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QP@P: Sitting down with LGBTQ+ and politics research scholar Andrew Reynolds – The Daily Princetonian

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Senior research scholar Andrew S. Reynolds in the politics department is pursuing research of LGBTQ+ representation in the political sphere through Queer Politics at Princeton (QP@P). Since its founding in 2020, the organization has become a hub for queer research and scholarship that Reynolds says “[has] not [been] seen at any other institution.” 

“QP@P is really supposed to shine a light on the reality of this world socially and politically,” Reynolds said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. “This is the only queer politics center in the world that is focused on this [LGBTQ+ visibility].”

Through the organization’s creation, Reynolds said he aimed to expand the work he was doing prior to coming to Princeton at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he previously conducted research.

“One of the aspirations that I discussed with SPIA [the School of Public and International Affairs], Politics and the University more generally, was to try and build [the previous work] into a bigger shop here at Princeton,” he said. “I wanted to build it out of Princeton because it seemed to be the best place to use as a foundation. And there’s a lot of enthusiasm to do it.”

According to SPIA concentrator and Research Assistant Paul-Louis Biondi ’24, QP@P’s work is especially important in today’s political climate. 

“What we’re seeing, especially in the U.S. right now, is a big, big reaction against queerness especially in youth and education, and so I think queer elected officials are a big hope and a big need to be seen and talked about more,” they said.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, QP@P has hosted a webinar series of panel discussions with scholars in queer research, including “Bi/Pan Women Parliamentarians” and “Queer and Trans Muslims in the US.” The webinars had regular attendance, with almost 800 people registered in total coming from all around the world.

“Every week, I had somebody in Namibia, or Germany, or Russia, or Jamaica, or Argentina,” Reynolds explained. “It was very internationalized. And it allowed our speakers as well to come from all over the place.”

Though the webinars have not been held as frequently after the first season, Reynolds said he hopes to build up a program for the series next year. QP@P also plans to launch a film directors series next year by inviting directors and screenwriters of queer storytelling for screenings at the Princeton Garden Theatre. According to Reynolds, Dustin Lance Black, who wrote the Oscar-winning movie “Milk,” and David France, best known for his writings and documentaries on LGBTQ+ issues, are coming to Princeton during the 2022–23 academic year.

“We’re gonna start this series just talking to storytellers and understanding how their storytelling about queer issues and lives actually affects people’s views and policy as well,” Reynolds said.

With the start of Princeton’s Gender and Sexuality Resource Center’s Pride Month in April, the QP@P will be publicizing its newly launched website, which showcases the research projects it has conducted so far through its extensive data collection. 

“We redesigned it totally and have amazing new graphics for all the data,” Biondi said.

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One study examines the role of queer identity in elections around the world. 

“We have this data set that allows us to really unpack the impact of identity upon vote share,” Reynolds said. “What does it matter that you’re a gay Asian woman in California running for the Republicans? Or what does it matter that you’re a white, straight man of this education level?”

Another past QP@P research project that Reynolds has conducted involves more complex political interactions, such as those between LGBTQ+ advocacy and xenophobia. 

“A lot of countries, especially in Europe, are very Islamophobic and they use LGBTQ rights issues as a dog whistle against allowing Muslim people or people from the Middle East to immigrate,” said Joshua Babu ’22, who led the data collection for the project.

Tensions even occur within the LGBTQ+ community, he said, which QP@P has also been able to explore. 

“In the U.K. and in the U.S., there are large coalitions of lesbians and gays who are very anti-trans. They have very powerful lobbying groups and organizations that are actively making the political standing of trans people worse,” Babu explained.

“I was really floored by the way in which QP@P tackled the diversity of problems that were facing the queer and trans community at large,” he added.

These projects have been able to uniquely and quantitatively illuminate the political landscape of queerness. 

“We don’t understand how the world changes unless we have the data and the historical evidence, right? Without really knowing who is running for office and being elected, we have no real way of testing our hypotheses about how change happens and the relationship between visibility and change,” Reynolds said.

QP@P has been able to examine the importance of visibility in identity politics, but Reynolds said it has also served as a form of visibility itself. 

“A lot of universities, if not every university, see queer issues as marginalized, out there with home economics and cooking and girly stuff. And I have to tell you, my experience is that Princeton is not immune from that behavior as well. It is a struggle to try and mainstream these issues at Princeton,” Reynolds said. “So [that’s] what I’m trying to do.”

As someone who hopes to pursue a career in academia, Biondi finds the visibility of queer scholars in QP@P rewarding to see. 

“QP@P is the first time I’ve kind of seen more broadly-reflected queer research and queer lab research, which has been really cool,” they said.

Babu shared this sentiment and acknowledged Reynold’s mentorship as he continues his research in trans healthcare. 

“Professor Reynolds has been one of my most important professors — and mentors in general — at Princeton,” Babu said. “I think he fulfills a role that has gone unfilled at Princeton for what I imagine is a very long time.”

As a center for queer research, QP@P is working to establish a network of researchers in queer topics. 

“Within our orbits, I want to be able to ultimately have a network of scholars working on these issues to sort of cross-pollinate, but also allow our students to go study in London or in Amsterdam, or wherever else,” Reynolds said.

But ultimately, Reynolds hopes to bring queer identity to the forefront of political issues and discussions through the scholarship of QP@P.  

“When we think about healthcare, transportation, housing… basic rights of the individual, we do think about gender, and we think about race,” he said. “But we also [need to] think about sexual orientation and gender identity, because we have millions and millions of Americans whose lives are not defined, but are shaped by that.” 

Erin Lee is a Staff News Writer and Contributing Sports writer at the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at erinlee@princeton.edu.

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RFK Jr. says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water. ‘It’s possible,’ Trump says

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PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

Kennedy made the declaration Saturday on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.

Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.”

The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”

Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about that. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong views.”

The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.

In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.

Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.

In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.

A federal judge later cited that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.

In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

What role Kennedy might hold if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.

But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy traveled with Trump Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy: “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.

“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants kids, he wants everything,” Trump added.

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Danielle Smith receives overwhelming support at United Conservative Party convention

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Danielle Smith receives overwhelming support at United Conservative Party convention

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America’s Election: What it Means to Canadians

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Americans and Canadians are cousins that is true. Allies today but long ago people were at loggerheads mostly because of the British Empire and American ambitions.

Canadians appreciate our cousins down south enough to visit them many millions of times over the year. America is Canada’s largest and most important trading partner. As a manufacturer, I can attest to this personally. My American clients have allowed our firm to grow and prosper over the past few decades. There is a problem we have been seeing, a problem where nationalism, both political and economic has been creating a roadblock to our trade relationship.

Both Democrats and Republicans have shown a willingness to play the “buy only American Made product” card, a sounding board for all things isolationist, nationalistic and small-mindedness. We all live on this small planet, and purchase items made from all over the world. Preferences as to what to buy and where it is made are personal choices, never should they become a platform of national pride and thuggery. This has brought fear into the hearts of many Canadians who manufacture for and service the American Economy in some way. This fear will be apparent when the election is over next week.

Canadians are not enemies of America, but allies and friends with a long tradition of supporting our cousins back when bad sh*t happens. We have had enough of the American claim that they want free trade, only to realize that they do so long as it is to their benefit. Tariffs, and undue regulations applied to exporters into America are applied, yet American industry complains when other nations do the very same to them. Seriously! Democrats have said they would place a preference upon doing business with American firms before foreign ones, and Republicans wish to tariff many foreign nations into oblivion. Rhetoric perhaps, but we need to take these threats seriously. As to you the repercussions that will come should America close its doors to us.

Tit for tat neighbors. Tariff for tariff, true selfish competition with no fear of the American Giant. Do you want to build homes in America? Over 33% of all wood comes from Canada. Tit for tat. Canada’s mineral wealth can be sold to others and place preference upon the highest bidder always. You know who will win there don’t you America, the deep-pocketed Chinese.

Reshaping our alliances with others. If America responds as has been threatened, Canadians will find ways to entertain themselves elsewhere. Imagine no Canadian dollars flowing into the Northern States, Florida or California? The Big Apple without its friendly Maple Syrup dip. Canadians will realize just how significant their spending is to America and use it to our benefit, not theirs.

Clearly we will know if you prefer Canadian friendship to Donald Trumps Bravado.

China, Saudi Arabia & Russia are not your friends in America. Canada, Japan, Taiwan the EU and many other nations most definitely are. Stop playing politics, and carry out business in an unethical fashion. Treat allies as they should be treated.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

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