A study by Allison Cipriano, a doctoral student in psychology, and colleagues was featured in an Aug. 9 Science article on a proposed set of changes to Title IX that would make most university employees “mandatory reporters” of any alleged sexual misconduct involving students they become aware of. The researchers reported that targets of sexual harassment may go to trusted faculty members for reasons other than to trigger a formal investigation and that many students aren’t aware their institutions have mandatory reporting policies.
Patrice McMahon, political science, director of the University Honors Program, was interviewed for an Aug. 18 article in The Conversation. She shared her observations on how Poland is responding to the arrival of about 2 million Ukrainian refugees. She spent five weeks in Poland this summer conducting on-the-ground research. The story was picked up by 20-plus media outlets, including MSN.com and Yahoo! News.
Eileen Hebets, biological sciences, was interviewed for an Aug. 22 CNN story on actor and musician Will Smith’s Instagram video of a tarantula found in his house. Hebets praised the celebrity’s removal of the spider on Twitter. “LOVE the care that is taken with this #spider (likely an Aphonopelma) to remove it gently and safely,” she tweeted. She told CNN that most tarantulas are “not dangerous at all.”
The Railroads and the Making of Modern America project, developed by William G. Thomas, history, was highlighted in FiveThirtyEight’s Data is Plural newsletter on Aug. 24. The project was cited in a July 15 Broadstreet article on Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan’s whistle-stop tour in 1896. The project has compiled a table of Bryan’s itineraries, listing each event’s date and location and linking to many of the speeches.
John Hibbing, political science, was interviewed for an Aug. 27 article in The Hill on Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District race between Republican Mike Flood and Democrat Patty Pansing Brooks. Hibbing said that while Lincoln is growing — helping Democrats, who do better in urban areas — overcoming GOP dominance in rural parts of the district is “too high a hill to climb right now.” The article was picked up by more than a dozen media outlets.
Dawn O. Braithwaite, Willa Cather Professor of Communication Studies Emerita, wrote an Aug. 29 blog post for Psychology Today titled “When family estrangement is the healthiest choice.” She emphasized that for some people, cutting off communication permanently is the best path forward, though it can be challenging to explain to others.
