In the fall of 2021, a group of students at Wake Forest University took part in a class on data-driven advocacy. Their objective was to find a question that was broadly relevant to inequality, answer that question using basic tools of data science, and convincingly communicate that answer clearly to a broad audience in a partnership with the Puffin Nation Fund Writing Fellowships. These articles are the final products that came out of that course. The authors sought to understand whether racial disparities in crime and punishment have consequences that extend beyond the legal system, including employment, income, and mental health.
“Homeownership and the American Dream During Covid” was written by Maya Dalton (’22) and Ross Thomas (’22). Were families that owned a home better protected from financial hardship compared to renters?
“Is Every Sentence a Life Sentence?” written by Dylan Cohen and Dexter Peters. Around 1.3 Americans are currently incarcerated, and they will continue to be punished long after their release.
“What Happens to Children Who Lose a Parent?” by Ariana Torres, Chrisann Timbie, and Gaby Sierra. A child with an incarcerated parent suffers disadvantages that are as bad, or worse, as those faced by a child with a parent who died.