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Why the Scrapping of Section 377 Is Relevant to These Indians on America’s West Coast

On September 6, the Supreme Court of India scrapped Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, effectively decriminalising homosexuality in a judgement that quoted the gay pride anthem “I am what I am.”

Queer South Asians growing up in the United States have long had to suffer from the narrative about homosexuality being an American idea; that their queerness is a result of living in the West. While the scrapping of Section 377 has no legal impact on the South Asian diaspora in the US, some believe the striking down of this colonial norm helps queer Indians abroad convince their families that being gay is not a Western idea, since this is something that many parents seem to believe.

Nishant Shahani.
Nishant Shahani

Nishant Shahani, professor in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program at Washington State University in Pullman and author of Queer Retrosexualities: The Politics of Reparative Return, credits the recent Supreme Court of India judgment for bringing LGBTQIA+ issues into public discourse, facilitating discussions on heterosexuality not being the default setting. “When I left India in 1999 for a master’s in the US, there wasn’t any public discussion on homosexuality,” he says.

“Queer South Asians in the US have to navigate both homophobia and certain structures of racism,” says Shahani, adding that queer Indians in the West are not spared from preconceived notions of India being a land of Bollywood and snake-charmers.

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The Wire

Shawn Vestal: Battling hate, one conversation at a time

The fall 2018 issue of the Journal of Hate Studies focuses on the resurgence of hate crimes and divisive rhetoric in the 2016 election. The journal draws papers and guest editors from universities around the country. One of the guest editors for the upcoming issue is David J. Leonard, a professor in the School of Languages, Cultures, and Race at Washington State University.

David Leonard.
David Leonard

“Academic work is seen as detached, as distant,” Leonard said. “But clearly, in our current moment, a special issue on the 2016 election—we’re right in the midst of it.”

He said the journal, and the Institute for Hate Studies’s overall work, is an attempt to connect with the larger community, in developing understanding and fostering communication.

“All the work I do and the work being done by the institute through the journal is trying to bridge between everyday conversations and academic research,” he said.

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The Spokesman-Review

Analysis: ‘Dark money’ claims in McMorris Rodgers, Brown debate oversimplify complicated campaign finance laws

Some of the most heated exchanges in Wednesday’s campaign debate between Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Democratic challenger Lisa Brown focused on the role of so-called “dark money” in the campaign.

Each candidate for Eastern Washington’s 5th Congressional District seat accused the other of taking advantage of political donations that aren’t traceable.

Travis Ridout.
Travis Ridout

Travis Ridout, a Washington State University political science professor who studies political ads and fundraising, said when people usually refer to “dark money” in politics, they’re talking about groups like Equity Forward, not the Congressional Leadership Fund, which must disclose donors to the FEC.

“Most of what we see in politics is the 501(c)(4)s, who are not required to disclose donors,” Ridout said. “That’s why we refer to them as dark money.”

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The Spokesman-Review

US Sen. Maria Cantwell faces former head of state GOP

Democrat Maria Cantwell has easily won re-election to the U.S. Senate from Washington state in previous years, but as she seeks her fourth term this November she is facing her most recognizable opponent.

Republican Susan Hutchison, who spent two decades as a Seattle TV news anchor before leading the state Republican party for five years, said people are looking for change.

Cornell Clayton.
Cornell Clayton

Cornell Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy at Washington State University, said even though Hutchison is a recognized name in the state, she has an uphill battle in not only trying to take on a Democratic incumbent in a state where Democrats hold most statewide offices, but doing so in a year where Democratic voters appear to be turning out in force.

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Peninsula Daily News

WSU researcher sees huge carbon sink in soil minerals

A Washington State University researcher has discovered that vast amounts of carbon can be stored by soil minerals more than a foot below the surface. The finding could help offset the rising greenhouse-gas emissions helping warm the Earth’s climate.

Marc Kramer.
Kramer

Marc Kramer, an assistant professor of environmental chemistry at WSU Vancouver, reports his finding in one of two related papers demonstrating how the right management practices can help trap much of the carbon dioxide that is rapidly warming the planet.

Soil holds more than three times the carbon found in the atmosphere, yet its potential in reducing atmospheric carbon-dioxide levels and mitigating global warming is barely understood.

Kramer, who is a reviewer for one of three reports issued with the federal National Climate Assessment released last week, compared what we know about soil to how little we know about the deep ocean.

“Hardly anyone has been down there and they just found a new species of octopus” he said. “We know more about the surface of Mars than we do about either oceans or soils on Earth”

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Science Magazine