The Correlation Between Severe Child Abuse and Serial Killer Tendencies
by Mandy Durney
This paper explores the negative outcomes that are correlated with severe child maltreatment. The hypothesis is that child abuse is associated with a higher disposition to violent sexual and criminal behavior in adults. The method used to support our hypothesis was meta-analysis in which we researched multiple case studies on several serial killers who each had an abusive and traumatizing upbringing. We found that each person we looked at was abused severely and struggled with the trust versus mistrust stage of Erik Erikson’s stages of development.
Breaking Down the Socioeconomic Barriers of Food Insecurity
by Christina Rause Haubeil
In the Johnson County, KS area, thousands are going hungry on a daily basis. According to Harvesters, which services the area, people experiencing food insecurity have been increasing in recent years and the trends suggest this will continue. The Johnson County Community College area is home to many food banks and organizations that service this population. The problem lies in socioeconomic segregation. The pantries are mostly located in low income areas and the food available relies on donations and grants that fund the facilities. This results in the majority of the food having poor nutritional quality.
De Jure Segregation in the Nation of Freedom and Democracy
by Andrew Rovello
The federal government implemented racist programs that led to segregation. The amount of African American families living without adequate housing, in bad neighborhoods, and in poor school districts is astonishing. While a lot of private markets discriminated against them, the most devastating discrimination came during the Great Depression from the New Deal and the federal government’s regulations in the housing market. The Home Owner’s Loan Corporation (HOLC) was created with the intent to help home owners secure their homes and escape their crushing mortgages. The HOLC decisively cut out African Americans and other people of color from receiving their benefits. The other major program that excluded African Americans and other people of color from getting homes was the Federal Housing Administration. The housing administration legally discriminated against people of color by enforcing a whites-only housing policy. During this time the VA and Federal Housing Administration began to place regulations on developers to better control the segregation in new up and coming neighborhoods and subdivisions. Local and state government officials saw the federal interstate highway system as a route to eliminate slums. City planners purposefully routed highways through these communities to break up established African American and other communities of colored people. To this day there is no major progress in the war against poverty and substandard living.
Thank you all very much for very interesting presentations! The three of you address pervasive issues in American society. What would you say is the overlap across these issues? And are there ways to think of solutions that would address or help curtail all three?
Christina, I enjoyed your presentation. You bring up many interesting points, such as the often overlooked association between hunger and diabetes. Your reference to the indoor farms in Japan calls to mind an interesting “art” project currently at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in which an Israeli artist is growing tomato plants INSIDE the museum (viewable 24 hours a day through lit windows). He picks the ripe tomatoes daily and then donates them to the local Harvesters. It’s an interesting concept that growing food in a city is so unusual that it has become a type of performance art. You can read about the project in the New York Times:
dhttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/17/arts/design/guggenheim-countryside-tomatoes.html
Christina, great job! I especially liked the point that once people are fed and healthier, they are then more able to engage civically and become productive citizens. Interesting point and very fitting to include in the final presentation for the Civic Leadership program! What barriers do think are in place that might prevent indoor farms from becoming widespread in the United States? Any ideas on how to overcome those barriers?
Christina, your presentation was interesting and very timely given the current situation in the world. You highlighted a very real concern with the breakdown of food distribution to hungry people while there are surpluses of food going to waste by farmers. While it is obviously not an easy issue to correct, I am curious what your thoughts are on a possible solution that would benefit both producers and those dealing with food insecurity.
I also find the indoor farm in Japan to be fascinating and encouraging as a potentially viable answer to food insecurity. However I wonder how the food is distributed to the consumers? Is it shipped directly to stores or do people obtain it directly from the farms? With such a high volume of food being grown is there a possibility for waste such as what we are seeing in our country or have the Japanese come up with a resolution that the U.S. might be able to adopt?
Andrew, your research and presentation has shed light on an appalling situation. In your investigation, did you find evidence that these discriminatory policies have led to an increase in the rates of homelessness?
Andrew,
Thanks for this great deep-dive into federal supports for segregation. You mentioned St. Louis – can you speak a bit to residency patterns in Kansas City and Johnson County, and how those HOLC/FHA policies played out here?
Mandy, I’m mostly curious how you were able to sleep at night while doing this research? But seriously, you shone a spotlight on such a crucial failing in our society, which is child abuse. An abused child has a tough time flourishing as an adult, and often – as in these cases – others suffer as well. We as a society need to think of better ways to protect our children, and you gave a compelling reason why this is so.