JANUARY 2008 “No Vote, No Voice” “Campus Voices” Heard New Board Members New Mayors Gather Fall Survey Released New IOP Director Jim Leach with 2008 Student Advisory Committee leaders (left to right) Jay Lundy, Ana Mendy, and Tejas Sathian aboard C-SPAN’s Campaign 2008 Bus at the Kennedy School in December. Welcome to the Institute of Politics at Harvard University James A. Leach, Director As many of you know, in mid-September I joined the Institute of Politics as its Director after former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen left the post to run for the U.S. Senate in that state. I want you all to know how very appreciative I am to have this opportunity come to the IOP. In addition to welcoming new fellows and hosting fantastic forums and special events, we have launched two new exciting projects designed to put America’s youth on the front lines of the 2008 presidential race: “Campus Voices” and “No Vote, No Voice.” It is our goal to help increase youth participation in the 2008 primaries and caucuses, as well as the general elections in November. The new web-based initiative, “No Vote, No Voice” focuses initially on the 2008 presidential primaries. It is designed to be both a “one-stop shopping” center for information about this year’s election and a cyberspace platform for political discourse and civic activism in the future. You may check out the project’s homepage at www.novotenovoice.com. This fall, the Institute created a unique opportunity for students to experience the 2008 presidential campaign and the final “100 Days” of the 2008 New Hampshire Primary firsthand: the “Campus Voices” project. Check out high- lights from the students’ weekly trips chronicling the remarkable campaigns in the Granite State via a new IOP website, www.campusvoices.org. At the end of November, we welcomed a group of mayors from across the country to Harvard for our Newly Elected Mayors Program. The conference, co-hosted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, helps new mayors take on the practical challenges of urban governance. Our latest national survey of America’s college students (see pages 11 and 12) finds a plurality (37%) of young people saying the Democratic and Republican parties are doing such a poor job of representing the American people that they To subscribe to the would welcome alternative candidate options. Most consequentially, the poll IOP’s e-mail list, visit our reveals that American youth have an idealistic commitment to engagement in the world reminiscent of the sentiments that John F. Kennedy evoked in website and find the creation of the Peace Corps. email subscription section on the left side of We work every day to stay at the forefront of political activity, research, discus- the home page. sion, and debate. To learn more about our programs and events, please visit our website – www.iop.harvard.edu – and know you are always welcome in Cambridge. * Photo courtesy of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs at Princeton University 1 INSTITUTE OF POLITICS SAC Alumni Scholarship Teach For America alumna named second recipient The IOP is pleased to announce that Emily Nielson (SAC 2004) is the 2007 recipient of the Institute’s recently created Student Advisory Committee (SAC) Alumni Scholarship for incoming Kennedy School of Government students. Nielson is currently enrolled in the KSG’s Master in Public Policy Program. After receiving additional Harvard University endowment funds in 2006, the Institute decided to create an additional funding resource for Harvard alumni interested in pursuing a career in public service. The SAC Alumni Scholarship is an opportunity for alumni of the Institute’s Student Advisory Committee to receive financial support towards a graduate degree at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. “As Chair of the Community Action Committee at the IOP, I sought meth- ods to connect politics and public service in ways that would improve society. From voter registration to citizenship tutoring to teaching civics, I helped others learn about and prepare to use the political system as a way of bettering their lives and our world. Politics is clearly important for getting things done, but it requires public service to enable people to participate effectively in our democracy,” Neilson said. Nielson comes to the Kennedy School after serving as a Teach for America corps member, where she worked as an instructor in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley (front row in picture above). After graduating, Nielson hopes to work for a non-profit focusing on education research and policy. “By pursuing an MPP at the Kennedy School, I hope to enhance my policy skills so that I may better serve my former students and others like them around the country. With improved proficiency, I intend to work for a non- profit that researches education policy and works with stakeholders to imple- ment solutions. This would also prepare me for serving in the government and creating thoughtful eduction policy.” The inaugural recipient of the IOP’s Kennedy School scholarship was Eli Rosenbaum (SAC 2005), who began studying at the School in the fall of 2006. Rosenbaum is currently pursuing a joint J.D/M.P.P. program at the Kennedy School and Harvard Law School, where he is focusing on local and regional government, U.S. campaigns, redistricting and campaign finance. INSTITUTE OF POLITICS 2 “No Vote, No Voice” Launched Online initiative aims to boost youth voting in ’08 elections In late fall, the IOP launched a new web-based initiative, “No Vote, No Voice,” aimed at increasing youth turnout at the polls and focused particularly on the 2008 presidential primaries. The project’s homepage,www.novotenovoice.com , offers numerous ways for young people to register to vote and get news and information about the candidates and campaigns of the 2008 presidential pri- mary process. A key component of the “No Vote, No Voice” project is a Facebook.com ap- plication young people can download to their online profiles. Using the ap- plication, youth who “pledge” to vote in an upcoming presidential primary or caucus will be sent important state-specific voting deadline reminders to their Facebook.com page, including those for registering to vote and sending in an absentee ballot. Navigating the logistics of where and how to vote can be confusing, partic- ularly for those who have never voted before or who choose to vote by ab- sentee ballot. Intended to be an easy-to-navigate voter education web portal, www.novotenovoice.com will offer – all in one place – links to voter informa- tion and registration websites to help first-time voters. For example, a visitor to the “No Vote, No Voice” project’s homepage can quickly learn more about presidential candidates and their positions on various issues via a searchable website (www.votegopher.com), find youth-oriented news and perspective on the 2008 race, and get links to candidate websites if interested in volunteering on a presidential campaign. Additionally, the website will offer a selection of video clips from inspirational speeches given by political leaders over the past several decades. Young people who forward the Facebook.com application and encourage their friends to vote will be automatically entered to win weekly prizes including gift cards and an Apple iPod “Touch.” All eligible participants will also be entered to win the “No Vote, No Voice” grand prize, an all-expenses paid trip for two to watch a taping of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” in New York City in the Spring of 2008. The Institute is also inviting young people to create their own original or mashup video showing “Why Voting Matters,” and upload the video to the “No Vote, No Voice” YouTube.com channel (www.youtube.com/group/ novotenovoice). Submitted videos will be played on the channel until the conclusion of the contest period (February 15, 2008), and the creator of the best video will receive an Apple iPod “Touch.” Director Leach and “No Vote, No Voice” students have been interviewed by numerous media outlets including the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, C-SPAN, and The Washington Post. 3 INSTITUTE OF POLITICS Campus Voices Harvard students experiencing the New Hampshire Primary firsthand This fall, the Institute created an exciting and unique opportunity for students to experience the 2008 presidential campaign and the final “100 Days” of the 2008 New Hampshire Primary firsthand: the “Campus Voices” project. The project was led by Sue Casey, a veteran of New Hampshire presidential politics and an advisor to five presidential campaigns. Beginning in mid-September, “Campus Voices” students travelled to New Hampshire to observe and follow the candidates, campaigns and events of the 2008 presidential race, activities they continued until the New Hampshire primary. The students then shared these weekly experiences and activities with the world using a new website, www.campusvoices.org, where they posted their own original video, and photographic and written reports. While in New Hampshire, students attended debates, rallies and other events; interviewed candidates, key campaign staffers, members of the media and the general public; produced original video and written content analyzing candidates, campaign events and policy positions; and generally observed and documented different aspects of the 2008 presidential primary campaign in New Hampshire. “Campus Voices” students conducted dozens of interviews with numerous presidential candidates, campaign aides, report- ers, and pivotal figures in the primary process. Examples of project high- lights include interviews with numerous Democratic and Republican presi- dential candidates, coverage of the candidate filing process at the New Hampshire state capital in Concord, and sit-downs with New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner. The Institute also collaborated with The New York Times on the project, which exclusively featured selected “Campus Voices” dispatches and reports in the political section of its website (www.nytimes.com/politics) through- out the fall.