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Professor Laura Hamilton On How Black Women Owe More in Student Debt than White Women

June 18, 2021
"In the United States, Women owe the majority of the outstanding $1.7 trillion dollars in student loans. As of 2020, women held almost $929 billion in outstanding student debt.  And according to a new report from The American Association of University Women, Black women carry about 20...

Professor Laura Hamilton On What Americans Would Get From Student Debt Forgiveness

June 14, 2021
A recent brief by the Roosevelt Institute analyzed how $50,000 of student debt forgiveness would impact household wealth and argues that wealth paints a more complete picture of borrowers' financial status and more accurately accounts for racial disparities. "We were...

Professor Eaton, Hamilton, and Co-authors Speak on Student Debt Cancellation

June 10, 2021
Charlie Eaton, Laura Hamilton, and co-authors Adam Goldstein and Fred Wherry show that student debt cancellation is progressive and central to building the Black middle class. Read about it in the Roosevelt Institute brief. 

Sociology Ph.D Candidate Maria Duenas Receives Honorable Mention

June 10, 2021
Maria's second year paper titled "Discursive Interactions: Racial Ideologies, Discourses, and Socialization in Latinx Families," won Honorable Mention in the Society for the Study of Social Problems Racial and Ethnic Minorites Division's Student Paper Competition. Please join...

Professor Laura Hamilton On How Privatization of Universities Has Devastating Consequences for Racial and Social Equity

June 7, 2021
"The University of California system offers an ideal case to study intra-system resource distribution. In most states, regional universities make the largest contributions to equity and diversity for state residents, while flagship research universities are mostly exempt from this...

Research Study Findings Support Allegations Against Apollo Global Management Inc.

May 21, 2021
From the Bloomberg article:  Apollo Global Management Inc. is known for its no-holds-barred deal making. But not long ago, the private equity firm pitched itself to pension funds and other wealthy institutions as an emerging force in "impact" investing, the movement to make money...

Sociology Law & Society Class "People's Choice" Podcast Winner Announced

May 18, 2021
For the Sociology Department's Law & Society class podcast project (based on this template), student teams researched an issue relevant to contemporary law and society in the United States. They developed collective expertise in a specific topic within one area of legal governance:...

Analysis Shows Pandemic's Toll on California Workers in High-Risk Industries

May 6, 2021
California is getting a closer look at exactly how workers in high-risk industries across the state have borne the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. For the first time, UC Merced's Community and Labor Center (CLC) has analyzed the increase in the number of pandemic-era deaths of working-age people...

Undergraduate Experience: Keanu Velasquez

April 27, 2021
Name: Keanu Velasquez Major: Sociology Major and Psychology Minor Year: Graduating May 2021, School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts Commencement Student Speaker Hometown: San Francisco What clubs or organizations were you part of at UC Merced? I was a member of the Pilipino-American...

Alicia Garza, Civil Rights Activist and BLM Co-Founder, Honored with Spendlove Prize

April 27, 2021
While this year's ceremony looked quite different from years past due to the coronavirus pandemic, the presentation of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance remained an important celebration. Alicia Garza, author, civil rights activist and co-founder of...

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