The Pundit—Political Science Newsletter
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The Pundit—Political Science Newsletter Fall 2016 Muhlenberg Students Attend National Party Conventions Republican National Convention Democratic National Convention Arriving on the Baldwin Wallace University campus in My time at the Democratic Convention was the best Berea, Ohio after an 8-hour drive, I couldn’t wait to experience I had all summer. Though some aspects settle into my dorm and get ready to experience of the program itself could have been done better, I everything that the 2016 Republican National Con- felt like the experience as a whole, particularly the vention in Cleveland had to offer. The program be- time I spent volunteering in the Wells Fargo Center, gan with the academic portion in the first week, was incredibly exciting and fulfilling. I am very grate- which established the context of the second week’s ful to Muhlenberg, the Political Science Department, convention. The days began bright and early with and the administration for selecting me for this trip lectures beginning at 8:30 that introduced the topics and for affording me the opportunity to go to such a of the day, followed by various guest speakers, all of monumental event. whom added a unique perspective to the RNC. Among the speakers were the Cleveland police chief, The first week of the program was held at Temple the head of the Cleve- University, where we were staying for the land Host Committee, two weeks of the Convention. The first a member of the Se- day of the program was that Sunday, and cret Service, the I used it to explore some of the city with chairman of the Cuya- some of the other people who had ar- hoga County Republi- rived early and settled in already before can Party, and various we reconvened that night to have an political scientists. introductory session for the program. Sometime in the early afternoon, we would The first week of the program consisted break for lunch be- of different speakers giving talks from fore returning to meet 8:30 AM to noon on various topics relat- in small groups to ing to conventions, the election, and the discuss readings and candidates. The first day featured Gov- the speakers of the erner Ed Rendell and Reverend Leah day. Daughtry (the woman in charge of orga- Photo by Tom Littrel nizing the convention) as well as several other The week of the convention itself, we were all as- speakers. The two of them spoke primarily on the signed to fieldwork positions in order to gain first- election and the issues facing the country as well as hand experience and knowledge of the components talking about how they were excited for this conven- Inside this issue: that go into a successful convention. While some tion because of how it was organized and because it students were paired with media outlets or state was in Philadelphia. The speeches were very enter- National Party 1 delegations, I was assigned to the Committee on taining, but at the end of the day’s talks I did feel a Conventions Arrangements, which dealt with the nitty-gritty organ- bit concerned about the program. I had expected izational details of the convention. The first day was much of the academic portion to be focused on in- forming us about the issues of the election and the Pi Sigma Alpha 2 less than satisfying for many of us in this placement as we found ourselves far from the Quicken Loans role that conventions play in our political process, Arena or “Q” where the convention was taking place but the first day felt like a poorly disguised Hillary and performing the extremely necessary grunt work Clinton rally. Each speaker praised Hillary Clinton all Student News & 3 that is so often overlooked when considering mas- around and downplayed the criticisms that had been Awards sive events such as conventions. After a day spent circling around her campaign at the time. I under- checking-in other volunteers, I was transferred to a stood that this was a very exciting thing for these Campus Happenings 4 much more interesting location, the hotel where speakers to talk about and that it was their job to Donald Trump’s family, advisors, and most important talk up the nominee, but given my expectations for guests were staying. Working 10-14 hour shifts, my the program being fairly impartial and academic I Faculty Highlights 5, 6 job was mainly to stay in the hotel lobby and distrib- was slightly concerned. ute the correct credentials to these VIP guests every day. Apart from the opportunity to see so many indi- The remainder of the week speakers talked about Institute of Public 7 viduals whose faces I knew solely from TV (I watched campaign finance, trade policy, and political engage- Opinion all of Trump’s adult children and Newt Gingrich walk ment. Two speakers, Seth Williams, the DA of Phila- by several times, had conversations with Eric Trump delphia and Matt O’Donnell, a news anchor, both focused on political involvement especially at our Alumni News 8, 9 and Omarosa, and even shared an elevator with Dr. Ben Carson), the best part of this field placement age. The final speaker gave a history of women who was that at the end of my shift, there was a chance have run for president and how they have paved the Student Research 10 that I would be given a leftover credential and actu- way for Hillary to run today and also spoke on how ally be able to enter the convention (I was able to get many people, especially from the younger genera- A Word from the 12 in three of the four nights). tions, are ready for a female president. Chair Cont. on page 11 Cont. on page 11 Page 2 Pi Sigma Alpha Welcomes New Members Congratulations to the following students who have been inducted into the Eta Upsilon Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society. Class of 2016: Matthew Lubitz Sydney Saltzman Rachel Walker Class of 2017: Molly Albano Nicole Baltzer Christopher Baumgartel Andrew Berdahl Hannah Bobker Susanne Boss Daniel Cohen Kaitlin Errickson Hailey Goldberg Megan Lafayette Arissa Lahr Kate Rael Jake Solari Rachel Wolf Members of Pi Sigma Alpha with guest speaker Dr. Kent Rissmiller ‘76 and Dr. Slane. Page 3 Recent Alumni News …. Danielle Beiser ‘16 is pursuing a Masters in International Rela- tions at IAU College in Aix-en-Provence, France. Ryan Bohrod ‘16 is working for the company Nigel Frank Interna- tional. Chayoot Chengsupanimit ‘16 is working for Student Awards 2016 Price-waterhouseCoopers in New York, NY. He is also continuing his wrestling career in hopes of representing Thailand Molly Albano ’17, Nicole Baltzer ’17, and in international competitions. Masheed Mahjor ’17 each received the Presi- dent’s Award for Outstanding Academic Achieve- Matt Dacher ‘16 is a First Year City Year Corp Member working ment and Promise for Postgraduate Work by a with low income children in New Orleans, LA. Junior. Gabriela DeFrutos ‘16 is currently a Political Affairs intern at the Christian Balodis ’17 received the Harry A. Benfer United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Director- Memorial Scholarship Award, as well as the Presi- ate doing research on rehabilitation, reintegration and prosecu- dent’s Award. tion measures for foreign terrorist fighters who return to their countries of origin. Andrew Berdahl ’17 received a student summer research grant. Jashon Desenna ‘16 is working with Teach for America and is teaching 8th grade students in Springfield, MA. Erin Bohmiller ’16 received the James W. and Jose Flores ‘16 is currently working for Center for Life as part of Barbara H. Herrick Award, as well as the Phi the Transition to Adulthood program, working with 11th and 12th Sigma Iota Award in French. Erin was also grade students in New York, NY. inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Jacob Hill ‘16 is attending Drexel Law School in Susanne Boss ’17 received a student summer Philadelphia, PA research grant. Matthew Lubitz ‘16 is pursuing a Masters in political science at Chayoot Chengsupanimit ’16 received the Kurt Lehigh University. M. Thiede Prize. Jeffrey Mintz ‘16 is teaching English at Western Tour World School, and learning Chinese at Sichuan University. Gabriela De Frutos ’16 received the Russell B. Everett Romance Language Award. Todd Mordos ‘16 is attending Widener Law Commonwealth in Harrisburg, PA. Kaitlin Errickson ’17 was awarded the Dr. John J. Reed Scholarship. Tara Pachter ‘16 is attending Stetson Law School in Gulfport, FL. Sydney Saltzman ‘16 is working as a medical scribe through Mahsheed Mahjor ’17 received the Carol ScribeAmerica and applying to medical schools. Emhardt Kuntzleman Memorial Award. Alex Solomon ‘16 is currently working as a sports reporter for the Sydney Saltzman ’16 received the Dr. Charles S. Journal News (which is affiliated with USA Today). Bednar Award in Political Science. Isaac E. Shimsky-Agosto ’16 received the Citizen Exchange Council Award in Russian Studies. Campus and Student Happenings Page 4 Dr. Herrick with students Megan Lafayette ‘17, Mahsheed Mahjor ‘17, and Yuxin Lei ‘17 at the United Nations. Dr. Hashim and Dr. Mello attend the International Political Science Association conference in Poznan, Poland in August, 2016. Students at BergVotes event with guest Nancy Giles. Emma Lewis ‘19, Chris- tian Balodis ‘17, Jake Solari ‘17, Nancy Giles, Nicole Baltzer ‘17, Hamilton Wilde ‘17, Jessica Pearse ‘18, and Joelle Jacoski ‘18. Faculty Highlights Page 5 Dr. Chris Borick discuss career and educational goals, followed by focused at- Dr. Chris Borick has been engaged in a number of projects tention on college and financial aid/scholarship applications.