This paper looks at laws that increase the cost of voting passed after the 2020 election in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Texas. How voter suppression laws have evolved over time, and they target certain groups within the state. These laws are evaluated on their ability on how targeted they are and how much they increase the cost of voting

The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election was a presidential election unlike any other in modern U.S. history for several reasons. In the rare defeat of an incumbent president, Joseph Biden secured the title of President of the United States over President Donald Trump. In this victory, Biden flipped several historic battleground states in his favor, in addition to two formerly safe conservative states: Arizona and Georgia. This research seeks to examine the role that the mobilization of voters from working class and majority-minority state legislative districts played in determining the outcome of the election in Arizona and Georgia.

I explore the relationship between social constructions of target audiences and the impact of these constructions on policy outcomes in the context of two drug crises: the crack epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s and the opioid crisis that began in the first decade of the 2000s. Using a content analysis of media depictions of the drug users during each crisis, I find that racialized depictions of drug users are used to reinforce stereotypes of either deviant or dependent classifications of the target audience. These social constructions are combined in the media coverage with suggested policy frames appealing to the necessity criminal justice and/or public health approaches to policy agenda used to address the drug crisis. These frames and social constructions help explain the disparate policy approaches employed in both eras.

This work will provide insight into the concepts and strategies that may help explain how racial/ethnic minority groups, particularly racial/ethnic minority populations within the United States, exact change for their communities while working in/outside historically inaccessible, deep-seated institutional systems of power. This paper will draw context pertaining to the collective action theories through several sources, how they apply to racial/ethnic minority socio-political groups and movements and provide insight on how these two particular communities build coalitions amongst one another as a means to uplift their respective communities facing similar forms of oppressive legislation and systems. After its investigation, this piece will conclude that collective action, and active coalition-building, amongst minority communities, is key to empowering these respective communities to catalyze the change necessary to secure true equity and equality within the United States.

Levels of civic engagement among young adults has been an increasing concern for social scientists. Young adults are showing lower amounts of civic engagement than in the past, and this has translated into a concern for the democratic process in the United States. This thesis looks to analyze the national downward trend of civic engagement at the collegiate level, specifically at Arizona State University. To make this 71,000-student community more manageable, this analysis will specifically look at one community within Arizona State: Fraternity and Sorority Life. The different groups within Fraternity and Sorority Life at Arizona State University provide an all-encompassing view of civic engagement through participation in various activities and events. An annual report published by the office of Fraternity and Sorority Life will show the effect of the number of educational programs, number of charitable donations, and amount of outside campus involvement has on civic engagement. Looking at pieces of work like Putnam’s Bowling Alone and Hero’s Racial Diversity and Social Capital, this thesis analyzes the associations of these organizations and how that translates into civic engagement and social capital. In addition, we subsequently question Putnam’s analysis, and attempt to apply these critiques to Arizona State University’s collegiate community. This thesis looks at the impact of historically cultural vs historically social groups. The results of this study show that the historically cultural groups are demonstrating higher levels of civic engagement based on their horizontal associations. This information can be used to better understand young adult’s impact on their surrounding community, as well as how the makeup and functioning of groups can influence levels of social capital and civic engagement.