O'Neill School Undergraduate Thesis Blog – O'Neill Thesis Writers Sharing What They've Learned

Want to Diversify Your Nonprofit Board? You Won’t Get There By Removing Give-Get Policies

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Lucia Walker

As an undergraduate arts management major, I observed an intriguing pattern when speaking with nonprofit leaders visiting my classes. When asked about how their boards contributed to philanthropic work at their organizations, these professionals shared a sense of apprehension surrounding the popular board fundraising mechanism of “give-get policies.” These practitioners were concerned that requiring board members to contribute a minimum amount as a condition of membership could serve as a barrier to engaging diverse board members in meaningful giving. This sparked my interest in exploring the relationship between diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and fundraising policies on nonprofit boards.

The Changing Landscape of DEI in Nonprofit Boards

Growing diversity has been a major topic of discussion for nonprofit organizations in recent years as the sector scrambles to address a new understanding of systemic inequities as illustrated by the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. While the political landscape surrounding equity has drastically changed in recent months due to anti-DEI executive orders rolled out by the Trump administration, nonprofit organizations are increasingly pursuing greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in order to better engage with and represent their constituencies. DEI has been found across multiple studies to promote organizational development and community building as well as actual firm performance. However, scholars have found that the nonprofit sector is still predominantly White and that there remain barriers to entry for People of Color, women/nonbinary people, and younger people. Though the nonprofit sector includes organizations working hard to address systemic inequity, it is clear that the field itself continues to lack diverse representation.

The nonprofit sector’s ongoing focus on diversity covers more than just variety in people and programming – rather, the mission-driven nature of a nonprofit leads it to consider diversity with holistic goals of reflecting the nonprofit’s cause, mission, and constituents. While not all nonprofits serve diverse constituencies and therefore shouldn’t all be held to the same standard for including diverse demographics, it is certainly true that many nonprofits view increasing diversity and representation of historically underrepresented demographics as a board priority.

How is Diversity Related to Fundraising Policy?

With the knowledge that fundraising policies are an area of scrutiny for those focused on inclusive board practice, I studied the diversity conditions under which nonprofit boards require their members to give minimum annual gifts in an attempt to analyze whether such fundraising policies constitute a financial barrier to board access for marginalized demographics. Previous scholarship has indicated that in part due to systemic wealth and social inequities, the nonprofit field is predominantly white, male, and over the age of 50. Accordingly, I hypothesized that boards with higher concentrations of underrepresented age, gender, and racial demographics would be negatively correlated with minimum annual gifts.

Key Findings of the Study

Through a logistic regression using data from BoardSource’s 2021 Leading With Intent Survey, I first examined the correlation between my independent diversity variables (created by measuring the concentrations of people under the age of 45, female and nonbinary board members, and non-White board members) and the presence of minimum annual gifts. None of the relationships resulted in a p-value below 0.05, so I concluded that they were not significantly correlated.

I then examined the correlation between my diversity variables and the scale of minimum annual gifts. The age and gender variables were not significantly correlated with minimum gift size, but the proportion of non-white board members had a p-value of 0.023 and was actually positively correlated with gift size. This might be explained by the presence of greater wealth (regardless of other demographic factors) on boards that ask for minimum gifts.

On the whole, these results suggest that boards with higher concentrations of marginalized demographics have no particular inclination toward utilizing or neglecting to utilize a give-get policy. Therefore, removing a minimum gift requirement or lowering its amount will not guarantee that board composition will become more diverse in the future.

Why Is This Important?

Nonprofit boards hoping to diversify their membership might assume that financial obstacles are the primary barrier to entry for underrepresented people. With this assumption, they might decide that removing minimum annual gift requirements will help them to recruit more diversely. Through this study, I learned that to make such a decision would be unsubstantiated by evidence. Furthermore, the null hypothesis contributes to the expanding field of scholarly research finding that non-White people have the same capacity to be active donors and contributors to nonprofit organizations as White people.

This study is an important step in understanding how nonprofits can meaningfully engage with diverse demographics. When it comes to barriers to diversity on boards, it’s not just about money. Nonprofit organizations hoping to be more representative of their communities must be willing to reflect critically and work to address systemic issues and barriers for marginalized people.

Lucia Walker is a May 2025 graduate of the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs with a Bachelor of Science in Arts Management. Her honors thesis is titled “It’s Not Just About the Money: Examining the Diversity Conditions Under Which Nonprofit Boards Require Minimum Annual Gifts.” While a student at Indiana University, Lucia served as Student Manager for The Singing Hoosiers and Undergraduate Coordinator for O’Neill Student Leadership Programs. After graduation, Lucia will pursue graduate studies in Arts Administration and Business at the University of Cincinnati.

Economic Dependency in Different Forms: Understanding Ghana and Tanzania’s Uneven Responses to Fast Fashion Waste

Posted on May 12, 2025 by shsdesai

Every year, millions of pounds of second-hand clothing arrive on the shores of African nations — a result of fast fashion overconsumption in the Global North. While these clothes are often donated with good intentions, they create deep economic and environmental consequences for the countries that receive them, including clothing landfills.

Every week, nearly 15 million garments flood into Accra’s Kantamanto Market — shirts, jeans, suits, and skirts discarded by consumers in the Global North. These second-hand clothes, known locally as obroni wawu or “dead white man’s clothes,” are marketed as charitable donations. But behind this trade is a deeper problem: fast fashion dumping.

In theory, secondhand clothing trade helps. It creates jobs, provides affordable clothing, and supports micro-businesses. But in reality, the industry is drowning Ghana in textile waste, devastating local industries, and reinforcing long-standing patterns of economic dependence. Tanzania, a fellow major importer, recognized this threat and attempted to push back. Ghana, despite similar consequences, remains trapped.

Fast fashion companies like Shein, Temu, and H&M produce massive quantities of low-quality clothing. After just a few wears — or none at all — consumers toss them. Some are resold locally. Most are donated. And millions are exported to countries like Ghana and Tanzania.

This results in overflowing landfills, clogged drains, polluted beaches, and worsening public health. Greenpeace reports that up to 40–60% of these clothes end up as waste. Vendors in Ghana complain that bales often contain stained, torn, or unusable items. The OR Foundation found that nearly 40% of textiles in Kantamanto become waste, with some burned and others dumped in unmanaged landfills.

Ghana is the world’s largest importer of secondhand clothing, bringing in over $214 million worth in 2021 alone. This trade provides an estimated 30,000 jobs in Kantamanto — from vendors and tailors to truck drivers and cleaners.

Despite the environmental crisis, Ghana has made no serious policy effort to reduce secondhand clothing imports. There’s been no ban, no sharp tariff hike, and no enforcement of anti-dumping measures, even though it’s legally permitted under WTO rules. Ghana depends deeply on this trade. Its domestic textile industry has collapsed under the pressure of cheap imports. Secondhand clothing is affordable for consumers, especially in low-income communities. And many government officials defend the trade, calling it part of Ghana’s economic “way of life.”

This reflects what scholars call dependency theory: Global South countries, shaped by colonial histories and IMF-backed liberalization, remain structurally reliant on the Global North — even when it harms them. In Ghana’s case, both policymakers and citizens are caught in a bind: imports are destructive, but also essential for survival.

Tanzania took a different route — at least initially. In 2016, it joined other East African Community (EAC) countries in a plan to ban second-hand clothing imports by 2019. The goal? Protect and rebuild local textile industries. To do so, Tanzania doubled import duties on used clothing and banned the import of certain items like used underwear. These were steps toward an Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) strategy — reducing reliance on foreign goods by strengthening domestic production.

But Tanzania faced major international backlash. The U.S. Trade Representative warned that this violated the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade deal offering duty-free access to U.S. markets. To preserve its AGOA benefits, Tanzania ultimately backed down and rescinded its full ban. Even so, Tanzania still maintains a 25% tariff on secondhand clothing — higher than Ghana’s 20% — and is more committed to industrial development through regional trade structures like AfCFTA.

In 2023, both Ghana and Tanzania signed onto AfCFTA’s protocol to reduce secondhand clothing imports across Africa. While promising on paper, enforcement remains uncertain — especially in Ghana. With little political will and high economic dependence, Ghana’s compliance is unlikely.

Civil society groups in Ghana are increasingly vocal. Greenpeace, the OR Foundation, and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly all advocate for tighter regulations or a partial ban. Yet, even these groups caution that a complete ban could harm livelihoods unless paired with serious investment in sustainable local textile production. In short, Ghana cannot simply stop importing secondhand clothing. But it can start demanding accountability from fast fashion producers, filtering out unusable garments, and investing in a circular, regenerative economy.

This crisis isn’t just about trade — it’s about power. The Global North overproduces, then dumps its waste onto the Global South. Environmental activist Hellen Kahaso Dena calls it “waste colonialism.” Ghana, she argues, is treated not as an equal trade partner, but as a landfill site for unwanted goods.

Until that changes — through stronger global regulations, producer responsibility laws, and investment in African industries — the pile of obroni wawu will only keep growing. We must address the root cause: a global system that values cheap clothes over sustainable lives.

Shailey Desai is a senior majoring in International Policy and Development. Her research focuses on global trade, postcolonial economics, and environmental justice in the Global South. She’s passionate about storytelling, fiber arts, and finding sustainable alternatives to fast fashion.

How National Politics Are Reshaping Local Elections: Lessons from Indianapolis

Posted on May 12, 2025 by alexamad

Image from the 2023 Indianapolis Mayoral Debate, Joe Hogsett (D) (left), Jefferson Shreve (R) (right)

When you think about a local election, such as your city’s mayoral race, you might expect candidates to focus on fixing potholes, improving public transportation, or making neighborhoods safer. But increasingly, local campaigns are starting to sound more like national political debates.

In my thesis, I examined the 2023 mayoral race in Indianapolis to understand how national politics are influencing local elections. My findings reflect a growing trend: local campaigns are becoming “nationalized,” and that shift may carry serious implications for how we govern our cities.

During the summer of 2023, I interned with the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office and witnessed firsthand how national issues were shaping local political conversations. The office received calls from across Indiana, many concerning topics like abortion and gun control. These issues are largely outside a mayor’s control, yet they were clearly top of mind for constituents. These interactions revealed how deeply national debates are resonating with voters, even at the local level.

Indianapolis, a Democratic stronghold in a predominantly Republican state, presents a unique case for studying political polarization. The city’s liberal electorate often clashes with the state’s Republican supermajority, creating a dynamic environment where both parties have strong incentives to invoke national political narratives.

The 2023 mayoral race featured Democratic incumbent Joe Hogsett and Republican challenger Jefferson Shreve. I analyzed a range of campaign materials—including tweets, emails, and advertisements—using qualitative analysis software to explore how each candidate framed key issues and what emotional tone they used in their messaging.

My research focused on three central questions:

Are candidates more likely to nationalize high-profile issues like gun control and abortion?

Do Republican candidates nationalize local issues more often than Democrats?

Is negative messaging more common when candidates use nationalized framing?

The results reveal some clear patterns. First, nationalized framing was especially common on hot-button issues like abortion, gun violence, and DEI. For example, 46% of Hogsett’s campaign messages on public safety included national framing—compared to just 19% for Shreve. These topics were often tied to national party positions rather than city-specific policy plans.

Second, contrary to my original expectations, the Democrat—Joe Hogsett—used nationalized framing far more often than the Republican candidate. Overall, 39% of Hogsett’s campaign messaging included national themes, compared to just 14% for Shreve. Hogsett’s strategy often tied Shreve to national Republican positions on gun control or abortion, especially in video ads and emails.

Third, nationalized messaging was more likely to carry a negative tone. While localized messages were more likely to highlight city improvements or propose practical solutions, nationalized messages were often used to attack the opponent. For instance, 71% of Hogsett’s video ads included nationalized framing, and over half of those were negative in tone. In contrast, Shreve’s video ads were 94% local in focus and mostly positive.

Why It Matters

At first glance, it may not seem problematic for local candidates to discuss national issues. But nationalizing local campaigns can have real consequences. When candidates campaign on issues beyond their control, voters may develop unrealistic expectations. A mayor cannot change federal gun laws or alter abortion policy, but if a campaign focuses on these topics, voters may expect action. When that action doesn’t follow, trust in local government can erode.

Nationalization also increases outside influence. As national issues dominate local campaigns, out-of-state donors and political action committees become more involved. This kind of influence puts pressure on candidates to align with national platforms, even when those agendas don’t reflect the specific needs of their city. Another concern is the growing involvement of national political figures in local politics. Former President Trump and others have directly criticized city leaders, pushing them to fall in line with national priorities. That scrutiny can make local leaders more loyal to their party’s national stance than to pragmatic, community-based problem solving.

What’s Next?

Indianapolis is not alone. Cities across the United States are experiencing similar shifts. As national political battles continue to shape local campaigns, it’s more important than ever for voters, journalists, and scholars to ask whether candidates are addressing local concerns or simply echoing national narratives.

Future research should examine other cities and election cycles to see whether these patterns persist. It would also be valuable to understand how voters respond to nationalized campaigns. Do they feel more motivated to vote, or more disillusioned by the lack of local focus?

At a time when trust in government is low and political polarization is high, the nationalization of local elections could either energize civic participation or make it harder for cities to address the everyday challenges they face. Local elections are meant to focus on fixing streets, keeping neighborhoods safe, and ensuring public services run well. If campaigns lose sight of those goals, the effectiveness of local governance and the well-being of communities could suffer.

Maddie Alexander is a senior in the O’Neill Honors Program studying Law and Public Policy. Prior to writing her thesis on the nationalization of local elections, she interned with the Indianapolis Mayors Office in 2023 and spent the Spring semester of 2024 in Washington DC interning for the House of Representatives. Her field experience inspired her thesis exploration of how national issues are creeping into local elections. After graduation, she is attending The Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Lessons from Young Adults in the United States and in China regarding Wildfire risk perception and mitigation

Posted on May 12, 2025 by ywu9

The globe is facing an increasing rate of frequent, intense wildfires. From the record fire years in California to wildfires in unexpected areas in southwestern Chinese forests, the wildfire threat is no longer exclusive to regions of known fire risk. Aside from immediate loss of homes and human life, these disasters alter ecosystems, overwhelm first-responder systems, and test preparedness models. Amidst all of these, though, remains an oft-overlooked group of individuals: young adults.

Youth are not only passive spectators of the climate crisis, they are also future decision-makers, voters, and leaders who will make choices about their future environment. Youth risk perception of environmental hazards like wildfires is critical for enhancing long-term resilience. My research examines the influence of sociocultural variables on wildfire risk perception and mitigative action of young adults in the United States and China, two globally important but culturally different countries.

Why focus on youth—and compare the United States and China?

Historically, wildfire scholarship tended to concentrate on homeowners, especially in wildfire-prone regions. These are the individuals immediately in charge of maintaining land and evacuation. College-aged adults are not usually studied despite their rising political and social influence. These young adults are also digital natives who consume both information and disinformation about wildfires in different ways, such as through social media instead of formal sources.

The United States-China contrast offers an insightful frame for analyzing the impact of culture and institutions on perceiving risk. Wildfire prevention in the United States typically prioritizes individual action: homeowners must clear vegetation, receive alerts, and make autonomous choices. The equivalent in China is collective coordination, with government agencies spearheading risk communication as well as response. These cultural and structural variations create rich terrain for examining how young people in both societies internalize risk.

Methods and Theoretical Framework

The survey involved 263 university students, 78 of them from the United States, and 185 from China, using an online questionnaire. Wildfire risk perception, self-perceived mitigating behavior, personal experience of wildfire, frequency of discussions with other people, beliefs regarding climate change, exposure to media, and cultural orientation (using Hofstede’s individualism-collectivism scale) were all measured using 7 and 5-point Likert scales.

Theoretically, the work is grounded in Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), which describes how humans appraise threats and their capability for dealing with them, and Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory, which explains how national cultural characteristics impact attitudes as well as behavior. PMT is used for specifically determining why an individual decides to take, or avoid, precautionary action, whereas Hofstede’s work is used for placing such choices in larger cultural contexts.

Statistical analysis involved multiple linear regressions and t-tests, used for both universal predictors as well as cultural contrasts.

Key Findings

The results provide both common predictors as well as cross-country variation. For both populations, three predictors emerged as robust, consistent predictors of wildfire risk perception and intent to mitigate.

Previous wildfire exposure: Individuals with previous wildfire exposure, either directly or through relatives, noticed increased risk and were more apt to respond.

Interpersonal conversation: Discussion of wildfires with family members or friends raised awareness as well as preparedness.

Climate change beliefs: Students who believed in the phenomenon of climate change were also found to be significantly more likely to judge wildfire as an increasing threat.

Conversely, cultural orientation (collectivism vs. individualism)—widely presumed to play an important role—failed to significantly foretell wildfire perception or action. This contradicts long-standing assumptions regarding East-West risk responses.

Yet, some key differences did emerge. Chinese students showed greater risk perception and greater intent toward mitigation with lower media exposure and less personal experience. The American respondents were found to be higher on individualism, watched more wildfire-related media, believed in climate change, yet were not as urgent in their behavioral action. The seeming paradox indicates that risk perception is not always equated with exposure to information or with belief systems—the perception is also derived from emotional proximity as well as peer reinforcement.

Interestingly, while not actually measured, institutional trust must have affected the responses. In China, respondents may have absorbed risk messaging more readily because they have greater faith in government institutions. In the U.S., suspicion of authority can blunt the effectiveness of official messages, leaving more power in the hands of peer and personal experience.

Final Thoughts

Across the hills of California and the mountains of Chongqing, the risk of wildfire is increasing. The issue is not where fire happens, but how humans react. This analysis demonstrates that young adults are not a passive audience for cultural values or national identity. Instead, young adults’ actions are guided by experience, peer influence, and awareness of the climate, not cultural values or national identity.

With increased environmental risks looming in our future, educating young people through informed, culturally attuned messaging is no longer discretionary—it’s imperative. Governments, educators, and communicators have no choice but to go where young people are: online, in discussion, and where experience meets belief. Only then can we fundamentally create a fire-resilient generation.

Yangzheng Wu is a Junior who majors in Environmental Management and minor in Economics. He finished his undergraduate in three years and plans to pursue a master degree in environmental fields after graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Researching the Road to Reproductive Care

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Reese Wiley

Research Summary:

After the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in June 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade, the number of abortions provided in the U.S. has grown, rising 11% since 2020 to over 1 million abortions a year. (Cahn & Suter, 2024) Additionally, studies have shown not only an increase in the number of women seeking reproductive care out-of-state but also a marked increase in the distance they are willing to travel for such services. With this dramatic increase, many states have enacted laws that have restricted or banned abortion altogether, while some others have been steadfast in protecting access.

This led me to conduct my research and focus my thesis on better understanding how strong an impact these state travel restrictions may have on women seeking abortions. More importantly, my study and dissertation explore the factors that ultimately influence women in their decision to cross state lines for reproductive care if their state has restrictions on abortion.

Hypothesis:

My initial hypotheses were based on the statistical trends in obtaining an abortion across state lines and in the public opinions toward legal restrictions on abortion. I predicted (1) that a majority of women, regardless of demographic background, would be willing to cross state lines for an abortion if necessary, and (2) that their greatest hesitancy would come from the fear of legal repercussions associated with crossing state borders to access reproductive care. This prediction aligned with data from Pew Research (2024), which showed that a majority of Americans, including 64% of women, believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

Data & Methods:

To test my hypotheses, I conducted a survey of students at Indiana University, targeting individuals who are most likely to be affected by abortion laws: those capable of becoming pregnant. More specifically, I was looking for women aged 18-23 with a wide variety of demographics. The survey was designed to collect anonymous responses, ensuring the confidentiality of the respondents. I had 66 participants.

Key Findings:

The respondent population I received was diverse in a multitude of ways, including religious and political affiliation. In terms of religious affiliation, 68% of survey respondents identified that they align themselves with a religion. 35% of the survey respondents were Non-Catholic Christians, while 27% identified as Catholic and 6% identified as Jewish. Notably, only four respondents ranked religious or ethical opposition the strongest when asked how strongly these factors would contribute to their decision to terminate a pregnancy, while the majority of respondents chose religious or ethical opposition as the second to least influential toward their decision.

Additionally, the population from the survey data varied in political affiliation. Of those who responded, 58% aligned themselves with the Democratic Party and 27% aligned themselves with the Republican Party. Through the survey responses, only a percentage of these individuals were strictly opposed to abortion, with only 7% of the survey respondents stating that they would not under any circumstances receive an abortion.

When asked about which factors would influence the individual’s decision to terminate a pregnancy, the most selected factors were the cost of bearing and caring for a child (73%), the impact of pregnancy on physical or mental health (73%), and the health conditions of the fetus (72%). Aside from not being able to become pregnant, which was ranked as the least important factor for a majority of respondents, religious or ethical opposition (35%) and whether abortion is lawful in the individual’s state (28%) were ranked by survey respondents as not influential in their decision to terminate a pregnancy by selecting these factors as their second to last choice on the scale.

However, when subsequently asked to choose which factors would influence the individual’s decision whether to travel across state lines to obtain assistance in terminating their pregnancy, 71% of respondents selected whether traveling out of state to obtain an abortion would be legal as an influential factor. Additionally, 50% of survey respondents chose how far they would have to travel as an important consideration, and 46% of respondents selected that how much it would cost to travel would be an influential factor in making their ultimate decision to travel for reproductive purposes.

Conclusion:

While most respondents ranked the legality of abortion as least influential when considering abortion broadly, they identified it as the most influential factor when deciding whether to travel across state lines for care. This shift may reflect increased feelings of vulnerability when travel introduces legal risks or financial burdens. Regardless, many may still prioritize their health over those risks despite the legal uncertainty.

Reese Wiley is from Indianapolis, Indiana. She studied Law and Public Policy at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. In the fall of 2025, she will be attending Maurer Law School to pursue her Juris Doctor. Her thesis topic was about the intersection of interstate travel on reproductive care in a post-Dobbs world.

How Your Local University Is Transforming Its Local Housing Market

Posted on May 12, 2025 by daschutt

When most people picture a college town, they likely think of lively student-oriented infrastructure, campus events, fraternity row, and a general sense of youthful energy that invades the local community. But beneath the surface of this vibrant atmosphere lies a powerful, yet underresearched force driving urban change: studentification.

This term refers to the transformation of neighborhoods and cities resulting from increases in the concentrations of student populations. Yet, despite the acknowledgement of this type of urban change, studentification remains understudied in the American context. Much of the existing scholarship has focused on case studies outside of the United States or on broad qualitative findings. In the United States, where small- and mid-sized cities can rely heavily on local universities for economic and cultural vitality, the lack of focused research has left a knowledge gap, especially when it comes to understanding how student populations influence local housing markets. My thesis aims to fill this gap.

Using data from the 2023 American Community Survey and the 2023 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, and utilizing Ordinary Least Squares Regression analysis, my research investigates how the concentration of higher education students affects various aspects of local housing markets. The dataset includes all cities in the United States with populations between 25,000 and 250,000, for a total of 1,758 cities across the United States, making it one of the more comprehensive looks at studentification in an American context. My results illuminate important considerations for policymakers in small- and mid-sized cities in the United States with dominant institutions of higher education, particularly for those cities seeking to address issues in their local housing market.

First, as the proportion of students increases in a city, both rental prices and home values rise. This is a crucial insight for policymakers in communities facing high housing costs and a dominant higher education institution. The logic is straightforward: more students mean higher demand for housing, particularly temporary or short-term rentals, due to the rotational, temporary nature of the student population. This higher demand drives up both rental and sale prices.

When the data is broken down further, we see that this trend holds only for full-time students; part-time students do not significantly affect rental and housing costs. Similarly, only graduate students, and not undergraduate students, are associated with higher rental and housing prices. One likely reason is that undergraduates are more likely to live in on-campus housing or be subject to campus residency requirements, while graduate students often live off-campus and participate more fully in the off-campus housing markets.

Second, my results show that as the proportion of students increases, the rate of owner-occupied housing decreases. This trend holds across all student subgroups. Given the temporary nature of student residency and their low incomes, it is unsurprising that students rarely purchase homes. The demand for rental housing far exceeds that for owner-occupied housing. In response, developers prioritize constructing more rental housing, gradually reducing the share of owner-occupied units in the city over time.

Thirdly, despite the population influx, studentification has no significant impact on vacancy rates. This suggests that off-campus housing markets are able to absorb the student demand, likely due to a steady development of student-targeted rental properties.

Finally, the data shows a double-sided effect on housing cost burden. As the proportion of students increases, the rate of cost-burdened renters rises, while the rate of cost-burdened homeowners declines. According to HUD, individuals are cost-burdened when they spend more than 30% of their income on housing (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). This finding aligns with expectations: students typically have low incomes and high tuition expenses, pushing their housing costs over the burden threshold. In contrast, homeowners in college towns often include faculty, other professionals, and a highly educated workforce, who tend to earn higher wages and can more comfortably afford housing expenses (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

These findings illuminate the need for targeted housing policies in college towns. As the proportion of students in a city grows, rental and home prices rise, owner-occupancy declines, and renter cost burdens increase. Policymakers should respond by expanding affordable rental and housing options, protecting homeownership opportunities, and planning for balanced growth. Tailoring policies to the student demographic can help maintain housing stability and affordability for both student and non-student residents. Additionally, partnerships between universities and municipalities can result in coordinated planning efforts, helping to balance the on-campus versus off-campus housing dynamic and preserve affordability in increasingly competitive housing markets.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024, August 29). Education Pays. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) Data. HUD User, https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/cp/CHAS/bg_chas.html.

Dylan Schutte is a graduating senior studying Policy Analysis, Economics and Quantitative Methods, and Political Science. During his time at Indiana University, Dylan was a Cox Civic Scholar, an intern with the City of Bloomington Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development and the Indiana Department of Revenue, a member of the Indiana University Student Government, and an Indiana University Student Ambassador. After graduation, Dylan will attend the University of Virginia School of Law to pursue his Juris Doctor.

What’s NIL Anyways? How Title IX Intersects with Name, Image and Likeness Opportunities

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Chelsie Lindauer

As a student-athlete at Indiana University, I see the inequities between male and female athletes every day. It’s the little things, like men’s basketball and football getting priority advising, greater access to facilities, and more team-issued gear. Title IX, enacted in 1972, was designed to prevent exactly those kinds of imbalances by establishing a system of checks and balances to ensure equitable treatment of female athletes. Despite this, as of 2022, nearly 80% of higher education institutions had yet to fully attain compliance with Title IX (Rutgers Business School).

The introduction of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) has led male athletes to benefit at even greater levels than their female counterparts. Male athletes are experiencing increased profits and media opportunities as a result of the introduction of NIL, while their female counterparts continue to lag behind.

How does compliance with Title IX impact the distribution of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities among male and female athletes at Power 5 schools?

Key Findings

To explore the relationship between Title IX compliance and NIL distribution at Power 5 schools, I established two standardized indexes: the Comprehensive Compliance Index (CCI) and NIL Index. Using data from the EADA, Opendorse, and Instagram, I collected data on the school’s compliance with Title IX, proportionality of athletes, and the number of athletes engaged in NIL opportunities. Using regression analysis, I modeled how Title IX directly impacted NIL engagement at Power 5 schools and the role of social media in NIL opportunities.

I identified two key findings:

1. Higher Compliance with Title IX Does Not Increase NIL Distribution

While one might assume that schools that commit themselves to providing equal opportunities for both male and female athletes would also see the same pattern in participation in NIL opportunities, this is not true. Schools with greater overall compliance with Title IX saw a significant negative impact on the distribution of NIL opportunities between male and female student-athletes. This was even clearer with the distribution of NIL between each conference, as those with high-performing, revenue-earning men’s teams saw far less participation in NIL from their female athletes. Title IX is not playing as large a role in male and female equity as many think, illustrating a need for serious, quality reform.

2. Social Media Plays a Large Role in Access to NIL

Results of my study show that male athletes, specifically men’s basketball and football players, account for over 35% of NIL earners at Power 5 schools. These athletes, given their popularity, also benefit from having some of the largest social media followings of all student-athletes. These athletes not only benefit from the visibility and revenue that comes from playing such high-profile sports, but also from their massive social media followings that boost their marketability. On average, male programs boast 61,000 more Instagram followers than female programs. Their games are televised, their highlights go viral, and their names become known across campus, creating a cycle where exposure leads to opportunity. Meanwhile, female athletes, regardless of talent, fail to be given the same opportunities or attention.

Policy Implications

The implications of this study were clear: current NIL practices risk reinforcing gender inequities unless action is taken at both the federal and institutional levels. My research challenges the enforcement of Title IX, suggesting that more direct application to NIL can ensure that all athletes, regardless of sex, have equal opportunity to benefit from their Name, Image, and Likeness. By creating a federal NIL framework, schools and athletes can examine the effectiveness of NIL at their respective institution, and better examine how Title IX is being implemented. Furthermore, this framework establishes clearer guidelines for businesses and organizations wishing to engage in NIL with respective athletes.

To further enhance student-athletes’ experience with the changing NIL landscape, schools should invest in the promotion and development of all athletes through improved marketing education, financial literacy, and social media coaching. This, in addition to the required reporting of NIL deals across all sports, can help close the gap in NIL outcomes, giving every athlete the tools to succeed both on and off the field.

Chelsie Lindauer is a senior honors student at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs studying Policy Analysis. After graduating, she will continue her education at the O’Neill School, earning her Master’s of Public Affairs with concentrations in Nonprofit Management and Information Systems.

Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) Provide Positive Health & Academic Outcomes for Queer Youth Who Join…But Stigma for Those Who Don’t

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Zsofia Leary

Members of the CCBC Gay-Straight Alliance attend a Pride Fest (Wikimedia Commons).

Studies have shown that LGBTQIA+ youth that have sources of representation at school (whether that be educators or organization such as GSAs) have more positive mental health and better academic outcomes. To actually be able to reap these benefits, however, queer youth have to be comfortable and safe enough to join their school’s GSA. In conservative states like Indiana, they aren’t. My mission when interviewing 12 queer-identifying IU students who formerly attended Indiana public high schools was to figure out why.

Many factors can influence whether queer youth feel safe enough to come out, including home environment and peer acceptance. Among the LGBTQIA+ students that formerly attended public Indiana high schools that I interviewed for my study, several described stigmas they experienced from parents or peers as a barrier for joining their GSA. For example, Fiona grew up in a conservative Catholic family. Family members were not very supportive of her identity. Most of her friends at the time were not supportive of her, either. Her school did have a GSA, but she was not a part of it because she thought the members of it were weird: “it was those kids that would always pull on each other’s foxtails.” She even went as far as to say that joining her school’s GSA would have been “social suicide.”

Nora also had a very negative experience with her identity at school. She was outed by someone close to her and subsequently was severely bullied and harassed. “I was shoved into lockers, followed home … [and] called all sorts of slurs. It was basically like every stereotypical high school movie.” Nora was a member of her school’s GSA, but her extremely negative experience outside of the classroom understandably made her feel extremely unsafe at school.

At this point, it’s important for me to mention that some of my interviewees did have a neutral or even positive experience with representation at school. Ella had a supportive home environment and was on the Exec Board of her GSA. She even had a queer-identifying teacher that was able to mentor her. However, 8 out of 12 of my interviewees (roughly 67%) reported having negative experiences at school and/or a lack of connection with their GSA.

80% of LGBTQIA+ youth report feeling unsafe at school, according to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Center’s 2021 Climate Survey. The current federal political climate does not lend itself to queer-informed legislation. This is only exacerbated in conservative states such as Indiana. Several states across the country have been passing so-called “Don’t Say Gay Bills,” which severely limit how public schools can teach diverse gender and sexual identities. Indiana’s version, passed in 2023 and called House Bill 1608 (HB 1608) also includes a “mandatory reporting” clause. This means that if a student changes their preferred pronouns in the school database, teachers must report this change to the student’s parent or guardian within five business days or risk termination. Not only does this put educators in an unfairly difficult place, but it also potentially places queer youth at risk, especially if they are in an unsafe environment at home.

Since the stigmatization of queer youth is a systemic and societal issue, no solution is completely effective or straightforward. Nevertheless, I propose three potential ones as a starting place. First, public schools could introduce queer-inclusive curriculum that educates both straight and queer students about various identities within the LGBTQIA+ umbrella. However, this solution is not likely to be favored in states with conservative governments.

Second, community grassroots organizations could be encouraged to educate the public about queer issues. However, this solution runs into a catch 22. Organizations aiming to break through stigma but are advocating for stigmatized groups are often less likely to be taken seriously by the majority.

Third, there are specific charter schools for LGBTQIA+ students, such as the Magic Acceptance Academy in Alabama. Schools such as these employ trauma-informed curricula to ensure the safety and well-being of queer youth. While these schools are amazing only a handful actually exist across the U.S. Also, to attend such a school, youth have to feel safe enough to embrace their identity in the first place. If they are minors, their parents have to also be supportive of their identity and allow them to attend such a school.

Overall, the main goal of legislators should be to protect and empower ALL youth so they can grow into the impactful citizens of tomorrow. This of course, includes queer youth. We need to find effective methods to combat stigma so queer youth can benefit from representation and achieve positive academic and health outcomes that come with having a supportive community.

Zsófia Leary is a senior studying Law & Public Policy. After graduation, she will be attending NYU to earn an MPA with a concentration in social justice and advocacy. She is a passionate advocate for the rights of LGBTQIA+ youth. In their free time, they enjoy traveling the world, thrifting, listening to or performing music, and cuddling with her dog, Marley.

Granting Local Power: Differential Municipality CDBG Implementation Effectiveness

Posted on May 12, 2025 by junfguo

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is a longstanding federal grant designed to support local governments in providing affordable housing and expanding economic opportunities for low to moderate income people. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) distributes funds to localities, who then determine how best to allocate resources for community development.

While HUD assesses the program’s overall effectiveness, there is limited comparative research on how different cities’ stewardship strategies impact the targeted populations. This study conducts a cross-sectional analysis to examine variations in CDBG implementation across localities by comparing funding amounts and allocation strategies. The funding cycles observed are 2011 and 2017, with short term comparisons being made from 2011-2013 and 2017-2019. The outcomes observed are based on the federal goals of the CDBG program. This research aims to identify the most successful ways local governments can leverage their CDBG funding to address housing affordability and economic hardship.

Key Findings

This research compared a large city and a small city in a randomly selected state to see the effects of the amount of overall funding. The randomly selected state was Illinois. The large city selected was Chicago as it is the largest city in the state and receives the most funding. The randomly selected small city was Urbana. The variables for this research are based on the national objectives of the CDBG program. The independent variables are the amount of funding received from the federal government and what the funding is used for by the city. The dependent variables are the uniform metrics this study uses to measure the effectiveness of each city’s CDBG implementation. They are the percentage of homeless people in the population and the concentration of people below the poverty line in high poverty neighborhoods.

For Illinois in 2011, the greater the amount of funding awarded to a city, the more the percentage of low-income homeless individuals lowers and the lower the concentration of high poverty neighborhoods, as seen in Chicago. However, cities focusing their funds on housing and the low-income homeless population does not necessarily lower the percentage of homeless individuals there are, as seen in Urbana. Furthermore, the more cities focus on poverty solutions rather than mitigation and the more they focus their funds on high poverty neighborhoods, the lower the concentration of high poverty neighborhoods and the lower the homelessness percentage.

In 2017, the overall CDBG allocation decreased for both cities, showing that small decreases in funding may not have a negative impact on the percentage of low-income homeless individuals and the concentration of high poverty neighborhoods. Both Chicago and Urbana’s homeless population percentages and poverty concentrations decreasing from 2017 to 2019 may be due to the large allocations the cities made to public services/facilities. This is a change from 2011, where the poverty allocations were lower, especially in Urbana. This change resulted in more dramatic changes for both cities’ poverty percentage, and a shift from an increase to a decrease in the homelessness percentage and poverty concentration for Urbana.

Conclusion

Though the amount of funding that localities receive overall may have some impact on the effectiveness of their programming, it does not seem to be the main cause of changes. The comparisons between Chicago and Urbana in both 2011 and 2017 show that high public services allocations are the most effective way to use the CDBG to decrease the homeless percentage and poverty concentration in high poverty neighborhoods in cities. These public services target the root of both homelessness and poverty by providing assistance and counseling on the biggest pressures on those in poverty, while housing is just one, albeit important, aspect of homelessness and poverty.

Future research can be done on more states and cities to make this research more generalizable. Preliminary research for cities in California and Indiana from this study shows similar results to Illinois. More detailed research can also be done by looking at what specific public service programs seem to be common throughout successful cities. The main takeaway for this research is that local governments should focus their funding on poverty allocations such as public services and facilities to most effectively use their CDBG funding.

Sophie Guo is a senior at Indiana University studying Law and Public Policy at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Criminal Justice in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is attending law school in the fall.

Can a Policy Expand Access to Autism Therapy? California’s SB 946 Shows It Can

Posted on May 12, 2025 by elikurla

More than 5.4 million American adults have been diagnosed with autism, with that number only rising. Many of those individuals rely on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, a leading evidence-based autism therapy. However, ABA therapy is not immune to the widespread practice of insurer denials.

In 2023, insurers in the Affordable Care Act marketplace denied roughly 73 million claims, representing 20% of all claims filed. For healthcare services like ABA therapy, which costs between $120 to $150 per hour without insurance, insurer denials can prevent individuals from accessing life-changing treatment.

In response to insurer denials of ABA therapy, California passed Senate Bill 946 (SB 946) in 2011, mandating that insurers provide coverage for behavioral health treatment for autism on par with other medical conditions. I sought to understand whether this insurance coverage mandate was effective at preventing insurer denials and expanding access to autism therapy, with this research finding that it successfully expanded access to care.

Key Findings:

Using a difference-in-differences (DID) experimental design, this research evaluated the impact of SB 946 on autism treatment denials by examining publicly available data from California’s Independent Medical Review (IMR) program. The IMR program enables Californian policyholders to appeal treatment denials to independent physicians for review, making it an indicator of whether insurers reduced outright treatment denials based on the number of treatment denials appealed to the program. This DID method enables this research to examine the causal effect of the legislation by comparing changes in IMR data for autism and the control groups before and after the passage of SB 946.

I specifically identified two key findings from this research:

SB 946 was effective in reducing the number of treatment denials for autism behavioral health treatment. The results suggested that SB 946 effectively reduced the number of autism treatment denials appealed to the IMR program. While analyses using the prevention/good health control group did not find statistically significant reductions in autism case volume, the observed effects when using mental disorder diagnoses as the control group, the most closely correlated diagnosis, establish the policy’s effectiveness in reducing autism treatment denials. Thus, indicating that SB 946 successfully decreased the number of inappropriate insurer denials of autism behavioral health treatment.
SB 946 did not significantly affect the proportion of appeals of autism treatment denials that were overturned. No statistically significant relationships were found between either of the control groups and post-policy changes in the percentage of appeals for autism treatment that were overturned. This result contrasts with prior research on SB 855, a comparable insurance coverage mandate, which contributed to increases in the overturn rates for covered diagnoses through the IMR program.

TD;DR: SB 946 did not influence how appeals were decided, but it was effective as it likely changed insurer behavior by reducing insurer denials of behavioral health treatment for autism and consequently making appeals less necessary. This finding aligns with the purpose of SB 946 to reduce inappropriate denials and expand access to care for individuals requiring autism therapy.

Implications

Given that SB 946 effectively reduced insurer denials of autism treatment, it is likely that the policy also lessened the burden on families who would otherwise have to file appeals. Appealing treatment denials to an insurer’s internal appeals process and subsequently to the IMR program can delay access to treatment and create stress for families. Therefore, it is logical that SB 946’s reduction in the need for appeals lowered costs for families and improved the timeliness of care for autism therapy as a result.

Number Of California Patients Fighting Insurance Denials Is Up, Cases Nearly Triple. Why? - capradio.org

Insurance coverage mandates like SB 946 represent an evidence-based solution to reduce inappropriate insurer denials and protect policyholders’ access to critical healthcare treatments. Many individuals with autism rely on ABA therapy to develop communication skills, understand emotions, and perform daily tasks. For individuals like Chris Fellmeth (pictured above), ABA therapy has helped him build the skills needed to thrive. SB 946 played an important role in ensuring continued access to this life-changing treatment.

Eli Kurlander is a recent graduate of the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs with a Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs. His thesis is titled “An Evaluation of the Impact of SB 946 on Autism Treatment Coverage and Insurance Appeals Through California’s Independent Medical Review Program.” At Indiana University, Eli was a part of many organizations, including the IU Student Foundation, IU Funding Board, and Student Advisory Board for the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.

Do Juvenile Drug Courts in Indiana Consider Federal Recommendations During Programming?

Posted on May 12, 2025 by sydcbens

Juvenile drug courts were established in the late 1990s to provide specialized, rehabilitative services to youth with substance abuse disorders. Over time, research concerning the effectiveness of juvenile drug courts expanded and noted mixed, underwhelming results regarding return to substance use and reoffending. Some of these results could be attributed to the fact that many of these juvenile drug courts mirrored many of the characteristics of the adult drug court model. In response to these findings, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) created the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines to aid juvenile drug courts in providing effective services tailored to the needs of juveniles.

These guidelines focus on the organization and implementation of juvenile drug courts. Still, even with the guidance of federal recommendations like the OJJDP’s Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines, juvenile drug courts in the United States continue to yield mixed results regarding effectiveness. My research addresses whether juvenile drug courts in Indiana reflect the federal recommendations provided by the OJJDP by asking: Do the Indiana juvenile drug courts’ standard operating procedures reflect federal recommendations regarding organization and implementation?

Methods and Analysis

To answer my research question, I examined and compared the language of the Indiana Problem-Solving Court Rules to the language of the OJJDP’s Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines. Because all juvenile drug courts in Indiana are required to adhere to the Indiana Problem-Solving Court Rules, it is important to determine whether these rules reflect the best practices for juvenile drug courts as provided by the OJJDP. To supplement my findings, I also analyzed and compared the language of the standard operating procedures from four juvenile drug courts in Indiana to that of the OJJDP’s Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines. For my analysis, I coded similarities between the language of the collected documents and the language of the OJJDP’s Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines. The documents were coded on the basis of whether or not the document fully reflected an OJJDP guideline, partially reflected a guideline, or failed to reflect an OJJDP guideline.

Key Findings

The tables below provide a broad overview of my findings and the collected documents’ ability to reflect the OJJDP’s Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines.

Based on my findings, there are a variety of inconsistencies in each document’s ability to reflect the OJJDP’s Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines. The most significant takeaway from my analysis is that the Indiana Problem-Solving Court Rules fail to reflect or only partially reflect sixteen of the thirty-eight guidelines provided by the OJJDP. Many of these poorly reflected guidelines are related to parental engagement, community involvement, and effective communication among juvenile drug court team members. This indicates that the Judicial Conference of Indiana, the authors of the Indiana Problem-Solving Court Rules, is not providing guidance consistent with the OJJDP’s recommendations. As previously stated, the OJJDP’s Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines were created to address inconsistencies in juvenile drug court programming. Furthermore, these guidelines were designed to help courts implement the most effective programs and services that are tailored to the needs of juveniles.

Recommendations

I recommend that the Indiana Judicial Conference amend the Indiana Problem-Solving Court Rules to reflect the recommendations of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines. The recommendations offered by the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines were developed through a meta-analysis of the best practices employed by juvenile drug courts. Although the effectiveness of these guidelines is currently being studied, the recommendations provided in the guidelines are known to produce better outcomes.

Generally, I also recommend that other states consider reevaluating the guidance they provide to juvenile drug courts within their jurisdiction. By doing so, juvenile drug courts within the same state will be provided with consistent guidance on how to properly organize and implement their juvenile drug courts. Furthermore, by approaching this analysis from an input-focused lens, future research can expand upon whether the implementation of the OJJDP’s recommendations helps facilitate effective outcomes on a jurisdictional level. Overall, to examine and interpret the effectiveness of existing juvenile drug courts, scholars must focus on both the inputs and the outcomes of juvenile drug courts.

Sydney Benson is a senior majoring in Law and Public Policy and minoring in Homeland Security at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She plans on attending law school with a special interest in criminal law and juvenile justice.