In the Comparative State Politics course I was required to complete a comparative policy paper. We picked a specific policy and analyzed the reasons states chose to adopt a specific policy as well as how the policy was implemented. I chose to focus on the Fair Chance Act, also known as Ban the Box in California, New York and Alabama. Ban the Box removes the requirement for state job applicants to disclose felony convictions. In order to participate and contribute to the policy process we must first understand how and why policies are enacted. When adopting and implementing policy, policymakers often acknowledge the characteristics of their state and the people they serve. These details play a role in the policy process. This assignment taught me that decisions about state policy aren’t as simple as party affiliation or any other isolated reason. There are multiple components that are considered during this process and if we want to truly understand policymaking we have to investigate and give consideration to each of them.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Planning and Policy is the only class I enrolled in that was outside of the Public Administration program. For our final project, we were tasked with detecting a public policy issue and using GIS tools to map out the problem in order to produce solutions based on the information given in the map. We chose to work on a concept called opportunity mapping to analyze Cleveland, Ohio. My group decided to play to our individual strengths, I wrote the research paper while the other two members created the map in GIS software. This assignment fits well with this competency because access to opportunity is one of the factors that policymakers should be taking into consideration when creating new education regulations and laws. Those in low income neighborhoods should have the same access to quality education as those in richer neighborhoods. We addressed that there is an obvious difference in the resources that certain communities have while others go without. There are drastic effects that can be connected to a lack of access to resources. Education levels, disease, access to healthy foods and criminal activity are heavily influenced by geographic location. This assignment proves to me that we need to take an introspective look at our policies and to make sure that they are equitable in nature.
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