L&C in the News

For more than a century, economic sanctions have been used as tools to advance international policy. But Lewis & Clark professor Pauls Toutonghi, recounting a recent visit to Aleppo (a city that generations of his family called home), reveals the devastating impact sanctions have on the people who are subject to dictators whose rule remains intact. 

Commercial development shouldn’t come at a cost to public health. That’s why Lewis & Clark’s Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC) is challenging a proposal to that would bring air and noise pollution to Portland’s Parkrose and Argay Terrace neighborhoods, an area home to many low-income residents, immigrants, and people of color.

Foster kids deserve to have all their needs met. But that can be especially challenging for LGBTQ+ youth, who make up about 30% of the population in foster care. According to Oregon’s Department of Human Services, one of the best resources to meet these needs is Lewis & Clark’s TransActive Gender Project, which proudly provides services and supports for these kids and the families that love them.

Melanoma can be treated if it’s caught early – but if not, it can be deadly. And the key to early detection is for each of us to have the confidence and the competence to examine our own skin. As experts in behavioral science, Lewis & Clark Professors Jerusha and Brian Detweiler-Bedell collaborated with an OHSU dermatologist to use social media posts to teach people how to do these vital self-checks. “Generally, people knew that they should check their own skin, but they did not feel confident that they would be able to do so successfully,” notes Brian Detweiler-Bedell. “Of course, you need to know what unhealthy or potentially suspicious moles look like,” adds Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell. “But you might ignore or just not even try to check your own skin if you don’t first believe in yourself. We knew we needed to focus particularly on how to help people become more confident in their ability to check their own skin.” The research already shows evidence of increasing early detection and saving lives.

Lewis & Clark Professor Jo Perini-Abbott helped lead efforts in Oregon to provide an alternative to the bar examination, one in which law school graduates complete an apprenticeship under a supervising attorney. The alternative relieves the financial burden many new graduates face when they spend months studying for the exam, and it provides better career development than the high-stakes test. “So many of the mistakes that young attorneys get in trouble for can be avoided with a period of close mentorship at the beginning of a career,” observes Perini-Abbott. The program is in its first year, but one measurable result is that five students are pursuing the pathway to practice public sector law, notes Lewis & Clark Associate Dean John Parry.

In honor of PRIDE month, the Oregon Health Authority is sharing resources to help LGBTQ+ kids and families thrive. The list includes the TransActive Gender Project, a national resource housed at Lewis & Clark’s Graduate School of Education and Counseling, which provides courses, services, and expertise to empower transgender and gender-expansive children/youth, their families, and the teachers, medical professionals, counselors, clergy, and other adults who work with these children and youth.

Rural Josephine County might change its charter in an effort to assert more local autonomy.  But, explains Lewis & Clark Professor Chad Jacobs, local jurisdictions are still legally bound to abide by statewide measures – a position that has been backed by recent court decisions.

Lewis & Clark Professor David Schraub is a nationally renowned scholar on legal definitions of antisemitism.  But when it comes to understanding the relationship between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, Schraub argues we may be getting the terms of the debate wrong.