It is an honor to present the 23rd edition of The Public Purpose Journal—an academic journal by and for American University’s School of Public Affairs (SPA) graduate students. We are privileged to build on two decades of excellence in public affairs research in this journal and throughout SPA. As a student-run organization, we are especially grateful to the Graduate Student Council and the Dean’s Office for their continued support.
We are proud of The Public Purpose Journal (PPJ) ‘s sustained presence on campus over the past 20 years, serving as a platform for professional development and a constructive outlet for generations of graduate scholars. This year stands as a testament to the journal’s staying power. We received many wonderful submissions for the 2025 print edition, making the selection process incredibly competitive and rewarding. We appreciate the enthusiasm and engagement from our peers, and we hope this signals even greater success in the years to come.
As we reflect on two decades of public affairs scholarship, we’re struck by the threads that continue to weave through our work- psilocybin legalization, affordable housing, voting disenfranchisement, school safety measures, unemployment, and data centers, that consistently shape our present society.
We believe the work presented in these pages reflects the best of what SPA offers: innovative and rigorous scholarship in public policy, administration, government, law, justice, criminology, and terrorism studies. The topics span a broad spectrum—from environmental remediation and immigration to public benefits and pandemic response—but they are united by thoughtful analysis, robust research, and a shared dedication to answering the guiding question of our field: “What is our public purpose?”
We sincerely thank everyone on the print team for their thoughtful, efficient work. We’re also grateful to our executive board members for their behind-the-scenes leadership, especially our Editor-in-Chief, Ananya Malhotra. Samuel Backner, Communications Director, for his unwavering support, not just confined to communication but coordinating every single detail with the team and authors. We thank Managing Online Editor Zan Hussain for his relentless efforts with editing, formatting and proofreading and Robert C. Shugart for his valuable feedback and structuring tips with the editing process.
And finally, thank you, our readers, for your ongoing engagement with The Public Purpose Journal.
Warm regards,

Ananya Malhotra, Samuel Backner, Robert C. Shugart and Zan Hussain

Editor-in-Chief | Communications Director | Associate Editor | Managing Online Editor