Students present research and passions at EI symposium
Photo courtesy of eisenhowerinstitute.org
By Nora Tidey, Staff Writer
On Nov. 16 the Eisenhower Institute held its Fall 2015 Inside Politics symposium. The Eisenhower Institute is a distinguished center for leadership and public policy, preparing students for careers in public policy and to assume their responsibilities as citizens. Inside Politics is a semester-long program that serves as a mentoring experience on campus, as well as in Washington D.C.
Students are able to learn about and understand the workings of American government. Each month during the program, students peel back the curtain of a different section of American government, including political parties, campaigns, the American presidency, Congress and public perceptions of policy matters.
The Inside Politics program is a three-part program that consists of lectures and interactive sessions that provide information to understand politics and policy development, a research project in which participants research a particular policy issue of their choosing and the student symposium in which participants present the findings from their research. After the students choose their research topics, they are set up with a corresponding professional in that specific field in Washington D.C. and travel to the District for a three-day trip to learn more about their topics.
The participants’ semester-long research culminated in the symposium on Nov. 16, where sixteen students presented their findings. Participants were of all class years, and each student presented on a unique topic that they worked hard to research and understand. Research presented by the participants included topics such as tax policy, speech-writing, federal financial aid, immigration, the “rally around the flag” effect, the gender wage gap, environmental issues and more. Each participant gave a brief description of what they researched, what they learned and the professionals they spoke to during their research process.
Kasey S. Pipes, a biographer and historian who spent ten years in politics as a communications and policy advisor and who now serves as the Norris Fellow of Public Policy at the Eisenhower Institute, sat next to the students as they presented and asked questions that often required critical thinking and personal insights on the part of the student.
The students who completed Inside Politics this semester and presented at the November 16th symposium are as follows: Liam Kerr, Elizabeth Miller, Lynn Hatcher, Daniel Kagan, Christopher Condon, Kyle Furlong, Marley Dizney Swanson, Thomas Calbos, Todd Sammis, Elizabeth Hupper, Brendan Wright, Alex Tottser, Hannah Christensen, Celia DiSalvo, Matthew Lowerre, and Colleen Maher. Congratulations to all of the participants!
For more information or to apply for Eisenhower Institute programs, of which there are several, visit www.eisenhowerinstitute.org or check out the Eisenhower Institute’s Facebook page.
