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The Emergency Exit
Full text linkThe Emergency Exit is a short story that blends elements of fantasy and magical realism to explore themes of trauma, resilience, and self-discovery. The narrative follows Amy, a sixteen-year-old girl trapped in a life of abuse, neglect, and despair. On the verge of running away, she stumbles upon a mysterious door labeled The Emergency Exit, which transports her to an unfamiliar world—one filled with kindness, beauty, and the possibility of a better life. As Amy navigates this seemingly perfect place, she experiences love and belonging for the first time. However, just as she begins to embrace her new reality, she is pulled back into her former world, left to wonder whether her escape was real or merely an illusion. Through symbolism, this story examines the psychological impact of trauma, the human longing for refuge, and the fragile boundary between dreams and reality
A Queer Feminist Response to the Racist Reception of Halle Bailey’s The Little Mermaid: Misogynoir and Anti-Fan Facebook Users in Vietnam
No full textThis essay examines the ways anti-Blackness is manifested in Vietnam through Facebook anti-fans’ reactions to Disney’s The Little Mermaid (2023) starring Halle Bailey, a Black American actress, in the role of Ariel. Analyzing the racist and colorist remarks within Facebook users’ comments and posts about the movie and utilizing misogynoir as the main concept of critique, the author demonstrates the phenomenon of anti-Black misogyny in Vietnam and focuses on the “I’m not racist, but…” trope. Uncovering the queer history of Hans Christian Andersen’s work, this essay adopts a queer feminist lens to defend the filmmakers’ choice to depict Ariel as a queer and Black mermaid. It contributes to analyses of anti-Blackness worldwide, with a focus on transnational Asia contexts, specifically Vietnamese reception of an American film. To challenge the status quo, the author closes with a reflection on Sara Ahmed’s concept of the “feminist killjoy” and a call for more research and discussions around race and gender in Asia to counter global consequences of colonialism and White supremacy
Gender, Marginalization, and Digital Technology in Islamic Learning: A Nigerian Perspective
No full textThe integration of digital technologies has significantly transformed the landscape of Islamic education in Nigeria, enhancing accessibility to religious knowledge while simultaneously reinforcing pre-existing socio-cultural disparities. Utilizing an intersectional analytical framework, this study critically explores how gender, socio-economic diversity, and Islamophobia collectively influence experiences within digital Islamic learning environments. Employing qualitative feminist methodologies, I conducted semi-structured interviews from November to December of 2024 with Islamic scholars, educators, students, and general digital platform users from Lagos, Ilorin, and Maiduguri. The findings indicate that intersecting factors such as gender roles, socio-economic conditions, geographical location, and Islamophobic attitudes distinctly shape patterns of digital engagement, creating both inclusion and exclusion. Although digital platforms offer transformative opportunities, particularly for women who have historically faced barriers to structured religious education, these benefits are limited by persistent infrastructural inadequacies, financial constraints, and widespread concerns over misinformation. Consequently, the study highlights the critical need for comprehensive regulatory measures and capacity-building strategies to promote equitable digital participation. In conclusion, this research advocates for policies informed by intersectionality, culturally responsive pedagogies, and inclusive technological innovations aligned with Islamic ethical principles, aiming to cultivate equitable digital Islamic learning environments throughout Nigeria
The Gendered Digital Divide: G20 Initiatives for Gender Equality, Inclusion, and Sustainability
No full textThe gendered digital divide remains a pressing global issue that undermines efforts toward gender equality, inclusive growth, and sustainable development. Despite progress in technological access and innovation, women, particularly in the Global South, continue to face systemic barriers to digital inclusion, from limited internet connectivity and affordability issues to unequal participation in STEM and digital economy sectors. This policy brief calls on the G20 to lead in narrowing the gendered digital divide by promoting equitable access to digital tools, enhancing women’s digital literacy, supporting gender-responsive technological design, and ensuring online safety. The recommendations herein provide a roadmap for governments, international organisations, and the private sector to work collaboratively towards a more digitally inclusive future for all
Earthworms, Slugs, and Salamanders: Community Interactions in a Massachusetts Forest
No full textEarthworms (Order: Opisthopora) have several important ecological interactions with eastern red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus). For the salamanders, earthworms can be nutrient-rich, easy-to-digest prey, or ecosystem engineers of burrows. Indirectly, earthworms can be competition for other microinvertebrate prey species that salamanders prefer to eat. Red-backed salamanders are thought to be a critical player in forest food-webs and possible ecosystem indicator, as they are highly abundant, mid-level consumers that are very sensitive to their abiotic environment. These factors make understanding the interactions between earthworms and salamanders valuable for broader understanding of forest communities. To better understand the earthworm community present at a long-term salamander research site, I tested several earthworm sampling methods in Great Hill Forest on the campus of Bridgewater State University, including mustard vermifuge, hand sampling, and worm grunting. Overall, these methods produced few earthworms; however, dry conditions at the time of sampling may have impacted their success. While sampling, I observed that slugs were numerous. Literature suggests that slugs can also fill the same ecosystem engineer role as earthworms, constructing burrows which salamanders can use. Given this, I conducted several post-hoc analyses to compare slug abundance to both abiotic and salamander abundances and density in order to better understand the distribution of slugs, earthworms, and salamanders in Great Hill Forest. With different distribution patterns, these interactions could play a role in the favorability of particular forest microhabitats for Red-backed salamanders. Red-backed salamanders are thought to be an indicator species of northeastern North American forests, and understanding the interactions of the salamanders, worms, and slugs will allow us to better predict factors that may limit salamander abundance, like possibly forest type
Being the “Other”: How Teaching Internationally Impacts Teacher Candidates’ Culturally Sustaining Practices
No full textIn an increasingly globalized world, preparing teachers to work with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners has become a critical component of teacher education programs. The recently revised Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Candidate Assessment of Performance (CAP) guidelines emphasize the need for teacher candidates to demonstrate growth in their culturally sustaining pedagogy (DESE, 2025). However, traditional approaches to cultural responsiveness in teacher preparation often fall short of comprehensive, practice-oriented methods that foster connections to classroom practice (Gulya & Fehérváry, 2023)
Book Review: Who is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service, Michael Lewis, Editor
No full textAl-Rawabi School for Girls: The Arab Mean Girls?
Full text linkReleased in 2021 on Netflix and directed by Jordanian actress and director Tima Shomali, the television series Al-Rawabi School for Girls garnered international attention for its daring depiction of Jordanian girlhood and discussions of hard-hitting topics such as bullying, domestic abuse, sexual harassment, and honor killings. Despite its Jordanian context, the series engaged heavily with Hollywood tropes regarding girlhood, specifically the “mean girl” trope; the show referenced this trope so often that it began to be called “the Arab Mean Girls,” referring to the cult classic US film Mean Girls (2004). This essay critically examines the utilization of popular Western gender tropes in an Arab show, considering their global appeal, the influence of Western media, and the dynamics of streaming services. This analysis contributes to a deeper understanding of how media representations intersect with gender, culture, and global influence, ultimately raising questions about the impact of such narrative choices on the portrayal of Jordanian girls and girlhood in contemporary media