Rape culture is an environment in which sexual violence is normalized and prominent, continuing to be a detrimental issue. Rape culture has become extremely common in academic settings and will continue as institutions fail to educate and support students on this issue. Subpar support has been a pervasive issue in schools as survivors of sexual misconduct have been blamed by peers and faculty for their experience far too often, creating an environment in which survivors do not report and perpetrators have no consequences. Title IX is the most common name for the federal civil rights law in the United States Education Amendments of 1972. This law prohibits sex-based discrimination, including sexual misconduct, in schools, local and state educational agencies, and other institutions that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education. Reports of sexual misconduct have been mishandled a shocking number of times, despite faculty having required training and processes to follow. Without proper Title IX compliance, education, and support for students, rape culture and sexual violence will continue to physically and mentally harm countless students. This research project will investigate how effective Title IX procedures are in a high school setting.

According to a study by the RAND corporation on the sports participation gap, “Students who reported spending no time in after-school extracurricular activities were 57% more likely to drop out of high school, 49% more likely to use drugs and 27% more likely to have been arrested”(Whitaker). Statistics such as these suggest that extracurricular participation, such as athletics, could ameliorate several challenges young people face regarding delinquency. This research project investigates how sports participation rates can impact juvenile delinquency, such as suspensions, expulsions, and crime rates. Since sports provide many benefits, including mental rehabilitation, a healthy community, and good use of time, it would seem that missing out on benefits such as these could potentially lead to higher rates of statistics like suspensions or expulsions. In some low-income areas, there is a lack of access to sports due to variables such as funding, leading to a lack of participation and exacerbating the opportunity gap. Using content analysis and correlational research to analyze data from databases, documents, and media such as Data-quest, this research project will investigate the correlation between lack of sports participation and high delinquency rates.

Accessing mental health resources, especially for students and minors, is difficult. In Asian American families, there is a lot of negative stigma and biases regarding mental health in the older generations. These stigmas can often discourage people from this demographic from seeking help and treatment for mental health issues (Nishi, 2012). There are many reasons someone may need access to mental health resources, one example being the effects of the model minority myth stereotype on Asian Americans, as discovered by a research project conducted last year. Many mental health resources exist, but minors need a legal guardian to access them. This project will look into previous experiences Asian American students have had with mental health, search for help and analyze how to make resources more accessible.

There is a problem with content within literature designed for children and younger audiences. During early adolescence, a child develops physically, emotionally, and cognitively, forming the foundations that will shape their life. Children’s picture books are a significant part of every early care program. Most literature only represents a small population, which does not help children accurately learn about the world they live in. When children see characters in books that look like them and share similar experiences, it helps to build their self-esteem and sense of belonging in the world.

Every year millions of people interact with environmental education programs by taking specific courses, visiting museums and aquariums, learning in school, or visiting other institutions. COVID-19 safety measures greatly impacted many of these institutions, limiting or completely closing their in-person, physical learning. This research project will investigate how institutions have adapted to the changes caused by COVID-19 from January 2019 to March 2023. The research will compare the efficacy of virtual learning versus traditional, in-person learning. Interviews with employees and project designers from Environmental Education institutions will provide quantitative and qualitative data that will demonstrate changes made to programs or the introduction of programs and analyze the success of virtual learning environments. This research project aims to produce a baseline virtual program using the collected data that institutions can use to create their own successful virtual learning environments.

Every year, school buses in the U.S. emit more than 5 million tons of carbon dioxide, polluting the environment and pushing toxic gasses into children's lungs. It is imperative to prioritize the electrification of school buses to protect the climate and inspire the rest of the world to follow in our footsteps by setting an example for other districts. The BEEP Project examines the factors that affect the electrification process of a Bay Area School District and includes a comprehensive presentation to the School Board that will encourage quicker action to electrify.

There is a dispute over the relative importance of nature and nurture in the development of defining traits; one thing, however, has been consistently shown through research: the environment, or nurture, of a child, plays a significant factor in their development. Educational inequity, at least partly, stems from these environmental differences, especially the accessibility to cognitively stimulating resources at a young age. In order to determine the best next step in alleviating this issue in the Bay Area, it is necessary first to acknowledge and understand the degree of educational inequity in the area. This recognition will motivate people to implement greater equity in educational opportunities by addressing the differences found.

Nearly 11 million females and 1 million males have a form of an Eating Disorder in the United States, and those are only the diagnosed cases. Eating disorders are detrimental to a person’s mental and physical health leading to commonly witnessed effects such as severely lowered self-esteem, dehydration, malnutrition, and increased levels of depression and anxiety. Siblings of eating disorder patients, though rarely mentioned or researched, can also develop feelings of resentment and anger due to the heavy impact of ​​their sibling’s mental illness. The recently implemented concept, Family-Based Therapy (FBT), is therapy devised for patients to talk with their family and a licensed therapist to resolve potential issues and devise a plan to facilitate healing. Although siblings are encouraged to attend these FBT sessions, some choose not to for many reasons. Additionally, FBT is designed for and catered towards the parents who spearhead the treatment, resulting in additional oversight of the healthy sibling’s role in the ill sibling’s recovery. This project will include an interview with a professional who specializes in researching the impact of EDs on siblings, along with analyzing data from a nationwide survey.

Human trafficking is one of the world's most significant problems, impacting between 700,000 and 2 million women annually (Gurung and Kachchhap, 2016). This type of trafficking is most pervasive in Southeast Asia and causes psychological and physical damage, such as depression and anxiety. There is insufficient evidence showing how effective the current solutions in place to prevent human trafficking, specifically sex trafficking, actually are. The research methods used for this project will investigate implemented solutions of specific organizations by reviewing procedures and tangible outcomes.

Despite efforts to make the path to college more equitable, many disparities within this system persist. Unlike students who are not first-generation, students with parents/guardians who are unfamiliar with the college process must navigate outside resources that will often not cater to their specific needs. Consequently, the college application process becomes disproportionately burdensome and challenging for many first-generation students. This project will aim to create a long-standing organization that will help first-generation college students apply to college through free mentorship.