The Horse Race

5/25/22-- This week on The Horse Race, Steve, Jennifer, and Lisa begin on the somber note brought about by yet another shooting tragedy, this time in Uvalde Texas, where 19 children and 2 teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School. This comes soon after 11 people were shot and killed in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket. Congressional delegates from Massachusetts expressed sadness and called for action, including disbanding the NRA (Rep. Jake Auchincloss) and abolishing the filibuster and passing gun safety legislation (Sen. Ed Markey).

A Massachusetts Senate survey conducted in 2019 found what the Boston Globe called an environment of harassment among Senate employees. The report was never publicly released, but the Boston Globe obtained the report and shared the findings this week. Samantha Gross, who covered it, drops by The Horse Race to discuss what Senate staffers expressed, and how the lack of action surrounding instances of harassment contributed to a recent push to unionize.

According to a 2020 study conducted by The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, more than a quarter of 4-year college students experienced food insecurity nationwide. Proposed legislation would take aim at that problem here in Massachusetts. Gina Plata-Nino, an attorney with Mass. Law Reform Institute and one of the co-chairs of the Hunger Free Campus Coalition, shares details on the bill and explains why food insecurity is such a persistent problem on Massachusetts college campuses.