For the Public Policy and Law Internship (PBPL-398) course, students are required to submit written academic assignments that are related to the internship placement and the students’ area of concentration in the major. One component is a Op-Ed piece on a policy issue or question that is related to the work of the organization.
Below are links to the Op-Eds that were selected to be published in the The Connecticut Mirror‘s Viewpoints!
Connecticut cannot make the same mistake twice. Ban noncompete agreements. by Panop (Nop) Phongpetra ’23 (March 31, 2022)
“From my internship as a Corporate and Commercial Legal Intern at Baker McKenzie, I was introduced to noncompete agreements. After researching more on the topic, I was aghast at how such documents were used on workers who are in low-paying, low-skill jobs – robbing their leverage against employers. Although a full discussion of this complex issue is beyond the ambit of one op-ed, it still provides a brief overview and commentary on the issue.”
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Connecticut cannot afford costly carceral health disparities by Marisol Garcia ’22 (April 11, 2022)
“As a formerly-incarcerated woman who provided hospice care in the prison, I struggled with receiving letters from my friend who is still there with stories of her sub-par treatment. Regardless of the crime, no human being should suffer poor treatment in the senior portion in life. Given my freedom, I made it my mission to pursue policy changes for both criminal justice and healthcare for formerly incarcerated individuals.”
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The rise in youth overdose fatalities calls for antidote in all schools by Emily Blanchard ’22 (April 25, 2022)
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Current mental health proposals fail to boost vital community services by Erin DeMarco ’23 (April 28, 2022)
“After interning with the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office last summer (Middlesex County, Massachusetts), I realized that the office goes beyond prosecution and crime prevention. With its goal to protect and serve its community, the office has a number of community partnerships, one being focused on youth mental health initiatives. Thus, I was inspired to examine youth mental health in Connecticut, particularly focusing on the effects of the pandemic not only on the children themselves, but on the resources and options families have to seek help for their children.”