ORIGINS AND PERPETUATION OF VIOLENCE: A HISTORY OF POLICE BRUTALITY EXPLAINED THROUGH A TRADITION OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Elliot Blake Hueske CC'23 and Sophia Naqvi CC'23
Elliot Blake Hueske (she/her) studied philosophy and psychology in Columbia College and is committed to collaborative interdisciplinary scholarship. More specifically, she seeks to use ancient ethics and epistemology to inform contemporary challenges. In particular, her independent research projects and work as a research assistant in the Departments of Psychology, Philosophy, and English and Comparative Literature have been oriented towards exploring alternative flexible cognitive strategies that counteract pernicious implicit biases and avoid becoming wedded to myopic beliefs with potentially harmful social manifestations. She has been involved with the Columbia University Senate for all four years of her undergraduate experience, serving roles including but not limited to elected Senator, Chair of the Health and Wellness Subcommittee, and member of the Commission on the Status of Women. She was also the appointed undergraduate student representative on the Presidential Advisory Committee on Sexual Assault. Elliot is a Phi Beta Kappa inductee, a recipient of the Columbia University Inclusion and Advocacy Leadership and Excellence award, a Senior Marshal, and a Rhodes Scholarship finalist.
Sophia Naqvi (she/her) is a recent graduate of Columbia College, where she studied economics and history, with a specialization in Modern European history. Through her areas of study, Naqvi has focused on issues of imperial justice and history from an economic perspective; Naqvi’s scholarship has thus ranged between issues such as Cold War interventionism in the Middle East, contemporary consumer culture and British orientalism, and policing in the colonial state. Outside of the classroom, Naqvi is a dedicated student leader: she has served as the President (2022-2023), Vice President (2021-2022), and Membership Engagement Chair (2020-2021) of the Columbia Women’s Business Society (CWBS), Columbia University’s largest student organization. Moreover, Sophia served as an Executive Board member during her time in the group, advising and creating subsidiary groups, such as The Scope and Columbia Women in the Arts, that serve 2000+ women and alumni. Outside of CWBS, Sophia has been involved in leadership and membership capacities with various organizations, including the Helvidius Journal of Politics and Society, Columbia Venture Partners, Delta Gamma, and the Undergraduate Recruitment Committee. Naqvi is a recipient of Columbia University’s Community Building Leadership and Excellence award, a Senior Marshall, and is a Charles M. Rolker Prize finalist.
