EDITOR’S NOTE
COLUMBIA POLITICAL REVIEW The Columbia Political Review is a multi-partisan undergraduate-run publication at Columbia University. The magazine hosts writers and accepts pitches from all over the ideological spectrum; our mission is to provide an open forum for long-form political thought on campus. We cover both international and domestic issues.
EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alex Siegal PUBLISHER Maria Castillo MANAGING EDITORS Olivia Choi Rachel Barkin Ramsay Eyre Sophia Houdaigui CHIEF-OF-STAFF Sarah DeSouza GRAPHICS EDITOR Peyton Ayers LAYOUT EDITOR Helen Sayegh PUBLICITY EDITOR Eleanor Yeo
STAFF SENIOR EDITORS Henry Feldman Raya Tarawneh Janine Nassar Heather Loepere Katherine Malus Kaili Meier Aditya Sharma Aja Johnson Heather Loepere Annabel Kelly Hannah Wyatt Sarah Howard Oliver Niu Timothy Kinammon Daniel Kang John David Cobb Chloe Lowell Zachary Becker
JUNIOR EDITORS Ellie Gaughan Emily Ringel Charles Wallace Adam Kluge Cameron Adkins Caroline Mullooly Carina Layfield Jasmin Butler Roshan Setlur Serena White Olivia Hussey Samuel Braun Ryan Safiry Eli Baucom-Hays Sarah Wang Jeffrey Xiong James Hu Jaime Gomez-Sotomayor Natalie Goldberg Tatiana Gnuva Haley Chung Renuka Balakrishnan Deepa Irakam Aili Hou Robert Gao Roopa Irakam Elina Arbo ARTISTS Julia Ulziisaikhan Brynn Hansen Margadbileg Bold Christina Su Sydney Lee LAYOUT Blake Jones Elijah Knodell
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s you are no doubt well aware, the outcome of this election was a rude awakening for Americans across the entire political spectrum. Even now, the right wing still refuses to acknowledge the truth of President Trump’s loss; meanwhile, Democrats saw their expected “blue wave” evaporate in congressional and state legislative elections. There was plenty of celebrating on November 7th, and while it was well deserved, it is only a short-term victory. Yes, we have stopped the bleeding in the executive branch, including the decay of impartiality and expertise at critical federal agencies. We have also enabled a number of limited executive policy remedies, including the enforcement of environmental protections and the renewal of DACA. There are other actions that we should be able to push the incoming administration to take, including the establishment of presidential truth and reconciliation commissions regarding American slavery and racial discrimination. However, on net, this is possibly one of the worst long-term positions we could have ended up in if we want to preserve American democratic institutions, bolster civil rights protections, and tackle the big climate and economic problems of our time. First of all, Trump has just led an American political party to disavow a free and fair election—and in so doing, he may enable an actually-competent strongman to succeed at accomplishing the same in the near future. On top of that, a McConnell Senate is likely, which means no legislative solutions for that problem: no renewal of the formerly-bipartisan Voting Rights Act, no ability to legislate any kind of solution for economic inequality, no chance to repair a badly-broken federal judiciary, and no statehood for the nearly four million Americans lacking representation in Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. It is a consolation to me that our writers have tackled these challenges and more. To name some, Luke Seminara digs into QAnon, Shruti Verma discusses latent inequality in clinical studies, Chloe Lowell examines progressive prosecutors, and Yasmine Dahlberg weighs whether Swedish-style policing would benefit the United States. CPR’s staff now numbers over one hundred, our summer publishing program was a huge success, and we’re pleased to continue to provide opportunities for students wherever we can. Now more than ever, this generation’s voices deserve to be heard, and we hope that our students will be at the forefront of that fight.
COVER ART BY: Christina Su
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DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this magazine belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Columbia Political Review, of CIRCA, or of Columbia University.
— ALEX SIEGAL, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF