Final Summer 2021 Post

This summer has been a long one. The research that I have been working on has kept me on my toes and constantly thinking critically. That said, I have not met my goal of finishing the write up for my research. I ran into some problems with putting all of the cases together and coming to a definitive decision on my part. As I am writing this, I am still trying to figure out how exactly these cases relate because some of them are at odds with each other. I sought guidance from my mentor on how I could approach this issue and he said I should just explain both sides and write about how and why it could create issues going forward.

Specifically, the problem I was encountering was how in a book written by established law professors they talked about a captive audience standard that was established in Frisby v. Schultz. That case involved a doctor who preformed abortions got his house surrounded by picketters. They also touched on a dorm being a private forum which makes it able tohave restrictions imposed on it easier. This became an issue when I looked at Gilleo v. City of Ladue when an individual was fined for placing signs in residential home windows. The Court held that there is a special respect for speech in homes. This made me consider whether a college dorm is actually a home like universities always claim they are. This was just part of the issues that were coming up that made it tough to decide what direction to ultimately take during the write up. Outside of that I have an idea for the way I would like my poster to be structured. Obviously, given the issues I encountered I do not have it perfectly laid out yet like I expected.

However, this is just a minor setback. I should soon have the write up done and get what I need onto a poster to present for CIRCA and the McNair symposium. I look forward to getting a chance to discuss what I have learned throughout this summer and cannot wait to explain to you just how complex of an issue it is. In more of a personal update I have just come back to campus to start training for my resident assistant position and am looking forward to starting my senior year. This should be an interesting year.