The Rutgers-Camden Undergraduate Review

Editor's Note

Isaiah Dingle, William Huang — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this introduction to the Fall 2021 issue of The Undergraduate Review, editors Isaiah Dingle and William Huang reflect on the resilience and creativity of the Rutgers–Camden undergraduate community during a time of global uncertainty. The issue features a diverse array of faculty-approved student work spanning history, law, business, literature, and creative writing. The editors spotlight essays addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, political extremism, and human connection, underscoring how students grapple with both global crises and intimate realities. They also express gratitude to student contributors and faculty advisors, and invite readers to engage deeply with the ideas presented.

Limb and Love: A Narrative Shaped By and Against its Protagonist in Service of Ladies

Isaiah R. Dillon — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Isaiah R. Dillon offers a critical literary analysis of Ulrich von Liechtenstein’s Service of Ladies, focusing on how the protagonist’s identity as a courtly lover and knight is constructed, contested, and ultimately deconstructed through bodily sacrifice and class masquerade. Dillon argues that Ulrich’s narrative subverts traditional medieval romance tropes by centering love as the primary force rather than a peripheral motivator. Through detailed textual analysis, the essay highlights the motif of limb loss as symbolic of the protagonist’s yearning for legitimacy within an aristocratic tradition that ultimately rejects him. The piece interrogates the interplay between love, violence, and identity, suggesting that Ulrich’s transformation is both self-fashioned and self-destructive in pursuit of an inaccessible ideal.

Examining the Visions and Voices of Joan d’Arc

Kennedy Benjamin Samuels — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper explores the mystique surrounding Joan of Arc’s divine visions and voices, interrogating whether her experiences were spiritual revelations, political strategy, or symptoms of neurological or psychological conditions. Drawing from historical texts, trial records, religious doctrine, and modern psychiatric scholarship, Samuels presents a multifaceted analysis of Joan’s piety, influence, and legacy. The essay weighs theological interpretations against medical explanations—such as epilepsy—while examining how Joan has been represented in literature, film, and art. Ultimately, it reflects on the enduring complexity of Joan’s narrative and her role as both saint and symbol.

Polarity of the International System: Shift to Multipolarity

Alyssa Granato — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Alyssa Granato’s essay explores the evolving structure of global power, arguing that the international system is shifting from unipolarity—dominated by the United States—toward multipolarity, with China and Russia emerging as formidable global actors. Drawing from international relations theorists including Layne, Pape, Waltz, and Monteiro, the paper examines how economic interdependence, military fatigue, and strategic “soft balancing” signal the erosion of U.S. hegemony. Granato critiques the limitations of unipolar dominance, including its tendency toward moral decay, regional conflict, and global resentment, while presenting multipolarity as a more stable, interconnected alternative. The paper blends theoretical frameworks with recent historical developments to offer a compelling case for a changing world order.

Virtuosity and Ethics in Medicine: Pellegrino’s Taxonomy as a Temporal Metric for Lobotomy

Benjamin Nixon — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Benjamin Nixon presents a compelling ethical analysis of the medical practice of lobotomy, applying Edmund Pellegrino’s “Taxonomy” of medical virtue—law, ethical duty, and virtue—as a critical framework. The essay examines how lobotomies were once considered medically and legally acceptable despite their disproportionate use on marginalized populations, particularly the poor, mentally ill, and incarcerated. Nixon traces how the legal and ethical justifications for lobotomy reflect broader failures in medical virtue and criminal justice, arguing that Pellegrino’s framework, while theoretically robust, is vulnerable to corruption when wielded within unethical systems. The article offers a cautionary exploration of how medicine, ethics, and law intersect to enable both healing and harm.

The Most Pressing Threat: Right-Wing Terrorism in the United States

Mariah Macintosh — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Mariah MacIntosh investigates the alarming rise of right-wing extremism as the dominant terrorist threat facing the United States today. Challenging the traditional national security focus on foreign, religiously motivated terrorism, the article highlights the growing frequency, lethality, and recruitment strength of far-right movements. MacIntosh explores historical patterns, contemporary data, and high-profile incidents—including the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and the attempted kidnapping of Governor Gretchen Whitmer—to demonstrate the persistence and escalation of domestic extremism. The paper also critiques the government’s inadequate response and examines how modern digital tools, including social media and gaming platforms, have accelerated radicalization.

The Never-Ending Revolt: The Hong Kong Protests on Reddit

Sean Bray — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Sean Bray explores the role of Reddit in documenting and amplifying the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. The article situates the digital resistance within a historical context, beginning with the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and tracing the political evolution of Hong Kong under Chinese Communist Party rule. Bray details how Reddit’s r/HongKong subreddit transformed from a local interest group to a hub of pro-democracy activism, emphasizing memes, linguistic identity, censorship resistance, and international solidarity. Drawing on Vaclav Havel’s theory of “living in truth,” the piece argues that online spaces like r/HongKong become vital acts of revolt in authoritarian regimes—offering visibility, moral resistance, and connection in the face of systemic repression.

Arguments Against the Death Penalty

Sumana Gadiraju — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Sumana Gadiraju presents a comprehensive argument against the death penalty, critiquing it from historical, moral, legal, racial, and financial standpoints. The article explores the origins and evolution of capital punishment, revealing its deep entanglement with systemic discrimination and unequal application, particularly against communities of color. Gadiraju highlights inconsistencies in sentencing, the lack of reliable deterrence, and the exorbitant financial costs involved in administering the death penalty. Through a wide range of sources—from classical legal theorists like Cesare Beccaria to modern statistical analyses—the paper calls for the abolition of capital punishment and promotes life imprisonment without parole as a more equitable alternative.

Global Supply Chain Disruptions

Jonathan Lepselter — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This article dissects the severe disruptions in international shipping and logistics during the pandemic and how overreliance on Chinese manufacturing worsened the crisis.

My Other Half

Nicholas Rienstra — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In My Other Half, Nicholas Rienstra weaves a narrative about loneliness, deception, and the human need for connection. With dark tenderness, Rienstra explores the ethics of manipulation, the aching hunger for validation, and the paradox of being both predator and caretaker in the same act.

Person Seeking Comfort

Mare Jannicelli — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Person Seeking Comfort is a quiet, emotionally resonant short story that follows Pepper, a solitary and sensitive office worker navigating life in a new city. Through richly detailed snapshots of routine—feeding a cat, riding the elevator, brushing teeth, daydreaming—the story captures the subtle ache of urban loneliness and the hope ignited by a fleeting connection with a stranger. Jannicelli weaves a narrative of internal longing, where everyday gestures (a smile, a compliment, a cup of coffee) become charged with meaning. With restrained prose and vivid interiority, the piece examines vulnerability, anticipation, and the fear of being forgotten. In the end, a small gesture—a tap on the shoulder—offers a spark of possible human connection amidst the fog of solitude.

Interview with Cover Artist Crystal Contreras

Nikitha Jeyaprakash, Crystal Contreras — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this artist interview, student editor Nikitha Jeyaprakash speaks with Crystal Contreras, whose artwork Sedona My Loveappears on the cover of the Fall 2021 issue of The Undergraduate Review. Contreras discusses her lifelong journey through various art forms, from traditional painting to digital illustration and collage. She shares the personal and spiritual significance behind Sedona My Love, a piece inspired by a transformative women's retreat in Arizona. The conversation delves into themes of healing, self-expression, intuition, and the role of art as a tool for both personal growth and communal connection. The interview offers a compelling glimpse into the artist’s creative process and emotional landscape.