Course Readings - PO 4334 - International Law & Treaties - Dr Celine
Soñar Como Sonia
“Even though I was born and grew up in New York City, español, Spanish, was the language we spoke at home–– the language of Puerto Rico, the island where my family came from” – Sonia Sotomayor. Growing up as a Hispanic woman in San Antonio, Texas, I don’t think that
America’s Fallacy for the Poor: Innocent Until Proven Guilty
An interesting thing we are taught about living in the United States when we are growing up is that America is the “land of the free.” Yet, the US has the largest prison population in the world, over two million, with the second largest being China.1 “Innocent until proven guilty,”
In the Shadows: Undocumented Life and Human Rights Abuses in the U.S.
Immigration legislation has a long legacy of targeting groups for mistreatment and exploitation, yet the first immigration policy was only enacted 90 years after the US Constitution was ratified. Before 1882, no piece of federal legislation controlled who could enter the United States and who could not. Technically, immigration in
CARELESS: Excluding DACA Recipients from the Covid-19 CARES Act
You’re so American! When you were younger you were in bilingual classes but after elementary school, you completed all your school assignments in English. Most of your favorite songs are in English and you remember them word for word. Aeropostale shirts with Silly Bandz are all you wore in middle
The Holy See Takes On The Fight Against Climate Change
The Holy See has played a very important role for a very long time for global issues addressing major challenges our world faces. The Holy See is a State government with universal reach over Catholics around the world operating from Vatican City, in Italy. Its main duty is to provide
¡Si, Se Puede! – Collective Organizing, Unions, and Non Violent Protests
Cesar Chavez was born on a scorching hot day near Yuma Arizona on March 31st, 1927 to Mexican-American immigrant parents in a small adobe home. His whole family farmed the land and they faced the struggles of farm life constantly. Unfortunately, they ended up losing the farm and their home
Es Nuestra Agua -The Chihuahua Water Crisis: Mexicans fight for Their Crops & Their Lives
Have you ever wondered what you would do without water? Water is indeed life. And without access to clean water, life’s hardships become further amplified. For many people in the US, water is a resource that they take for granted as it reliably flows through our fingers when we open
Mendez v. Westminster: Planting the seed for Desegregation
It was a warm September day in 1943 when Soledad Vidaurri walked her daughters, Alice and Virginia Vidaurri, and her brother’s children, Sylvia, Gonzalo Jr., and Jerome Mendez, up the steps of Westminster Main School to enroll them for classes. The Mendez family, the Viduarris included, had just moved to
Chadwick Boseman: A King On And Off The Throne
What if you could take the best of Jackie Robinson’s athleticism and defense of civil rights, combined with the legal mind and drive for justice in Former Justice Thurgood Marshall, and refine it into a true kind and caring king just like T’Challa, would you have to live in the
Cicada 3301 – An Epic Mystery
On January 5th, 2012, a simple image of white text on a black background was posted on 4chan’s /x/ – Paranormal board, a site that hosts a place to post pictures and messages on various topics. This seemingly innocuous message would go on to spark a worldwide cyber expedition to
BLACK LIVES MATTER- A Change in America
Even before the killing of George Floyd, there had been a well-established pattern of oppression by law enforcement agents killing innocent African Americans. Just to name a few, there was Eric Gardner, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, all of these citizens were living a peaceful life. And they were shot by
The Cry of the American Negro: Northern vs. Southern Demands for Human Rights
Slavery We all are familiar with the term “slavery” and the rich and complex history it holds for the United States of America. The basic more simplified version of Slavery posits Europeans, British and Spaniards, and then Americans along with many world leaders at the time profiting from the legal
Movimienta Chicana: The Voice of Dolores Huerta
Many of the great leaders and activists detailed in history books are rarely still here to share their story. When we learn about an exemplary leader in a classroom it too often means their work on earth is done, and we can only explore their life’s legacy or the great
Colonias in the Rio Grande Valley: La Monjita en la Bicicleta
After a Tetris game with the luggage, a couple of naps, and a karaoke session our group of students had finally made it to the Rio Grande Valley. Looking out the window of the twelve passenger van, palm trees flooded my view. The green leaves flew in the warm spring
Seeking Asylum: Finding Assault, Torture, and Mistreatment
WARNING: This article contains a detailed description of a sexual assault story. Raquel’s husband is killed while at work. Days after his death, a group of men go to Raquel’s home with weapons and order everyone to drop down to the ground. They threaten her, and tell her that they
The Non-Stick Chemical That Stuck DuPont with a Stiff Bill In The Courtroom
On the outskirts of the small town of Parkersburg, West Virginia, Wilbur Earl Tennant owned a ranch in crisis. At least one hundred calves and fifty cows he owned had died for no obvious reason. Something unusual was occurring. Investigative efforts of recordings and photos helped Tennant assume that his
Feeding Students’ Mind and Body: When Education Means Providing Meals
Some children grow up fortunate enough to confidently know that a hot meal awaits them once they return home from school. Yet many more children in the United States grow with excitement once lunchtime arrives since it is likely to be their only meal for the day. Families considered low-income,
Private Felix E. Longoria: An Affair, Some Would Rather Not Remember!
Private Felix E. Longoria from Three Rivers, Texas, was one of the soldiers who gave his life during World War II. Felix Longoria was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944, and completed six weeks of basic training in Fort Ord, California with the 27th Infantry Regiment of the 25th
When An Invisible Threat Took Over the World: COVID-19
While most of us are worried about our jobs and not being able to go out, Covid-19 devastated Sandy Brown’s entire life in a matter of a few days! She lost her husband, Freddie Lee Brown Jr, on March 26, 2020, and her son, Freddie Lee Brown III, on March
Rodney Reed :Trapped In the Shadows of Jim Crow
The Rodney Reed case reminds us of past racial injustices and the many ways in which the Jim Crow legacy remains very much alive today. This form of injustices have become even more relevant than in the days of the Reconstruction period.1 The Jim Crow caste system was originally created
Helen Sharman: Astronaut and “Girl from Mars”
A radio commercial suddenly took over the cars’ atmosphere that can only be described as jittery amidst a traffic jam on the way back from the Mars Company in Slough, Berkshire England, to her flat in Surbiton, Surrey. The radio belts: “Astronaut wanted, no experience necessary.”1 These words changed the
Bad Boys vs. Archangels – Adapting and Overcoming the ‘Jordan Rules’
They were known as the “Bad Boys”. The Detroit Pistons rose to power in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association during the 1988-89 season. Thanks to their talent, toughness, aggressiveness, and swagger they took the Association by storm. But that had not stopped Chicago Bulls’ star, Michael Jordan,
American Enemy? Renouncing Citizenship for Freedom and Enhancing Rights for All Americans
Yaser Esam Hamdi, enemy? Having lived in Saudi Arabia for most of his life, Hamdi first encountered the U.S. military in 2001, when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. As the United States mobilized for the War on Terrorism, Hamdi had naively affiliated himself with the Taliban resistance and prolonged presence in
One Teen Slows the Race to Extinction!
Social media tends to distract its consumers from real-world problems. Internet trolls can make life-threatening issues into jokes and discredit the magnitude of real problems. Therefore, many ignore the increasing intensity of natural weather disasters occurring around the world and their connections to environmental degradation. People prefer to focus on
Five Eyes & An Onion: Tor & the Deep Dark Web
In December 2013, Harvard University was rocked by a bomb threat. As the threat threw the campus into a state of chaos, local law enforcement and the FBI went to work, catching the culprit in under two days. The perpetrator in question was actually a student, sophomore Eldo Kim, who
“Manu, that is why you do the voodoo that you do so well!”
Argentina did it! They have stunned the basketball world by becoming the first national team to deny American professional players the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.1 Argentina went on to earn its first and only gold medal as they defeated Italy by 15 points in the finals, thanks
The Winter War – How Finland Won the Battle, Lost the War, Yet Protected Its Independence
In the middle of the Finnish hinterland, Soviet soldiers huddled desperately around a big fire, trying to gather even the slightest hint of heat in freezing temperatures as low as -45° Fahrenheit. Suddenly a fusillade of shots split the night, downing dozens of Soviet soldiers; confusion and chaos ensued. By
“You have the right to an attorney…” or Not
No one would ever really expect that the arrest of a man could change an entire nation’s legal system. This was a man who came from a rough background, apprehended several times for petty crimes. He had been unable to hold a job even with nothing more than an eighth-grade
South Africa: Gandhi’s First Fight For Human Rights
One cold winter night in May 1893, a train screeched to a halt in a station. A swarm of passengers boarded the engine on a journey to Pretoria, South Africa; among the crowd was a young and eager lawyer with a first class ticket. He sat in the seat designated
America’s Finest Hour – The Berlin Candy Bomber
German children cluster in small groups around the barbed wire fence, talking and chatting among themselves. As their anticipation grows, more and more children arrive, until there is a bustling mass of humanity, dozens of young ones strong, waiting excitedly as one. The loud roar of a jet engine splits
The Central Park Five: How the Truth Set Them Free
Winner of the Fall 2019 StMU History Media Award for Best Article in the Category of “Social History” In 1989, members of the media, as well as portions of the criminal justice system of New York City, wrongfully accused a group of Black and Latino male teens of sexually assaulting
Clarence Norris: The Last Voice of the Scottsboro Boys
April 7, 1931. Thousands of people gathered in the small town of Scottsboro, Alabama. A brass band entertained them with the song “There’ll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight.”1 The verdict of nineteen-year-old Clarence Norris was read, convicting him of a crime he did not commit, and
Bosnia: Inhumane Genocide or Devastating War?
When determining the nature of a war, we often look at the events leading up to it. Whether it be economic instability, political inaptness, or social and cultural determinants, it can be figured out. However, approximately 25 years ago, the Bosnian War was not considered a genocide, due to the
The United States turns its back on Human Rights.
It was between the hours of 8:30 and 10:30 am on the morning of September 11, 2001 that the unthinkable happened in the United States. Four passenger airplanes were hijacked by 4 groups of terrorist assailants and used as weapons of mass destruction in ways that seemed unimaginable. At approximately
All Tied Up: Hidden Message of Wonder Woman
Winner of the Fall 2018 StMU History Media Award for Best Article in the Category of “Gender Studies” When conjuring an image of Wonder Woman, what is most prevalent? A beauty badass dispensing justice? A curvaceous sex symbol daring men to misbehave? Lose all the preconceived and media-induced notions of
Coining Genocide: The Legacy of Raphael Lemkin
At a quiet New York cemetery in 1959, a handful of people stand around a fresh grave as a casket is lowered. Any passerby seeing the small somber ceremony might assume that the body belonged to a person of little significance. In fact, this casket carries the body of a
The Picture That Ended the Vietnam War
Winner of the Fall 2018 StMU History Media Award for Article with the Best Use of Images Article with the Best Introduction The year was 1968. The month of January was almost over and “Tet,” the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, was about to begin. By now, Vietnam had been embroiled
Pressures of War, Security and Rights, and the Decision to Relocate Japanese Americans during World War II
BOOSH…In an instant the United States naval base, Pearl Harbor, was attacked by Japanese military planes; hundreds of U.S. military personnel, as well as U.S. civilians, were killed. The country was shaken to its core, even President Franklin D. Roosevelt. President Roosevelt wasted no time on that afternoon and evening
Shifting Worlds: A Convention Orders the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations Against Their Will
The year is 1920. The Treaty of Sevres has just been signed on August 10, 1920 effectively ending the rule of the Ottoman Empire and breaking it apart into multiple fragments. The War to End all Wars has ended, so conflict should end, right? Nope. With the signing of the
The Game Lost by Both Nations
The 1969 play-off match between El Salvador and Honduras (two teams that are not only neighbors but rivals) was filled with anticipation and aggression. This playoff match would decide which nation would be attending the world cup, and which would be staying home. El Salvador and Honduras had each won
The Treaty That Never Was: Prospects of Peace with the Nazi Regime
Winston Churchill assumed the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 10 May 1940, just one day after Adolf Hitler marched his German forces into Denmark.1 What followed was a month of brutal bloodshed and agonizing uncertainty throughout the European continent. During this time, Churchill would find his
You Get Rights! You Get Rights! You ALL GET RIGHTS!: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
“You can measure the extent of physical damage done to cities but how to gauge what has happened to human beings–that is incalculable.”–Eleanor Roosevelt 1 Less than three decades after the First World War, where more than seventeen million soldiers and civilians were killed, Europe was once again involved in a
The Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494
The fifteenth century saw many changes for the nations of the “Old World.” It was the beginning of the age of exploration, and with that exploration came the exportation of their cultures, religion, and political power across vast, unexplored territories. What followed would be centuries of wars, treaties, and technological
