SCC English Dept. Scholarly Journal – Two Waters Review Vol. 3, Issue 1

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HOW THE AUTO INDUSTRY IS GREENWASHING PERSONAL TRANSPORTATION

Alexis Stone Huff

The increased awareness regarding the climate crisis and environmental pollution have many people realizing the role that carbon emissions and the depletion of natural resources, such as fresh groundwater, play in the world’s climate and its environment. These people are subsequently trying to do their part in making choices and living a life that is more environmentally friendly. As a result, many auto manufacturers are transitioning their automobile production from vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine to fully electric vehicles. These manufacturers are incentivized by governments and the public interest for fewer emissions of greenhouse gasses and carbon pollution. While people have embraced the notion of more environmentally friendly personal transportation and supported the shift to fully electric vehicles, this notion has obfuscated awareness of exactly what electric vehicles represent. By promising zero operating emissions, electric vehicles are purported to be the environmentally friendly alternative to vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine. However, there are some caveats that must be addressed. The current manufacturing of electric vehicles, charging of electric vehicles, recycling of spent batteries used in electric vehicles, and consequential disposal of the spent batteries used in electric vehicles, requires potentially better alternatives in battery technology, energy sources, and battery reuse, before electric vehicles can claim to be as environmentally friendly as they appear to be.

The first caveat to address before electric vehicles can claim to be as environmentally friendly as they appear to be is in the current initial manufacturing of an electric vehicle. The current initial adverse environmental impact of manufacturing an electric vehicle far exceeds the current initial adverse environmental impact of manufacturing a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine. This is primarily due to the mining of rare earth minerals needed to manufacture the copious amounts of batteries used in electric vehicles. In the book, Electric Cars for Dummies, Brian Culp explains that a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine uses a single 12volt battery configured of lead-acid, whereas an electric vehicle uses between 50 and 100 batteries containing thousands of cells. These electric vehicle battery cells are configured of lithium-ion which contains nickel, manganese,

and cobalt (209-213). Additionally, in the article, “Electric Cars: The Battery Challenge,” Davide Castelvecchi writes, “…a single car lithium-ion battery pack could contain around 8kg of lithium, 35kg of nickel, 20kg of manganese and 24kg of cobalt” (37). These numbers represent how mining the exceedingly large quantities of nickel, manganese, and cobalt that are used in the batteries of electric vehicles has the greatest negative environmental impact in the manufacturing process due to carbon pollution and water consumption.

From the article, “How Green Are Electric Vehicles?” Hiroko Tabuchi and Brad Plumer write, “Mining cobalt produces hazardous tailings and slags that can leach into the environment […and] deposits of rare earths, concentrated in China, often contain radioactive substances that can emit radioactive water and dust.” Tabuchi and Plumer continue to write, “Extracting the metals from their ores also requires a process called smelting, which can emit sulfur oxide and other air pollution.” Furthermore, Tabuchi and Plumer explain how the mining of lithium requires an abundance of groundwater in order to extract it from the brines and how the manufacturing of each electric vehicle uses 50% more water than the manufacturing of each vehicle that is powered by an internal combustion engine. In addition to Tabuchi and Plumer’s research in manufacturing of an electric vehicle versus a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine, Andrew Moseman, of the Climate Portal Writing Team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology writes, “This intensive battery manufacturing means that building a new electric vehicle can produce around 80% more emissions than building a comparable gas powered car.”

Tabuchi, Plumer and Moseman illuminate how any vehicle that uses 50% more water and creates 80% more carbon emissions to manufacture is not very environmentally friendly. Those percentages confirm how the initial manufacturing process of an electric vehicle poses the highest amount of harmful environmental impact in the vehicle’s lifetime. For instance, if one were to purchase an electric vehicle and a comparable vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine and park them in the garage, the electric vehicle would have already created more carbon pollution and consumed more water than the vehicle powered by internal combustion engine without driving one mile. Additionally, one must also be aware of the further carbon pollution that is created when this newly purchased electric vehicle begins charging.

The current charging practices of an electric vehicle highlights the second caveat to address before electric vehicles can claim to be as environmentally friendly as they appear to be. An electric vehicle creates carbon emissions while it is charging, whereas a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine creates carbon emissions while it is operating. Depending on how the electric vehicle is being charged, the damaging environmental impact of

charging a parked electric vehicle can be commensurate with the damaging environmental impact of an operating vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine. This is because the electric vehicle’s carbon emissions are caused by the power source that is being used to charge the electric vehicle. According to the website of the Energy Information Administration, the electricity that is used to charge an electric vehicle is considered a secondary energy source. This secondary energy source relies on primary energy sources to produce the energy needed for electrical power. The website categorizes those primary energy sources of electricity as renewable, nonrenewable, and fossil fuels. The Energy Information Administration lists the renewable energy sources as wind, hydro, solar, geothermal, and biomass; the nonrenewable energy source as nuclear, and fossil fuels as petroleum, coal, and natural gas. Additionally, the Energy Information Administration stated that in 2021, the two greatest sources for electricity generation in the United States of America were fossil fuels, with natural gas providing 38% of electricity generation and coal providing 22% of electricity generation. The website continued to list that the next 19% of electricity generation came from nonrenewable nuclear energy, and that renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro, solar, biomass and geothermal provided the remaining 20% of electricity generation. The irony of these percentages is the fact that one of the main contributors to the climate crisis and environmental pollution is the burning of fossil fuels. Since the fossil fuels of natural gas and coal account for approximately 60% of electricity production, the charging of an electric vehicle is actually creating carbon pollution 60% of the time. Moreover, the website of the Environmental Protection Agency states, “Generating the electricity used to charge electric vehicles […] may create carbon pollution. The amount varies widely based on how local power is generated, e.g., using coal or natural gas, which emit carbon pollution, versus renewable sources like wind or solar, which do not.” The information provided by the Energy Information Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency illustrates that until power grids are retrofitted to include a higher percentage of primary energy sources that are considered renewable, such as wind, hydro, solar, geothermal and biomass, the charging of electric vehicles is more harmful to the environment than most people realize. Imagine the incredible amount of carbon emissions this charging creates over the lifetime of the batteries used in electric vehicles and then imagine what happens when those batteries reach their end of life.

The end of life of the batteries used in an electric vehicle is the third caveat that must be addressed before electric vehicles can claim to be as environmentally friendly as they appear to be. The current adverse environmental impact of recycling used batteries from an electric vehicle

surpasses the current adverse environmental impact of recycling used batteries from a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine. Carbon pollution and water consumption at the end of life recycling for lithiumion batteries used in electric vehicles are much greater than the carbon pollution and water consumption created at the end of life for lead-acid batteries used in vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine due to the higher volume of batteries used in electric vehicles and their material configuration. In the published study, “Potential Impact of the End-of-Life Batteries Recycling of Electric Vehicles on Lithium Demand in China: 20102050,” Tao Dai, Tianming Gao, Donghai Qiao, Gaoshang Wang and Bojie Wen explain and chart that there has been a 350% increase of production and sales of electric vehicles in China from 2010 to 2018, which equates to over 1,300,000 electric vehicles that were manufactured and sold in China over a span of 8 years. With each of those electric vehicles containing approximately 50 to 100 batteries, China alone will have between 65,000,000 to 130,000,000 spent electric vehicle batteries to contend with. Dai, Gao, Qiao, Wang and Wen reveal the sheer volume of batteries used from one country in a short amount of time, which exemplifies the imperative need to find a recycling solution for these lithium-ion batteries.

However, if and when the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles are recycled, the carbon pollution and water consumption that recycling creates is not environmentally friendly. In the article, “How Green Are Electric Vehicles?” Hiroko Tabuchi and Brad Plumer write, “Experts point out that spent batteries contain valuable metals and other materials that can be recovered and reused. Depending on the process used, battery recycling can also use large amounts of water, or emit air pollutants.” Additionally, in the published study, “The Environmental Impact of Electric Vehicles: A Novel Life-Cycle Based Evaluation Framework and its Applications to Multi Country Scenarios,” authors Simone Franzo and Alessio Nasca explain that if and when an electric vehicle’s lithium-ion battery is recycled, the recycling process alone will account for 5% to 14% of that vehicle’s lifetime carbon emissions. Dai, Gao, Qiao, Wang, Wen, Tabuchi, Plumer, Franzo and Nasca elucidate that recycling must replace the disposal of the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, and that the recycling process must minimize carbon pollution and water consumption. Unfortunately, the majority of the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles that reach their end of life are not recycled and are merely thrown away.

The disposal of the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles culminates the fourth caveat that must be addressed before electric vehicles can claim to be as environmentally friendly as they appear to be. There is

currently only a minimal amount of recycling of the batteries used in electric vehicles, which means that most batteries that are at their end of life end up in a landfill. From the article, “How Green Are Electric Vehicles?” Hiroko Tabuchi and Brad Plumer write, “But while 99% of lead-acid batteries are recycled in the United States, estimated recycling rates for lithium-ion batteries are about 5%.” Additionally, in the published study, “Potential Impact of the End-of-Life Batteries Recycling of Electric Vehicles on Lithium Demand in China: 2010-2050,” Tao Dai, Tianming Gao, Donghai Qiao, Gaoshang Wang and Bojie Wen write,

As one of the new types of electric waste (e-waste), EoL [end of life] LIBs [lithium-ion batteries] contain many potential harmful substances, including heavy metals and organic chemicals, which may lead to serious consequences such as environmental pollution and resource waste in the case of improper disposal.

It is challenging to conceptualize the potential environmental hazards of millions of discarded batteries that may degrade and leak into soil, groundwater, rivers, lakes, streams, and oceans. Therefore, there must be a solution to the 95% of batteries that merely get thrown away. This solution must not only address the disposal of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, but also the minimal recycling of the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, the fossil fuel power sources used in the charging of lithiumion batteries used in electric vehicles, and the overall manufacturing of the batteries used in electric vehicles.

The enormous amounts of carbon pollution and water usage caused by the manufacturing of electric vehicles, the inordinate amounts of carbon emissions created during the charging of electric vehicles, the excessive amounts of carbon pollution and water usage caused by the minimal recycling of the batteries of electric vehicles, and the extreme toxicity in the disposal of most of the batteries used in electric vehicles, exhibits how electric vehicles are not as environmentally friendly as they appear to be. However, the detrimental environmental impact of electric vehicles can be offset by adopting new battery technology, utilizing renewable energy sources for charging, and pursuing alternatives to recycling. Since the current electric vehicle industry relies on older battery technology, mostly nonrenewable energy sources for charging, and nearly nonexistent recycling practices, there are opportunities within the electric vehicle industry to become more environmentally friendly than it currently is.

The first opportunity where the electric vehicle industry can become more environmentally friendly than it currently is, would be in the adoption

of new battery technology that does not utilize rare earth minerals, which has improved power usage, and has prolonged the longevity of batteries. This future new battery technology could eliminate the mining of rare earth minerals, reduce the amount of needed charging (thereby the reduced use of fossil fuels), and lower the rate of disposing or recycling spent batteries. In the interview, “Insider Q & A: Company’s Chemistry Could Cut EV Battery Cost,” Tom Krishner asks questions to Gene Berdachevski who is the CEO of Sila, a nanotechnology company out of Alameda, California. Krishner asked Berdachevski about his company, the technology, and how that technology impacts battery manufacturing for the electric vehicle market. Berdachevski explained how their new battery technology impacts the size and storage capacity for power, which translates into a battery system that produces a longer range for power output. He continues to state how a longer range for power output enables an electric vehicle to travel for 500 miles versus 200 miles, and how this increased range and power output would make the energy storage capacity higher than that of lithium-ion batteries and therefore, less of a need for charging. Berdachevski remarked, “By replacing graphite with silicon, every single battery in a vehicle can store 20% to 40% more energy. Then you can use 20% to 40% fewer cells to fill the battery pack.” More energy storage and fewer cells would indicate a more efficient battery that minimizes the charging requirements and command reduction of the environmentally damaging materials that are currently used in manufacturing.

However, the problem with this new battery technology is also in the disposal or recycling process. In the article, “Electric Cars: The Battery Challenge,” Davide Castelvecchi suggests that one of the biggest challenges in recycling batteries is the fact that the technology used in the manufacturing of batteries is changing rapidly. Castelvecchi goes on to explain that in ten years the configuration of electric vehicle batteries could be completely different from what they are today. He continues to describe how dissimilar materials will command a dissimilar recycling process (339). Krishner, Berdachevski and Castelvecchi highlight how future battery manufacturing and recycling of those batteries will have to become standardized within the electric vehicle industry in order for electric vehicles to improve upon their current unfavorable environmental impact.

The next opportunity where electric vehicles could improve upon their current unfavorable environmental impact, is by utilizing renewable energy sources for charging, rather than those obtained through fossil fuels. In the book, Electric Cars for Dummies, Brian Culp explains how people can use renewable energy sources for charging their electric vehicles even if their local power company uses fossil fuels to generate electricity. Culp goes on to

describe that consumers can use a “clean energy broker” who offsets energy produced by fossil fuels with renewable energy. He continues to explain how the consumer pays the clean energy broker, who pays the consumer’s local power company, and then uses proceeds to buy clean energy produced by wind or solar (277). Additionally, the website of the Environmental Protection Agency clarifies that if the electricity used to charge an electric vehicle is generated through the renewable primary sources of solar or wind, there will be zero carbon emissions created when charging an electric vehicle. Unfortunately, most power grids currently utilize fossil fuels as their primary energy source, and it may take years before those power grids can be retrofitted to use renewable primary sources such as solar or wind. Therefore, the use of fossil fuels must be replaced by renewables in order to decrease the negative environmental impact caused by the current energy standard in the charging of electric vehicles.

The final opportunity where electric vehicles could decrease their negative environmental impact is in reusing spent batteries as energy grid storage. In the article, “How Green Are Electric Vehicles?” Hiroko Tabuchi and Brad Plumer outline that once a battery falls below a capacity of approximately 80% it may no longer have the ability to power an electric vehicle, but if the overall condition of the battery is good, the spent battery could be used as power grid storage for up to ten years. Additionally, in the published study, “The Environmental Impact of Electric Vehicles: A Novel Life-Cycle Based Evaluation Framework and its Applications to Multi Country Scenarios,” authors Simone Franzo and Alessio Nasca write,

Once an EV [electric vehicle] battery reaches its end-of-life for its use inside an EV [electric vehicle], it can be exploited in second life applications (so-called Battery Second Use - B2U), e.g., the integration with renewable energy plants, thus postponing its recycling.

Tabuchi, Plumer, Franzo and Nasca provide yet another example where there is the potential of making the electric vehicle industry more environmentally friendly, but until using spent batteries as grid storage becomes common practice, the current practice of disposal and/or minimal recycling of the batteries used in electric vehicles remains environmentally unfriendly.

The current environmental impact of the manufacturing of electric vehicles, the charging of electric vehicles, the limited recycling of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, and the mass disposal of spent batteries used in electric vehicles makes electric vehicles not as environmentally friendly as they appear to be. These are important issues to address because

of the tremendous need for a reduction in carbon pollution and emissions, along with curtailing the depletion of natural resources. While many support the direction of auto manufacturers in their entry into the electrical vehicle market, there must be more awareness in regards to the true environmental impact of electric vehicles and the industry as a whole. Indeed, electric vehicles have the potential to become more environmentally friendly if new battery technology is adopted, renewable energy sources are utilized, and alternative recycling is pursued, but nevertheless, with the current industry practices in place, electric vehicles are not as environmentally friendly as they appear to be.

WORKS CITED

Castelvecchi, Davide. “Electric Cars: The Battery Challenge,” Nature, vol. 596, 19 Aug. 2021, pp. 336-339.

Culp, Brian. Electric Cars for Dummies, For Dummies, 14 Sep. 2022, pp. 209-213, 277.

Dai, Tao. Gao, Tianming. Qiao, Donghai. Wang, Gaoshang. Wen, Bojie. “Potential Impact of the End-of-Life Batteries Recycling of Electric Vehicles on Lithium Demand in China: 2010-2050,” Science of Total Environment, vol. 764, 8 October 2020.

Energy Information Administration. “Electricity Explained,” 15 Jul. 2022, www.eia.gov/ energyexplained/electricity

Environmental Protection Agency. “Electric Vehicle Myths,” 1 Mar. 2023, www.epa.gov/ greenvehicles/electric-vehicle-myths

Franzo, Simone. Nasca, Alessio. “The Environmental Impact of Electric Vehicles: A Novel Life-Cycle Based Evaluation Framework and its Applications to Multi Country Scenarios,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 315, Sep. 2021.

Krishner, Tom. “Insider Q & A: Company’s Chemistry Could Cut EV Battery Cost,” The Associated Press, 31 Oct. 2022, www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2022-10-31/insider-q-acompanys-chemistry-could-cut-ev-battery-costs

Moseman, Andrew. “Are Electric Vehicles Definitely Better for the Climate than Gas-Powered Cars?,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 13 Oct. 2022, www.climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/areelectric-vehicles-definitely-better-climate-gas-powered-cars

Tabuchi, Hiroko. Plumer, Brad. “How Green Are Electric Vehicles?,” The New York Times, 2 March 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/electric-vehicles-environment

WOMEN IN THE MEDIA: THE FIGHT AGAINST SEXUALIZATION AND MISREPRESENTATION

Alina Gutierrez

In the last 10 years, there have been protests, arguments, fundraisers, and any type of awareness for women’s rights and equality. The main question has always been, why are women treated differently than men? But maybe that’s the wrong question to ask because many things make a woman different from a man. The real question should be, why do people view women as less? Why is violence against women tolerated? Do men think badly of women? And most of all, who is influencing this? There are many answers to these questions, but I can certainly answer one of them and that is, the media is influencing the negative portrayal of women. Negativity is plastered on all forms of media, from the oversexualization of women to gruesome gory violence against women. A big contributor is our everyday films and shows such as horror movies, and popular shows such as Game of Thrones and Euphoria. These films show the negative ways women are portrayed. These all have a common factor the use of unnecessary rape, sex, and violence specifically toward women. The media’s portrayal has a significant impact on the way society views women, leading to the acceptance of sexual aggression and how women take on roles of their femininity. This can be changed by acknowledging the effect of the over-sexualization of women in the media, which causes sexual aggression, and changing the objectification of women in advertisements, even when people don’t believe the effects caused by social media.

When media such as films and advertisements depict women with negative imagery, it influences men to have negative opinions towards women. There have been many studies showing the results of the impact negative media have influenced men and their views towards women. In the journal article “Positive Female Role-Models Eliminate Negative Effects of Sexually Violent Media Positive Female Role Models in Sexually Violent Media” there was a study to determine how sexually violent and negative films affect a person’s opinion about women. They found out yes, there is a significant result; they reported, “Men reported higher levels of negative beliefs when watching a sexually violent show with negative portrayals of women” (Ferguson 894). This report is a concerning statement when one realizes all the films with negative, violent, and sexual aspects and how they can be affecting society’s view on women and how it can cause problems in their everyday lives. Another issue caused by the negative portrayal of women in films and

advertisements is not only the negative views of women but the acceptance of objectifying women. The study “Men’s Objectifying Media Consumption, Objectification of Women, and Attitudes Supportive of Violence Against Women” surveyed men’s exposure to media with sexual displays of women. It was then reported “The more men reported exposure to these media, the stronger were their notions of women as sex objects, and the stronger their notions were of women as sex objects, the more they expressed ASV” (Wright 962). These two studies are showing a correlation between sexually violent media and negative thoughts. This problem extends past the media and influences women’s positions in life. If men who watch these films are influenced, it can affect how they treat women in their daily lives and has the possibility of encouraging unfair treatment.

As television and films become more sexually explicit and violent and more accepted by society it may lead to a desensitization towards violence. Sexualizing women in the media promotes the acceptance of sexual aggression against women and causes women to feel uncomfortable viewing such scenes. In the article “Less than Human? Media use, Objectification of Women, and men’s Acceptance of Sexual Aggression” they studied the effects of certain media viewed by men that cause sexual aggression against women, and they were able to prove their hypothesis. In the discussion of the article, they report, “consumption of reality TV, sports programming, and pornography are each associated with greater acceptance of the objectification of women, which in turn is associated with greater rape myth acceptance and more frequent acts of sexual deception among undergraduate men” (Seabrooke et al. 541). Men view women in a sexual and objectified manner which causes men to view women as less and deserving of sexual violence. When men become comfortable acknowledging that they believe women deserve sexual violence, it isn’t much of a surprise why the #Metoo movement caused outrage amongst many; the media is causing desensitization towards assault against women. When one normalizes the objectification and overuse of sexual violence against women through the duration of films, it not only causes people to accept sexual aggression but it makes women uneasy, as reported in the article “Women’s perceptions of, and emotional responses to, sexual violence depicted in film or series.” Women reported “experiencing feelings of depression and disgust in response to scenes of sexual violence at least sometimes” (Maika and Weaver par. 33). With the overuse and normalization of explicit rape scenes, sexual harassment, and nudity it causes many a major discomfort. With scenes such as Game of Thrones explicit rape scenes which are praised for “realness”, it is a double-edged sword when it comes to women who have experienced sexual

assault now witnessing their traumas displayed for someone’s enjoyment. Implied scenes could be much easier to witness rather than a woman bent over being abused for all to enjoy because fewer and fewer people are being horrified. Openly allowing explicit sexual violence against women has caused a problem in society for the women who have been sexually assaulted and even for the discomfort of those who haven’t.

Films and series are not the only problems influencing women and how they are perceived. Advertisements are the biggest portrayers of women in a sexualized and objectified manner. They reinforce the concept that a woman’s worth is based on her appearance causing women to change their views on feminism. The article “The Impact of Women in Advertisements on Attitudes Toward Women’’ studies the impact of seeing a sex image and the attitudes followed. Their results reported that “both males and females showed the sex image advertisements showed less support for feminism than did those shown the progressive image advertisements” (MacKay and Covell 580). When we limit ourselves to being sex objects it reinforces negative stereotypes against women that not only cause men to think less of women, but women are starting to turn their back on women. The advertisement and acceptance of women being used for sex have frowned upon thought, but as we continue to progress the media is trying to persuade young women should embrace their sexual nature, which led to minors attempting to join sites such as Only Fans or encourage women to entertain hook-up culture. This has mixed reviews amongst women on social media.

The sexualization of women does not only affect women and how they feel but it surprisingly extends to men. In the article “The effects of advertisements that sexually objectify women on state body dissatisfaction and judgments of women: The moderating roles of gender and internalization”, researchers stated, “exposure to advertisements that sexually objectify women appeared to cause increased post-exposure state body dissatisfaction for both women and men who had high trait internalization of cultural appearance ideals” (Krawczyk and Thompson 114). It has been known that beauty standards pushed in advertisements have affected women through time, but it seems less known that men are also affected by the sexualization of women. Men have been known as viewing women as sexual objects, but now it is affecting the way that they view themselves. This is not only a women’s issue but a men’s issue because they are losing the way they perceive themselves and women.

With all the information provided about the negative and lack of portrayal created by the media such as advertisements and films, it is clear there may be a problem caused by the media. It is believed that the media doesn’t

influence how a woman feels about themself and other women, leaving them to believe that adding positive roles or imagery won’t change how a person may feel. This is not true. In the journal article “Positive Female RoleModels Eliminate Negative Effects of Sexually Violent Media Positive Female Role Models in Sexually Violent Media” they studied the impact of different types of films, they reported, “Women were most anxious following a sexually violent show with negative female portrayals…Interestingly, women were least anxious after watching sexually violent shows with positive female portrayals” (Ferguson 895). Media such as movies do have an impact on a person’s emotions and thought process. This is detrimental considering how many young women view films with negative and violent female characters knowing that this is how others may see them or even change how they see themselves. Even female leads can become a problem if they are used for the wrong reasons such as sexualization. In the article “The Empowering (Super) Heroine? The Effects of Sexualized Female Characters in Superhero Films on Women” this exact dilemma is reported. It states, “A potential negative influence of representations of women in superhero films emerged with exposure to sexualized female characters in these films resulting in more traditional gender stereotypes and lower body esteem for female participants” (Pennell 219). This is more proof that the media does influence how a person is impacted, but it shows how female leads are not just the answer, but a positive representation is what is needed. It is important that as the media progresses so should the material being aired. Women deserve to have better representation that allows them to feel good and not leave a negative effect.

As social media becomes more influential people are starting to believe that “Simple exposure to social media or to Facebook-instigated social comparisons with thin attractive friends will not lead to body dissatisfaction in many adolescent girls or adult women” (Perloff 367). This was stated in the article “Social Media Effects on Young Women’s Body Image Concerns: Theoretical Perspectives and an Agenda for Research.” It is true that maybe a simple glance at social media may not affect some women, but it can affect others causing severe consequences. In the article “Social Media Use and Body Image Disorders: Association between Frequency of Comparing One’s Own Physical Appearance to That of People Being Followed on Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness” they report that, “Using platforms such as Facebook and Instagram has been particularly associated with a higher body dissatisfaction and the appearance of ED symptoms” (Jiotsa et al. 4.1). It may not seem that everyone is affected by the influence social media can cause, but one can’t say social media has no hold on the way people view themselves.

In conclusion, it’s important to address the impact various media sources are having on how women are viewed and how they view themselves. The increasing amount of sexualization of women in films, series, and advertisements is causing an acceptance of sexual aggression and objectification towards women. This will continue to impact women’s daily lives and continue making them struggle to go through everyday life and be seen as different and less than a man. This can be changed by not allowing the over-sexualization and violent crimes committed against women in film for the enjoyment of others. Women should feel comfortable viewing everyday media without the negative feelings of being a woman due to negative associations.

WORKS CITED

Ferguson, Christopher J., and Christopher J. Ferguson. “Positive Female Role-Models Eliminate Negative Effects of Sexually Violent Media Positive Female Role Models in Sexually Violent Media.” Journal of Communication, vol. 62, no. 5, 10/2012, pp. 888-899, doi:10.1111/j.14602466.2012.01666.x.

Jiotsa B, Naccache B, Duval M, Rocher B, Grall-Bronnec M. Social Media Use and Body Image Disorders: Association between Frequency of Comparing One’s Own Physical Appearance to That of People Being Followed on Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 11;18(6):2880. doi: 10.3390/ ijerph18062880. PMID: 33799804; PMCID: PMC8001450.

MacKay, Natalie J., Natalie J. MacKay, and Katherine Covell. “The Impact of Women in Advertisements on Attitudes Toward Women.” Sex Roles, vol. 36, no. 9/10, 1997, pp. 573-583, doi:10.1023/A:1025613923786.

Maika, Kierra Catherine, and Angela D. Weaver. “Women’s perceptions of, and emotional responses to, sexual violence depicted in film or series.” The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, vol. 31, no. 2, Sept. 2022, pp. 280+. Gale OneFile: Health and Medicine, link.gale.com/ apps/doc/A725003012/HRCA?u=mcc_sctsd&sid=summon&xid=9dfccb59. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022.

Pennell, Hillary, and Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz. “The Empowering (Super) Heroine? the Effects of Sexualized Female Characters in Superhero Films on Women.” Sex Roles, vol. 72, no. 5-6, 2015, pp. 211-220, doi:10.1007/s11199-015-0455-3.

Perloff, Richard M., and Richard M. PERLOFF. “Social Media Effects on Young Women’s Body Image Concerns: Theoretical Perspectives and an Agenda for Research.” Sex Roles, vol. 71, no. 11-12, 12/2014, pp. 363-377, doi:10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6.

Ross Krawczyk, J. Kevin Thompson, “The effects of advertisements that sexually objectify women on state body dissatisfaction and judgments of women: The moderating roles of gender and internalization”, Body Image, Volume 15,2015, Pages 109-119, ISSN 1740-1445,https://doi. org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.08.001.

Seabrook, Rita C., L. M. Ward, and Soraya Giaccardi. “Less than Human? Media use, Objectification of Women, and men’s Acceptance of Sexual Aggression.” Psychology of Violence, vol. 9, no. 5, 09/2019, pp. 536-545, doi:10.1037/vio0000198.

Wright, Paul J., and Robert S. Tokunaga. “Men’s Objectifying Media Consumption, Objectification of Women, and Attitudes Supportive of Violence Against Women.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, vol. 45, no. 4, 2016, pp. 955-964, doi:10.1007/s10508-015-0644-8.

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LOVING OUR PARKS TO DEATH: A PROPOSAL PLAN FOR ADAPTING THE WAY THAT PARKS AND RECREATION PROFESSIONALS APPROACH THE PRESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS

Elizabeth M. White

Abstract

The implementation of this proposal seeks to educate the general public, instill knowledge, empower citizens, and re-focus the efforts of professionals within the subject of national parks and public lands. Due to increased interest in environmentalism and accessibility to travel, the national and state parks in the United States are experiencing more annual visitations than ever before. In order to protect public lands properly, government entities need to implement new educational programs for outdoors-goers, update training techniques for forest rangers, and provide more incentive for the general public to truly understand the underlying principles of conservation. Now that visitation to national and state parks continues to increase annually, the approaches used by park rangers and other authorities within the field must be adapted in response to the changes happening within the environment. With that change there is also a need to instill some level of responsibility within the visitors of public lands themselves. The intent of this proposal is to prove that with education, proper training, and opportunities to learn, professionals and visitors alike can work together to save our public lands and preserve them for future generations.

Keywords: National Park Service, preservation, human impact, education, interdependence of life, United States Forest Service, Wilderness Management,park ranger, environment.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Of all the questions which can come before this nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there is none which compares in importance with the great central task of leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us.” That was in 1910, just before the National Park Service

became an entity in 1916 (West Sellers, 2008). President Roosevelt had no idea just how much more important the concept of his statement would become 100 years later. In the early 1900’s National Parks were a newly conceived concept and, therefore, mostly isolated and surrounded by rural, undeveloped countryside. America’s national parks were truly pristine and far from any developed cities or life distractions. Anyone who visited was able to feel completely immersed within nature. Park boundaries were patrolled by horseback, surrounded by small log cabin homes inhabited by park rangers, and much of the parks themselves were undeveloped backcountry. In those times, wilderness management and maintenance of national parks was just beginning to be seen as a necessity, but an important one nonetheless. Americans began to realize just how important it was to preserve and protect their natural lands for future generations. With this realization came the need for organizations that would uphold the integrity of America’s public lands. Over the next several decades these organizations eventually came to be known as the United States Forest Service, The Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service. Nearly 100 years into the development of the National Parks system, Americans and government entities began to realize that there was a component missing from the parks. While it was important for national parks to be well managed and maintained, it was equally important for park visitors to understand the impact that humans leave on the environment. As visitation numbers increased annually, the impact of foot traffic, litter, loss of vegetation, debris along trails, and environmental damage increased as well. So in 1994, Government institutions welcomed the birth of Leave No Trace [LNT] Inc. and took the opportunity to partner with LNT in order to teach people how to conduct themselves in a way that would minimize their impact on the outdoors (Marion and Reid, 2001). The goal of the Leave No Trace educational program is to avoid or minimize impacts to natural area resources while helping to ensure a positive recreational experience for visitors. Leave No Trace is a code of outdoors ethics consisting of seven principles designed to minimize impact on the planet and leave nature as it is to the best of our ability. The seven principles in the Leave No Trace code of ethics are leave what you find, travel and camp on durable surfaces, respect wildlife, respect others, minimize fire impact, dispose of waste properly, and plan ahead (Marion and Reid,2001). Leave No Trace has steadily grown over the years along with the development of the National Park Service and other related organizations, but somehow Leave No Trace is still a foreign concept to a large quantity of park visitors in the 21st century.

The 21st century picture of national parks is far from the frontier days and has continuously evolved with the changes in American society. Americans now live in a time where outdoor recreation is exploding, but so is the development of technology, the encroachment of developing land, and ecotourism. While many of these are seen as great economic developments for the United States as a whole, they are also contributing factors to a slow and inevitable decline of integrity for America’s national parks. What was once isolated, desolate, and untouched is now heavily traveled and saturated with evidence of humanity. National Parks have seen a steady increase in annual visitations since the 1960’s. In 2018 the park system saw upwards of 330 million visitors, meaning that the United States National Park system had the same amount of visitors that year as the population of the entire country itself (Gritters, 2019). 16% of National Parks broke records for visitor numbers in 2018, meaning that 61 of 385 reporting parks broke their annual record. Three of the largest parks in the nation had 10 million recreation visits each (NPS.gov, 2019). In response to this situation, US Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, stated, “ Our National Parks are being loved to death, As visitor rates continue at a high level, we must prioritize much-needed deferred maintenance including aging facilities, roads and other critical infrastructure…”. National Parks all face the threat of losing their original intent and purpose to the indulgences of modern day society and the lack of education among visitors. This is the current challenge being met by the government entities tasked with protecting and preserving public lands. Parks and Recreation professionals who work in the field currently are balancing two polar opposites, the natural world and the fast-paced 21st century internetdominated society that Americans live in. Our current society in combination with a lack of funding for parks, lack of education in the outdoors, and increased impact can create a large-scale problem.

The National Park Service is currently challenged with adapting to this situation: how can they encourage people to enjoy the outdoors responsibly without risking more damage to public lands? This is where Leave No Trace principles can be applied. While they were originally intended for the purpose of education, Leave No Trace has been lost in translation when it comes to the general public. Leave No Trace slogans such as “pack it in, pack it out” are often used but without knowledge of the full scope of information that LNT provides. “Pack it in, Pack it out” means to leave nature the way it is. The idea is to leave nothing in nature that does not belong and to take nothing away that exists naturally. LNT suggests that mankind should leave public lands as unaffected as possible, because while one footprint may not erode delicate soil, 330 million footprints can destroy an entire ecosystem. Park rangers

and parks professionals need to apply Leave No Trace in their conversations with visitors more often and provide educational opportunities instead of simply reprimanding visitors for certain behaviors. By re-focusing the code of ethics in the outdoors back to Leave No Trace principles and educational opportunities, Parks professionals can create a mutually beneficial situation that will work to save our public lands while still allowing for visitors to feel connected to nature.

High-impact usage of public lands can leave a substantial and cumulative mark on the land. While it might be hard to physically see, over time the damage has become more and more evident. This can be applied to sensitive areas in parks that are usually marked with signs asking hikers to “stay on designated trails.” Trampling by consistent foot traffic causes loss of vegetation cover and change in species composition, exposure, compaction, and erosion of soil which in turn affects the integrity of the land and trails used by visitors (Marion and Reid, 2001). High impact usage by uneducated visitors can also leave campfire scars, litter, and improperly disposed human or dog waste along trails. With over 330 million visitors to parks each year, these behaviors have become more and more prevalent. Unfortunately, these seemingly small acts have such an immense impact that they degrade the quality of outdoor experiences because they are more evident along trails and recreation sites where people spend most of their time in national parks. So not only would it benefit the environment to lessen our collective impact, it would also preserve the integrity of the land for future hikers.

Another issue is the way that human intervention affects wildlife and natural ecosystems. With an increase in tourism there has also been an increase in resource warnings and infractions issued by park rangers. In 2015, Yellowstone rangers issued 52,036 resource warnings, including walking on delicate geothermal features (which is dangerous as well as damaging) and getting too close to wildlife (Wilkinson,2016). When tourists in Yellowstone National Park feed wildlife or get close enough to take pictures, they are fostering an unnatural relationship with wildlife that could have deadly repercussions. If a bear is not afraid to approach humans, it is much more likely that at some point in time that bear will need to be relocated or potentially even shot due to safety issues and liability, all because too many tourists have approached the bear for pictures throughout the course of its lifespan. The bear is no longer afraid of human interaction. The intrusive actions that must be taken to manage wildlife and their natural habitats require special efforts, but how much is enough?

Most visitors have no inclination that they are eroding soil with their footprints or putting wildlife at risk by getting too close for photo

opportunities. Most people do not realize that they are altering the behavior of wildlife and impacting the ecosystems around them by breaking small rules. This is why it has become so important to instill an “Interdependence of Life” within visitors. Interdependence of life is the notion that mankind exists alongside nature, rather than believing that nature exists for the convenience of mankind. So many people are desensitized to the idea of being connected, but they are nonetheless searching for it, which is one reason for a recent increase in outdoor and recreational activities. People are searching for a connection to their sense of humanity and their roots in a time of impersonal technology-facilitated interactions. Parks and recreational professionals can work to instill a sense of connection while educating visitors in outdoor stewardship at the same time. By teaching people how to minimize impact in the outdoors and why it is important, parks professionals can provide learning opportunities that will facilitate a connection to nature for visitors. The more a person knows about a specific issue or topic, the more likely they are to actually care.

Throughout the history of national parks, conservation science has continued to focus on the benefits nature provides to people rather than understanding the science of people’s behavior in the outdoors (Society for Conservation Biology, 2016). Perhaps the recent crisis of “Loving Our Parks to Death” is a wake up call to change the focus of conservation and begin looking at how parks professionals can influence the behavior of visitors. Defining the conservation problem as a behavioral issue allows conservation organizations and programs to consider using behavioral interventions as a solution. In this case, changing the way that people conduct themselves in the outdoors could significantly lessen the negative impact of increased usage in public lands. A few behavioral intervention solutions include teaching Leave No Trace principles to visitors, re-training park rangers to focus on educational opportunities, and reframing the way that parks professionals interact with visitors.

In order to influence others to minimize their impact on the environment, Parks professionals should take every opportunity to teach Leave No Trace principles. Park Rangers should be LNT-certified and should regularly teach all seven LNT principles as often as they have the opportunity to. For each infraction or citation written, a park ranger can also take the opportunity to instill an important message related to minimal-impact principles. Each of the seven principles of Leave No Trace are simple and relatively easy to follow, but they need to be taught in order for them to take effect. If each visitor to a national park were to be aware of this code of ethics and why they are important, it is more likely that they would adjust their behavior accordingly in

the outdoors. The change in behavior could work to lessen human impact on public lands without damaging the visitors’ experience in nature.

If people are able to understand why minimizing impact is important from an educational standpoint, rather than just be told what to do by park rangers, they will be more receptive to changing their behavior. A study performed by Patricia Winter, who holds a PhD in social science and is employed through the USDA Forest Service, revealed that park visitors were more apt to respond to the less threatening and more positive signage in parks. Winter found that the majority of park signs focused on rules and regulations, and related desired behavior on negative terms (Park Science, 2008). She conducted a study by changing signage in the Sequoia National Forest, The Petrified Forest National Park, and Kings Canyon National Park from focusing on negative delivery to more positive displays of behavior. For example, in the petrified forest the sign associated with a negative connotation read, “Many visitors have removed petrified wood from the park, changing the state of the petrified forest”. It was found to be more negative because this sign was focusing on undesirable behavior. The sign that focused on desired and positive behavior read instead, “Please don’t remove the petrified wood in the park” with an illustration of the desired behavior, which was a person admiring the petrified wood on the ground (Park Science, 2008). If park rangers are able to approach visitors with this mindset rather than reprimanding and relating behavior to negativity, then they may actually improve the visitors’ understanding of and connection to nature.

Dr. George N. Wallace, who founded the Center For Protected Area Management and has dedicated his life to natural resources over the past 48 years, suggests approaching people with the “authority of the resource” over “authority of agency” (Wallace, 1990). Dr. Wallace’s theory is that nature has its own set of rules and there are consequences when we violate them. Desired behavior is more likely to occur if people understand how their actions affect the way that nature operates (Wallace, 1990). Dr. Wallace created the “Authority of The Resource Technique” as a way for Parks professionals to better communicate with park visitors and be more likely to influence their behavior. This technique emphasizes the need to explain the reasons for wilderness regulations while also encouraging the park ranger to deemphasize the agency itself and transfer that authority to the laws of nature. The reason that this tactic works to create a mutually beneficial situation is because it educates visitors while simultaneously creating a deeper understanding. While Dr. Wallace acknowledges in his theory that there are some park visitors this approach may not be appropriate for, the majority of

nature-lovers have good intentions when it comes to visiting National Parks and respond well to an educational conversation over intimidation tactics.

With all of that being said, the problem that national parks currently face seems bigger than simply adjusting behavior. However, the idea of influencing human behavior is just a starting point for tackling a multi-faceted issue. Many would argue that it is not the park visitors who are “Loving our Parks to Death” but rather the lack of funding from the government that is ultimately causing this problem. It is true that lack of funding is a major deficit when it comes to maintaining public lands. In 2018 Grand Canyon National Park had 6,254,238 visitors and accumulated $329,437,054 in deferred maintenance (NPS.gov, 2019) meaning that the Grand Canyon has over $3 million dollars worth of work to do in order to maintain the park. At the current rates of funding, engineers estimate that it will take 50 plus years to get it all done (Wilkinson, 2016). Unfortunately that is not such an easy issue to solve. It will take lobbying, voting, and communication to local government officials over a period of time in order to potentially change the amount of funding to national parks. However, if Parks professionals are able to influence human behavior, it may create a snowball effect. If visitors to National Parks are more educated, they are more inclined to feel a connection to nature. While that can encourage people to minimize their impact, it can also encourage them to speak up, educate others, and draw attention to the issue as a whole. The more people care, the more likely it is that political parties will follow suit.

The National Park experience as a whole has not changed as much as society has in the past three decades and that is not necessarily a good thing. It was revealed in 2016 that the entire National Park Service budget was less than the annual budget for the city of Austin, Texas (Eichler and Scott, 2018). Recent exposure to environmental concerns through the media has driven more people to become aware and concerned in regard to the politics involved in this matter. The reality is that the budget of the National Park Service has not changed much since the 1980s (Eichler and Scott, 2018) and it in no way meets the current demand placed upon the National Park Service. With lack of funding in mind, one way that citizens and Parks professionals alike can work together to protect public lands is to change their behavior, both in the outdoors and in the way that they interact with one another.

Other alternatives to the issue at hand include reducing usage more forcefully, for example closing national parks for allotted amounts of time or placing caps on how many visitors are allowed to visit the park per year. Many parks, such as Arches National Park in Utah, are already closing from time to time in order to control the number of visitors (Wilkinson, 2016). Sadly, this defeats the purpose of earlier Parks programs put into place such as

the “Find your park” campaign which was aimed at attracting a younger and more diverse group of individuals to national parks (Cook, 2018). Jeff Marion, one of the original founders of Leave No Trace, points out that starting to teach LNT principles and outdoors stewardship to young people is a great way to encourage new generations to care for America’s parks in the future as well. Closing parks or controlling the number of visitors reverses the entire point of the “Find your Park” program. In the long run, reversing the program defeats the purpose of teaching people about the interdependence of life and ultimately discourages them from developing a relationship to nature. In order to bring political awareness to the integrity of National Parks, there needs to be incentive and genuine concern from citizens of the United States. How can citizens build a connection or be incentivized to care about the welfare of national parks if they are not even allowed to visit them anymore?

In order to inspire incentive, Parks professionals must create a mutually beneficial situation by re-focusing the code of ethics in the outdoors back to Leave No Trace principles and educational opportunities. People need the opportunity to learn about nature in order to unite them with their own connection to nature. Many visitors to National Parks in modern society lack a connection to nature because they have always been in an urban environment where they are looking at screens all day long (Cook, 2018). According to LNT expert Jeff Marion, one of the best ways to foster a personal connection to nature is to encompass experiential teaching out in the natural environment. Park rangers have the ability to accomplish this in their everyday work. While it may be challenging to come up with funding or to change the behavior of those who are uneducated in outdoor ethics, the benefits of trying to influence others’ behavior far outweigh the repercussions of doing nothing. National Parks contribute to Americans’ sense of belonging, wellbeing, historical importance, and culture. In order to protect and preserve the unmarred image of national parks as they once were, let us be reminded of Roosevelt’s words over 100 years ago. Our great central task is to leave this land even better for our descendants than it was for us. The only way to accomplish that is to change the way that we approach the outdoors, call attention to the issue at hand, and to inspire a nation-wide understanding that we will eventually lose Roosevelt’s untouched lands to our own lack of caring if we do not change.

REFERENCES

“Ecotourism: Is ecotourism healthy for the environment?” Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 24 https://icof-infobaselearning-com.ezproxy.scottsdalecc.edu/recordurl.aspx?ID=2020.

Eichler, M., & Scott, D. (2018, May 16). You Should Stop Saying “We Are Loving National Parks to Death”. Retrieved from http://outdoor-society.com/you-should-stop-saying-we-are-lovingnational-parks-to-death/.

Gritters, J. (2019, April 22). Parks Saw More Than 300 Million Visits in 2018. Retrieved from https:// www.rei.com/blog/news/national-park-service-saw-more-than-300-million-visits-in-2018.

Marion, J. L., & Reid, S. E. (2001). Development of the US Leave No Trace program: an historical perspective. Boulder, Colo.: Leave No Trace.

National Park Service visitation tops 318 million in 2018. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nps. gov/orgs/1207/03-05-2019-visitation-numbers.htm.

Reddy, S. M. W., Montambault, J., Masuda, Y. J., Keenan, E., Butler, W., Fisher, J. R. B., … Gneezy, A. (2016, October 19). Advancing Conservation by Understanding and Influencing Human Behavior. Retrieved from https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12252.

Cook, S. (2018, November 12). Loving the Wilderness to Death. Retrieved from https://www.rei. com/blog/hike/loving-the-wilderness-to-death.

Wallace, G. N. (1990). Law enforcement and the “authority of the resource”. Legacy, 1(2), 4-8.

West Sellers, R. (2009).Preserving Nature In The National Parks. Yale University Press.

Wilkinson, T. (2016, July 24). Yellowstone and beyond: Are the national parks being loved to death?

Retrieved from https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2016/0724/Yellowstone-and-beyondAre-the-national-parks-being-loved-to-death.

Winter, P. L. (2008). Park signs and visitor behavior: a research summary . Park Science , 25(1).

REVIEW

ADVOCATING FOR PRESCRIPTION RIGHTS FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS

Ethan Brigstock

In Buddhist mythology, people who commit evil deeds are banished to the realm of pretas, or “hungry ghosts,” in the afterlife. These hungry ghosts have large, round bellies and tiny necks, and are forced to wander for eternity, cursed with an insatiable appetite for things outside the self. This eternal and cyclical nature of desire, seeking, fleeting satisfaction, and desire yet again has made it a loved metaphor for psychologists to describe the nature of mental illness. In this metaphor, psychologists play the role of ferrymen, aiding in the ushering of people from this realm and their torment. Just as ferrymen have their boats and paddles, psychologists similarly have tools at their disposal to help treat mental illness, such as medication and various kinds of talk therapy. However, despite being the most popular form of treating mental illness (Center for Disease Control), very little has been done to secure the right for psychologists to prescribe medication to patients. Since 1985, prescriptive rights for psychologists have been a hot topic of debate in the medical field. Despite the numerous benefits of providing psychologists with the ability to prescribe medication, only 5 of the 50 states in the U.S have given them the legal ability to do so. This controversy stems from the multitudes of perspectives that the field of psychology has on mental illness. As the field of psychology developed in the mid-20th century, a philosophical stance that attributes one’s thoughts, behaviors, and life events as the cause of mental illness were taken rather than a more psychiatric viewpoint that aims to describe the causes of mental illnesses as mostly biological. This led to the APA not advocating for prescription privileges until recently. However, a steady increase in mental illness diagnoses in the last few decades, equating to a 71% increase overall since 2007 (American Psychological Association), and a worsening psychiatrist shortage is now generating urgency for this cause. In fact, more than 40% of Americans that experience a mental illness will go untreated, almost 60 million individuals (New American Economy). Thus, in order to provide mental health care that is both effective and accessible, psychologists with the proper training should be given the right to prescribe medication to patients. Psychiatrist shortages in the United States have made it difficult for people seeking treatment for mental health issues to find the care they need. In fact, according to the New American Economy, a research foundation that studies

solving economic issues in the United States via immigration reform, 60% of U.S counties have no practicing psychiatrists. This lack is more severe in rural areas. For example, examining the Texas Medical Board database reveals that in 185 of Texas’s 254 counties, there isn’t a single registered psychiatrist. Similarly, in Idaho, there is now one psychiatrist per 100,000 people, and in Hawaii, someone may need to take a plane or a boat to a different island just to reach a psychiatrist. This means that in the majority of America, someone looking for treatment for a mental illness will struggle or be unable to find the proper care.

Not being able to reach help amid a mental health crisis can have devastating consequences. According to the World Health Organization “Untreated mental health conditions can result in unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, and suicide, and poor quality of life. The economic cost of untreated mental illness is more than 100 billion dollars each year in the United States.” Consider an additional study conducted by Dr. John Brekke, Professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. Brekke recruited and followed 172 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia in urban Los Angeles for three years. At the time, these individuals were not receiving care or seeing a professional for their schizophrenia. Brekke found these individuals were 14 times more likely to be victims of violent crimes. Anxiety and depression, two of the most prevalent mental illnesses, can also shrink important brain regions when left untreated. According to StoneRidge, an Arizona-based psychiatric treatment center that utilizes leading neuroscience and various therapeutic techniques, MRI scans on their patients have revealed that prolonged untreated anxiety or depression has led to atrophy, or shrinkage, of important brain centers such as the hippocampus, anterior cingulate, and the prefrontal cortex. All of these brain centers play roles in complex problem solving and decision-making processes, emotional regulation, impulse control, and even the exhibition of empathy. Furthermore, a 2014 study by Dr. Racheal D. Rubin, a Ph.D. recipient in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Illinois, revealed that atrophy in the hippocampus hamstrings an individual’s ability to socialize by weakening your ability to interpret and respond to information. A hindrance to social behavior can lead to isolation, which can severely worsen depressive symptoms (Matthews et. al). Another study found that atrophy in the anterior cingulate is strongly correlated with the development of Alzheimer’s Disease (Pangas et. al) Without proper access to appropriate mental health care, individuals suffering from a mental illness will have their quality of life significantly lessened, or in the grimmest of cases, cut short completely.

In the midst of their desperation, people seeking care for a mental illness are often only able to find reprieve in a normal hospital setting. In these hospitals, general practitioners or other medical field professionals with prescriptive authority, such as nurse practitioners. A study conducted by Dr. Patrick DeLeon, a recipient of a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Purdue University and former president of the American Psychological Association, sought to show the staggering rate at which psychotropic medication is prescribed by these general practitioners as opposed to psychiatrists. DeLeon found that in 1991, only 17% of the 135.8 million prescriptions for psychotropic medication had been written by a psychiatrist. The remaining 83% of prescriptions had been written by general practitioners who have very little training in mental health. Evidently, the overwhelming majority of individuals looking for a treatment to provide relief from mental illness are receiving it from general practitioners. On average these practitioners receive about 6 weeks of training on mental disorders and their treatment. In comparison, the average psychotherapist receives over 3,000 hours of supervised experience just to receive a license to practice.

This lack of training on mental illness carries with it a potential host of problems for people who receive mental health care from general practitioners. A study also conducted by Dr. Patrick DeLeon highlights these very problems. DeLeon looked at the rate of misdiagnosis of mental illness in various hospitals throughout the United States and Canada. DeLeon found that “in women alone, depression is misdiagnosed 30% to 50% of the time, and when antidepressants are prescribed, patients are often improperly monitored.” Another study analyzing rates of misdiagnosis in various hospitals had very similar findings. This study was completed by Dr. Monica Vermani, a clinical psychologist who received her PsyD from the Adler School of Professional Psychology. Her study sought to analyze the rates of misdiagnosis at 3 hospitals. She interviewed 840 patients who had been previously diagnosed with a mood disorder, such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder, and administered the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview or MINI. The MINI is a structured diagnostic interview designed to test participants for symptoms of major psychiatric disorders. Vermani found that “[m] isdiagnosis rates reached 65.9% for major depressive disorder, 92.7% for bipolar disorder, 85.8% for panic disorder, 71.0% for generalized anxiety disorder, and 97.8% for social anxiety disorder.” In other words, a majority of participants had been wrongly diagnosed with a major psychiatric disorder. Misdiagnosis and medication mismanagement can harm an individual in many ways, such as not receiving proper treatment or even a decrease in

self-esteem due to stigmas surrounding mental health diagnoses. Worse yet, misdiagnosis and medication mismanagement can lead to accidental overdose or substance addiction.

A study conducted by Dr. Robin L. Toblin, a researcher at the Walter Reed Research Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience shows the grim effects of psychotropic drug mismanagement. Toblin analyzed the death records in West Virginia of people who had died of an unintentional drug overdose in 2007. Toblin found that 48.8% of all unintentional prescription drug overdose deaths were caused by psychotropic medication, with benzodiazepines, often prescribed for anxiety, accounting for 36.8% of those deaths. In addition, mental disorders, such as ADHD, are often treated using stimulant medication, like Ritalin, Adderall, or other amphetamines. Therefore, it is possible for an individual misdiagnosed with a mental illness to develop a substance use disorder which can also lead to overdose or other complications. The clear side effects of having mental illnesses treated by people lacking training in that area compounded with the worsening lack of psychiatrists in the U.S make it very clear that there is a need to have more resources available for people seeking treatment for mental health issues. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are about 25,000 practicing psychiatrists in the United States and over 100,000 practicing clinical psychologists with a master’s degree or above. By giving psychologists with the proper qualifications the right to prescribe, the amount of resources available to people medication for help with their mental health effectively quadruples. In addition, individuals in institutions with psychologists on site but typically dominated by physicians with little training on mental health, such as nursing homes or hospital inpatient settings, now have more immediate access to improved psychological treatment.

In states where legislation has passed to give psychologists prescriptive authority, the benefit is already clear. Dr. Elaine LeVine was the first-ever psychologist licensed to prescribe in New Mexico, the Director of the Southwestern Institute for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, and the past director of the New Mexico State Universities Post-Doctoral Masters Degree in Psychopharmacology Program. LeVine conducted a study interviewing all of the psychologists in New Mexico who, at the time of conduction, had prescriptive authority. A list of prescribing psychologists was obtained from the New Mexico State Medical Board, and all agreed to give an over-the-phone or in-person interview detailing the benefits this new legislation has had on their practice and their ability to treat patients. LeVine states that “In general, respondents agreed that their capacity to prescribe allows them to provide higher quality, more integrated care.” Furthermore, respondents believed

that their newfound prescriptive authority provided their patients with additional benefits, such as care being more immediate and less expensive. These psychologists also stressed that an important asset of the ability to prescribe medication comes from the ability to remove or reduce medications of low efficacy or with a high amount of side effects. Another program that exemplifies the benefits of prescriptive authority for psychologists is the Department of Defense’s Psychopharmacology Demonstration Project. In this project, 10 military psychologists went through intense post-doctoral training that gave them the right to prescribe medication. The actions of these 10 program graduates were scrutinized heavily over the course of six years. The studies from this program concluded that the psychologists were able to, and for those still serving in the military continue to, safely and effectively prescribe psychotropic medication to military members experiencing a mental illness. Furthermore, all of the participants in this program agreed that having the ability to prescribe medication to patients had numerous benefits. For example, not having to consult a third party on prescriptions has streamlined treatment for patients, and the program participants noted greater collaboration between medical colleagues and themselves. Evidently, wherever there is the implementation of prescriptive rights for psychologists there is a noticeable benefit in both qualities of care and accessibility.

Despite the numerous proven benefits of prescriptive rights for psychologists, there is still opposition to the movement in the medical community. There are many reasons cited by the medical community as an argument against the legislature for prescriptive rights for psychologists. Physicians believe that by enacting this legislation their symbiotic relationships with existing psychologists will be damaged, as patient referrals can be a source of income for both psychologists and physicians. Additionally, the medical community fears that it may lead to less collaboration between psychologists and physicians, as psychologists would no longer be dependent on physicians to make the final call on prescriptions for mental health issues. However, evidence in states and programs where psychologists with the proper training can prescribe medication points to the opposite. As mentioned before, all graduates of the Psychopharmacological Demonstration Program noted that when they were given the right to prescribe psychotropic medications, they collaborated more, and not less, with medical staff. Another concern from the medical community is that psychologists lack the proper pharmacology training to properly prescribe medication and monitor patients. The medical community argues that the privilege of prescriptive rights requires full knowledge of the body and its systems in order to properly assess the dangers and benefits of whatever medication is being prescribed.

This argument fails to recognize that psychologists with a master’s or doctorate-level degree receive more education on biology and pharmacology than other professionals who have obtained prescriptive rights, such as a pharmacist or nurse practitioner.

A worsening lack of psychiatrists in the medical field forces people seeking treatment for mental health issues to receive care from general practitioners with very little mental health training. This has led to an overall decrease in access to mental health resources as well as lackluster care for patients that do receive treatment. This lackluster care has serious implications such as medication mismanagement leading to accidental overdose or a worsening of a patient’s condition. When looking in places where psychologists have been given prescriptive authority, such as the Psychopharmacology Demonstration Project or states like New Mexico, it is clear that giving psychologists the right to prescribe medication is successful and would help alleviate these issues. In order to support this effort, the existing legislation should be supported and additional legislatures on the state and national levels should be created in order to give psychologists a clear and attainable path to prescriptive privileges. In Tibetan monasteries, hungry ghosts are drawn with scrawny necks and tiny mouths, making it too painful to eat or speak and rendering them completely unable to satisfy their needs. It is up to us to open our mouths and speak up on solutions for America’s mental health crisis. Only then may these hungry ghosts find some reprieve.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Dittman, Melissa. “Psychology’s First Prescribers.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, Feb. 2003, https://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/prescribers.

Fleet, Richard P., and Kim L Lavoie. “Should Psychologists Be Granted Prescription Privileges? A Review of the Prescription Privilege Debate for Psychiatrists.” Sage Publications, June 2002, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/070674370204700505.

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SHAPING THE MINDS OF THE FUTURE: EDUCATORS’ RESPONSIBILITY TO THE MENTALLY TROUBLED YOUTH

Jacob Firestone

The bustling halls are filled with students darting every which way, with the school bell looming in the background, awaiting the start of the next class period. This building is the center of education for countless students and is made up of long lessons, pressing deadlines, and seemingly endless assignments. For the average student, this is just the normal education experience. However, for an individual who suffers from a mental illness, such as anxiety or depression, the daily bouts of socializing, learning, and completing tasks can seem hopeless. There is no question that mental health has become an epidemic in today’s society, and students are not an exception to this, no matter their age. Failing to address these illnesses at an educational level will result in deficits in the general public and workforce, and more importantly, in affected individuals as they grow to adulthood. To prevent the perpetuation of today’s youth mental health epidemic, schools and teachers must prioritize this issue, and work towards creating a supportive learning environment to help affected children manage and overcome their mental illness.

With the mental health of today’s students becoming increasingly at risk, schools must recognize children’s mental well-being as a matter of the highest priority. Adelman and Taylor state that “despite long-standing and widespread acknowledgement of need, [mental health] programs and services continue to be a supplementary item on a school’s agenda[…]they tend to see any activity not related directly to instruction as taking resources away” (49). In addition, according to a study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “about 1 in 6 students had enough behavioral or emotional symptoms and impairment to be diagnosed with a childhood mental disorder” (“Mental Health Symptoms”). With such a high percentage of students having symptoms of mental illness, schools can not pass off mental health services as a secondary issue. With millions of students possibly affected, resources must be made available to these youth, as their education, as well as their livelihood and personal development, depends on it. If schools stand idly by as they allow students to suffer from various mental disorders, the negative consequences will not only harm the school but will affect society as a whole.

To help support students, teachers must also understand the impact of a school’s environment on a child’s mental health and create a supportive environment. Herman et al. write that “School climate is a broad concept that encompasses a variety of factors as determined and conceptualized by individual researchers” (4). They go on to list some of these factors, such as bullying, co-rumination, and poor academic instruction (5-7). Herman et al. continue by stating that “teachers hold a position within the school that allows them extended contact with children during the day[…][and] providing teachers with the training and competencies to identify children experiencing depression can support early identification and intervention” (7). As there are many factors involved in creating a school’s environment, teachers stand at the forefront in being able to address these environmental issues. While teachers are there to primarily help students learn, they must also take into account issues that could be preventing a student from performing at their best. For example, if a student is not completing assignments and missing deadlines, a teacher might suggest that they are not putting in the effort to do so. However, if a student is struggling with a mental illness, such as depression, completing these tasks could seem impossible to them. Since it is a teacher’s role to interact with these children every day to help them learn, they must be able to identify these challenges that students might have and, in turn, work towards supporting these students.

In addition, schools should educate students with mental health issues on identifying symptoms and management techniques to help students overcome their struggles, so that they may be better prepared both inside and outside the classroom. Gaesser writes that

[It] can be helpful to begin by sharing information with them from neuroscience about the brain’s response to stress and anxiety. For example, teaching students that their brains can more easily take in and assimilate new information when they are in a relaxed state can help students become more engaged in a quick brain break activity designed to release stress and restart our neurological readiness to learn [...] students can then become empowered to readily take charge of their body’s stress and anxiety cues and engage in learning skills to more effectively manage anxiety (3-4).

While Gaesser writes primarily about stress and anxiety in students, this approach can be taken towards any student’s mental health problems. Younger students might not understand why they might be having challenges, and even older children might not recognize their symptoms as being part of a larger issue. By providing their pupils with this information, teachers can

help them understand what is going on in their bodies. This, in turn, would also open these students up to learning management techniques to help them overcome their struggles. By doing both of these things, teachers can provide the tools necessary for students to succeed, despite any present mental health challenges.

Schools and teachers must address students’ mental health as the pressing issue that it is and work on creating a better educational climate where students can manage such issues. Action must be taken by both schools and teachers to provide students with a nurturing environment, as well as the tools needed to counter the symptoms of mental illness. Certainly, these actions will not completely solve the mental health crisis in today’s youth, but continuing to not take these steps will only help perpetuate these problems as students pass through the educational system. By taking a hard stance on students’ mental well-being, schools would be creating a better outlook, both in students’ lives and in society as a whole.

WORKS CITED

Adelman, Howard S., and Linda Taylor. “Shaping the Future of Mental Health in Schools.” Psychology in the Schools, vol. 37, no. 1, 2000, pp. 49–60.

Gaesser, Amy H. “Befriending Anxiety to Reach Potential: Strategies to Empower Our Gifted Youth.” Gifted Child Today, vol. 41, no. 4, 2018, pp. 186–195.

Herman, Keith C., et al. “Childhood Depression: Rethinking the Role of the School.” Psychology in the Schools, vol. 46, no. 5, 2009, pp. 433–446.

“Mental Health Symptoms in School-Aged Children in Four Communities.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 8 July 2022, https://www. cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/features/school-aged-mental-health-in-co mmunities.html.

REVIEW

MUSIC AND ITS EFFECT ON DEMENTIA

Josh Barkosky

Denise, a paranoid schizophrenic, yells at Dan Cohen about something incoherent. She is a 90-something year-old patient and is not in a functioning state without constant care—a common situation for memory loss patients and those alike. Dan Cohen gives her an MP3 player and headphones. The moment she puts them on and begins listening to her favorite music, she stands up and starts dancing. Dan Cohen, founder of Music & Memory says, “I couldn’t believe the music let Denise push away her walker. She’d been using that walker every day for two years” (“Alive Inside”). Just like that, Denise was joyful and calmed by the music, while only moments before she was aggressive and anxious. Music is a powerful instrument for care and has enormous potential for memory loss patients. Music not only improves how a patient may be feeling internally but could dramatically improve how they outwardly express emotions and may even improve the quality of life for those close to them. However, it is important to look closely into what dementia patients look like without treatment, why this may be an effective treatment, and the range of people Music Therapy could assist.

Dementia patients’ outward expression may be the most significantly affected part of them throughout the impairment. Social skills decline, nervousness and anxiety disorders can develop, and their liveliness is often lost as the impairment erases significant parts of their memory. Even for non-dementia patients like Denise, their personality changes, and they no longer act the same, understand the world as they used to, or have the same relationships they once had. From a CBS broadcast, “Using Music to Help Unlock Alzheimer’s Patients’ Memories,” a twelve-year long Alzheimer’s patient, Carol Daly, and her husband Mike Daly were interviewed and followed up on as Carol’s disease progressed. Between the twelve years CBS followed them, the reporter claimed he had seen a tremendous difference in Carol, while Mike said he saw sadness in her and asked, “this is what we live so long for?”. Carol was unresponsive and struggled to make eye contact during the last follow-up. These are outwardly expressed emotions, and when people struggle to exhibit them, it makes it near impossible to communicate, interact, or enjoy their company the same. These symptoms are not atypical for Alzheimer’s patients, and from Mike Daly’s experience, it is a very emotional and difficult process.

There are also hygienic and physical symptoms those with Alzheimer’s and dementia may experience, along with depression, and anxiety. According

to the National Institute of Aging, along with changes to Alzheimer’s patient’s brains, they may have increased feelings of fear, anxiety, confusion, and stress. They may also have an increase in health problems, pain, lack of sleep, and illness; along with infections, hunger or thirst, vision and hearing impairments, and even constipation (“Managing Personality”). These symptoms can pose a significant risk to the physical wellbeing of memory loss patients as they begin to need more and more attention, eventually leading to around-the-clock care. There are medications like Donepezil and Rivastigmine which treat the breakdown of brain matter, therefore slowing the progression of the illness. However, these drugs can have terrible side effects, only adding to the agony of those patients in care.

Although drugs have nasty side effects, a holistic approach has yet to be mentioned, but is very effective. Music therapy, as coined by Dan Cohen, is a non-medicative form of therapy which has shown immense potential in reducing both external (physical), and internal (emotional) symptoms. In her book, Living Well with Dementia Through Music: A Resource Book for Activities Providers and Care Staff, Catherine Richards explains how Music Therapy can be administered. The book goes step-by-step in explaining how to administer care to patients with memory loss, and how music therapy can help these patients. Richards explains the different forms of music and how they can be helpful, or what a caregiver can do in a multitude of different situations. She explains how if a patient is shy, it is better to start humming or quietly singing before moving forward to make the patient more comfortable with the idea. Richards explains further in the text how effective the treatment can be, and even references another interview mentioning the impacts music therapy had on memory loss patients. She explains that using this therapy can create a warm and vivid environment for both patients and caregivers, and she lists ways to incorporate this into individuals’ or groups’ lives. She explains everything required for treatment, from the simplest (creating a playlist), to more complicated (creating your own music, or performing live). It may seem simple, but this type of therapy can be instantaneously effective, like described in Denise’s interview with Dan Cohen. It can be administered anywhere to anyone, as long as there is a way to play music and an audience for it.

Even though patients are improved just because they enjoy the music, there is much more going on in the brain than what meets the eye. The Music and Memory organization (founded by Dan Cohen) explains further how music therapy helps patients beyond what healthy people see. They claim, “These music favorites—specifically the beloved songs from a person’s formative years—tap deep memories not lost to dementia and can bring listeners back to life, enabling them to feel like themselves again, to converse, socialize, and

stay present” (“Music and Memory”). The organization explains that music can tap into these “deep” unconscious memories, but that is because music affects our brains in different ways than other memories do. Emotions and feelings are attached to our favorite songs, and just listening to those songs is enough to bring those emotions back. Dan Cohen is not the only one to elaborate on this, however. As Richards says, “Human responses to rhythm occur at a primitive level, bypassing higher brain function, and people with dementia display a whole range of spontaneous rhythmic responses to music” (93). This response is incredibly effective because of how simple it is. Since the brain remembers music in a different way than other memories, simple songs or sounds like rhythm can have similar effects to a full song, at least to get a patient started. Of course, it sounds great on paper, but real-life results are the true test of music therapy’s effectiveness.

Luckily, Dan Cohen sought out just that and conducted successful experiments with his inexpensive and non-invasive treatment in real nursing homes. The benefits he found were remarkable. From the Democracy Now! interview, “Alive Inside: How the Magic of Music Proves Therapeutic for Patients With Alzheimer’s and Dementia,” Cohen explains his idea to give iPods to nursing homes to see how memory loss patients would react. It had a tremendous impact on them and transformed those with physical conditions or even depression. Cohen gave the treatment to a patient in a vegetative state, and even she started moving to the music. These benefits are a significant breakthrough in the treatment of memory loss because they show tangible results without the need for expensive, potentially harmful medications that can further alter a patient’s personality. It is an accessible treatment that caregivers or family can easily set up themselves without the cost of expensive medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.

Preventing memory loss from happening in the first place may be the most effective use of music regarding dementia/Alzheimer’s. Since it is practically impossible for people to take preventative medication for their entire lives, doing something more enjoyable (and something that looks good on a resume) would be the best approach. This method is simply learning an instrument. Now, for many, learning an instrument is no simple task. But one does not have to be a professional musician to reap its rewards. In the article, “Musical Instrument Training Program Improves Verbal Memory and Neural Efficiency in Novice Older Adults,” Xia Guo, et al. write that learning an instrument is very beneficial for the cognitive health of elderly people, and that it serves as protection from age-related cognitive decline. They explain how learning an instrument is a metacognitive task, which means you must use many parts of the brain together to make it happen. This type of training

is why it can help with cognitive decline so much. They state that learning instruments as even just a young child can improve cognitive states with age, and that those who had learned an instrument were less likely to develop dementia than those who had not. It was also stated that musicians have better audio-speech abilities with age, and better executive function. So, the process of learning an instrument is the most fundamental part of this method. Training the brain on how to use its many parts together to play a song or read music strengthens the mind’s abilities so that later in life, it’s as if one has trained for a mental marathon and is just getting to race.

One final notable way music can be used in younger age groups is in pediatrics. When in intensive care, like in a hospital or emergency unit, nurses and doctors typically do not have time dedicated to a patient’s mental health. Instead, they are focused on treating physical ailments and getting the next patient treated. Hiroharu Kamioka, et al. explain how studies have been conducted to see the correlation between music therapy (MT) and young adults/children. They explain how nurses often do not have time to focus on a patient’s mental wellbeing while they are focusing on their physical wellbeing, so MT can be a very effective way to create a positive atmosphere without nurses needing to double down on their workload. This example relates back to patient-caregiver relationships, and shows how without much extra work, a patient’s mental health can be monitored and improved. Of course, it does not replace a licensed therapist or psychologist, but it improves the current situation with as little resources as possible, making it the ideal treatment for doctor’s offices, hospitals, and ultimately nursing homes.

It is not uncommon for an elderly loved one to be diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s, especially because of the illness’s genetic trait. Treatment is typically expensive and can cause side effects to patients, while nursing homes do not pose as the most enjoyable environments either. Dan Cohen’s innovation with music therapy means that these patients would show their old selves again, just by listening to their favorite music. From the research performed, it was shown that patients of all ages reap the rewards of music therapy, not only for treating immediate symptoms, but also for preventing and reducing the risk of memory loss in the future. Because this treatment is successful, inexpensive, and has little-to-no side effects, it is a perfect treatment for anyone. Whether it be a kid at the dentist, an adult undergoing a colonoscopy, or an elderly dementia patient, there are no limits on the amount of people it could help.

WORKS CITED

“Alive Inside: How the Magic of Music Proves Therapeutic for Patients With Alzheimer’s and Dementia.” YouTube, Democracy Now!, 22 Jan. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zo_ JQZo3Y0. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

Guo, Xia, et al. “Musical Instrument Training Program Improves Verbal Memory and Neural Efficiency in Novice Older Adults.” Human Brain Mapping, vol. 42, no. 5, 2020, pp. 1359–1375., https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.25298.

Kamioka, Hiroharu, et al. “Effectiveness of Music Therapy: A Summary of Systematic Reviews Based on Randomized Controlled Trials of Music Interventions.” Patient Preference and Adherence, 2014, p. 727., https://doi.org/10.2147/ppa.s61340.

“Managing Personality and Behavior Changes in Alzheimer’s.” National Institute on Aging, 17 May 2017, www.nia.nih.gov/health/managing-personality-and-behavior-changes-alzheimers.

“Music and Memory.” Music and Memory, 12 Sept. 2022, https://musicandmemory.org/.

Richards, Catherine. Living Well with Dementia Through Music: A Resource Book for Activities Providers and Care Staff. Jessica Kingsley, 2020.

“Using Music to Help Unlock Alzheimer’s Patients’ Memories.” YouTube, CBS Evening News, 16 Aug. 2017, https://youtu.be/G7vkKHYosuQ. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

REVIEW

CREATING KINDER SPACES IN ONLINE GAMES

Julia Torassa

Picture this: someone is playing a multiplayer video game for the first time, wandering about in a virtual world and having fun, when they come across another player fighting a computer-controlled enemy. Seeking to assist, they help them defeat the enemy, but instead of thanking them, the player starts cursing at them for taking their loot (rewards gained for defeating the enemy). It can be confusing to navigate the many rules and systems of video games, and when someone is extremely negative, it can sour someone’s experience of that game or games as a whole. This negativity can be a real problem for both developers of games and players of those games. From negativity comes new questions—how can kindness become the norm instead of cruelty in these spaces? There are a great many possible answers for that, but in the end, kindness towards other players in online games should be promoted by game developers by encouraging good behavior, recognizing the different ways people approach games, and designing games appropriately around that. The best way of all, however, starts with the community itself paying kind acts forward and regulating said community themselves. Both these groups of people will need to work together for games to be truly kinder.

Although multiplayer games have many good aspects to them, they are about interactions with other people in the end. While this can be good, often these interactions in games can bring out the worst in people. According to Xiao-Wei Zhu, et. al, multiplayer video games are a space where adolescents might see and/or participate in violent behavior for rewards in the game — such as defeating other players to win a game. In these games, they say that players will also often see or be a part of unkind behavior that isn’t linked to rewards in the game—like demeaning someone for their character’s appearance or their skill level. While it may seem that there are a great many different ways that people can harass others, there tends to be two main categories that this misbehavior falls into.

Firstly, players can be unkind by misusing game systems. In one example of this, Lauren Morton’s article, “Guild Wars 2 Players Can’t Stop Winning a Group Event They Desperately Want to Lose,” speaks about the multiplayer online game Guild Wars 2 and the problems that arose with one of its recent group events. The event was tied to a recent item that had come out and was desired by quite a number of people, and Morton reports that to make

progress towards acquiring said item, people would have to deliberately fail to defeat a powerful enemy. As this required everyone working together to do something that could be considered counterproductive—namely, failing something—many players either would try to complete the event because they didn’t know better or because they wished to cause trouble among the group. This led to conflict and arguments among the involved players, and though a change to the mechanics of this event by the game developers was planned, people still had to deal with it for some time. Morton ends the article by requesting people work together and let the enemy live if people are asking for such. The ensuing arguments and yelling that came about from the fight not being completed how the majority of the group wished show how other players were frustrated at the lack of coordination. Though players’ actions that cause problems in game systems are not always intentional, when people do end up purposefully seeking to create conflict, this is one of the ways they tend to go about it.

Players can also be unkind with what they say. When people get upset in games they often lash out at others and tend to try to put blame on others, be they teammates or passersby. One of the people I interviewed, who goes by FearTheRider online, had a fair amount to say on the topic:

The most unkind things that I usually deal with on any game is when people yell about me not doing my particular role correctly in a MMORPG game or when we’re losing pretty hard and they see that I haven’t been doing too well so I’m the scapegoat for their anger. Typically this usually happens when the game gets really heated or active and like the butterfly effect. One little mistake leads to another, and by the end people usually wind up yelling at each other.

When things get tense, as in FearTheRider’s example, people can end up pointing fingers at others, and it’s possible for others to get extremely upset over little mistakes. Harsh words in games can hurt a lot and give people a very negative view of a game or their own skill level. Some game developers, as a good first step, try to prevent all of this by placing messages in their games to encourage good behavior or by allowing players to report others for problematic actions. For example, in Brendan Maher’s article “Good Gaming: Scientists are Helping to Tame Toxic Behaviour in the World’s Most Popular Online Game,” he looks at the game League of Legends and tries to study how the developers of that game tried to get its players to be kinder to each other. League of Legends is a multiplayer game that puts two teams of players up against each other. While players can report others after bad interactions, he says it’s also worth trying to prevent those interactions from happening

at all. He explains that to try to combat negativity, the developers of the game put a number of messages in the game encouraging good behavior and discouraging bad behavior. Overall, he says that the game developers found that the messages helped to reduce negative interactions between players, and that in the future they’ll be looking for more ways to reduce it further. With messages included that promote positivity and report systems in place for when those messages don’t work, many negative interactions can either be prevented ahead of time or penalized after the fact to prevent them from happening again. The way that League of Legends accomplishes this is one possible and positive way to go about it. While it won’t stop everything negative from happening, it can reduce bad interactions to a certain extent. Sometimes all that’s needed for a players’ improvement is a small message as a reminder to stay calm instead of getting angry. Maher spoke about messages included in League of Legends as these kinds of reminders. Loading up the game leads to a page that requires the user to read through several text boxes. The text is a reminder to play to the best of one’s ability, to be kind to other players, and to stay positive. A box is by each reminder, and the aspiring player needs to check them all to continue. This is something small, but it still is a good start to the game. When a player starts to get angry, they might remember what they read and agreed to when they first started playing, and that could lead them to re-think their actions. This won’t always be the case, but sometimes it will be, and that makes it something worth doing.

Other times, however, people will ignore these messages, and in these cases developers must be ready to take more drastic action like suspending or banning the players who have done wrong. Brendan Maher commented on this as well:

If someone makes a mistake, he or she will generally hear about it fast. Players can report their teammates for being toxic, and this can result in a temporary or permanent ban from the game. But working out how to distinguish a few frustrated grumbles or good-natured trash talk from the kind of vitriol that is worthy of punishment is a difficult task.

Suspending or banning players is, as Maher explains, sometimes needed when a player doesn’t heed the request of a game to remain calm and patient. However, it’s an important part of being prepared to make sure that the people who handle reports are fair. It’s not always easy to tell who might be in the wrong in any situation, and being prepared to handle these situations is an important part of how developers can make online games a

better place to be in. Additionally, game developers could take prevention a step further by looking at how different people approach games and designing systems based on that information to incentivize kindness and reduce conflict. In one type of organization, according to Mena and Rademacher, the Bartle Axes describe four main types of people who play video games. First they describe the Socializer, a player type who most enjoys being social in a game rather than the actual gameplay. Second is the Explorer, who likes to wander through the undiscovered parts of the world and learn more about how it works. Finally, they discuss the Killer, who wants to affect other players in some way—even if those players don’t want to be affected—and the Achiever, who wants to gain rewards and achievements above all else. While there are many different ways one could categorize players, the Bartle Axes help to show one way that people engage with video games. Once developers have done research into things like the Bartle Axes, they could look at this information to see what types of players might come into conflict with each other. They could then try to figure out how to avoid said conflicts. For one example, according to Mena and Rademacher once again, “The Killer player type has several opportunities for disrupting gameplay. In terms of Competition, they can cheat, bend the rules, or otherwise game the system in order to achieve the maximum effect on other players. However, it is hard to see Killers disrupting games of Chance.” For the other player types, there might be things such as Socializers mocking other types for taking the game too seriously, Explorers pushing others aside and refusing to collaborate in their race to be the first to find the hidden new area, or Achievers being upset at players who—intentionally or not—messed up their attempt at a rare achievement. In the case of the Killer type, game developers could design certain aspects of their game to avoid some of the worst of the disruption Killers might do. If a Killer player might be inclined to bend the rules when competing, developers could intentionally search for and close loopholes in said rules. The other types of players will need different precautions taken, but looking at each type of player in this way, and working to design a game accordingly, would be another good step to reduce conflict in online games. For yet another strategy to reduce conflict, those who make games might find it helpful to work to make a game kinder ahead of time. Some genres of games might need more thought put into their creation. Making a game kind is defined by Daniel Cook, et al., as the following:

Kind games are multiplayer games intentionally designed to emphasize prosocial behavior (players helping one another). … [they] are games that adhere to kind values. These are the top-level

contracts you, as a developer, make with players to promise a specific type of experience.

It’s possible, and often better, to think about how a game could be kinder before the game is complete. If these ideals, or other similar ones, are considered important from the beginning and integrated into a game’s design, that game will likely be more positive as a whole. Rather than changing things reactively once a game is already out, it’s ideal to work on making the specific mechanics and situations developers might have in their game more positive in the beginning. However, what and how much might need to be done will vary from game to game. For example, player-versusplayer games or modes especially can cause problems and may need extra attention to moderate. The three interviewees, RuralWolve, FearTheRider, and SpawnOfChaos, said that they considered player-versus-player content in games to be some of the most unkind, socially. They thought that arguments and taunts were far more likely to be thrown at others in these modes. Therefore, when designing this type of game, extra caution should be taken to keep player communication amicable. These kinds of games or modes can bring out the competitiveness in players, and will generally be more challenging to deal with, so being prepared to put that extra time and effort in will help a lot in the long run.

To contrast, games where players must work together should consider what types of players might be interacting and how to encourage them to work together peacefully. For example, the online game Final Fantasy 14 has many quests and battles that need to be done in a group alongside other players. To encourage players to support each other and be helpful, they implemented a commendations system. This lets players commend one other person that they think did well at the end of their time together in a battle, and the more commendations one receives over time, the more rewards one gains. This system is just one way to encourage players to go out there and interact peaceably with others. Different games may require different things to be done, but the important part for this type of game is to find a way to reward or let players know that being kind is better for everyone involved. Offering incentives or similar things to players who go out of their way to be kind is one way to encourage that, though each game should consider what kind of systems they might need in their development. However, even with all these different tactics and systems game developers can include, the players also need to cooperate. Therefore, the best way of all to promote kindness starts with the players themselves in paying kindness forwards and encouraging kindness among themselves. A community that’s kind and welcoming attracts more of the same. There seems to be a pattern where

once a community and game is “known” to be good or bad, the reputation —and to a certain extent, the truth of the place—remains that way. When people were confronted with exceptionally kind players in a game, they became notably kinder in return. The opposite also held true for if they came across rude players. Overall, the more well known a community of a game is for being kind, the more kind people will choose to join that game. Also, though developers can design their games to be as positive as possible, people are unpredictable, and ultimately it comes down to the players to choose what they’d like to be like in game. A positive and helpful attitude from one player can encourage another to take on that attitude as well. One interviewee, FearTheRider, had several thoughts on this:

…it’s easier to go in with the mindset of helping the person that may not be clear on what is or isn’t supposed to happen instead of getting angry. The more patient people are to someone not understanding what’s going on will give them more incentive to want to stay and complete said task and maybe spur them to help others in the future that are having the same issues.

If someone shows a kind and helpful attitude, others around that person will take notice. One player’s positive mindset can inspire others to try to have the same. The more positive and kind people there are in a game’s community, the less conflict there will be among players of it. Additionally, patience and kindness can be almost passed on in video game communities, as one good action from someone leads to more and more good deeds being done. Nate Carned and Jeffry Winer explain this as how moral actions can be repeated by others who see them being done, almost like how one would catch an illness. They say that past research has shown how people can seemingly become more kind or greedy by seeing others first be kind or greedy in turn. Because of this, players could make their communities a better place by initiating kind acts themselves to attempt to get that kindness passed on. Much like how a positive attitude can inspire others, a positive act can lead others to act positively in their own interactions. If a game’s community can build a core group of people that act kindly and promote that kindness, it will eventually affect the entire game for the better.

Finally, players can also increase good behavior in their communities and games by not accepting into said communities those who are consistently and intentionally trying to cause trouble. For an example, Matthew Rafalow speaks on an online community he studied in his article:

As described by the youth moderators of the forums, there are sometimes thousands of people interacting with each other in their

community at any given time. Thus, appointed moderators are not able to observe every interaction. The youth in this community employ crowd management boundary-making strategies that rely on the broad populace to participate and help make it, in the words of one youth, “a nice place to be.”

If a community as a whole does not let in trouble-makers, those troublemakers will either move on or adapt to the community’s rules and standards. However, the community must be sure to not insult or ridicule these players that they don’t want involved, as that will lead to a more negative experience overall. It’s impossible for moderators to be in charge of everything, so the wider group as a whole has to take some measure of responsibility for keeping their spaces positive. To conclude, while there are many ways people —both those in charge of online games and those who play them—can work to make their spaces kinder and nicer to be in; certain ways get more results than others. A more positive community can be achieved through the developers encouraging that positivity and designing games to reduce conflict. Even more importantly, however, it can be achieved through those in the community being kind, doing good things that inspire others to do the same, and not accepting those who would do harm. With both game developers and players working together with these different methods, online games as a whole could become that much more kind.

WORKS CITED

Carnes, Nate C., and Winer, Jeffry P. “Do Unto Others: How Cognitive Fusion Shapes the Transmission of Moral Behavior”. Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol 146, no. 4, 2017. EBSCOhost, https://web-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.scottsdalecc.edu/ehost/ pdfviewer/ pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=d5e54911-5308-49b2-a01a-10740c7c3cd2%40redis

Cook, Daniel, et al. “Kind Games: Designing for Prosocial Multiplayer.” Polaris Game Design, 2023. https://polarisgamedesign.com/2022/kind-games-designing-for-prosocial multiplayer/.

FearTheRider. Interview. Conducted by Julia Torassa, 18th March 2023.

Maher, Brendan. “Good Gaming: Scientists are Helping to Tame Toxic Behaviour in the Worlds Most Popular Online Game.” Nature, vol. 531, no. 7596, 31 Mar. 2016. Gale In Context: Science, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A448338496/SCIC? u=mcc_ sctsd&sid=summon&xid=e2b46ec5. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.

Mena, Ricardo, and Rademacher, Javier. “Player Types, Play Styles, and Play Complexity: Updating the Entertainment Grid.” International Journal of Game-Based Learning, vol. 2, no. 2, Apr. 2012. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A429812297/ AONE?u=mcc_ sctsd&sid=summon&xid=58e5f9d1. Accessed 25 Feb. 2023.

Morton, Lauren. “Guild Wars 2 Players Can’t Stop Winning a Group Event They Desperately Want to Lose.” Pcgamer, 27 May 2022, www.pcgamer.com/guild-wars-2-players-cant stop-winning-agroup-event-they-desperately-want-to-lose.

Rafalow, Matthew H. “N00bs, Trolls, and Idols: Boundary-Making Among Digital Youth.” Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2015. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/ login.aspx?direct=true&db =e000xna&AN=1075354&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

RuralWolve. Interview. Conducted by Julia Torassa, 18th March 2023.

SpawnOfChaos. Interview. Conducted by Julia Torassa, 18th March 2023.

Zhu, Xiao-Wei, et al. “Exposure to Online Game Violence and Cyberbullying among Chinese Adolescents: Normative Beliefs about Aggression as a Mediator and Trait Agressiveness as a Moderator.” Journal of Agression, Maltreatment & Trauma, vol. 29, no. 2, 2020. EBSCOhost, https://web-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.scottsdalecc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/ pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=261611d7-8c78-4ea8-bc42-4ee7d547d959%40redis

MARS, THE FINAL FRONTIER: THE NECESSITY OF COLONIZING SPACE

Kyle Erdmann

Imagine the year is 2180, and you wake up to a news report of an asteroid rapidly approaching Earth’s atmosphere. The news broadcast states that there is no way to prevent this collision between the asteroid and planet Earth, and the chances of survival are slim to none. This leaves you panicking, and wondering if there was ever a way to prevent this disaster from happening. Exploring and colonizing other planets in space would prevent this, and it would provide humanity with alternative options in order to prevent a disaster like the previously mentioned imaginative story. Humans should colonize space and planets like Mars in order to prevent human extinction, have the ability to harvest more raw materials, and contribute to the advancements of new technologies that will ultimately help in everyday life.

Space exploration has been a topic of discussion since 1957 with the first satellite launched into space. In recent years, space colonization has been an even larger topic of discussion with the uproar of public and private sectors racing to become the first to colonize Mars. Since 2002, privately owned company SpaceX has been working meticulously on the colonization of Mars and reducing the cost of space travel. They have developed two functioning rockets along with a capsule capable of carrying passengers and cargo throughout space. SpaceX has as a total of 229 successful launches, 187 successful landings, and 144 successful reflights between all of their current rockets. Public government sector NASA has also contributed to the idea of colonizing space, despite numerous budget cuts from Congress. In 2014, NASA collaborated with SpaceX and contracted the private company to transport goods from Earth to the International Space Station and back. More recently in 2021, NASA and SpaceX have signed a contract that extends their partnership to 2030. With these private and public sectors joining forces for space colonization, there seems to be little that stops the ambition of space colonization.

Colonizing space and other planets would be beneficial to prevent the extinction of the human race. Past history has shown us that the possibility of an asteroid colliding with Earth is apparent. As with the extinction of the dinosaurs, the likelihood of humanity surviving an event like this is implausible. In an article from The American Scholar, Stephen L. Petranek explains, “Although the odds are small (about one in 700,000) that on any given day the Earth will collide with a massive asteroid, the probability that it will

eventually happen—as it did 65 million years ago in the age of the dinosaurs —approaches 100 percent” (12). As the chance of a possible asteroid colliding with Earth becomes imminent, it is key that we colonize other planets or moons in order to prevent the extinction of the human race. By colonizing these other planets and moons, we can also establish a defense mechanism to prevent or destroy incoming asteroids. Journalist Alana Semuels composed an article from The Atlantic magazine that explains, “The U.S. military is developing a ‘space fence’—a radarlike system expected to be operational by 2018—to warn of impending collisions and beginning to plan for a time when adversaries might try to take out satellites that are crucial for GPS and communications” (28). In 2022, this “space fence” that Semuels mentions is active and in use. This technology’s main purpose is to have a wide surveillance of objects in space that could pose a threat to crucial satellites needed for people back on Earth. The “space fence” could also be used to detect possible asteroids that are in trajectory for Earth, and would allow us to prevent a collision between the asteroid and Earth.

An asteroid collision is not the only problem humanity faces. The shortage of Earth’s natural materials is depleting, and, in the near future, humans may be faced with the shortage of materials needed to ensure life on the planet. In an article from the Global Challenges, Igor Levchenko states,

Indeed, a large body of evidence points to human activity as the main cause of extinction of many species, with shrinking biodiversity and depleting resources threatening the very survival of humans on this planet. Colonization of other planets could potentially increase the probability of our survival (2).

With Earth’s depleting resources being one of the main threats to humanity on the planet, it would be ideal to colonize space and gather the depleting resources that Earth needs. In recent discoveries by NASA’s Curiosity rover, there is known evidence that rock formations on Mars contain organic molecules. In a statement from NASA’s website, Sean Potter explains what type of organic molecules the Curiosity rover found: “Organic molecules contain carbon and hydrogen, and also may include oxygen, nitrogen and other elements… Some of the molecules identified include thiophenes, benzene, toluene, and small carbon chains, such as propane or butene” (1). These few molecules may not seem like much, but it displays that Mars has had the potential of housing a form of life at one point in time. This means that the possibility of humans having the needed materials to establish life on Mars is greater. By colonizing these other planets, we will not only be saving humanity from extinction, but we will also be able to harvest needed materials

that can even be sent back to Earth to prevent material shortages.

The technology created in order to colonize space is not only beneficial for its intended purpose, but can even be useful for the advancement of daily practices on Earth. In fact, this has been proven with an algorithm used in association with the Hubble Space Telescope. In the previous Global Challenges article mentioned prior, Levchenko states,

As an example, Orwig points to the image analysis algorithm originally developed for extracting information from blurry images received from the Hubble Space Telescope. After the technology was shared with a medical practitioner and as a result applied to medical images, such as X-ray images, it enabled more accurate visualization of breast tissues affected by cancer, and subsequently led to the development of a minimally invasive stereotactic large core needle biopsy” (3).

With these medical advancements taking place in the early 1990s, the possibilities of future space colonization technologies that can benefit humanity on Earth are nearly endless. Colonizing space will also bring faster international travel across Earth, with the help of SpaceX’s new rocket developments. According to the SpaceX website,

With Starship and Super Heavy, most international long distance trips would be completed in 30 minutes or less. In addition to vastly increased speed, one great benefit to traveling in space outside of Earth’s atmosphere is the lack of friction as well as turbulence and weather. Imagine most journeys taking less than 30 minutes with access to anywhere in the world in an hour or less (1).

Overall, space colonization has been proven to provide humanity with technology advancements that have improved humans daily lives. Without space colonization, society would be underdeveloped and the discovery of new scientific technologies would be at risk.

There is no doubt that Mars is very different from Earth with the lack of surface water, oxygen, exposure to radiation and weather, but new scientific inventions and ideas have found ways to overcome these obstacles. Levchenko provides a statement from the United Nations that describes the colonization of Mars to be impossible and inefficient. The United Nations states,

Indeed, sustaining even a small number of colonists would require a continuous supply of food, oxygen, water and basic materials… Beyond the supply of these very basic resources, it would be quite challenging if not impossible for the colonists to independently

produce hi-tech but vitally important assets such as medicines, electronics and robotics systems, or advanced materials that provide us with a decent quality of life (2).

This statement from the United Nations may have been true in the past, but a recent development of a compact laboratory that can be transported efficiently to Mars has proven the statement to be false. In fact, Levchenko explains that survival on Mars would be reliant on the amount of scientific instruments provided by one of these laboratories in order to be able to provide the necessary qualities to sustain life on Mars (2-3). These laboratories would allow the colonists to efficiently produce the needed medicines, electronics, and robotic systems that the United Nations claimed to be impossible. Additionally, a Routledge article by Nicole Sunday Grove explains that a government project entitled “Mars 2117” from the United Arab Emirates, plans on establishing domes with tunnel systems to house the laboratories and colonists of Mars. These domes would protect the colonists from the harmful aspects of Mars’s weather conditions, and would provide the ability to produce oxygen, food and water (1-2). As time goes on, it is clear that the development of new technologies and ideas will help further our advancements on colonizing Mars, disproving speculations of space colonization being pure science fiction.

In 1967, the Outer Space Treaty was put into effect, preventing any countries from owning property on other planets, but with private sectors like SpaceX, colonizing space and other planets is still feasible. In Stephen L. Petranek’s article from The American Scholar, Petranek describes what exactly the Outer Space Treaty specifies,

...no nation is allowed to put an offensive weapon of mass destruction in Earth orbit or on the Moon. (Normal weapons are not forbidden.) It further states that no nation can own anything in space and that each nation is responsible for any damage it does there. Thus no nation can own land on Mars, which, though only about a third as big as Earth, has an equivalent land area because it lacks oceans (13).

There is a possibility that the treaty can be revised in order to accommodate countries that plan on establishing property and civilization on other planets. If a revision can not take place, Petanek added,

The treaty states that outer space, “including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.”

Since the treaty was ratified by nations, it may not apply to private enterprises, which are far likelier to settle and control Mars (13).

These private enterprises including SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic present a possible loophole to the treaty by not technically being countries themselves. This would ultimately allow these private companies to establish land and colonize other planets. Although these private companies have the possibility of establishing land on other planets, these companies would be required to abide by their rocket manufacturing country’s laws. In the Global Challenges article, Igor Levchenko explains,

Regardless of the country from which it is launched, the rocket produced by an American company will be regarded as an American ship, and, following a very similar approach that governs the behavior of sea-fairing ships, the space ship would have to abide by the laws of the US legal system (4).

With treaties and laws being in place, countries and private companies may have difficulty colonizing space at first. As space colonization becomes more normalized and common, new and improved space flight, and planet colonization laws will be created, along with a government system for planets that humans plan on colonizing.

Space colonization is a necessity and will become more of a normalized reality, rather than a science fiction tale, in the next few years to come. If the day comes when an asteroid comes plummeting towards Earth’s surface, scientists will have plans of altering the asteroid path or evacuating the humans of Earth to Mars. When Earth runs out of raw materials, astronauts will have the ability to harvest the needed materials on other planets or asteroids and send materials to Earth. The advancement of space technology due to the colonization of space would help the medical field, make cross country travel more efficient and make tasks in a person’s daily life more efficient. These are just some of the benefits that space colonization has to offer, and humanity can expect a future where space travel is as common as aircraft travel.

WORKS CITED

Grove, Nicole Sunday. “‘Welcome to Mars’: Space Colonization, Anticipatory Authoritarianism, and the Labour of Hope.” Globalizations, vol. 18, no. 6, Aug. 2021, pp. 1033–48. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.scottsdalecc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph &AN=151722938&site=ehost-live.

Levchenko, Igor, et al. “Mars Colonization: Beyond Getting There.” Global Challenges, vol. 3, no. 1, Jan. 2019, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ezproxy.scottsdalecc.edu/10.1002/gch2.201800062.

Petranek, Stephen L. “To Mars and Beyond.” American Scholar, vol. 84, no. 4, Sept. 2015, pp. 12–13. EBSCOhost,

https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.scottsdalecc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h& AN=109505852&site=ehost-live.

Potter, Sean. “NASA Finds Ancient Organic Material, Mysterious Methane on Mars.” NASA, NASA, 7 June 2018, https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-finds-ancient-organic-material-mysterious-met hane-onmars.

Semuels, Alana. “Moving to Mars.” Atlantic, vol. 316, no. 4, Nov. 2015, pp. 28–30. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.scottsdalecc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph &AN=110072317&site=ehost-live.

SpaceX. “Earth Orbit.” SpaceX, 2022, https://www.spacex.com/human-spaceflight/earth/.

WHITE ROBES TO WHITE COATS: RACISM IN HEALTHCARE

Rudi Isenbarger

In 1787, one of France’s most revered philosophers, Voltaire, posited “… an apothecary was of no use but to pour drugs, of which he knew little, into a body, of which he knew less.” Since then, times have changed and medicine has evolved exponentially, yet our ignorance stands firm. The ‘do no harm’ well-wishes were not enough to purge willful ignorance from medicine’s upbringing. Public transportation and insurance have made healthcare more accessible. Access to finer quality education has increased our knowledge of science and medicine in general, in turn increasing our trust in the profession. A better understanding of disease and physiology has provided medicine with a greater ability to diagnose and treat patients. But still, racial and ethnic biases have propagated themselves across a timeline shaped by curiosity and knowledge to a present where they casually remain. The United States’ healthcare system should make healthcare more equitable, yet its continued inequity promotes loss of life and has an unbalanced impact on medical literature, mortality rates, and fetal developments across racial and ethnic demographics.

The historical distinction that enslaved people were either ignorant or physically different has led to stereotypes and laws used to diminish minorities. From the Bible to Dixie, enslaved people were belittled, physically or sexually assaulted, treated as property, and subjects of experimentation. An attitude towards certain groups in our history has translated to poorer healthcare for individuals now. Drawing from chapter two of Owens’ Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology, during the 19th century, bondwomen were enslaved Black women designated to push out children for their enslaver’s financial gain. The use of obstetric equipment was first encouraged by white men during this time, and although surgeries were rare, medical journals have an overabundant number of surgeries performed on enslaved women. Doctors used blades and forceps to assist in a difficult birthing process. Owens states, “The black female body was further hypersexualized, masculinized, and endowed with brute strength because medical science validated these ideologies.” That, in turn, led to the belief Black women were “impervious to pain.” Owens further discusses Black women hiding their ailments to receive “better” treatment and how Black women were repeatedly sexually assaulted for profit or punishment. Furthermore, the traumatic effects of assaults were also studied. Fast

forward to 1932 when the Tuskegee syphilis study began. A government entity conducted this study on impoverished Black men over the course of forty years, ending in 1972. Those men were treated with toxic chemicals like arsenic and mercury while being denied the cure: penicillin. Although the Tuskegee experiment impacted men, it undoubtedly had an impact on the women in their lives. Hiding illness, mistrust of medical professionals, and the texts born of this era, were passed down through generations. To understand the short time frame in which these issues occurred, consider it was only three generations from bondwomen to Baby Boomers, and the survivors of the Tuskegee experiment may still be alive. Imagine the culmination of attitudes between Black individuals and medical professionals.

During pregnancy, Black women continue to die at a disproportionate rate compared to white women. A lack of healthcare equity can be shown through the maternal mortality rates of Black women being inordinately higher than any other demographic. According to the CDC, from 2018-2020, the mortality rate of non-Hispanic Black women is 55.3 per 100,000. For nonHispanic and Hispanic women, the mortality rates are 19.1 and 18.2 per 100,000, respectively. The causes of these deaths can be attributed to barriers that are created by healthcare disparities leading to inequity; the CDC describes some of those disparities as education, income, and built environment.

Education rates among Black individuals are increasing, however, according to a joint survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Specifically, “the percentage of adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher” in 2021 is 41.9% for the non-Hispanic white population and 28.1% for the Black population. In a Pew Research poll conducted in 2022, Black adults were more likely to rate their quality of health care higher if they also held an advanced degree. An advanced degree likely leads to a higher income and better access to healthcare. The poll also notes that 34% of Black women polled felt their health concerns were not taken seriously. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, in 2020 the median Black household income was approximately $46,000 while it was $75,000 for white households. The poverty rate in the Black community is 1.8 times higher than the general population.

The built environment is a concept used to make access to resources more difficult on purpose; they are tools used to keep minorities segregated. Gerrymandering and redlining are two powerful examples of those tools used for the built environment. Gerrymandering is the purposeful manipulation of electoral constituency boundaries based on census information. Drawing boundaries around minority-concentrated areas prevents their vote from

having any beneficial outcome. Redlining, a practice banned by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, was especially harmful, and it has had long-lasting effects on those communities. Redlining was the practice of denying business and housing loans to minority groups who live in areas that have been deemed too hazardous. This lack of investment in minority communities and home ownership has led to a higher poverty rate within those areas. An equitable system would meet patients where they are, attempt to understand the economic impacts of historical wrongdoings, and work on removing barriers to provide supportive and beneficial care.

During an interview with Chris Wallace, a Fox News anchor, Lindsay Graham states, “The vice president is of African American-Indian descent. So, our systems are not racist. America’s not a racist country.” Graham does not believe America is racist, because systemic racism would have kept Kamala Harris from becoming Vice President. Kamala Harris is of South Asian and Jamaican descent; the inability to distinguish Harris’ heritage is monolithic. She is also the first woman to hold the office of Vice President of the United States. What Graham failed to recognize when he stated, “our systems are not racist,” is that systemic racism differs from individual racism. Systemic racism is intentional or unintentional obstacles embedded in laws – obstacles like housing, education, and healthcare that lower the status of minorities while elevating everyone else. Individual racism is the attitude of one person towards a group. If Harris had walked into the VP interview and been turned away by the interviewer, she would have experienced individual racism. If Harris had lived in poverty and wasn’t allowed to go to decent schools because they were zoned to keep minorities out, she would have experienced systemic racism. The products are the same but on separate levels. The promotion of a Black woman to the second highest office in the US is not an affirmation that systemic racism does not exist. She could just as likely attribute her success to overcoming obstacles in place along her journey. Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first Black woman to earn a medical degree, in 1864. If we applied what Graham said, the differences between systemic and individual racism become more apparent. Although the 19th amendment was ratified in 1920 to allow women to vote, Black people were required to perform a literacy test or pay a tax to use the polls; it wasn’t until their right to vote was procured through the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – seventy years after Crumpler died and a year after Harris was born. Systemic racism has a legacy that continues to ripple in today’s time. To deny its existence is to ignore the historical precedent behind systemic racism; disparities are rooted in that racism, and what grows from it are barriers and its fruit, inequity.

The “apothecary” knows a tremendous amount more than it did in Voltaire’s time; it gained momentum over the last century and grew leaps and bounds, but it still knows little of Black folks. If we as a people continue to ignore the far-reaching effects of basing medicine on age-old ignorance, then we are complicit in the deaths of pregnant Black women. The high maternal mortality of these women is unconscionable, simply because some medical professionals find it more likely the stereotypes they have been taught and the biases they hold are as truthful now as they were 200 years ago. If medicine continues its advancement while these issues stand still, we are only holding ourselves back. We have the ability, the technology, and the wherewithal, but we are lacking in application and understanding. For these issues to improve it is important that we first listen to those who are most impacted by healthcare inequity. By listening we broaden our understanding and further improve a relationship that has, for so long, been diminished.

WORKS CITED

“Changing the Face of Medicine | Rebecca Lee Crumpler.” U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, 3 June 2015, https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_73.html

Whitmore, S E, and N J Sago. “Caliper-measured skin thickness is similar in white and black women.” Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology vol. 42,1 Pt 1 (2000): 76-9. doi:10.1016/s0190-9622(00)90012-4

Owens, Deirdre Cooper. “Chapter 2.” Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology, University of Georgia Press, Athens, GA, 2017, pp. 54–54.

The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is an EEO/AA institution and an equal opportunity employer of protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or national origin. A lack of English language skills will not be a barrier to admission and participation in the career and technical education programs of the District.

The Maricopa County Community College District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age in its programs or activities. For Title IX/504 concerns, call the following number to reach the appointed coordinator: (480) 731-8499. For additional information, as well as a listing of all coordinators within the Maricopa College system, visit www.maricopa.edu/non-discrimination