This paper analyzes the economic, legal, and social aspects of the legal cannabis industry in the United States. These analyses include the history, current status, and future of all three components, all with an emphasis on reforming the existing systems in place in order to achieve the most beneficial cannabis industry possible. Many reformative legal implications are made, stressing the importance of decriminalizing cannabis, releasing nonviolent and cannabis-related criminals from prison, and expunging their criminal records. The paper places a heavy emphasis on the importance of designing the legal system to be fair and equal across all racial and ethnic groups, given that people of color have been hit the hardest in terms of cannabis-related issues. Economic components such as tax design and access to proper financial institutions are also included, as well as the social implications that have both gone into and are a product of the long-standing war on drugs. While there is no comprehensive solution for how to fix every aspect of the industry, this paper highlights key aspects to be aware of in the design stages of potential federal legalization.

Digital learning tools have become ubiquitous in virtual and in person classrooms as teachers found creative ways to engage students during the COVID 19 pandemic. Even before the pandemic and widespread remote learning, however, digital learning tools were increasingly common and a typical part of many classrooms. While all digital learning tools are worthy of study, math digital learning tools (MDLTs) designed for K - 8th grade in particular raise questions of efficacy and usefulness for classrooms. This paper shows that MDLTs are an effective tool to raise students’ math achievement across K - 8th grade, and that time spent on MDLTs can lead to better understanding of a topic than traditional, teacher led instruction. However, if the MDLT is being delivered in a language the student is not familiar with, that student will not be able to benefit from MDLTs in the way other students do. This is also true of students who receive Special Education services. Additionally, higher quality MDLTs that provide feedback that attaches meaning to students’ work creates a better learning environment for students than one with simpler feedback. Based on my experiences with student teaching this year and using the popular MDLT IXL frequently, I recommend that MDLTs not just be used for independent practice time, but for whole class, problem solving sessions where students have to use mathematical thinking in new content areas. This will build deeper conceptual learning and a greater sense of achievement in students.

In this paper, I tackle the question of the validity of lesbian as a category of historical analysis. To do this, I first explore the history of lesbian as a category of identity from the late nineteenth century into the twentieth century, focusing specifically on how it has changed over time. This leads into a discussion of lesbian as a category of scholarly analysis by lesbians themselves, with special attention given to Adrienne Rich’s essay “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” and her concept of the lesbian continuum. I then seek to establish this concept of the lesbian continuum as a valid category of historical analysis that we can use to analyze women and their relationships with other women. Crucially, this analysis is centered on the middle and upper class whose social situations afforded them the privilege of being recorded in history. As a result, much of this paper is unfortunately centered on white women rather than women of color. While the latter half of the twentieth century began to see the inclusion of women of color in lesbian scholarship, there is still much room to expand this paper via research into the lives of lesbian women of color since the Victorian era.

This thesis will draw connections between Viktor Frankl’s psychological practices of Logotherapy and the pedagogical system put into place to support Arizona State University Barrett students on the Polytechnic campus through the Writing Colloquium. On Poly, the Writing Colloquium is uniquely structured through its six functions (Teacher Assistants, Thesis Fests, Paper Mini Conferences, Tribunals, Flipped Thesis Workshops, and Service Projects) to provide support for the Human Event and upperclassman students with an emphasis on engagement with Barrett through all four years of undergraduate learning. Through the work in the Colloquium, both the students it serves and those within the program grow in their understanding of how written language adds meaning to their time in college and can provide purpose and direction for their life after graduation. This view connects back to the existentialist framework suggested by Frankl’s writings in Man’s Search for Meaning, where he discusses the sustaining and enabling power in writing during his time in German concentration camps in World War II and his experience as a psychoanalyst. In the analysis of these theories of life, meaning, and writing, I emphasize the exploration and connection of concepts through written language as a way to discover meaning and purpose in difficult circumstances. In order to do so, also included in my thesis is interviews of: the Barrett Poly Associate Dean; three Faculty members; two Honors Staff; and five ASU Barrett Poly Alumni. These interviews document the early years of Barrett’s presence on the Polytechnic campus and also how the Colloquium has grown over the years to support the expanding population of the honors college on the campus.