Veritas: Villanova Research Journal

Acknowledgments

2023-11-06T17:05:48-05:00

Cover

2023-11-06T17:07:44-05:00

Investigating the Origins of Philadelphia’s Chinatown

2023-06-29T11:35:35-04:00

In Philadelphia at 913 Race Street a historical marker stands in front of a building where a Chinese migrant named Lee Fong opened a laundromat in 1870. It reads simply, “Philadelphia, Chinatown, Founded in the 1870s by Chinese immigrants, it is the only ‘Chinatown’ in Pennsylvania. This unique neighborhood includes businesses and residences owned by, and serving, Chinese Americans. Here, Asian cultural traditions are preserved, and ethnic identity perpetuated.” Yet the marker, and often conventional history, leaves out significant details regarding Philadelphia’s early contact with China which dates to the period before American independence from Britain. Early trade with China included opium which destabilized that country and led to the migration of thousands to the western hemisphere. As for the founder of Chinatown, Lee Fong, surprisingly little is known. The purpose of this research is to tell the story, as best as possible, of Lee Fong and the struggles of other Chinese immigrants who came to the United States in the latter half of the 19th century using books, scholarly and newspaper articles, and the City of Philadelphia archives. This research implicates white supremacist ideology in the persecution of Chinese immigrants. White supremacist attitudes towards Chinese people were clearly expressed in legislation which institutionalized anti-Asian racism in the laws which governed immigration, naturalization, the right to vote, and the right to serve on juries. In answering the related question of the origins of Chinatown, this research centers the accomplishments of Lee Fong and his fellow immigrants who successfully resisted efforts to exclude and expel them to establish an ethnic enclave that survives today.

Measuring Juvenile Justice Outcomes for Restorative Justice Diversion Programs

2023-06-29T09:39:18-04:00

The use of restorative justice principles for diversion of juvenile offenders seems to be a promising alternative to the
more punitive practices of the traditional juvenile justice system. Restorative justice seeks to restore the harm caused
to victims and the community through direct engagement with the affected parties while maintaining a focus on
offender accountability. Although there have been many individual studies of restorative justice programs of all types,
there has been less focus on consistency across studies. Through a review of 11 existing studies covering 15 juvenile
restorative justice diversion programs, sourced from a recent meta-analysis (3), I analyze the variety in both program
attributes and restorative justice research. Findings indicate that juvenile restorative justice diversion programs
differ greatly in attributes such as funding, administration, and sources of cases. In addition, examination of the
effectiveness of restorative justice diversion programs has found mixed results. While it is difficult to draw definitive
conclusions from this research given the wide variety in how recidivism and other program outcomes are measured,
a majority of the studies included in the analysis supported the continued use of restorative justice programs as a
diversion method for juveniles.

Towards A Lasting America

2023-06-29T09:36:52-04:00

To be an American is to be a bearer of rights. These rights are enshrined in the American creed of the Declaration
of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights and are said to come from God and nature. With the increasing
secularization of America and the loss of traditional mediating institutions, the identity of Americans as “bearers
of rights” is thought of as the last unifying identity. Moreover, in public discourse, new “de-facto” rights such as the
right of individuals to be free from offense increasingly hold similar authority to those enshrined in the American
creed. The fluctuation of America’s natural rights doctrine raises the questions of whether or not rights-language
and America’s rights-doctrine is an adequate guide for human beings in political community and whether or not “thehuman-
person-as-bearer-of-rights” reflects a sufficient understanding of anthropology. This paper explores these two
questions and concludes that America’s natural rights doctrine as it stands is not a sufficient guide to political activity
nor is it reflective of authentic human anthropology. After an examination into the history of natural rights and into
the interpretations of modern thinkers, this paper concludes that America’s natural rights doctrine must be realigned
to the Scholastic tradition of natural rights and accompanied by a renewed attention to the New England and Puritan
township that de Tocqueville keenly observed.

Cancer Diagnoses in China

2023-07-18T12:45:56-04:00

Disclosing a cancer diagnosis to a patient is considered the right action for a physician to take in many Western
nations, such as the United States. In China, an East Asian nation, nondisclosure of a cancer diagnosis from a
patient is the convention. Instead of revealing a cancer diagnosis directly to a patient, physicians in China commonly
disclose it to the patient’s family members and give them the authority to make decisions on behalf of the patient.
Family members in China often decide to withhold disclosure from the patient. The practice of withholding a cancer
diagnosis from a patient is defended by China’s family-centered culture, which seeks to prevent causing psychological
distress to patients. I argue that China’s custom of the nondisclosure of cancer diagnoses directly to patients is
morally impermissible because it violates a patient’s human dignity and free will by excluding them from important
conversations concerning their own health. The implementation of culturally sensitive healthcare and the fulfillment
of a physician’s responsibility to be truthful to a patient can both be attained by continuing to include families into the
decision-making process while incorporating psychological support into medical training curricula and oncological
care.

Responding to the FDA Warning and ACOG Statement on NIPT

2023-07-27T12:45:48-04:00

Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) has become a popular standard of prenatal care as a screening method for Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome). However, there are many shortcomings of the test -- both scientific and ethical. This research paper critically examines the implications of NIPT, arguing against its moral permissibility as a standard test for Down syndrome, even though the FDA and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists continue to support its use.

Scientifically, false positives associated with NIPT raise doubts about the accuracy of results and the subsequent decisions made based on them. Moreover, the responses triggered by NIPT outcomes often lead to actions that are either scientifically impossible or ethically impermissible.

Ethically, natural rights and utilitarian theories can be seen as justifications for NIPT. A common thread among these theories and proponents for NIPT is freedom and autonomy. However, liberty based on faulty information is not true freedom nor respect - it is demeaning. Drawing upon natural law theory and Kantianism, I support the argument against NIPT. I demonstrate how NIPT violates the principle of double effect (PDE) within natural law theory and emphasize the importance of human dignity for individuals with Down syndrome from a Kantian perspective.

Ultimately, I will call for a more nuanced approach to prenatal care decision-making that respects principles of accuracy, autonomy, and human dignity for all.

Who is on Villanova's Syllabi? An Evaluation of Demographic Disparity in Villanova University's Syllabi

2023-07-18T12:51:31-04:00

Two questions guided this research: who is on Villanova University's syllabi and why do the resulting demographics of the Villanova syllabi authors fall the way they do? This study aims to look at contemporary issues of representation of minority and female authors in academia through the example of Villanova University's syllabi. It accomplishes this through a two-part examination of the disparity present across the demographics of Villanova University's four undergraduate college's syllabi. Two hypotheses are tested to explain this lack of representation; that this disparity is caused by the biases attributed to the demographics of the professors crafting the syllabi and that the disparity is dependent on the field of academic the syllabi fall within. This study found that there is a demographic disparity present across the four undergraduate colleges at Villanova, with 70% of the data's assigned authors being men and 24% of them women, 90% of those authors working within the Global North, and only 7% were Black scholars. The study also found that there were differences in demographic disparities across varying academic fields. The study aims to bring the lack of representation in academia to the attention of Villanova University.

Letter from the Editors-in-Chief

2023-11-06T17:03:12-05:00

2023-11-06T17:12:19-05:00