The Case(s) for Applying Strict Scrutiny to Sex Discrimination: Revisiting Early Arguments for Strict Scrutiny & Reimagining a More Equitable Application of the Equal Protection Clause

Description
The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment prescribes a concept of equality, rather than any particular conception of equality. This distinction enables us to move beyond a historically fixed understanding of equality, as limited to that at the time

The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment prescribes a concept of equality, rather than any particular conception of equality. This distinction enables us to move beyond a historically fixed understanding of equality, as limited to that at the time of the ratification of the 14th Amendment. This concept of equality requires that classes of persons are not subject to invidious and arbitrary discrimination on the sole basis of an immutable trait. Furthermore, where there there is a history or pattern of arbitrary discrimination in respect to a certain immutable characteristic, such as race, the Court ought to subject such classifications to the highest form of judicial scrutiny: strict scrutiny. This high level of judicial scrutiny acts as a safeguard against furthering a legislative and judicial history of invidious and arbitrary discrimination. The U.S. has a legislative history of arbitrary sex discrimination. Therefore, I will argue that the Court ought to subject sex-based classifications to the highest form of judicial scrutiny: strict scrutiny.
Date Created
2024-05
Agent

A Philosophy of Access: Disability Accommodations as a Matter of Justice

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Description
Over thirty years after the passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the meaning of disability accessibility and justification for accessibility measures remains unclear. Connecting work in social and political philosophy to scholarship in disability studies and disability

Over thirty years after the passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the meaning of disability accessibility and justification for accessibility measures remains unclear. Connecting work in social and political philosophy to scholarship in disability studies and disability law, this project offers an account of what access is and why access is often owed to disabled people. This project argues that disability access is necessary both for the same reasons access is considered necessary for the non-disabled, and for counteracting harmful narratives about disability and disabled people. These narratives and stereotypes originate from a particular ideology, termed “the ideology of abledness.” This ideology informs the way policies are formed and the ways they are received; it also explains why considerations of disability are often absent in general policies, and why unique provisions for disability accessibility are necessary. In its effort to clarify disability access, the project tackles difficult questions such as the nature of accessibility, issues of cost and who is obligated to pay for accessibility measures, how all people with disabilities can be included in a social contract theory, and how disability accessibility relates to and can even expand the way non-discrimination is understood.
Date Created
2023
Agent

Justice through School Gardens: Creating a First Grade Curriculum for School Gardens

Description

This thesis project is a first-grade curriculum that is tailored for schools with school gardens. The curriculum contains worksheets and activities for the students, making it easier for teachers to take care of the school garden while also playing a

This thesis project is a first-grade curriculum that is tailored for schools with school gardens. The curriculum contains worksheets and activities for the students, making it easier for teachers to take care of the school garden while also playing a part in fighting food injustice. The curriculum has 4 subjects: Math, Language Arts, Science, and Nutrition Education.

Date Created
2023-05
Agent

Vitiating Consent: A Functional Analysis of Deception's and Coercion's Consent-Undermining Force

Description

In this thesis, I delve into the complex ethical issue of deception and coercion as external factors that can undermine consent. Countless theorists have debated the moral permissibility of different forms of deception and coercion, and in this thesis, I

In this thesis, I delve into the complex ethical issue of deception and coercion as external factors that can undermine consent. Countless theorists have debated the moral permissibility of different forms of deception and coercion, and in this thesis, I propose my own solution to this challenging problem in the ethics of consent. Narrow in scope, my investigation focuses on the morally transformative power of consent and how deception and coercion hinder consent from performing this morally transformative "magic." I argue that certain features of sex are essential to the act of consent, and that deception about these features fundamentally undermines the validity of consent. Furthermore, I support David Boonin's distinction between threats and offers in the coercion literature as the most compelling distinction thus far. Through rigorous analysis and critical engagement with existing literature, my thesis contributes to the ongoing philosophical discourse on consent, deception, and coercion, shedding light on the intricacies of these issues and advancing our understanding of this complex ethical landscape.

Date Created
2023-05
Agent

Food and Juvenile Justice: How does diet and nutrition negatively impact behavior in children and contribute to delinquency?: Imagining a future of prevention and rehabilitation through the power of quality food.

Description

This thesis attempts to determine how the food system can contribute to delinquency and criminality, especially in regards to diet and nutritional influences on children’s behavior. The research for this thesis began with the book, Diet, Crime and Delinquency, written

This thesis attempts to determine how the food system can contribute to delinquency and criminality, especially in regards to diet and nutritional influences on children’s behavior. The research for this thesis began with the book, Diet, Crime and Delinquency, written Alexander Schauss and published in 1980. This was the first book exploring how food can impact behavior in children and includes various areas of diet and nutrition which can influence children’s behavior and how they may contribute to delinquency. The literature since has identified four main areas of diet and nutrition that have the most evidence regarding their effects on behavior and contributions as risk factors for delinquency. These four contributors to behavioral changes in some children are: sugar/hypoglycemia, food allergies/ intolerances, nutrient/vitamin deficiencies, and exposure to heavy metals. Diet and nutrition are also significantly impacted by the environment, therefore this paper accounts for environmental factors and discusses how food justice is inextricably linked to the criminal justice system. This paper also evaluates correctional gardens in youth detention facilities as well as individualized and family based interventions within schools as possible strategies for addressing behavioral issues and risk factors for delinquency through food. New approaches such as those that involve diet and nutrition can help to explain why individuals within the same environment with the same risk factors may engage or desist from criminal activity. This line of inquiry could further develop an answer to the age-old question in the field of criminology, why do people commit crime or engage in delinquent behavior?

Date Created
2023-05
Agent

Envisioning Modern Education: The School Garden Approach

Description

This ArcGIS StoryMap provides a comprehensive guide for readers who are internet on starting a school garden programs. The map covers a brief overview of school gardens, their benefits, barriers to success, and recourses to ensure longevity and sustainability of future garden programs.

Date Created
2023-05
Agent

Universal Love as a Moral Ideal

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Description
Moral philosophy should create concepts and formulate arguments to articulate and assess the statements and behaviors of the morally devoted and the traditions (such as religious and ethical systems) founded by the morally devoted. Many moral devotees and their traditions

Moral philosophy should create concepts and formulate arguments to articulate and assess the statements and behaviors of the morally devoted and the traditions (such as religious and ethical systems) founded by the morally devoted. Many moral devotees and their traditions advocate love as the ideal to live by. Therefore, moral philosophy needs an account of love as an ideal. I define an ideal as an instrument for organizing a life and show that this definition is more adequate than previous definitions. Ideals can be founded on virtues, and I show that love is a virtue.

I define love as a composite attitude whose elements are benevolence, consideration, perception of moment (importance or significance), and receptivity. I define receptivity as the ability to be with someone without imposing careless or compulsive expectations. I argue that receptivity curbs the excesses and supplements the defects of the other elements. Love as an ideal is often understood as universal love.

However, there are three problems with universal love: it could be too demanding, it could prevent intimacy and special relationships, and it could require a person to love their abuser. I argue that love can be extended to all human beings without posing unacceptable risks, once love is correctly defined and the ideal correctly understood.

Because of the revelations of ecology and the ongoing transformation of sensibilities about the value of the nonhuman, love should be extended to the nonhuman. I argue that love can be given to the nonhuman in the same way it is to the human, with appropriate variations. But how much of the nonhuman would an ideal direct one to love? I argue for two limits to universal love: it does not make sense to extend it to nonliving things, and it can be extended to all living things. I show that loving all living things does not depend on whether they can reciprocate, and I argue that it would not prevent one from living a recognizably human life.
Date Created
2020
Agent

Disparities in Access to Healthy Food: Exploring the Spatial Accessibility Patterns of Local and Conventional Food Systems in Maricopa County

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Description

Disparities in access to healthy food are a key public health concern in the United States (U.S.) Food access is considered as a critical element of food insecurity. Food insecurity can often be prevalent in a region due to lack

Disparities in access to healthy food are a key public health concern in the United States (U.S.) Food access is considered as a critical element of food insecurity. Food insecurity can often be prevalent in a region due to lack of healthy food outlets as well as inequitable access to healthy food outlets. A large body of literature pertaining to access to healthy food has reported that conventional food outlets such as supermarkets and large grocery stores may not be equitably distributed across different neighborhoods in a region. There has been limited research on local food access patterns. Despite the few studies focused on access to individual types of local food outlets, such as farmers markets, little is known about whether such access varies among different types of local food outlets and how such access patterns compare with the uneven access to conventional food outlets. This study uses Maricopa County, one of the largest counties in Arizona, as a case study to examine the spatial patterns of access to conventional food markets (i.e. supermarkets or large grocery stores) and four different types of local food outlets, including farmers market, community garden, community supported agriculture (CSA) and mobile food markets. By analyzing the association between healthy food access and neighborhood characteristics, the study suggests that the local food system has a great potential in providing healthy food access to low-income and minority populations of the County than conventional food outlets. The study provides important insights into the way different types of local food outlets offer their availability in space and whether they are more equitable in serving underserved neighborhoods. The findings from this study can assist both government agencies and city planner formulate strategies to improve access to healthy food in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Date Created
2020
Agent