Americans today face an age of information overload. With the evolution of Media 3.0, the internet, and the rise of Media 3.5—i.e., social media—relatively new communication technologies present pressing challenges for the First Amendment in American society. Twentieth century law defined freedom of expression, but in an information-limited world. By contrast, the twenty-first century is seeing the emergence of a world that is overloaded with information, largely shaped by an “unintentional press”—social media. Americans today rely on just a small concentration of private technology powerhouses exercising both economic and social influence over American society. This raises questions about censorship, access, and misinformation. While the First Amendment protects speech from government censorship only, First Amendment ideology is largely ingrained across American culture, including on social media. Technological advances arguably have made entry into the marketplace of ideas—a fundamental First Amendment doctrine—more accessible, but also more problematic for the average American, increasing his/her potential exposure to misinformation. <br/><br/>This thesis uses political and judicial frameworks to evaluate modern misinformation trends, social media platforms and current misinformation efforts, against the background of two misinformation accelerants in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. presidential election. Throughout history, times of hardship and intense fear have contributed to the shaping of First Amendment jurisprudence. Thus, this thesis looks at how fear can intensify the spread of misinformation and influence free speech values. Extensive research was conducted to provide the historical context behind relevant modern literature. This thesis then concludes with three solutions to misinformation that are supported by critical American free speech theory.

The right to cast a meaningful vote, equal in value to other votes, is a fundamental tenet US elections. Despite the 1964 Supreme Court decision formally establishing the one person, one vote principle as a legal requirement of elections, our democracy consistently falls short of it. With mechanisms including the winner-take-all format in the Electoral College, disproportioned geographic allocation of senators, extreme partisan gerrymandering in the House of Representatives, and first-past-the-post elections, many voters experience severe vote dilution. <br/><br/>In order to legitimize our democratic structures, American elections should be reformed so every person’s vote has equal weight, ensuring that the election outcomes reflect the will of the people. Altering the current election structure to include more proportional structures including rank choice voting and population-based representation, will result in a democracy more compatible with the one person, one vote principle.

This thesis focuses on the life of the Roman Emperor Galerius, with special attention paid to his military campaigns in the east against the Sassanid Empire. Because of a lack of primary sources, Galerius's potential route into Armenia and his two engagements against the Sassanids have been recreated in this thesis. Potential answers to the lack of information were revealed through the analysis of primary sources from different time periods in which similar scenarios occurred between the Romans and Parthians/Sassanids. In addition to the Eastern Campaign, the Christian primary sources are scrutinized due to their bias in portraying Galerius as a bloodthirsty monster. Overall, this thesis puts forth potential answers to the missing information about Galerius's campaign in the East and recreates his legacy as an important figure in Roman history, not just an individual who persecuted Christians.

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the health system in the United States is now being further challenged. There is bipartisan debate on how it can be reconstructed: one party states that the government plays too big of a role, while the other believes it plays too little. Regardless, Americans want change. Reconstruction is not a new topic by any means, and other countries have been forced to do so due to political violence. This paper explores the history and current healthcare organizations of Japan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These countries have all encountered major political turmoil, which has led to the rebuilding of their respective healthcare systems. Though the United States is not facing political violence that will necessitate reorganization, the examination of nations that have been forced to do so offers lessons applicable to the healthcare system in the US.

Every year, nearly 1.5 shelter animals are euthanized.(1) By the end of 2020, California was reported to be responsible for the second most dog euthanasia’s in the United States, behind Texas by nearly 15,000 dogs. Sadly, these numbers do not include the euthanizing of cats which is generally a fraction larger. Additionally, a majority of numbers tallied by euthanasia centers do not include animals that younger than 1 month old and under 2 pounds. These animals are referred to as “neonate,” which is essentially unsavable newborns. In fact, the New York Times writes, “Many of the shelters do not track outcomes uniformly or make historical data readily available online. Until recently, there has not been a concerted national effort to standardize and compile shelter records.”(2) If these numbers were to be included, we would see a large spike for shelter euthanasia’s in every state. <br/>Traveling Paws is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization that was created to help reduce the number of shelter and stray animals euthanized in California. Our mission is to rehome animals from dangerous environments and kill shelters into their “forever homes,” or shelter facilities where they then can further be adopted and live out the rest of their lives happily. In addition to animal relocation, our team has begun programs such as sheltering, fostering, and put an emphasis on a trap, neuter, and return program to help increase the health and safety, while reducing reproduction rates of stray cats in the Southern California region. While we have been able to substantially help animals located in areas of Southern California, our work is nowhere near complete. <br/>Through this write up, I will tell you the story of my journey, creating and managing our nonprofit organization, along with our successes, problems faced, business plans to help guide us toward our future goals and success, and what I have learned throughout the process.