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Jun 20, 2024 | 
publicsource.org | Sophia Levin
Annie Quinn considers herself a “pipe whisperer” — someone who applies technical jargon about water infrastructure to commonplace concerns about flooded basements. She is a watershed enthusiast, specializes in water resource management and wants to make the subject as accessible as possible for her neighbors.
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Nov 13, 2023 | 
the-tartan.org | Sophia Levin |Sam Bates |Courtney VanAuken |Haley Williams
At 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 7, around 120 people attended a protest in front of Hamerschlag Hall, where Lockheed Martin was hosting a networking and recruitment event for computer science and electrical engineering students. Valued at $111.93 billion, the aerospace, arms, and defense company signed a research partnership with Carnegie Mellon in 2019 and has sponsored university research since 1986.
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Oct 9, 2023 | 
thetartan.org | Arden Ryan |Sophia Levin
When Kanchan Sarolkar began her master’s in information technology and security in January, she’d never encountered a school with a food pantry. Then a friend introduced her to the one at Carnegie Mellon, and she became a regular customer and Pantry coordinator. “Hi, I have an appointment,” a shopper said when she came in on Saturday afternoon.
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Oct 9, 2023 | 
thetartan.org | Sophia Levin
Nica Ross’ restroom advocacy began as self-advocacy. When their office was moved away from a cluster of single-stall restrooms in 2018, they lost access to a restroom within walking distance. Ross asked the university if the restroom down the hall could be converted to all-gender. What they thought would be “a simple ask” unfolded into a complex, bureaucratic process.
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Jul 26, 2023 | 
feminist.org | Sophia Levin
Photo by Element5 Digital on UnsplashIn November, Ohio voters will decide whether to amend the state Constitution to include a right to reproductive freedom. State officials said on Tuesday that the petition had culled 495,938 valid signatures across 55 counties, surpassing the requisite 413,487 signatures across 44 counties. Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights led the initiative.
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Jul 18, 2023 | 
feminist.org | Sophia Levin
When the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s $400 billion student debt relief plan, he remained determined. At a June 30 press conference he told reporters, “We need to find a new way.” Two weeks later, the Department of Education announced the details: it will cancel $39 billion in Federal student loans. On July 14, they began to notify more than 804,000 borrowers about automatic forgiveness.
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Jul 12, 2023 | 
feminist.org | Sophia Levin
Last month, the Iowa Supreme Court deadlocked 3-3 on whether the state could reinstate an abortion ban around six weeks. The case centered around a 2018 statute that many people believed had “no chance of taking effect,” Justice Thomas D. Waterman observed. Without Court consensus, abortion remained legal until 20 weeks of pregnancy. That changed on July 11, when Iowa became the second state in the country to ban abortion after six weeks. Fourteen others have banned abortion entirely.
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Jul 11, 2023 | 
feminist.org | Sophia Levin
In 2017, the Supreme Court heard a case about a bakery owner who refused to create a cake for a gay wedding. The Court ruled that the cake represented free expression, so the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) could not force the owner to sell a cake for the couple’s wedding. On June 30, the Court ruled on a similar case. This time, though, no one had even asked the owner for her services. Lorie Smith is a graphic designer who wanted to expand her business to include wedding websites.
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Jun 29, 2023 | 
feminist.org | Sophia Levin
AP Photo/Gerry BroomeIn a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against race-conscious admissions programs. In both cases — Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina — college admissions programs considered race as one of many factors in determining an application’s value. The Court ruled that this violated the 14th amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
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Jun 27, 2023 | 
feminist.org | Sophia Levin
In the U.S., one in four women will have an abortion by age 45. Yet one in three live in states that ban or severely restrict access. Last year’s Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade upended reproductive health care infrastructure. Questions about who can provide care, which states they can provide it in, and who can afford access continue to arise. But the main answer is: far fewer.
