In today’s society, the number of people who are socially conscious is rising as information becomes increasingly available. Veganism is one expression of social consciousness and while a diet that abstains from animal products dates back to the days of Native Americans, a poll conducted by Gallup found that only three percent of the United States population is vegan (McCarthy). Many studies previously conducted have synthesized the reasons why people choose to be vegan, but none of them have touched on how to best shift attitudes and behaviors of non-practitioners. According to a Vomad study, 68% of vegans were abstaining from consuming animals due to the ill-treatment of animals by society. This means that a large population of practitioners adopted veganism through becoming educated about the treatment of animals. The origins of veganism are rooted in Native Americans’ notions of duality with nature. Modern philosophical theories regarding the treatment of animals which are intended to educate society includes Ecological Animalism, focused on dualism between humans and nature, and Ontological Veganism, focused on the equality of all living beings and the morality of inflicting pain on others. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), a pro-vegan organization, has chosen to educate through polarizing marketing and social media campaigns. This poses my research question: How effective is education on the philosophies of veganism in influencing non-vegans’ attitudes and behaviors as compared to education through polarizing marketing and social media campaigns?

In the past half-century, culture in the United States has experienced a significant shift in the acceptance of casual sex. On the grounds of educational institutions, students have come to engage more freely with “hookup culture.” For professional-minded individuals, engaging in no-strings-attached relationships have benefitted their careers while not having to sacrifice intimate moments with others. During such a politically-charged moment in this nation’s history, when ideological polarization is so prevalent, it is important to ask just how much adolescents, who are on the cusp of engaging in sexual activity, are informed by the political circumstances that exist within their surroundings and daily lives. A review of literature on these intersectional subjects shows that, though both have been considered separately, little has been done in meta-data analysis to determine the relationship in adolescents between the two. This paper will determine whether sexual activity of individuals aged 14-18 is correlated at all to the socializing effects of the political ideologies within their upbringings.

The current “State of Jefferson” movement is comprised of residents of a large rural region encompassing much of Northern California and Southern Oregon, where many inhabitants claim the right to statehood. Since its origins in 1941, the State of Jefferson remains an obscure movement for most scholars and is simply labeled a regionalist movement. While Jefferson possesses every factor of a secession movement, including economic and socio-political variables, the complexity of its ideology and identity has not been studied. This study aimed to answer the question, “How do those who claim to represent the State of Jefferson secession movement describe Jeffersonian identity and characterize the ideology of the movement? Under the guidance of framing theory, which states that “media, as well as individuals, frame issues according to their own views and values” (M’Bareck 9), a content analysis of ten Facebook accounts was used to provide unfiltered and authentic rhetoric espoused by the movement. Results indicated that the movement is driven by agrarianism, possesses conservative, yet libertarian values, and embraces an ideology of Jeffersonianism reflected in the name of the state. While remaining closely tied to their ideology, Jeffersonian self-identification is also rooted in the rural nature of the region in which they reside.