Horgan Seminar Blog

  There is a current ongoing war against education–especially against students of lower income backgrounds. The future of the Department of Education is up in the air, coming from a country that prides itself on its education system, is scary to think about. The Education Department (ED) has historically played a critical role in protecting civil rights, promoting equity, and providing opportunities for all students, including those in marginalized communities, students with disabilities, LGBTQ students, and multilingual learners (ACLU). The Trump Administration has single handley proven time and time again they are targeting these rights and erasing access to essential data collection crucial to protecting privacy laws and information to back policy changes for marginalized communities.This is important to ensure that students from different backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses are represented fairly through data and seeing where a lot of the shortfalls lie within our education ...

Matias Lopez Carrete HST 401 A  Final Paper   Wearable Technology in Soccer: How It Helps and Hurts Introduction Today, wearable technology is changing the way soccer players train, play, and recover from injuries. Devices like GPS trackers, heart rate monitors, motion sensors, and smart insoles are now common in professional soccer. These tools help coaches and trainers track player movements, stress levels, and overall performance. Clubs like Manchester City and FC Barcelona have used this technology to improve player safety and fitness. But not everything about wearable tech is good. Some coaches don’t like using it, some players get hurt by pushing themselves to improve their stats, and there are questions about how much we should trust this kind of data. One player who shows how this tech is used is Dejan Kulusevski, who has had his performances tracked closely during his career. How Wearable Technology Works in Soccer Wearable devices help coaches and trainers collect in...

Harrison Teele 2 May 2025 HST401 - Seminar in Science Writing Professor Horgan Clime Inaction: Datafication and Polarization of Climate Change NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) has requested $2.378 billion in funding for the 2025 fiscal year (NASA Budget Request Summary). Though just a fraction of NASA’s $25.3 billion in funding for the same year, ESTO’s portion is not spare change. Their budget invests in the continuation of Earth science observations to enhance our understanding of our planet, climate impacts, as well as maintain existing databases that are paramount in climate science. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) similarly requested $6.6 billion for funding to allow them to “improve existing critical services and capabilities while investing in new data and services” (Rick Spinrad, NOAA Administrator). These are just a few out of dozens of global space agencies requesting funding to further Earth science and our overall understanding of the...

  Maribeth Suganuma HST 401 - Professor Horgan 2 May 2025 Transhumanism: Are you ready to transform? “I don’t have the right to tell people what they want to do with their body.” - Shamar White You may think this refers to transgender rights and you would be correct, but imagine what it could mean beyond the conformities of changing just your gender. In an effort to learn more about what humans could look like in the future, I interviewed Shamar White, who coincidentally is my boyfriend.   Shamar White is a 22 year old graduate student who currently works as a substitute teacher, pictured above. In 2024, he graduated from Montclair State University with a dual bachelors’ degree in Economics and Political Science. In November 2024, Shamar joined the United States Transhumanist Party and became a legislative analyst. His job is to analyze written legislation from across the country and determine whether it is for or against the values of the Transhumanist Party.  Transhuman...

                                                                                  The disappearing Internet Danny Moss John Horgan The internet is a treasure trove of information. It may be misinformation, but it is my childhood nonetheless. When I was a kid, I was a huge news junkie. I still am to this day. It’s not a matter of who is right and who is wrong to me, it’s my constant belief that knowledge is power, and knowing what is happening both near and far is the responsibility of a voting American citizen. During the 2016 Election, Donald Trump announced that he was going to have a rally in Lawrenceville, within a day-trip driving distance from where we lived. Presidential rallies don’t usually happen in New Jersey, so this was special. It w...