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Trailblazin
No full textMy trailblazin collage is just a collage of me and my brother as we grew up. It was just us two for the majority of our childhood and we were always pushed to make the most of our education here in the US. Growing up I always relied on him, and he made sure to be there to guide me and help me learn from his mistakes. Fast forward to now and we\u27re both at LMU together, and the same way he trailblazed the path for me, I hope to do for my two younger siblings. It symbolizes what has been done for me and what I hope to do
Beyond Information Literacy: Exploring AI\u27s Impact on Labor in Academic Libraries
No full textThis semi-autobiographical essay explores the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on academic libraries and in particular, information literacy instruction. In exploring the ethical implications of AI and the importance of (re)imagining how AI will affect labor in academic libraries, the author utilizes sociological and historical approaches. The author also reflects on the parallels between past and current technological disruptions and transformations
Voices of Protest: Women Who Sing the Blues
No full textThis paper explores the biblical and historical continuity of women’s voices “singing the blues” in social protest across different contexts. The blues as a musical genre spans a myriad of themes, including social protest. Black female blues songs such as Bessie Smith’s “Poor Man’s Blues” and Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” were the blues songs of lament and social protest, protesting economic injustice and the brutality of lynching respectively. This paper explores how two biblical women — Hannah in “Hannah’s Song” (1 Samuel 2:1-10) and Mary in the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) — sang the blues of social protest. These biblical women, the foremothers of artists like Smith and Holiday, “sang the blues” of social protest by taking aim at the wealthy and powerful and protesting the oppression and injustice experienced by the poor. This paper explores the issue of social protest, using a contemporary lens provided by womanist scholar Wil Gafney, and in conversation with interlocutors such as Black liberation theologian James Cone, theologian Walter Brueggemann, and political activist and scholar Angela Davis. Gafney calls for “keening” — an ancient women’s song of lament and grief — to sing out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) and to protest the death and harm experienced by Black bodies. Hannah, Mary, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, BLM, and people keening are all in concert by naming, interrogating, and resisting oppression and social injustice. This comparative analysis underscores the continuity of women’s voices as central to the resistance against injustice across time and contributes to the theological and cultural discourses on aesthetic expressions, such as song, that participate in the actions of social justice
Brief Insights, June 2025: Learning and Leading Together: Highlights from a Multilingual and Mathematics Focused Research, Practice, Policy Partnership
No full textThe Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL) at Loyola Marymount University collaborated with Montebello Unified School District (MUSD) leaders and teachers in a Research, Practice, Policy Partnership (RPP) to investigate Spanish oral language production in TK to 2nd grade students enrolled in three Dual Language Immersion Academies providing Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) in mathematics. Teacher researchers collected pre- and post-video samples of students explaining their CGI Counting Collections strategy. After establishing inter-rater reliability, MUSD teachers and the CEEL Research Team individually and independently analyzed characteristics of students’ academic Spanish oral language production using two focal California Spanish Language Development (SLD) Standards. Emerging findings showed progression in the students’ Spanish oral language production and emphasized the importance of building knowledge of Spanish Language Development (SLD) standards, utilizing data-driven instruction, and leveraging staff experience to continue professional development efforts.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ceel_education_policybriefs/1018/thumbnail.jp
\u27That All May Be One’: Incarnation, Solidarity, and Anti-Racism in Jesuit Education
No full textJesuit colleges and universities in the US have been striving to become anti-racist. This work is often tied to mission and to a shared commitment to Jesuit and Catholic values like a faith that does justice and the dignity of all persons. At the same time, however, many Jesuit institutions frame their commitment to anti-racism in language that does not appeal to specific aspects of Jesuit tradition; likewise, mission and Jesuit identity is often described in ways that make no overt reference to anti-racism. A robust anti-racism, I argue, arises necessarily out of Jesuit Catholic thought, and fully realized Jesuit institutions must work to become anti-racist.
There are powerful reasons to think that cura personalis (care of the person) must be grounded in the Incarnation to be distinctively Jesuit. The Incarnation, in turn, provides profound theological justification for anti-racism. My argument is that if we take both of those ideas seriously, then we cannot strive to embody cura personalis without working to become anti-racist; and our anti-racism must be based upon the Incarnation to be fully grounded in our mission. Finally, if cura personalis is a distinctive feature of Jesuit education, then anti-racism must be as well
Why Do People Use Rat Poison to Manage Rats? A Mixed Methods Study in A Large American City
No full textCommensal rats are managed worldwide using rat poisons known as anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs). ARs are a global health and conservation issue as they sicken and kill non-target animals that consume bait or poisoned rats. The public can use AR bait to manage rats without oversight, and so understanding why people use ARs is critical to reducing public use of, and demand for, ARs. We used a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach to examine 1) urban residents’ perceptions and use of rat poison, 2) drivers of rat poison use, and to 3) describe the reasons that poison was used. We surveyed households across Chicago (complete cases = 446) and used a path analysis to identify factors associated with rat poison use. A subset (n=50) also completed semi-structured qualitative interviews. Respondents who were more likely to use rat poison had highly negative attitudes about rats, more concern about disease from rats, held values supportive of lethal wildlife management, perceived more rat problems, and had lower incomes. Survey responses showed that rat poison was considered to be least important among a range of possible rat control actions. Qualitative data showed that lack of awareness of alternatives was the primary rationale for using rat poison. Messaging should increase public awareness of the risks associated with ARs and benefits of alternative methods using neutral language to avoid stoking hatred of rats. Reducing the public’s reliance on ARs while promoting sustainable rat control will help create healthier cities for people, pets, and wildlife around the world
Maidanik et al. v. Uruguay
No full textThis case is about the forced disappearance and murder of five individuals during the military dictatorship in Uruguay (1973-1985). Eventually, the Court found Uruguay in violation of several articles of the American Convention and of the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons
Spatial and Temporal Variations in Canopy Cover and Ecosystem Services in Neighborhoods of the City of Orlando
No full textMany cities are prioritizing urban tree planting to improve livability through ecosystem services. Yet, urban studies often reveal inequities in tree canopy cover across socio-economic groups. Using an environmental justice framework, this study analyzed 80 residential neighborhoods in Orlando, Florida—using census and iTree data—to assess relationships between land cover, canopy change, ecosystem services, and socio-economic variation. We specifically asked: a) Is tree canopy cover (and associated ecosystem services) equitably distributed across Orlando neighborhoods, or is it correlated with their socio-economic and demographic profiles? b) Has Orlando’s overall canopy cover increased since 2010? c) Do tree requests submitted by residents to the City vary by neighborhood? An overall working hypothesis was that, given the city’s history with reforestation programs, canopy cover increased but not necessarily equally across neighborhoods given their socio-economic and demographic diversity. Results showed that although overall canopy cover showed a slight increase (2%) at the city scale, neighborhood-level canopy cover and canopy cover changes varied widely in magnitude and direction (increases vs. reductions). Regression analyses showed no significant relationships were found between socio-economic variables and vegetation (nor ecosystem service) metrics, except for grass/herbaceous cover, where models explained only 4% of the variation. The percent canopy change showed a slight association only with population density but this relationship was weak suggesting that factors other than socio-economic diversity have had a larger influence on the current tree canopy variation across neighborhoods. City records indicate that city-wide processes related to urban development and geographic expansion most likely have had a dominant effect on current canopy distribution and past canopy change dynamics. An important result was that tree requests/person were higher in wealthier and more Hispanic neighborhoods and lower in densely populated areas. These findings suggest that while socio-economic factors may not currently explain canopy distribution, they could drive future inequities through how reforestation programs are implemented if not dealt with. Results from this research contribute to the growing literature on urban environmental justice and emphasize the need to understand how multi-scale social factors may influence the outcomes of urban reforestation programs and their role in mitigating green inequalities