In March 1937 a gas leak caused a massive explosion that killed almost 300 children and teachers at a school in New London, Texas. Amidst the backdrop of this catastrophic event, a Mexican-American girl falls in love with a Black boy in a segregated oil town. In a town where store signs mandate “No Negroes, […]
Op-Ed Project Fellows Address Challenges African Americans Still Face Today
Turn to the op-ed pages of any major newspaper, and you’ll see how writers are wielding the power of the written word to keep people honest, to speak out about injustices, to shake readers out of apathy. You’re also likely to see the article was most likely written by a man. Only 10 to 20 […]
It’s Plainer to an Explainer
Asking children to come up with explanations — even to themselves — enhances their cause-and-effect learning abilities, according to new research by Cristine Legare, associate professor of psychology. The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, shows that young children who come up with explanations while learning are able to connect new ideas […]
Early Poverty Linked to Obesity in Women
Adolescent girls who grow up in poor households are more likely than their male counterparts to become overweight or obese, according to a new study by Tetyana Pudrovska, assistant professor of sociology. The study, published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, shows long-lasting consequences of economic hardship in childhood for the risk of […]
Ancient Girl Shares Genetic Lineage of Modern Native Americans
The ancient remains of a teenage girl found in an underwater Mexican cave establish a definitive link between the earliest Americans and modern Native Americans, according to a new study released in the journal Science. The study was conducted by an international team of researchers from 13 institutions, including Deborah Bolnick, assistant professor of anthropology […]
Nothing Backward About Walking on All Fours
Anthropologist Liza Shapiro may finally have an answer for why members of a Turkish family walk exclusively on their hands and feet. Contradicting earlier claims of “backward evolution,” Shapiro and her team of researchers found the group of siblings made famous by a 2006 BBC documentary, “The Family That Walks on All Fours,” have simply […]
Leadership Program Aims to Bridge Political Ambition Gap
Women have come a long way since the mid-20th century. They’re surpassing men in college enrollment, in voting booths and in the general U.S. population. Yet while women have been making great strides in the past few decades, they still have a long way to go in the political sphere. Currently, women hold just 18 percent […]