Minor in Civic Engagement Leadership.
Brandon Sanderson Fan. Radical Optimist.
Dallin Bundy
Staff Writer
Political Science
More from this author
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Caucus Race: Utah Politics in Wonderland
In the 1865 fantastical classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the titular protagonist Alice creates a flood from her own tears. Almost drowning from Alice’s tears, a collection of animals dry off by running around in circles in what their leader Dodo deems a caucus race. After an undetermined amount of time, the Dodo suddenly calls out, “The race is won!” whereupon everyone wins and they all receive a prize. [1]
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Students for Fair Admissions
I agree with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which in essence ended race conscious admissions/affirmative action in higher education.
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Abundance: The New Bipartisan Energy Coalition
In case you missed it, a revolutionary new book on politics and future America was released in March. And no, it wasn’t the new Hunger Games book. It was Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Arguably one of the most trend-setting policy books amongst political circles this year, Abundance is a critique of the Left by the Left (my favorite thing).
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Blunt Consequences: The Dangers of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
This past semester, as exams approached, I gave in to a guilty pleasure; watching the law dramedy known as Suits. The series, which aired in 2011, centers on a brilliant but misguided fraudster working at a prestigious law firm. He leaves behind his mistakes and lies—often related to cannabis use—to pursue a better life. The first several seasons paint marijuana as a guilty pleasure, but ultimately a life ruiner. Yet, by the time the show ends in 2019, one of its high comedic moments, literally, occurs when the law firm’s partners smoke weed together.
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I’m a Republican. Let’s Talk about Public Lands and Climate Change.
Sitting in 8th grade history class watching CNN Student News, my life trajectory suddenly changed. A breaking story hit the screen: ranchers in southern Nevada were in an armed standoff with the federal government. Images flashed of shotgun-wielding men on horseback lined up against black SUVs and outfitted soldiers. The newscaster called the ragtag militia of ranchers’ domestic terrorists. I called them family.
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Join the Party! A Case for Partisanship
If you were a news junkie like I was this past election cycle, you might have seen a headline pop up at a number of outlets that went something like, “Voters Who Identify as Independents Skyrocket!”. If this is to be believed, then Republicans and Democrats have both lost to the hidden Independent majority. At least, that would be true if we really were all Independents.
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A Memento to Dixie and Troubled History
This article has been in the works for several months if not years. It covers a particularly thorny and controversial issue, that of historical and potentially honorific depictions of the troubling secessionist movement known as the Southern Confederacy that launched the American Civil War. I am not from the “South”. I am not an expert. And I cannot speak on behalf of those more related to this history. The reason for this publication lies more in what experiences I can share, and how these experiences have influenced my views on historical depictions and their purposes.
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It’s Uncool to Deny Elections in 2024
At the time of this publication, it is Election Day in the United States. While this article was written several weeks ago, I would be shocked if the topic of election integrity is not important at the time that you are reading this. Confronted by discussions of our democracy with family and friends, I visited the Salt Lake County Clerk’s office just four weeks shy of the election. This was my experience.
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Isolationism Illustrated: The terrifying relevance of Dr. Suess’s political cartoons
In October 1941, illustrator Theodore Seuss Geisel, the later famous Dr. Suess penned this very cartoon depicting the doting “America First” isolationist fervor that swept the nation during the interwar period between WWI and WWII. The America First movement, originally deriving its name from the America First Committee that petitioned for neutrality before WWII, represents both an isolationist and protectionist approach to U.S. foreign affairs and trade policy. Optimists call this American domestic prioritization. Skeptics call it naïveté.
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