Curtis Holt-Robinson
Psychology, 3rd year student, with a Minor in Spanish
KEYWORDS: U.S. Politics; Policing; Stop-and-Frisk
Describe your project in a few lines
My paper sought to analyze how the 2020 presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg shifted his rhetoric about the controversial policing practice Stop-and-Frisk from his time as mayor of New York City to his presidential bid. It is important to note that Bloomberg strengthened and consistently upheld Stop-and-Frisk tactics during his mayoral years, but on the election trail in 2020, he retreated from his former position and apologized for its implementation.
What kind of research did you do for this paper?
My research utilized coding techniques which allowed for observation about common talking points Bloomberg made during his mayorship as well as during his presidential bid. I listened to, and transcribed hours of audio from Bloomberg’s mayoral speeches, media appearances, and moments during the Democratic debates in which the issue of Stop-and-Frisk was addressed. I then compared the differences of rhetoric between his time has mayor to his time as a presidential candidate.
What advice would you give to students who are beginning their research in WRDS150?
Start the process early and be consistent in your work habits. Plan out a roadmap for when you would like to have certain aspects of your paper done and stick to that! It may be easy to push it off, forget about it and procrastinate, but with a couple hours of work a day over a long duration you can craft an incredible research paper without feeling insanely stressed during the creation of it.
What are you working on now?
Though I am not writing a paper currently, some of my peers and I are seeking to conduct our own psychological research (in the realm of impulse control) and write a report detailing our findings. When you can conduct research about a topic that you are quite interested about, good things are bound to come your way.
Link to Project
Bloomberg’s Candidacy: An Analysis of Stop-and-Frisk Rhetoric