"A mental illness narrative. A public safety issue. A legislative tug of war. And a virtual epidemic. From elementary school to college, both children and young adults are growing up in an age of rapid digitization. Young minds have become consumers in a way that does not require purchasing a hard newspaper or even turning on a television set or radio dial. Rather, the entertainment, the gore and the images sit right in their hands... literally. With each swipe, scroll and notification, young people are exposed to events both near and far. Gun violence expands across state borders, culture and language. Guns are an undeniable part of the American fabric." Halle Katz, Journalistic Writing, Fall 2017

"It is clear that the 2017 woman has taken on a virtual identity unlike any generation before. The female gaze is not merely an act but an embodiment of other women in relation to oneself. The conversation around the intersection of social media and womanhood is inconclusive— mainly because it has only begun. Instagram was released in 2010 and has since continued to reinvent itself over the last seven years. While the ‘app’ regularly changes features, it is the online personalities and influencers who drive what is now the Instagram experience. In recognizing that human beings exist behind these profiles, women can better understand that their gaze is not inherently empowering nor disenfranchising— it can be both. It can be neither. Either way, we are still looking." -Halle Katz, Fashion as Technology, Spring 2017

"Both soldiers and college students alike share the burden of a U.S. society that still regards mental health disorders as pathological. We are living in a post-institutionalization era— yet one that continues to leave people feeling confined by similar barriers. Consequently, such individuals must navigate sociocultural hurdles that continue to delegitimize their mental health needs over those of physical ailments." -Halle Katz, Health and Healing in American History, Spring 2016