The Roundtable
Welcome to the Roundtable, a forum for incisive commentary and analysis
on cases and developments in law and the legal system.
on cases and developments in law and the legal system.
 By Evelyn Bond
Evelyn Bond is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania studying Political Science and Spanish. When COVID-19 was first declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in early March of 2020, few knew just how devastating the effects of the outbreak would be. The virus has claimed over 2.9 million lives worldwide, including over 560,000 in the United States, and it continues to wreak havoc globally [1]. With more than 31.1 million total positive cases, the United States has responded haphazardly to the pandemic since the beginning of the outbreak, and that disjointed response has cost hundreds of thousands of American lives [1]. The failure and neglect began under the administration of former President Donald Trump, who swiftly dismissed the virus as being “no worse than the flu,” [2]. The Trump administration primarily delegated the responsibility of containing the virus to the respective states, indicating that the federal government would merely act as their “back-up” [3]. The former President continued to downplay the virus, controlling the media releases of the Center for Disease Control and other top government health experts, making it “hard for them to communicate accurate and lifesaving scientific information to the public” [4]. National trust in the American government continued to fall rapidly [5], with the global image of the United States suffering substantially in response to the U.S.’s failure to handle the pandemic [6]. Now, under the guidance of recently incumbent President Biden, the country has been afforded a new opportunity to redeem itself in the eyes of the world. Taking the initiative in tackling the virus at a worldwide level could significantly curve the virus’s devastation and greatly improve our global reputation.
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 By: Evelyn Bond
Evelyn is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences; majoring in Political Science and minoring in Spanish. As November 3rd quickly approaches, a record number of ballots have already been cast in the 2020 election by voters across the country [1]. Driven by a commitment to democracy, and in response to recent incidents of social injustices and the grossly negligent mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 election is nothing short of highly contentious. In the battleground state of Pennsylvania, nearly 9 million residents have registered to vote, and 3 million ballot applications have already been approved [2]. With its 20 electoral votes, the Keystone State is crucial in determining the election’s outcome [3]. While an unprecedented turnout of voters is guaranteed, there is litigation in place hindering the voting process. Electoral challenges plague the country as the voting-by-mail option is made available to everyone for the first time and the pandemic ravages the world. In Pennsylvania alone, legal disputes over voting rules, illegal poll watchers, and an abundance of misinformation have added to the normal challenges of a presidential election. |
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