Today’s News from the University of Kansas
Headlines
New book examines ways states shape US immigration policy
LAWRENCE — “All politics is local” remains a common refrain in governmental circles. But according to a new book, all immigration politics involves a different region. “We always tend to look at Washington, but all the immigration policy activity over the last decade or more has been happening at the state level,” said Gary Reich, University of Kansas researcher. He reinforces that argument in his new book, “The Politics of Immigration Across the United States: Every State a Border State?” (Routledge).
Scholars examine effects of pandemic on social welfare field, education
LAWRENCE — Social workers are trained to help people in times of crisis. But what happens when those professionals are experiencing a crisis along with the rest of society? University of Kansas social welfare researchers and students have created a body of work about the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on their education, well-being and profession, including a research poem published in the journal Qualitative Social Work.
Four students nominated for Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships
LAWRENCE — Four University of Kansas students who have been actively involved in undergraduate research during their university careers are competing for Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, regarded as the premier undergraduate award to encourage excellence in science, engineering and mathematics. The nominees are from Lawrence, Overland Park, Topeka and Wichita (67205). Winners will be announced in late March.
Full stories below.
Contact: Jon Niccum, KU News Service, 785-864-7633, [email protected]
New book examines ways states shape US immigration policy
LAWRENCE — “All politics is local” remains a common refrain in governmental circles. But according to a new book, all immigration politics involves a different region.
“We always tend to look at Washington, but all the immigration policy activity over the last decade or more has been happening at the state level,” said Gary Reich, associate professor of political science at the University of Kansas.
Reich reinforces that argument in “The Politics of Immigration Across the United States: Every State a Border State?” (Routledge). The book examines how states deal with their immigrant populations, with some enacting punitive policies and others embracing them as de facto citizens.
The guidelines for U.S. immigration are overly complex, Reich said. Trying to both understand the national policy and the 50 state governments devising a whole panoply of their own policies makes it even more problematic to figure out the status of immigrants.
“There are dangers of having a fragmented immigration policy where we delegate all this authority to states, but the federal government retains ultimate authority to decide who gets in and who becomes a citizen. That creates a real contradiction,” he said.
“The subtitle of the book is taken from a statement by a field director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). The phrase “every state a border state” was intended as an anti-immigrant rallying cry.
“It meant an issue that previously was only something California or Texas dealt with was now becoming a hot-button issue everywhere,” he said. “They were taking their fight for immigration restriction to places like Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and the Southern states. That was an expression of her optimism that immigration restriction was going to become a real political selling point away from the border.”
Reich said misconceptions run rampant when it comes to this topic. The public tends to overinflate the number of immigrants arriving in the U.S. It also rarely comprehends the simple truths regarding unauthorized immigrants. For instance, a sizeable percentage of the public believes these non-citizens are eligible for welfare benefits.
Although it’s a generalization, evidence suggests immigration policy in each state falls into a familiar pattern: Republican-leaning states tend to view immigrants, especially unauthorized immigrants, as threatening, while Democratic-leaning states view them as an asset.
But approaching this topic from an eye-level perspective is helpful for understanding the morality concerns at stake.
“I’ve seen how different life opportunities are for unauthorized immigrants in the most restrictive states, such as Alabama, Arizona, Georgia and Indiana,” Reich said.
“You could have been brought to this country as a child, live your entire life in those states and always be treated as sort of a persona non grata. You don’t have access to public education beyond high school — you’re not eligible for in-state tuition. You can’t get a driver’s license. Some of these states have very strict eligibility requirements that make it so you can’t get a job.”
He contrasts this with places such as California where even unauthorized immigrants who are long-term residents are quasi-citizens of the state. There have also been proposals in California (that haven’t yet succeeded) to allow legal permanent immigrants to serve on juries.
What further complicates this issue is how integrated unauthorized immigrants are in this country because of their link to family members who do possess legal status.
“Every state now features a significant population of people who live with a family member who is an unauthorized immigrant. And that means you can’t really make this nice distinction between ‘let’s deport unauthorized immigrants’ without having devastating effects on American families,” he said.
Immigration is expected to be drastically divergent under President Joe Biden’s administration.
“There are a lot of people who supported President Trump in the last election, and they will not view it as an improvement,” Reich said.
“From the standpoint of the lives of immigrants, President Biden may not single-handedly resolve the plight of the so-called ‘Dreamers.’ But at least for the time being, there is a reprieve granted to people who were facing a Trump administration that threw their lives into chaos,” Reich said.
Refugees will likely experience the biggest improvement under Biden because the president sets admissions quotas for refugees. Those quotas sunk to their lowest levels under Trump.
“Immigrant admissions really went down the last few years, not just due to the declining refugee admissions but because the United States became viewed under the Trump administration as a hostile place for immigrants. It’s hard to imagine how that would be worse under a Biden administration,” said Reich, who has been at KU since 1995 and whose expertise is in immigration policy and comparative politics.
Will America ever solve its immigration issues?
“There is a good chance it will,” he said.
“But it will probably be some combination of changing demographics as the U.S. becomes a majority black and brown country and something to do with shifting demand for entry to the U.S. As global markets change, we might not enjoy quite as heavy a demand for people wanting to enter the country.”
The official university Twitter account has changed to @UnivOfKansas.
Refollow @KUNews for KU News Service stories, discoveries and experts.
Contact: Mike Krings, KU News Service, 785-864-8860, [email protected], @MikeKrings
Scholars examine effects of pandemic on social welfare field, education
LAWRENCE — Social workers are trained to help people in times of crisis. But what happens when those professionals are experiencing a crisis along with the rest of society? University of Kansas social welfare researchers and students have created a body of work about the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on their education, well-being and profession.
As the pandemic unfolded in early 2020, social welfare researchers saw a call for papers on how the pandemic was affecting the field. At the same time, their students struggled as classes moved online and practicum experiences ended early.
“We felt like it would be a very big missed opportunity if our students weren’t involved in that, because they are often vulnerable in many ways that faculty members are not,” said Sarah Jen, assistant professor of social welfare. “And we wanted to represent as many voices as possible.”
The research team planned to interview 15-20 social welfare students at the bachelor and master’s levels, yet they heard from nearly 80 students. Scholars eventually interviewed 67 students about how the pandemic had shaped their experiences and sought recommendations on how to incorporate those lessons into educational practice and pedagogy. The findings were published in Qualitative Social Work as a research poem.
MSW students and one BSW student developed the article, and full authorship included (in order): Sarah Cole, MSW student and research assistant; Samantha Mitra, BSW graduate and research assistant; Jennifer Robinson, MSW graduate and research assistant; Jen; Megan Paceley, assistant professor of social welfare; Kortney Carr, associate professor of practice and doctoral student; Michael Riquino, assistant professor of social welfare, and Kelechi Wright, doctoral student.
‘Thanks for Hearing Me Out’
Throughout the interviews, students thanked researchers for giving them a chance to reflect on their experiences and for listening. Authors titled their poem “Thanks for Hearing Me Out,” using quotes from interviews and recurring or particularly evocative themes to present the students’ insights and feelings.
“It is a found poem, and while it was a qualitative way to present the students’ experiences, it was also a much more emotional and personal way to share the findings than a traditional journal article,” Paceley said.
One section reads:
“As a social worker, I feel that innate need to do something
about it, but there’s nothing I can do
other than keeping myself safe.
And then I had guilt
because of having health issues…I didn’t know what I was going
to be able to do, I was feeling bad
about not being able to be involved.”
The poem joins a research article under review and a forthcoming book chapter which also present results of the interviews, recommendations and reflections on students’ experiences.
Lessons, tension, losses
Regarding pedagogical lessons, the research team found two primary categories of response: Lessons learned and tensions experienced. While the lessons apply across disciplines, the tensions were specific to social work education. Those included loss versus safety, flexibility versus structure and affective responses versus competing demands. These findings are reported in a manuscript currently under review by the Journal of Social Work Education.
“As social work students, we want to get in there and help. But at the same time, as researchers, we wanted to find out what students were experiencing without bringing in our own conceptions,” Cole said. “There were some profoundly moving moments.”
Many students expressed concerns they were not getting a full educational experience or feared they might not be prepared to enter their profession because of the pandemic’s disruptions. Students also reported feeling isolation, stress and trauma from the pandemic. However, the unique nature of their chosen field of study provided responses such as guilt for taking care of one’s self instead of others, the researchers found.
Research has shown that social welfare students have experienced trauma at rates higher than those of other disciplines and professions. Respondents regularly cited how the stress of the pandemic reminded them of previous traumas and the strain of dealing with this in isolation. The recognition that they needed time to reflect on the pandemic and support from educators was a particularly salient finding, researchers said.
Among the don’ts made clear in the interviews was a tendency of some teachers to assume students had more time since they were home more often and assigned “busy work,” even though it didn’t necessarily further their education. Students stated a preference for education as a collaborative process, in which instructors offered structure, but also flexibility and willingness to adapt in response to student feedback and concerns. Dos included educators who checked in on students to see how they were doing, both personally and academically. Those who helped students navigate through having to cancel or prematurely end practicum experiences were positively noted as well.
“Students really appreciated when instructors admitted how they were struggling as well,” Jen said. “Acknowledging grief was big also. Nobody can relieve that for you, but they can be with you and relate to you.”
These findings indicate that social work educators and instructors across disciplines should consider values-driven and trauma-informed pedagogical approaches in their work. There is literature on how to teach during national disasters and times of crisis, but students’ indications that such flexibility and understanding of competing demands are helpful should have a place at the educational table at all times, the authors said.
“All of these things were going on before the pandemic,” Carr said of the students’ experience of trauma. “I think that needs to be considered in education at all times: How we can be present with students and consider their needs, even when they are not being exacerbated by a pandemic?”
Subscribe to KU Today, the campus newsletter,
for additional news about the University of Kansas.
http://www.news.ku.edu
Contact: Andy Hyland, Office of Public Affairs, 785-864-7100, [email protected], @UnivOfKansas
Four students nominated for Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships
LAWRENCE — Four University of Kansas students who have been actively involved in undergraduate research during their university careers are competing for Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, regarded as the premier undergraduate award to encourage excellence in science, engineering and mathematics.
The students’ applications are coordinated by the Office of Fellowships in Undergraduate Studies.
KU’s nominees:
1. Anton Barybin, a junior majoring in chemistry
2. Emma Cosner, a junior majoring in chemistry and minoring in physics
3. Mary Sevart, a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering
4. Jonah Stiel, a junior majoring in chemistry.
Sixty-eight KU students have received Goldwater scholarships since they first were awarded in 1989. Congress established the program in 1986 in tribute to the retired U.S. senator from Arizona and to ensure a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians and engineers.
The Goldwater Foundation trustees will announce the 2021 winners in late March. The scholarships cover eligible expenses for undergraduate tuition, fees, books and room and board, up to $7,500 annually. Each year the trustees award about 450 scholarships.
Only sophomore- and junior-level students with outstanding academic records, significant research experience and high potential for careers in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering were eligible for nomination. Nominees submitted applications that included essays related to the nominee’s career goals and three faculty recommendations. Students interested in applying next year should contact campus representative Anne Wallen, program director for the Office of Fellowships.
All the nominees are members of the University Honors Program. Brief descriptions of their research experience and career plans follow.
Anton Barybin, from Lawrence, is the son of Misha and Ekaterina Barybin and a graduate of Lawrence Free State High School. Barybin is majoring in chemistry. In 2020 he was selected for the Beckman Scholars Program, a 15-month program designed to enrich the development of young scientists. He was also awarded a Kansas IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE) scholarship. He serves as a research ambassador for the Undergraduate Research Center. Barybin began research in the lab of Susan Lunte, Ralph N. Adams Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, in the summer before his freshman year at KU. Barybin’s research focuses on the design of separation-based sensors for monitoring neurotransmitters. Barybin is co-author on a peer-reviewed publication from Lunte’s lab and has presented his research at a regional meeting of the American Chemical Society and at a K-INBRE Symposium. He also recently presented virtually at the 2021 Pittcon conference.
Emma Cosner, from Overland Park, is the daughter of Ron and Sheri Cosner and a graduate of Notre Dame de Sion High School. Cosner is majoring in chemistry and minoring in physics. This semester, Cosner received her second Undergraduate Research Award for the Center for Undergraduate Research. She holds leadership positions and performs outreach through groups such as the Society of Physics Students and Chemistry Club. Cosner joined the lab of James Blakemore, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, as a sophomore. Her research there focuses on harnessing renewable energy using electrocatalysis. She has recently begun research with Christopher Rogan, assistant professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, testing mechanical sensors for the CERN Large Hadron Collider.
Mary Sevart, from Wichita (67205), is the daughter of Eric and Karen Sevart and a graduate of Maize High School. Sevart is majoring in chemical engineering with emphasis on environmental engineering. She has participated in the Accenture Innovation Challenge Club and the KU Marching Band. During the spring of her freshman year, Sevart joined the Biodiesel Fuel Initiative lab of Susan Williams, Charles E. & Mary Jane Spahr Professor and chair of the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering. Sevart is also active as secretary for the KU Biodiesel Initiative student organization. She has received scholarships from the School of Engineering and from the Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel. Sevart recently received an Undergraduate Research Award from the Center for Undergraduate Research.
Jonah Stiel, from Topeka, is the son of Debbie Stiel and Steve Stiel and a graduate of Washburn Rural High School. Stiel is majoring in chemistry. In 2019 he was selected for the Beckman Scholars Program, a 15-month program designed to enrich the development of young scientists, and he received an Undergraduate Research Award from the Center for Undergraduate Research at KU. In 2020, he was selected as an Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Scholar. He serves as a research ambassador with the Center for Undergraduate Research and is president of the KU Chemistry Club. Stiel began conducting research in the lab of James Blakemore, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, while still in high school. His research focuses on environmentally beneficial catalysis. Stiel is co-author on a peer-reviewed publication from the Blakemore lab and has presented at regional and national meetings of the American Chemical Society.
KU News Service
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-3256
Fax: 785-864-3339
[email protected]
http://www.news.ku.edu
Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]
Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs
From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu
