CAS Connection - Feb 2026 Issue

College of Arts and Sciences history PhD student Genevieve Bonner Davis writes in Ms. Magazine about her experience as a former devout Mormon housewife. Bonner Davis writes the essay as more women are being encouraged to adopt the tradwife lifestyle by federal government lawmakers. A tradwife is a repackaged, buzzy word to describe “traditional” women who intentionally forgo career and educational opportunities in order to stay at home to take care of their children and husbands within a heterosexual marriage.

The Oregonian/OregonLive digs into the data on the Oregon gubernatorial race and spoke with political science assistant professor Chandler James. While uneasiness can motivate voters, James said voter apathy also can make it difficult for campaigns to boost turnout, which could play a pivotal role in this year’s race. “If that’s the game, then the person who taps into the greatest anxieties is going to win,” James said. “Whatever Oregonians are most fearful of will be the thing that drives the outcome of the election.”

PHYSICS - College of Arts and Sciences astronomer Yvette Cendes spoke with the New York Times about a recent paper she authored that documented waves coming from what seems to be an aurora at the poles of Beta Pictoris b, a planet that circles a star more than 63 light-years from Earth.