination between the parties involved. At times, and as what was seen in the occupation of Germany, there needs to be a collective reinforcement mechanism such as policy implementation, which can foster cooperation and therefore lead to regime change. This plan of action of an occupation can be a determining factor in whether or not the occupied state will be appropriately invested in. Case Study #1: Germany For the purpose of my research, I will begin with the occupation of Germany as it occurred first between my chosen cases. In 1933, Germany had a shift in power to Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi political party and oppressive dictator. This new regime was able to take root in Germany as there was strong support to return Germany to its former strength. With Hitler’s leadership came the devastation of World War II and the Holocaust, which was later put to an end once the Axis powers were forced to surrender. It was at this point in Germany’s history that an occupation by the United States was issued, and supported by the Allied powers, in order to establish stability within the state. Due to Germany being in a vulnerable position, and the likelihood of it becoming of source of instability, its hands were tied, and they were forced to comply under the United States’ control. Germany’s previous regimes also contributed to its success in transitioning out of the regime. The article Democratization in

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Germany: A Reappraisal8 examines how Germany had the democratic characteristics that allowed for the U.S. to transition their regime with ease. It acknowledges that Germany was able to democratize due to the developmental divide in the Western area of Germany in comparison to the Eastern side. One way this is explained is through the alliance between the Prussian Junkers and the heavy industrial bourgeoisie. These two groups competed for their grain in the world market and did so at the expense of the other. It was mainly through the use of repressive authoritarian political control to depress the costs of labor that each group was able to suppress the interests of the other (Bernhard, 2001). The competition between these two groups frames the failure of Germany to democratize at the time as a product of uneven development. However, the familiarity of this democratic market, which included a wealthy class and a low-middle to poor class within Germany, made the development of democracy later not so much of a foreign task commanded by them. Though the democratic familiarity of Germany may have not been directly considered by the U.S. prior to its occupation, it can explain why Germany was willing to accept their demands. The American military took hold of Germany at first primarily focusing on redistributing the surplus of war material to Displaced Persons (DPs) and Germans (Bell, 2017)9. This focus was implemented to address the humanitarian needs, specifically the refugee crisis, which developed during and post-war. There were several difficulties that came with aiding the German population. One issue was regarding locating and accessing the war supplies that were to be redistributed. The Nazi regime had several hundred military facilities with supplies that were well isolated and surrounded by a series of 8

Democratization in Germany: A Reappraisal by Michael Bernhard (2001) STEG and the occupation of Germany: Demilitarization as reconstruction 1945– 1953 by Douglas I. Bell (2017) 9

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protective bunkers. It was not until after the war that these facilities were able to be captured. Moreover, several of the supply distributors that were used proved to be ineffective in assisting DPs. One distributor, formed by the German Economic Minister of the U.S. zone, was the Land Abwicklungsstelle (Land Settlement Agency). The Land Settlement Agency employed local custodians who were held responsible for distributing this material into the economy. However, the group was highly corrupt. Under their control, a great deal of the material was hoarded for their own benefit, for example selling material on the black market for a personal profit (Bell, 2017). The focus of the U.S. ground forces was not aiding the state enough as a whole, in terms of changing regime and financial recovery, which then called for a slight shift in focus. The previous failed operations led to the creation of STEG, a new centralized agency with the responsibilities of ‘the seizure, processing, and utilization of war materials of all kinds of former German and American property within the US zone.’ Though much more successful than the prior distributors, STEG faced issues with the Soviet Union who continued to intervene in the Allied Control Council. It was realized that the Soviet Union would continue to provoke Western Europe in an effort to turn these countries to communism. Therefore, to ensure stability, the U.S. would need to revamp STEG with diplomatic reinforcements. In time, policy was put in place to expand STEG operations to include the distribution of scarce materials to government agencies and heavy industries. STEG also was reorganized to include several security checks orchestrated by the American Military Government. Through the new checks, inventory was able to be monitored and appropriately maintained, goods were able to reach their proper receiver, and consequently payment was received from the purchaser. The newly implemented policy not only strengthened the distribution system in The Undergraduate Review 85

Germany, but it also worked to mold Germany into a key player in the international system. It did so by setting aside the funds received by the purchaser of the STEG goods in a blocked account for the future German Government. The occupation of Germany is an example of how shifting policies were able to reallocate financial resources in a manner that fostered economic progress. Although at the start of the occupation surplus war material was able to aid Germany’s refugee crisis, its depletion in value had to be addressed in order to prevent Germany from regressing into the problematic regime that it had just escaped. Germany’s occupation through the implementation of STEG and its amended policies was a far greater process than simply demilitarizing German factories and breaking up cartels. Through the collective effort by German citizens, even if it was by force, as well as the push of American policies, allowed for a strong foundation in German regime change to take hold. Additionally, the shift to a GDP growing program rather than a solely humanitarian base one by the United States allowed for Germany to create generational wealth and develop the skills necessary to maintain its economy independently. Though the occupation used the U.S. military to retain control of the nation, it did not rely on it solely to create stability. The need for these types of programs shed light on how complex an occupation is. Solving one issue, in this case a refugee crisis, does not in turn transform the country to a democratic player. Instead, it must thoroughly consider what is necessary for one to become a stable democratic state. In Germany’s case, it required the U.S. to sufficiently invest in elaborate economic programs that could be amended and mimicked in the future to maintain stability. Additionally, even though the U.S. may have not thought about the democraticness of Germany in advance to occupying it, it did decide a thorough plan of action. For example, despite the devastation that Germany endured following the war, the U.S. 86 The Undergraduate Review

knew that in time it would become a world player. With that in mind, it set out a number of goals including: (1) the reunification of Germany and all-German elections, (2) examination of a peace treaty, (3) withdrawal of occupational troops, and (4) demilitarization of Germany.10 This plan kept in mind the overarching goal of democratization, while simultaneously deciding where funding would go. Germany was an occupation that received more than sufficient and planned investment from the United States in order to make a democracy possible. However, due to their lack of democratic components and economic investments in institutions, I will now explain how Afghanistan differed from it. Case Study #2: Afghanistan Afghanistan was occupied by the U.S. from 2001 to 2021, the longest war administered by the United States. Throughout the history of Afghani leadership, there were multiple shifts in power that contributed to the instability of the state. Beginning in the 20th century, Afghanistan was engaged in a series of wars with Britain, after it attempted to annex Afghanistan. Following the third and final British Afghan War, May 6th, 1919, to August 8th, 1919, Afghanistan was able to come out victorious becoming an independent nation. This put an end to British control over Afghan foreign policy and gave way to native Afghani led governments. A leader that set the tone for instability in Afghanistan was Amir Amanullah Khan who declared Afghanistan a monarchy and proclaimed himself as king. This follows after the rule of both his late father, Habibullah Khan 1901-1919, and his grandfather Amir Abdur Rehman Khan, 1880-1901 (Malik, 10

American policy and the reconstruction of West Germany, 1945-1955 by David Lazar and Christof Mauch The Undergraduate Review 87

2011).11 He had intentions to pursue plans for modernization that expanded upon the campaigns that both his relatives heavily advocated for. The primary issue that Amanullah ran into that halted the progress of Afghanistan was the resistance that was posed by the Afghan people. A few of the policies that would cause opposition were those regarding rights for women. Amanullah attempted to Westernize Afghanistan by allowing girls, mainly those of elite status, to go to school and gave women’s right to marriage and divorce. This was not popularized as many people felt such liberties were straying from Afghan culture. Along with these policies, there was an overall inability to rule over the state. As a result, tensions would continue to grow as citizens of Afghanistan felt that they had a lack of representation within the government. This was especially true for the Pashtun community on the outskirts of the state, who essentially didn’t have these rights applied to them. Given that civil liberties are a precondition of democracy when there is a lack of these conditions, a truly democratic regime will not result. Instead, a state can expect backlash. This was true for Afghanistan, as critics of Amanullah’s policies became frustrated and by 1928 took up arms until 1929 where Amanullah was forced to flee the country (PBS News Desk, 2011)12. However, the U.S.’s decision to implement an occupation in Afghanistan would not be due to the state’s unstable leadership, but rather by the terrorists’ attacks on September 11th, 2001, which consisted of the hijacking of four commercial airline flights. It was discovered that the terrorist group Al-Qaeda was responsible for the attack and were based in Afghanistan which would lead the U.S. to act against the state, despite none of the members of the group being Afghan natives. Just a week after the September 11th attacks, President 11 12

The Modernization Process in Afghanistan–a retrospective by Aqab Malik A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan, PBS News

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George W. Bush signed the Joint Resolution law into place. The resolution was cited by the Bush administration as legal rationale for its decision to invade Afghanistan, as well as eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without a court order, and standing up the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. One of the first decisions that the United States made in regard to occupying Afghanistan was initiating Operation Enduring Freedom into place. The plan was a bombing campaign carried out by the U.S. military with British support against the Taliban regime of Afghanistan, who were providing a safe haven for the terrorist group (Schott, 2012)13. Though the campaign consisted primarily of airstrikes, it would only take a matter of days for traditional ground combat to begin. Around this same time, the United Nations Security Council passed the Resolution 1378, which allowed for the UN to take a central role in establishing peace, promoting stability and democracy. Though the UN took a restorative approach with Afghanistan to eliminate it from its Taliban control, the U.S. did not support that, as there was a greater investment by them in militaristic means to take out al-Qaeda operatives. Another example of the U.S. investing primarily militarily was through their Operation Anaconda. This plan of action was the first major ground assault by the U.S. with about 2,000 American troops sent to battle militants. Statistics of the financial investment towards the occupation of Afghanistan would show how military operations were prioritized. The following graph breaks down the approximate $2.3 trillion dollar spending towards Afghanistan into five categories (Brown University, 2021)14. These include Defense Department Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) (War) Budget, State Department OCO (War) Budget, Defense 13

The Difference Between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda by Josh Schott Human and Budgetary Costs of War Afghanistan Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs Brown University 14

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Department Base Budget War- Related Increases. The graph also includes estimates of veteran care for Afghan war vets to date and interests on war borrowing, though these are expected to grow within the coming years. With all these categories considered, it can be understood why proper state-building wasn’t achieved. Almost half of the “budget” went to the department of defense with roughly 3% of the spending being allocated to the state department, which is the institution in the U.S. government that would employ foreign policy measures necessary for regime change.

The distribution, or lack of investment in institutions when it comes to an occupation, largely determines the effectiveness of it. If democratization is the goal for the U.S. to achieve in a foreign state, then it should be working towards creating a political structure with an economy stable enough to survive on its own. This was the course of action taken in Germany with the reinforcement of STEG. However, the differentiating factor between Germany and Afghanistan is that the former had the preconditions of democracy that allowed it to take root. Limitations

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Though my chosen cases support the preconditions of democracy and the appropriate use of funding as key determinants if an occupation will yield a stable democracy, there are other factors that can have an impact on FIRC that I did not address. One being the power approach that the state administering the occupation has. Power approach can best be understood as whether the occupier’s manner of control emphasizes hard or soft power tactics. A hard approach of power is one that emphasizes a state’s physical assets. This can include employing one’s military or implementing sanctions. The case study of Afghanistan prioritized a hard power approach with the use of the military as its tool to facilitate control. The German case also had the U.S. military as a primary actor, although it was used more in terms of carrying out restoration plans. Soft power approaches differ from hard power in that it emphasize cooperation rather than forced compliance. In other words, soft power involves shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. Defining tools of soft power includes a revision of foreign policies. Hanna Samir Kassab15 has argued that soft power methods, when implemented jointly with hard power, are key to gaining the consent of the ruled. When you have this, regime change can be more acceptable. Prioritizing this mixed method approach of power can also prevent the occupied state from being viewed as a solely imperialistic force. Though it is true that hard and soft power approaches can affect the outcome of an occupation, defining what falls under a hard or soft power approach is a very broad scope of analysis, which could have been the sole focus of a research project. Recommendations

Soft Power and Struggles for Leadership: The United States, Russia, and China The Undergraduate Review 91

Given the cases examined it is evident that there isn't a definite method of performing a successful occupation. Even then there has to be a plan with flexibility as states will have different reactions to a U.S. occupation and each occupied state warrants different needs. Therefore, it calls for a versatile plan such as offshore balancing. This is best if you want to avoid long occupations, as this method doesn't emphasize going into another country unless absolutely necessary (Mearsheimer and Walt 2016)16. This subsequently means that democracies are not being built wherever the U.S. pleases. Additionally, offshore balancing prevents costly wars as other methods are used in place of an occupation such as buck-passing issues to other states. Though this method eliminates to a degree the U.S.’s ability to create democracies, it doesn't take away its power to support them. Rather it takes the responsibility of the ‘world police’ off the U.S.'s hands. Offshore balancing isn't a foolproof s as time sensitive security issues occur, but it does employ tactics (drones/and airstrikes) that can alleviate such issues from afar. Overall, offshore balancing can strengthen the U.S. by preventing it from interjecting in foreign state’s affairs and instead enhance its own domestic policies. Conclusion Given that the United States has been deemed the world’s leading democracy and taking the democratic peace theory to be true, it can reasonably be assumed that the U.S. should be able to spread democracy with ease based on its own success. However, several occupations have undermined this assumption. Not only have states under the control of the U.S. failed to transition into a democracy, but they have become failed states. Additionally, the U.S. has not been excused from 16

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the consequences of their failed foreign imposed regime change, as they have accumulated trillions of dollars in debt due to them. These ineffective occupations sparked the beginning of my research, where I explored the question of why some U.S. occupations are effective in comparison to others? Through examining the literature surrounding the topic, I was able to find that determinants of a successful occupation include the presence of democratic characteristics by the occupied state and the proper financial investment by the United States. Each of these factors I found to be prevalent in determining the success of the occupations in Germany 19451952 and Afghanistan 2001-2021. This analysis of occupations brings to light the complexities of U.S. occupations and emphasizes how these multifaceted issues should warrant the U.S. to take greater consideration when deciding to employ an occupation. References Bell, D. I. (2018). STEG and the occupation of Germany: Demilitarization as reconstruction 1945–1953. War in History, 25(1), 103-125. Bernhard, M. (2001). Democratization in Germany: A reappraisal. Comparative Politics, , 379-400. Boix, C. (2011). Democracy, development, and the international system. American Political Science Review, 105(4), 809-828. Brown University. (2021). Human and Budgetary Costs of War Afghanistan. Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs Brown University. https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/figures/2021/humanand-budgetary-costs-date-us-war-afghanistan-2001-2022 The Undergraduate Review 93

Burki, S. K. (2011). The politics of Zan from Amanullah to Karzai: Lessons for improving Afghan women’s status. Land of the unconquerable (pp. 45-59). University of California Press. Bush, G. W. (2008). Freedom Agenda. White House Archives. https://georgewbushwhitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/freedomagenda/ Council on Foreign Relations. (2021). The U.S. War in Afghanistan. CFR. https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-warafghanistan Downes, A. B., & Monten, J. (2013). Forced to be free?: Why foreign-imposed regime change rarely leads to democratization. International Security, 37(4), 90-131. Edelstein, D. M. (2004). Occupational hazards: Why military occupations succeed or fail. International Security, , 49-91. Fukuyama, F. (2015). The end of history? Conflict After the Cold War (pp. 16-27). Routledge. Gunitsky, S. (2018). Democracy’s Future: Riding the Hegemonic Wave. The Washington Quarterly, 41(2), 115-135. Hamasaeed, S., & Nada, G. (2020). Iraq Timeline: Since the 2003 War. United States Institute of Peace. https://www.usip.org/iraq-timeline-2003-war Kant, I. Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Essay. Project Gutenberg. Kraft, M. (2020). Preconditions of Democracy: How forced democratization depends on transformation and state-building characteristics. 94 The Undergraduate Review

Lazar, D., & Mauch, C. (1993ab). American policy and the reconstruction of West Germany, 1945-1955. Cambridge University Press. Malik, A. M. (2011). The modernization process in Afghanistan–a retrospective. Strategic Studies, 31, 35-43. Mearsheimer, J. J. (2011). Imperial by design. The National Interest, (111), 16-34. Mearsheimer, J. J., & Walt, S. M. (2016). The Case for Offshore Balancing a Superior U.S. Grand Strategy. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/201606-13/case-offshore-balancing Monten, J. (2014). Intervention and state-building: comparative lessons from Japan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 656(1), 173-191. PBS News. (2021). A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june11timeline-afghanistan Schott, J. (2012). The Difference Between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. E-International Relations. https://www.eir.info/2012/11/17/the-differences-between-the-taliban-andal-qaeda/

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Are Private Prisons the Solution? Matthew Brodsky Private prisons have long been a staple of the American criminal justice system. The prison system today stems from the 1970s, with private corporations used to house illegal immigrants to save costs (Kish & Lipton, 2013). The industry exploded in the 1980s because of rising imprisonment rates and an increasing belief in market-oriented conservatism within the United States (Burkhardt, 2017). The market-oriented belief stems from the Reagan Administration, which supported market solutions and strongly disdained the government. It was the idea that private entities could perform the job better than the government, including prisons (Burkhardt, 2017). Proponents make three main arguments to justify using private corporations to build prisons. One is that they save governments money. There is a belief that private prisons are cheaper to contract out to a corporation to build and operate a prison than the government and could create competition within the market (Kish & Lipton, 2013). Second, private prisons can help deal with the overcrowding of public prisons. According to the Sentencing Project (2022), there are currently 2 million people in US prisons and jails, a nearly 500% increase over the past 40 years; governments hope private corporations can alleviate that burden. Finally, there is the belief that private corporations will be better at managing prisons than the government, stemming from Reagan-era beliefs about the role of government (Burkhardt, 2017). While there is some validity to these claims, private prisons have had negative consequences on the criminal justice system that outweigh the believed benefits of private prisons. A primary reason for contracting out prisons to private corporations is to save money. Previous research has argued that the privatization of prisons results in cost savings. Geoffrey Segal (2002) took 23 studies performed by a 96 The Undergraduate Review

university or government entity and found that private prisons save about ten to fifteen percent less than government-run prisons. This study said the lower costs are from the amount a government must pay to house inmates in a private facility (Segal, 2002). This data, though, is not entirely reliable. While studies have shown that private prisons can reduce costs, a lack of data is available to accurately measure how cost effective they are (Kish & Lipton, 2013). There is also concern about conflicts with the data provided by Segal (2002) and other reports showing privatization cost savings because many of these studies received funding from the private prison industry (Freidmann, 2014). The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) does not identify the costs of operating various levels of prisons (Kish & Lipton, 2013) which adds a challenge because different prison levels could incur different costs. There is also a general lack of access to private sector data because the BOP does not require private firms to report comparable data that the bureau uses for data on their prisons (Kish & Lipton, 2013). There are problems identifying the sources and uses of funding, like depreciating assets and contract procurement (Kish & Lipton, 2013). Travis Pratt (2019) noted this lack of strong evidence and claimed that discussions on privatization had not been driven by evidence because there is a lack of empirical research that could provide credible evidence to either cost inefficiency or efficiency. Private corporations save money mainly by reducing staff since that makes up the most considerable expenditure of the prison system (Kish & Lipton, 2013). Private corporations tend to hire from non-union workforces allowing for more flexible job descriptions, cross-training, less overtime, and less pay. Additionally, there are some indirect cost savings through allocating supervisory and support services (Kist & Lipton, 2013). There are growing questions about the cost-saving ability of private prisons. A report from an Arizona audit found that when it came to per capita costs, private facilities were no The Undergraduate Review 97

cheaper than public ones and, in some instances, more expensive (Pratt, 2019). There is also some concern about costs that may not be reported, like how some states hold prisoners in out-of-state facilities, increasing the transportation costs for prisoners (Freidmann, 2014). Kish and Litpon (2013) found that private prisons had more hours of public monitoring, more frequent inspections, and more monitor training than out-of-state contracts, potentially adding additional costs that may not be reported. Proponents will argue that the privatization of prisons will increase competition in the market. It is generally argued in the United States that market-based solutions create more competition that will reduce costs and improve quality while creating more choices in the industry. This idea does not seem to be the case for prisons. Three major existing companies dominate the prison industry: CoreCivic, GEO Group, and Cornell Companies. The industry appears to have transformed into an oligopoly that can limit competition and prevent cost savings (Hard et al., 1997). The BOP offers more favorable terms to private prison contracts than state contracts. Private contractors can receive special incentives to earn more money. For example, contractors can receive a fixed monthly income if a prison population exceeds 50% and 90% (Kish & Lipton). This incentive creates other costs that may not be immediately discussed in articles claiming prisons offer cost savings. The incentive is essentially pricing the inmates of a prison: more inmates and longer sentences increase the amount an inmate is worth because of the additional money they generate. These bonuses could incentivize contractors to keep prisons overcrowded (Kish & Lipton, 2013). Private prisons may also face costs from lawsuits. Private prison guards do not have “qualified immunity” and may not have some protections that a public prison guard may have, creating additional issues (Kist & Lipton, 2013). When Cornell 98 The Undergraduate Review

Companies faced a $1.1 million judgment against Delta Junction in Alaska for a breach of contract, the state had to bail them out (Lutsky, 2001). Data continues to be still lacking, and there are some challenging methods a researcher may face when trying to accurately consider the many direct and indirect costs that prisons can have. However, it does appear that there is some validity to the claim that private prisons are not all that cost-effective. The quality of private prisons has also become a concern. Private corporations' main priority is to make a profit, and one of the ways the private prison companies will attempt to increase profits is by saving money on areas such as staff. In private prisons, employees are paid less than employees in public prisons. Data found that a private prison employee’s minimum salary is $15,919 compared to $21,246 in public prisons, and the maximum salary is $21,246 compared to $34,004 in public prisons (Burkhardt, 2017). This poor pay and the fact that private prison employees are non-union has created staff shortages and a turnover rate of 43% in the prisons (Burkhardt, 2017). These shortages and the high turnover rate have resulted in private correctional officers having to manage more inmates, creating a higher prisoner-tostaff ratio in private prisons (Burkhardt, 2017). Inmates in private prisons are also likely to receive unjust discipline (Makarios & Maahs, 2012), have more grievances (Lundahl et al., 2009), and be guarded by staff with less training and experience (Camp & Gaes, 2002; Lundahl et al., 2009). This cheaper labor also appears to be disproportionately given to people of color. Black and Hispanic workers combined for 36% of employees in private facilities compared to 26% within public prisons (Burkhardt, 2017). New prisons are likely to be constructed in towns with larger black, Hispanic, and poor populations (Burkhardt, 2017). Burkhardt (2017) suggests that it is possible that private prisons could be taking advantage of existing labor insecurities among The Undergraduate Review 99

marginalized groups. Burkhardt continues by saying they are relegated to a so-called “second labor market” because they cannot get roles in public sector jobs and are more likely to accept lower compensation from private prisons (Burkhardt, 2017). There is an argument about the possibility that prisons hiring from marginalized communities and paying them less than public prisons could harm the economy. Since people working in private prisons will receive lower incomes, they may not be able to contribute to the economy as much as they could if they worked at a public prison. There are other areas where private prisons' cost-cutting has reduced the quality of our prison system. Arizona attempted to privatize its prison system until a prison break resulted in a murder in New Mexico. The incident revealed glaring security lapses in the private prison where the breakout occurred, such as lack of training and proper prisoner identification (Burkhardt, 2017). Another study found that males in private prisons were less likely to have contact with their family and friends outside prison. This finding was consistent with the argument that private prisons provide inmates with lower quality or fewer programming and service options (Montes et al., 2022). This lack of services can create issues because visitation is one of the ways that an inmate can maintain social bonds while incarcerated (Montes et al., 2022). In 2013, Kentucky state officials eliminated private prisons after sexual assault allegations and a major riot in one of the private facilities (Watkins, 2017). The riot provides more evidence that staff are not adequately trained to handle prison conditions. Governments can include quality assurances in the contracts to ensure private prisons maintain an acceptable level of quality. Some of these quality assurances can be a mandate to provide adequate medical care, control prison violence, and prevent escapes and inadvertent releases due to paperwork errors (Kisk & Lipton, 2013). However, Hart et al (1997) 100 The Undergraduate Review

claimed that governments could not specify the quality of service because the model of private markets requires a reduction of costs at the expense of quality. These concerns led Bricner and Diaz (2011) to state that it would be wise to question whether investing in for-profit companies for prisons is the right choice because they failed in public safety and rehabilitation. Ferris and Graddy (1991) also mention that while it makes sense for local governments to use private companies to minimize costs, they should not be used when contracting intangible services. However, it is important to note that there are challenges in analyzing the quality of private prisons compared to public prisons because of the lack of data available. Private prisons present a different challenge that would not concern public prisons: lobbying and political power. Private corporations have an incentive to ensure that private prisons remain in place. Private prisons can be incredibly profitable; in 2013 CoreCivic earned a $300 million profit on a gross revenue of $1.69 billion (Freidmann, 2014). That number has increased, with CoreCivic earning $431 million profit on a gross revenue of $1.84 billion in 2022 (CoreCivic, 2022). Toward the end of his second term, former President Barack Obama was attempting to phase out private prisons in the United States. However, when Donald Trump won the election in 2016, the stock prices of private prison companies went back up because Trump supported keeping private prisons in place. During that 2016 election, private prisons gave $1.6 million to candidates, parties, and outside spending groups, which was triple the amount spent during the 2014 midterms (Opensecrets, 2022). Geo Group was the primary spender giving $300,000 to super PACs including one that backed President Donald Trump (Opensecrets, 2022). With the Obama administration planning to remove private prisons, these corporations possibly found it imperative to back a candidate like Donald Trump to maintain the ability to build and operate private prisons. President The Undergraduate Review 101

Donald Trump’s support of the private prison industry ensured it could continue profiting from the prison population. This spending continued into the most recent midterm elections, with the Geo group spending $1.3 million during the 2021 to 2022 midterm election cycle (Opensecrets, 2022). These lobbying efforts can create conflicts of interest within the political system, potentially allowing elected officials to continue supporting private prison policies that may not benefit their constituents. There can also be conflicts of interest created from research. Professor Charles W Thomas was the director of private corrections at the University of Florida, where he would conduct studies on data concerning private prisons. During that time, he also owned stock from a private prison firm he was researching (Prison Reality Trust, a spin-off of CoreCivic). He also received $3 million in payments from the firm and was eventually fined $20,000 by the Florida Commission of Ethics for this conflict of interest (Freidmann 2014). Another study from Vanderbilt in 2008 found benefits to private prisons received partial funding from CoreCivic and the Association for Private Correctional and Treatment Organization (APCTO) (Freidmann, 2014). The Reason Foundation, a proponent for private prisons, also received funding from private prison corporations as early as the 1990s. Their 2009 donor list included the Geo Group as a platinum-level supporter and CoreCivic as a gold-level supporter (Freidmann, 2014). Finally, a study from Temple University that found costsaving benefits in private prisons also received funding from Core Civic, Geo Group, and Management and Training Corp (Freidman, 2014). If corporations and lobbying groups are actively pursuing studies and backing political candidates, these corporations may benefit from the overpopulation of the prison system. The American Civil Liberties Union (2011) mentions a possible conflict of interest between a company’s profits and the prison 102 The Undergraduate Review

system, mentioning that private corporations may not have the incentive to rehabilitate prisoners. The lack of rehabilitation at private prisons may create higher recidivism rates among inmates at private prisons than in public prisons (White et al., 2020). As previously mentioned, some contracts with private corporations have stipulations that would give private corporations additional monthly funding for meeting certain percentage thresholds of the prison population. Additionally, Dippel and Poyker (2018) found a link between judges’ sentencing behavior and private prisons. Their evidence found a relationship between the sentencing length and private prison capacity. They further suggested that judges may have incentives to hand out lengthier sentences based on the scale of the private prison industry in their area (Dippel & Poyker, 2018). The privatization of the prison industry has created potential ethical issues around the treatment of inmates. It seemingly places a dollar sign over each prisoner, and they serve as a money-making opportunity for the company. In their contracts, it was found that private prisons favor having younger prisoners and are serving sentences under a year (Burkhardt, 2017); this means that at some point, the inmates will be out of prison and back into their communities. Using private prisons may potentially harm an inmate’s future because of the lack of quality and rehabilitative methods in a private prison. Private prisons have shown some potential to be a costsaving option and are potentially quicker to build than public prisons. However, that cost-saving ability seemingly harms everything within the system. Private corporations look to make a profit and choose to cut costs from staffing and resources for the incarcerated. It has led to a growing concern about the quality of treatment an inmate may receive. The idea that the market can perform the government’s job at a lower price and at a higher quality does not appear to be entirely The Undergraduate Review 103

accurate when it comes to private prisons. There are examples of private prisons failing, such as Arizona and Kentucky. Studies have also shown that decisions to lower pay for staff create higher staff-to-inmate ratios, potentially creating unsafe conditions for the staff and the inmate (Burkhardt, 2017). Private prisons may also be interested in maintaining higher prison populations to make a profit and spend money to lobby and elect representatives at the state, federal and local levels to ensure private prisons remain in place. It is becoming clear that private prisons may not be the solution governments are looking for to improve. References Bauer, S. (2016.). “Private prisons are shrouded in secrecy. I took a job as a guard to get inside—Then things got crazy.” Mother Jones. Retrieved February 22, 2023, from https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/cca-rivateprisons-corrections-corporation-inmates-investigation-bauer Burkhardt, B. C. (2017). “Who is in private prisons? Demographic profiles of prisoners and workers in American private prisons.” International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 51, 24–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2017.04.004 Burkhardt, B. C. (2019). “Does the public sector respond to private competition? An analysis of privatization and prison performance.” Journal of Crime and Justice, 42(2), 201–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/0735648X.2018.1497524 Butz, A. M., & Fording, R. C. (2022). “The color of corrections: Racial politics and prison privatization.” Social Policy & Administration, 56(1), 180–194. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12766

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Camp, S. D., & Gaes, G. G. (2002). “Growth and Quality of US Private Prisons: Evidence from a National Survey.” Criminology & Public Policy, 1(3), 427–450. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9133.2002.tb00102.x CoreCivic (2022). Income statement. https://ir.corecivic.com/stockinformation/fundamentals/income-statement Dippel, C., & Poyker, M. (2019). “Do Private Prisons Affect Criminal Sentencing?” National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w25715 “For-profit Prisons” (2023). OpenSecrets. Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=G70 00 Friedmann, A. (2014.). “Apples-to-fish: public and private prison cost comparisons.” Fordham Urban Law Journal, 42(2). 503-368 Ghandnoosh, N., & Nellis, A. (2022, September 8). Research— Get the Facts. The Sentencing Project. https://www.sentencingproject.org/research/ Hart, O., Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. W. (1997). “The Proper Scope of Government: Theory and an Application to Prisons*.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(4), 1127–1161. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355300555448 Kish, R. J., & Lipton, A. F. (2013). “Do Private Prisons Really offer Savings Compared with their Public Counterparts?” Economic Affairs, 33(1), 93–107. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12005 The Undergraduate Review 105

Lundahl, B. W., Kunz, C., Brownell, C., Harris, N., & Van Vleet, R. (2009). “Prison Privatization: A Meta-analysis of Cost and Quality of Confinement Indicators.” Research on Social Work Practice, 19(4), 383–394. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731509331946 Lutsky, J. (2001), “Cornell corrections targets Alaska.” Partnership for Safety and Justice. Available at http://www.safetyandjustice.org/node/489 Makarios, M. D., & Maahs, J. (2012). “Is Private Time Quality Time? A National Private–Public Comparison of Prison Quality.” The Prison Journal, 92(3), 336–357. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885512448608 Montes, A. N., Cochran, J. C., & Anderson, C. N. (2022). “Private Versus Public Incarceration: Incarcerated Individuals’ Experiences and Perceptions of Environmental Quality.” Crime & Delinquency, 00111287221098583. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287221098583 Pratt, T. C. (2019). “Cost–benefit analysis and privatized corrections.” Criminology & Public Policy, 18(2), 447–456. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12443 Segal, G (2002). “Corporate corrections? frequently asked questions about prison privatization.” Reason Foundation. https://reason.org/faq/corporate-corrections-frequent/ Watkins, M. (2017). “Kentucky will reopen private prison despite past inmate sex abuse.” The Courier-Journal. Retrieved February 22, 2023, from

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https://www.courierjournal.com/story/news/2017/11/16/k entucky-reopen-private-prison-despite-past-inmate-sexabuse/867367001/ White, W., Pena, A. A., & Weiler, S. (2020). “Going private: Are private prisons cost‐saving options for states?” Growth and Change, 51(3), 1000–1016. https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.12388.

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Poem: I Have No Eyes Lili Meyers Introduction Poetry has always been a sort of intellectual shelter I run to when I feel that itch to write. This specific piece is one of the rawest I’ve ever written, particularly because of its subject material. In 2021, I received a bone marrow transplant; the same year, I became the New Jersey Poetry Out Loud Champion, so of course it is only fitting to combine the two. Living in the hospital for weeks, subjected to never-ending tests, chemotherapy, radiation, etc., is painful, as one can imagine. It was difficult to write in the hospital, as much as I yearned to, so this particular poem was written during my recovery process. The recovery process from such a medical venture as the one I suffered is, in my opinion, worse than the month of chemotherapy and the actual transplant. Writing this helped me, in one way or another, process all that had and was happening. I hope you enjoy it, and visit Be the Match online to become a stem cell donor and save a life.

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I Have No Eyes Sometimes I close my eyes when I’m driving on the highway. I see the danger there is in this action, but perhaps there is danger in all. I would step on your face, grind my emaciated heel into your tender brow. Crushing elegantly your eyeballs into the socket, leaking red goodness out onto the floor of the hospital. That incomparable smell Raw Shit. I would love to It’s time for your bath. Draw the water and I’ll be there in a second, I promise An empty room I kneel at the side of the bathtub as you splash my face with the red goodness Me Stop, please. The bubbles you’re making are sending me up the wall I’m banging my head against it! Look at what you’re doing to your mother! She is shriveled up in the corner counting your pills! One in half one full, what did the doctor say? Take your pills into the bath Don’t let them touch the water please The Undergraduate Review 109

PLEASE I smell it again, raw Shit The nurse is here, she’s run here in a hurry, in the hallway, down the hallway, back again She needs to know if you’ve taken your pills The water swallowed them up, before you could and now mother is angry You better run down the hall, and hide your feeble little body, before she comes slithering out and teaches you not to play with your pills uh oh She’s found you I step on your face and push Now we’d like to salt the steak. There is a certain way of doing this correctly, cooking the steak where one salts the entire cutlet and allows its true flavor to come out. Salt is like that, it acts as a sort of welcome party for the flavor. It releases the moisture stored in the muscle, so it is ideal to salt right before slapping it on the fire gasp The wind that seeps through the open windows licks the back of my head but my eyes remain shut

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I know I’m going straight, this stretch of road is not a twisting one, I am not to be deceived by a turn Is there risk? I know the road is straight, I close my eyes to feel something weigh on me, it has been so long since I’ve felt weight, yet The road is straight And I know it is The water laps at my face. I am looking at the bottom of the tub from the surface of the water. Hot, bubbles seep into the now exposed sockets. Well hello mother Her hand is on the nakedness of my scalp, yet there is no scalp here. Only skin. Push, please, please, please push it down for I want to feel the porcelain kiss Father Is Dead I have no father only mother only her only bath only eyes only nurse only road only eyes shut eyes broken eyes gone I have no eyes Anymore

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About the Artist: Crystal Contreras Nikitha Jeyaprakash Crystal Contreras was a business administration major in the School of Business at Rutgers-Camden. She graduated in May 2023. Crystal is no stranger to being the artist behind the cover art of The Undergraduate Review, contributing the eyecatching cover art to the Fall 2022 edition of the journal as well. She has been involved in the arts since childhood, starting with drawing and eventually moving onto painting as a medium. She participated in many projects which included creating props for the drama club, a painting for the board of education and partaking in her middle school’s mosaic art piece. While in high school, she took elective art classes and learned stamp making, papier mâché, ceramics and modeling. Eventually, Crystal started dabbling with digital art, collage art, photography and wire wrapping in high school after teaching herself the ropes. Her journey with art continued well into university, where she recounts taking an elective art course to further her passion for art. Today, Crystal states that her main focus is on abstract acrylic painting and digital art. Currently, she still creates for herself and others. Crystal’s artworks can be found on her socials creatresscrystal (Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok) and radartwork (Instagram). According to Crystal, “When it comes to art, my inspiration for creating is to be able to express myself and to uplift others.” Crystal Contreras’ artworks, Spread Kindness and Courage, appear on the cover of this Spring 2023 issue of The Undergraduate Review.

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Notes on Contributors Melanie Boneta (Veliz) graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University in May 2023, where she majored in political science and minored in criminal justice. Following the completion of her political science thesis, Melanie elected to apply to law school in 2024 and was admitted to the Rutgers Law class of 2027. As a firstgeneration college and law student, Melanie is involved in the Minority Student Program. Furthermore, due to her interest in criminal defense largely attributed to her participation in her undergraduate criminal investigation class, Melanie is one of ten members of the Social Justice Scholars cohort. Matthew Brodsky graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University in May 2024, where he majored in political science and minored in philosophy. During his time at Rutgers, Matthew served as President of Student Government, student lead of the RUC Vote Coalition, and a member of the Eagleton Undergraduate Associate program. After graduation, Matthew was a field organizer for New Jersey Victory 2024, working to elect Andy Kim and Democrats up and down the ballot. Now, Matthew serves as the Chief of Staff to State Senator Linda Greenstein of the New Jersey 14th Legislative District. Vienna Marie Monte graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University-Camden in May 2023, with a major in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology. Present-day, she is a graduate student at Rutgers University-Camden in the Criminal Justice program and is expected to graduate with her M.A. at the end of December 2024. Vienna is also a research assistant at Rutgers University-Camden, working for professors in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal The Undergraduate Review 113

Justice. She has high-level, ambitious dreams of earning a Ph.D., striving toward advanced knowledge and expertise in crime prevention. Vienna wants readers to understand that weakened social bonds, as described by Travis Hirschi's Social Control Theory, may play a significant role in the development of violent criminal behaviors like Jeffrey Dahmer's. Lili Myers is currently a rising 2L at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., where she is focusing her studies in criminal law, constitutional law, and public policy. She also participates in GW Law Revue in which she is on the executive board. Lili hopes to use her law degree towards bettering the criminal justice system and the constitutionality of our government. Acer Paiste is an undergraduate student at Rutgers-Camden and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in the majors of Sociology, Global Studies, and German with a minor in International Politics. Graduating in 2026, they are passionate about exploring racial injustice and social stratification through an intersectional lens. Their academic interests center on critical theory, identity, and belonging, with a focus on thinkers such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Hannah Arendt, and Georg Simmel. They are the founder of the Hillel Chapter at RUC and currently serve as the leader of the Sexuality and Gender Alliance. Through both scholarship and activism, they strive to foster inclusive spaces and deepen understandings of marginality and structural inequality. Jada Pulley graduated in May 2024 with a B.A in health sciences with a minor in psychology from Rutgers University. Jada has always been passionate about helping others, specifically in the healthcare field. She currently serves her hometown community, working as a school health 114 The Undergraduate Review

specialist. She serves students who suffer from mental health, food insecurity, housing insecurity, etc. Jada hopes the reader comes in with an open mind and will gain a greater awareness about mental health and how everyday factors play a part in it. Gretchen Purvis is a BA/MA student at Rutgers UniversityCamden, expecting to receive her BA in English with a German minor in May 2025 and her MA in English in May 2026. She intends to pursue her PhD in English or comparative literature, working in academia. Her primary research interests are Gothic, Romantic, and contemporary horror literature, exploring how these texts contain the potential to portray alterity in either abjective or positive ways. Gretchen hopes that her paper will provoke thought over whether socially constructed monstrosity should be individually or collectively viewed, and provide the reader with a new perspective through which to view Mary Shelley’s 1818 Frankenstein. Kennedy Benjamin Samuels graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University in May 2023. As a member of the Honors College, he double majored in history and political science with a minor in law and legal studies. Furthermore, he earned a certificate in national security studies. He is currently in his first year at the topranked law school in the country for trial advocacy, Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law in the City of Philadelphia, as a gracious recipient of a full-tuition James E. Beasley scholarship.

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Spring 2023

The Undergraduate Review

Spring 2023

Volume 4 Issue 1