Colombia has been in a constant state of conflict for the majority of its history. The Colombian Conflict has contributed to over 220,000 deaths and over 5.5 million displacements, but the blame of this grave human rights issues has yet to be placed. While on paper, Colombia and the U.S. have deep-rooted ties through the economy and its alliance during the Cold War, USAID to the Colombian military has produced and reproduced a violent cycle within Colombia. In this political economy analysis of U.S. backed violence in Colombia, the relationship between the U.S. and Colombia will be thoroughly examined following the entrance of Colombia to the global market. Through review of other political economy literature, this analysis will address the structural issues of the Colombian criminal justice system and its deplorable impunity rate of human rights violations that disproportionately affect Indigenous and Afro-Colombians. In doing so, this analysis will argue for the need of more inclusive political economy lite

Looking back on my time at SUNY Oneonta, I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of the SOAR team. I learned about SOAR in my junior year from a past e-board member who convinced me to become a peer-reviewer. I have always had an interest in academic research and the process of publishing a peer-reviewed journal, so I joined without hesitation and my only regret is not having joined sooner. Throughout my experience as the coordinating editor, I have learned just how much effort and care goes into publishing a journal, and SUNY Oneonta is especially lucky to have faculty members who want to provide us with the ability to get published as undergraduates. As the coordinating editor my job is to communicate with authors and peer-reviewers, edit and format papers, and ultimately work with the faculty advisors in order to get a new issue out every year. I also spread the word about SOAR to my peers by notifying chairs and professors of relevant departments that there is an open call for peer-reviewers, authors and e-board members. Before joining SOAR, I knew very little about the copyediting and publishing process, but I was welcomed with open arms regardless. Dr. Fulkerson, the founding faculty member of SOAR, had no reservations about helping me every step of the way and helped me get to a place of confidence in this area. In April of next year, we will travel to Suffolk County Community College on Long Island to attend SURC, the annual SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference. It will be a terrific opportunity to spread the word about SOAR. Due to its open access nature, we hope to one day offer students from other SUNY schools the opportunity to get published in and peer-review for our journal.

Although the retirement period comes at the end of one's laborious working life, there is no certainty that one can live comfortably during these years. To support oneself during retirement, one must accrue enough income and benefits to last until death. Retirement can only be pursued with a sufficient amount of income. One must understand the fundamentals of retirement income to understand retirement as a whole. This literature review will explore how retirement income impacts an older adult's retirement lifestyle. Key topics of this question include the influence of individual characteristics, like gender, ethnicity, and immigrant status, on the type of retirement income received. Social forces, such as type of pension reform, geographic location, and economic events, will be investigated for their impact on an older adult's retirement income. The direct influence of retirement income on health will also be explored to fully understand the role retirement income plays in an older adult's life. Using online databases, these sources were analyzed and included based on their thorough discussion of retirement income and how detailed they are in their explanation of what happened to an older adult when types of retirement income were provided.

Every day individuals are faced with threats, ranging in severity, that challenge one’s self-adequacy. While stress and self-protective defensives are aroused, the practice of self affirmation allows an individual to assess the asperity of the situation and find confidence in one’s abilities by confirming their self-adequacy. Self-affirmation is beneficial while confronting psychological threats in the disciplines of education, health, and personal well-being. However, the individuals most significantly benefitting from this practice belong to the most threatened domains—minorities, the chronically ill, and the low esteemed. While self-affirmation is said to broaden the perspective of individuals with high self-esteem or self-worth, further research is necessary to determine if self-affirmation practices generally apply to society, not just the struggling subgroups.

Racism within the United States of America has transformed itself countless times to make itself virtually undetectable to those who have the privilege to remain ignorant of its monstrous effects. However, the children of the affected communities are often introduced to the reality of racism fairly young as a means of survival. Unfortunately, children of color no longer have the luxury of remaining oblivious to how the world will treat them. This has become abundantly clear in recent years as child victims of police brutality like Tamir Rice and Andre Green have become frequent (Bump, 2021). From an early age, children of color now must come to terms with the knowledge that they will not always be treated in the same ways as their white counterparts. This inequality may even be exposed to them by their early childhood educators.

In London, England, rape was a prevalent crime throughout society in the mid-eighteenth century. During this time, rape was defined as "...unlawful and carnal knowledge of a woman, by force, and against her will," (Olsson, 2013). Though both men and women can be raped, this paper will specifically look at men who committed the crime against women and young girls. Men were able to commit rape by exerting their power over the women and young girls, whether by using physical strength, weapons, threats, or with the help of the severely lacking criminal justice system.

While in college, students have an array of opportunities within study abroad programs which allow for educational and personal growth. Studying abroad is a term given to a program which allows students to further their academic studies in a foreign country while attending a foreign university. These programs allow college students to earn credit towards their academic discipline and can last anywhere from a few weeks during a semester up to an entire school year. A great deal of research has explored the undeniably positive attributes that students gain during their time studying abroad, but more research on the cognitive benefits of study abroad is needed (Lee et al., 2012). Although there is limited recorded research surrounding how individuals are cognitively impacted by such programs, other areas of research have focused on levels of academic achievement, intercultural competencies, and the student’s personal development.

Center of Social Science Research Student Paper Award Winners (2017) When imagining the ancient city of Athens, intriguing philosophy, beautiful art, and advancement in mathematics and science may be brought to mind. However, one man, Aristophanes, seemed to be the complete opposite of the portrayed picture of the Athenian people. He was a comedian, and a very unrefined one. His vulgar, sexual, uncouth plays were extremely popular, viewed by citizens of all statuses. The Ancient Greeks, so well known for laying the intellectual foundation of the Western world, enjoyed Aristophanes’ inappropriate and crude humor so much because his comedy was an entertaining, relatable outlet for their frustrations at the time and provided satirical advice on current problems with society for all.

Throughout history, Japan has been heavily influenced by one major religious philosophy: Shintoism. It is a philosophy centered around animism—the belief that all things, animate and inanimate, house a soul. What influence does Shintoism have on environmental management and perceptions? This research attempts to answer this question as it relates to Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest freshwater lake. Lake Biwa supplies millions of individuals throughout Shiga Prefecture with freshwater. Home to hundreds of endemic species, the lake also serves as a hotspot of biodiversity. However, there are many different threats to the water body, including invasive species and urbanization. Using literature review and first-hand observations, this research attempts to explore the way Shintoism affects people’s perceptions of Lake Biwa as they relate to sense of place, the Soap Movement of the 1970s, the Mother Lake 21 Plan, and management of invasive/nuisance species such as the largemouth bass and great cormorant. In exploring the complex relationship between Shintoism and environmental management in Lake Biwa, this research helps add more dimensions to the influence Shintoism has had on people’s perceptions surrounding Lake Biwa and open avenues for future research.

Historically, the United States has been referred to as a “melting pot”; a country rich with cultures, ideas, traditions, and immigrants. Immigrants, in particular, have played a pivotal role in the foundation of the United States as a nation. Despite their contributions to this country, perceptions towards immigrants have always varied and over the last few decades, Americans' perceptions have drastically changed towards one group in particular; the Latino immigrant population. Feelings of negativity and animosity that exist towards Latino immigrants have given way to a larger threat narrative built upon a set of premises, or taken for granted truths, regarding Latinos. Stereotypes perpetuate this national dialogue and are to blame for the ways in which Latinos are perceived in the United States. This research highlights the prevalence of the Latino Threat Narrative in today’s society and the ways in which it continues to reaffirm the Latino community’s place on the margins of American society.