The Political Science Independent Research Showcase (PIRS) features the research, scholarship and creative activity of TCNJ Political Science students. The Showcase highlights significant work that results from deep engagement in the scholarly or creative process. Students present work that they have already prepared or presented for another purpose such as Independent Research, a Capstone course, a conference presentation, or some other outstanding scholarly/creative experience. In many cases, this will be work done in collaboration with a faculty mentor, but the student is the primary author and presenter of the work at the Showcase.
The 2025 Political Science Independent Research Showcase (PIRS) will be held on December 3, 2025. Support your fellow students
Panels for POL 498/Senior Seminar: The Politics of Social Inclusion Policy with Dr. Sarah Chartock
10 am – 11 am: The Politics of Family Policy, SSB 223
- Sarah Hart: “Family Law and Gender Inclusion in North Africa”
- Priscilla Atuahene: “From Exclusion to Inclusion: Analyzing the United Kingdom’s Maternal Healthcare Policies”
- Youseff Zabady: “Polygyny in the Middle East: Restrictions on Women’s Rights at the Turn of the Century”
11 am – 12 pm: Criminal Justice Reform: Policies, Punishment, and Public Health, SSB 223
- Anna Kolodiy: “Explaining Divergent Harm Reduction Policies in Conservative States: A Comparison of Florida and Texas (2015–2024)”
- Sarah Kasziba-O’Rahilly: “State versus County: Re-entry Policy and Mental Health Access for Prisoners in Minnesota and Wisconsin”
- Andrea LaMorticella: “Institutions Over Ideology: Divergent Death Penalty Policies in Oregon and Washington”
- Cathy Zheng: “The Role of Public Perception and Cooperation in Drug Policies in Portugal and Spain”
12:30 – 1:30 pm: The Politics of the We: How States Define, Determine, and Discuss Who Is In and Who Is Out, SSB 223
- Spencer McKitrick: “Immigration, Federalism, and Policy Activism in U.S. States”
- Lindsay Coronel: “Blasphemy or Belonging: Religious Inclusion and Exclusion in Senegal and The Gambia”
- Isabelle Haney: “Special Education as Policy: Educational Segregation of the Roma Minority in Slovakia and Romania”
- Ashley Castellanos: “Genocide Education: Denying vs Disclosing the Past in Guatemala and Cambodia”
1:45 – 2:45 pm: The Political Economy of Inclusion and Exclusion, SSB 223
- Michael London: “Bitcoin and Monetary Sovereignty in El Salvador and the Central African Republic”
- Salma Abbassi: “Who Gets to Work? Comparing Syrian Refugee Labor Policies in Jordan and Lebanon”
- Ben Cupit: “Why Are Students Fed? A Study on State Variation in Free School Meals”
- Jasmine Fleming: “Comparing the Census-based Model in New Jersey and California in Special Education”
Panels for POL 390/Junior Seminar: Security in the Asia-Pacific with Dr. Hyun-Binn Cho
11 am – 12 pm: Don’t Look Back in Anger: South Korea, Japan, and Historical Memories SSB 225
- Thomas O’Neal: “Bloody Sunday and Blood Bonds: Bill Clinton’s Priority of the Good Friday Agreement Over Japan-South Korea Relations”
- Ruby Hong: “Historical Memory Disputes”
- Erica Solomon: “Framing Trust: Media Narratives and Public Perceptions of Japan-South Korea Cooperation”
- Nicholas Velasco: “The Future of U.S., Japan, and South Korea Relations”
12:30 – 1:30 pm: China, Taiwan, and Security in the Asia-Pacific SSB 225
- Esmeralda Regalado: “Informed Decisions: Central America and China-Taiwan Relations”
- Ryan Robb: “How U.S. Economic Reliance on Taiwan Clouds American Defense Policy and Breeds Strategic Ambiguity”
- Thomas F. Brattole: “Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and China’s Gray-Zone Strategy in the South China Sea”
- Za’Kiyah Cook: “Why Didn’t the United States Form a Stronger Alliance with China During World War II?”
2:00 – 3:00 pm: U.S. Military Alliances in the Asia-Pacific, SSB 226
- Dora Sauer: “Climate Change and Cooperation”
- Kaylah Thornton: “Race, Power, and Hierarchy: U.S. Perceptions and Asia-Pacific Engagement”
- Ashley Martinelli: “Beyond Promises”
- Chelsea Sera: “Beyond Deterrence: South Korea’s Conventional Doctrine as a Tool for Alliance Renegotiation”
3:00 – 4:00 pm: Nuclear Weapons, Military Modernization, and Politics in the Asia-Pacific, SSB 226
- Johnny Kalinowski: “Nuclear Latency”
- Brigette Wixted: “Nuclear Proliferation in South Asia: How Indian and Pakistani Political Leaders Used Religious Persecution as Justification to Develop Nuclear Weapons”
- Andrew Blackburn: “When Restraint Enables Power: Normative Framing and Defense Modernization”
See the Political Science Independent Research Showcase Archive of past presentations.