Friday Roundup of Opportunities

In this post:

• Local Internships in Congressional Offices
  
• Paid internship, No on Proposition One Committee
• Wilson Center- Research Assistant Intern- Washington, D.C.
• AFSC- Stop Torture Program Intern- Los Angeles, California

Don't forget that there are lots of internships in DC and elsewhere at Hillzoo, and Idealist, and Conservativeinternships.com


Local Internships in Congressional Offices
There remain a number of local internships for political parties and congressional offices. As the congressional elections draw near there will be growing demand for good interns. If you have a desire to get some experience inside a local congressional office or working on a congressional campaign, contact me (Professor O'Neil)


Paid Internship, No on Proposition One Committee, Seattle
I saw your UPS blog and the solicitation on the part of the PRO side of the Roads and Transit measure ... I was wondering if there might be any government/political science students who would like to intern for the OPPOSITION to the RAT issue? Go to our websites ... truthabouttraffic.org and NOtoprop1.org to get a better idea of the entire picture.

Would you mind letting me know if there's any students interested in helping us out? Yes, there would be some pay involved.
Peggy Simpson
NO to Proposition 1 Committee
425-785-8891


Wilson Center- Research Assistant Intern- Washington, D.C.
The majority of the interns at the Woodrow Wilson Center serve as research assistants for visiting scholars. Research assistants are talented students from universities around the country who combine part-time hours at the Center with their studies and with other activities. A position as a research assistant is particularly appropriate for a student planning to move on to graduate studies, or for students wishing to develop a deeper understanding of their field of study. In addition to assisting with research, interns have the opportunity to network with experts in their chosen fields.

The Center has around 50 research interns at any one time, many of whom are replaced at the end of each academic term. Most research assistants do not receive a stipend.

Activities
Most scholars who come to the Wilson Center spend their time carrying out research, writing books, and making public presentations. Research assistants have the unique opportunity to work directly with these experts, as they examine issues of contemporary public policy or explore topics that provide the historical context behind today's public policy debates. Most research assistants at the Center work with university professors who are scholars at the Wilson Center while on leave from their home institutions. Other assistants may be assigned to journalists, present and former government officials (such as ambassadors) or, occasionally, to scholars from the private sector.

In support of the scholars, research assistants spend much of their time searching for information, using online academic databases or other publications. They often perform other duties, as well, such as translating, proofreading, critiquing, checking references, summarizing, and helping with software or presentational tasks. There may be some administrative tasks involved, but such tasks will be limited. Consequently, a strong sense of responsibility and the ability to work with a minimum of supervision are strong assets. Foreign language skills are sometimes useful.

While at the Center, all interns are encouraged to go beyond their particular internship responsibilities and to attend our many panel discussions, conferences and other meetings. Interns are also welcome to join staff and scholars during some social events.

Eligibility
Applicants must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and be a current, recent, or soon-to-be student. Most interns are of at least senior undergraduate level, though strongly qualified juniors will be considered. Graduate students are eligible to apply. Foreign students are eligible, but they must hold a valid F-1 or J-1 visa and appropriate work authorization. The Wilson Center does not sponsor visas. Foreign students must obtain written permission from their Responsible Visa Officer at their university stating their ability to intern at the Wilson Center.

Typical research assistants are students of political science; U.S. government/politics; international relations; history (including US history); foreign languages; international affairs; regional studies; economics; public policy; security studies, and similar disciplines, though students of many other fields of study have sometimes been selected. New scholars are constantly arriving at the Wilson Center, and it can be difficult to predict what specific projects will be carried out in the future. For that reason, all interested students are encouraged to apply.

Deadlines
Please note the following deadlines:
For internships beginning in January: November 2nd
Application Process
To apply, applicants will need to submit the following documents:
* a completed Internship Information Form
* Current resume
* Cover letter
* 3-5 page writing sample
* 2 letters of recommendation
* Transcripts

Please direct your application materials to our internships coordinator by fax, email, or regular mail.

Internships Coordinator, Woodrow Wilson Center
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC. 20004-3027
Phone: 202/691-4053
Fax: 202/691-4001
e-mail:internships@wilsoncenter.org


AFSC- Stop Torture Program Intern- Los Angeles, California
Resume Submission Deadline: Rolling deadlines as follows -
November 15, 2007 for Spring Term (January - May)
April 15, 2008 for Summer Term (June - August)
July 15, 2008 for Fall Term (September - December)

Internship dates may vary, depending on school requirements.

Mission: End U.S. torture in the War on Terror by mobilizing people in Los Angeles to deconstruct U.S. institutions of torture, hold U.S. leaders responsible for torture accountable, and restore Constitutional and international human rights standards in the U.S.

Goal #1: Work in coalition with like-minded organizations to eliminate the participation of people in regulated professions in U.S. torture

Strategic Objectives:

1. Accomplish one locally-focused objective to stop torture (pass legislative
resolution critical of torture participation by CA medical professionals)

GOAL #2: Restore civil rights and liberties for all people under U.S.
Jurisdiction

Strategic Objectives:
1. Restore habeas corpus and other fundamental civil liberties undermined in the Military Commission Act and Patriot Act
2. Establish oversight of U.S. treatment of all people in U.S. custody
3. Close Guantanamo Prison

Methodology:
1. Initiate and support AFSC educational programs
2. Public witness
3. Initiate and support legislative initiatives to stop U.S. torture

Program Summary: The Los Angeles office officially took up this issue as a pilot project in September, 2006. The American Friends Service Committee's Los Angeles office (AFSC-LA) is one of several Quaker-based peace and justice organizations ! concerned about torture. In addition to AFSC, the Quaker Initiative to End Torture (QUIT), Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) are focusing on this issue as well. Working with a small committee of Quakers and community supporters, we identified criteria for shaping our stop torture program. We decided that our main objective needed to be:

. California-related
. Uniquely our contribution
. Complementary to our resources, in terms of time, expertise and funding
. Increasing public awareness of torture as a social institution
. Humanizing the torture victim
. A platform for ethical, moral and religious questions

Based on these criteria, we have chosen to work as partners with Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Program for Torture Victims focus on what we are calling the Human Rights and Medicine Campaign, a state legislative initiative to warn CA medical professionals of the possible future risks to their license by participating in torture and urging the U.S. military not to involve CA medical professionals in torture.

In addition to this program priority, AFSC - LA has supported the annual School of the Americas demonstration at Ft. Benning, GA. with Los Angeles programs.

Details of Internship:

Duration: Minimum of 3 months

Hours: Weekly contact with a minimum of 6 hrs. weekly. Some work can be done from home; some work in the office. Event coordination requires flexible hours.

Product: To be agreed upon at the beginning of the internship

Evaluation: Self-evaluation and supervisor feedback half way through internship and at the end of the internship; AFSC-LA requires guidelines from the educational institution before the internship begins regarding their internship requirements

Qualifications:
1. Initiative, ability to work independently, opening to asking questions when you do not know,
2. Keeps agreements, dependable, can communicate about challenges, can take responsibility for actions
3. Strong writing and communication skills
4. Organizational and planning skills
5. Web skills a plus

Tags:

• Internships
• Employment

A crazy huge number of old maps

I like old maps. So does this person, apparently. Click the "details on" for captions and dates. Lots of them, high resolution scans, print them out and cover your walls--

Scoville Fellowship for college grads in International Security

Perfect for graduated or about-to-graduate PG students interested in security issues:

I am pleased to send you information about the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship, a program that provides college graduates the opportunity to work in Washington, DC, with a public-interest organization focusing on arms control and international security issues. The fellowship is offered twice yearly, in the spring and fall. It lasts from six to nine months and provides a stipend, health insurance, and travel costs to Washington. The Scoville Fellowship does not award grant or scholarship money to students.

Scoville Fellows may undertake a variety of activities, including research, writing, and advocacy in support of the goals of their host organization and may attend coalition meetings, policy briefings, and Congressional hearings. They have written fact sheets, letters to the editor, op eds, magazine articles, briefing books and reports, organized talks and conferences, and been interviewed as experts by the media. Many former Scoville Fellows work for NGOs or the Federal Government, or attend graduate school in political science or international relations, following their fellowships.

Please encourage those interested in peace and security issues to visit our website at http://www.scoville.org. There is no application form; the application requirements are listed on the website, as are links to the websites of each of the twenty-five participating organizations and information on the work of current and former Scoville Fellows. Applications may be submitted via email. A flyer about the program can be printed from

http://www.scoville.org/flyer.html The next application deadline is October 15, 2007 for the Spring 2008 Fellowship.

All U.S. citizens, and foreign nationals residing in the United States, are eligible to apply; non-U.S. citizens living outside of the United States are not.

Feel free to contact me with any questions regarding the Fellowship.

Sincerely,
Paul D. Revsine
Program Director
Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship
(202) 543-4100 x124
www.scoville.org


Tags:

• Fellowships
• Internships
• Employment

Tacoma World Trade Center -- an intern's perspective

This summer Garrett Heilman '08 started an internship at the World Trade Center Tacoma and has served as the thin edge of the wedge--with Colleen Gause '06 working there, and our expanding internship presence, I fully expect PG to colonize their organization and reign supreme over our..er...rivals to the south:

After learning about the opportunity to intern at the World Trade Center Tacoma (WTCTA) I applied/interviewed/and on the June 1st I started. The WTCTA is a small office, we currently have 4 full time staff positions and the rest of the office is composed of interns. When I started we had over 7 interns. Almost all of which were international students, [most from PLU :( ]. Working with students from other countries is pretty amazing, especially in a work environment where the job is discussing international economic/political issues. My eyes were certainly further opened by the different understandings of these issues each student brought with her/him. These understandings were most helpful in learning how each student identified their nations international economic/political interests.

Anyways, the WTCTA mission essentially is to promote trade. We do that in a number of ways; We provide events that are invaluable networking opportunities for businesses (and students if you play your cards right), training courses for businesses to learn about exporting/importing, and do trade research for WTC members. As an intern you certainly have your share of menial/administrative tasks. However, the small size of the office means that the interns also get a large share of responsibility. For example, I have written a trade/policy brief to the Secretary of State Sam Reid on trade relations between Washington and Thailand. I have also helped a business become fair trade certified. My point is that unlike other internships, at the WTCTA you get the opportunity to produce significant work that you can point to, to demonstrating your skills for potential employers. Moreover, you get great opportunities to continue your education outside of the academic setting. Recently, we held an international trade certificate course where every intern was able to participate in the three-day event and become certified. In addition to being a great resume builder, the course bridged some of the gaps between theory and the application of that theory.

If anyone is looking for an internship please do not hesitate to e-mail me. Fall internships are still available, and we’re looking to take back the office from PLU.

P.S all internship positions are unpaid."

Looking for an internationally-focused internship in Tacoma? Look no further.

Tags:

• Internships
  

Seth Doherty '07 Study Abroad-Internship Review

Students who do study abroad often don't consider that some of these programs can incorporate an internship into the program. We've had many students do the Dublin Parliamentary Internship, and Seth did a similar program in Australia:

Study Abroad IES Direct Enrollment University of Melbourne Parliamentary Internship

While studying abroad at the University of Melbourne last semester, I participated in an internship there at the Victoria State Parliament and Professor O’Neil suggested I share my thoughts in case any of you are looking at internships abroad, especially in Melbourne.

I found that the Parliamentary Internship was worthwhile, both as a political internship and as a study abroad experience. The internship involved being paired with a member of the Victoria State Parliament and working with them to do a research paper of interest to both you and your MP. As well, there are courses held about once a week at Parliament House by instructors from the University of Melbourne and surrounding universities.

The direct engagement with the parliament is very valuable from a comparative politics perspective, as I became intimate with the particulars of a parliamentary system in general and the Westminster System at the state level specifically.

My MP, Carlo Carli, was a member of the lower house, the Legislative Assembly, from the district of Brunswick, part of the inner north suburb of Melbourne, Moreland. The research topics of my peers enrolled in the internship were on a great range of topics. My research for Carli dealt with determining the factors that contributed to the preservation of the Merri Creek, a creek which runs through the inner northern suburbs and was intended to be turned into a freeway in the 1970s but now is protected by community groups and is largely seen as a community asset. The research allowed me to utilize skills I had gained in my study of politics and government at UPS, while interacting with key political actors in the area and gaining new experience in complicated workings of local politics.

I found the internship to be one of the best educational experiences I could have while studying abroad. My ability to succeed at the internship was comprised in little to no amount by my being a foreigner and taking part in it caused no major logistical difficulties. For me, it was a practical way to get both a positive study abroad experience that I wanted and a internship experience that I felt as necessary, without sacrificing from either experience.

-Seth B. Doherty

Tags:

• Studyabroad
• Internships
  

Linz Heppe '07 Update

First, Linz has set up her own blog that we've added to the blogroll:
http://sliceofmind.blogspot.com/

And here's what she's been up to of late and some suggestions for our current students:

I have recently accepted an internship position at the Protection Project (thanks former PG'er Sherrie Caltagirone for this connection--Professor O'Neil), a human rights organization dedicated to the elimination of trafficking in persons, especially women and children. Specifically, the PP focuses on the protection of human security, especially women's and children's rights; the fostering of civil society and NGO development; the enhancement of the rule of law using a bottom-up approach; the advancement of human rights education; and the elimination of trafficking in persons.The organization in located at the John's Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC. I will begin the internship mid-January, and will be focusing on human rights issues in the Middle East.

I will continue my Arabic language studies in Williamsburg, VA, and will pick it up again at a University in DC upon arrival. Learning Arabic has been on my agenda for awhile now. I ultimately want to work for the State Dept, DHS, CIA or any other organization that specializes in counterterrorism. Hopefully my studies will take me to the Middle East for some face-to-face contact/dialogue with Iraqis/Egyptians. I want to REALLY understand what is happening on the ground- researching (from books)- is not enough to make effective policy suggestions or decisions.

So here are some suggestions: really put yourself out there. There are numerous opportunities in Tacoma/Seattle. Visit mosques/temples, set up round-table events, get an internship, make presentations, do REAL RESEARCH (this means primary)- don't just lock yourself up in the library. Apply to scholarships and research grants. Almost any agency will chose a well-rounded individual with experience over the straight-A student. And once you get your foot in the door the rest of the opportunities will come knocking.

Hazzan saaeedan (Good luck!)

Tags:

• Alums
• Internships

China fears our department

From an alum in China:

Did you know that your blog is censored by the Chinese government? I'm in Beijing right now, and the only way I can read the blog is through a proxy server.

We've long expected that the radiant truths of this blog were too much for any state to bear. Our G Rating is but a feint on our part to disarm our adversaries.

Christy Thomas '00: Professional degrees...and tuition paid?

An email from Christy Thomas noting my earlier post about the PPIA Junior Summer Institute at Princeton. Especially worth considering given our earlier post about the growing interest in professional degrees--and the costs involved:

It was interesting to see you feature the PPIA program at Princeton because I just finished a proposal to a Carnegie Mellon alum for our program. PPIA is actually affiliated with over 30 universities across the country, including Carnegie Mellon (www.ppiaprogram.org). And as an additional incentive, anyone who completes the PPIA summer institute (at either Carnegie Mellon or another member institution) could qualify for full tuition plus a stipend if they attend Carnegie Mellon for graduate school. So, just a plug for Carnegie Mellon and the opportunity to attend grad school for free! I’d be happy to talk with students about life in Pittsburgh and the Heinz School of Public Policy, where I’m currently completing my Masters in Public Management.

Best,

Christina Thomas
Director, Parents Leadership Program &
Major Gift Officer
Carnegie Mellon University

Jennifer Zinchuk '03 Talk on campus on Peace Corps

Next Wednesday Jennifer (Eidum) Zinchuk '03 will be the featured speaker on campus during the Peace Corps' fall presentation and information session. They will be around much of the day, but make certain to catch Jennifer's talk on her time in Ukraine if you have the chance. Here are the details:
Wednesday, Oct. 17
12 - 1 p.m.
Murray Board Room - Wheelock Student Center

Note: I had this misposted as this week--thanks to Jennifer for catching that.

Evan Updates

I few posts back I mentioned that I'd heard from Evan Howe '05 as he was finishing up his Peace Corps service in Niger. I asked him for a couple of paragraphs on his time, which was quite unfair as it's hard to sum up a Peace Corps experience in a few sentences. Here are his thoughts, along with one of the few pictures he has of his time there. Thanks to Evan and everyone else who regularly adds to our blog.



I recently completed 26 months as a Community, Youth and Education volunteer in Niger in West Africa. Before I arrived in Niger, I really had no idea what to expect. I had spent a semester in South Africa while at Puget Sound, but I figured that there would be a drastic difference between a large city like Cape Town and rural Niger. When we arrived in country we spent nine weeks in training living with a local host family. While I think we were relatively sheltered from what our real experience would be like, it still gave me glimpses into what everyday life would be like for the next two years.

My village consisted of about 3,500 people, located along a non-paved road that was not too enjoyable to travel upon, but was always interesting. I chose to focus my work on a number of smaller-scale projects with different counterparts as opposed to one "main project." My work focused on a wide variety of subjects dealing with themes ranging from those taken from practical health and hygiene skills to the importance of girls' education. The work I did took direction from what my villagers wanted and what I felt were the most pressing issues that needed to be addressed.

From the very beginning of my first year I jumped right into work, maybe a bit hastily. I spent the first year working with a counterpart who was incredibly overbearing, I felt like I needed to be present for every meeting, training, and anything that resembled work during my first year. Looking back I realize how ridiculous a notion that was. It took me a little while to realize that not every project was going to go according to schedule and that I needed to be a lot more flexible in my approach to work. By the second year I felt I was accomplishing just as much working on my own time and I did not feel stressed at all.

One of the greatest things about my Peace Corps service was my village. I formed incredible friendships and they treated me as one of their own. Like many volunteers, I feel that I'm taking away a lot more from my experience than I gave. I hope to maintain contact with my village and hopefully visit them sometime in the near future.

Master's degrees proliferate

Yesterday in class I was talking with our majors about the various kinds of professional degrees out there like MPPs and MPAs. As if on cue, an article in the New York Times on this very topic:

"More students than ever have started master’s programs this fall, and universities are seeing those programs as potentially lucrative sources of revenue. The number of students earning these degrees around the country has nearly doubled since 1980. Since 1970, the growth is 150 percent, more than twice as fast as bachelor and doctorate programs.

“Master’s programs are the most obvious targets of opportunity,” said George L. Mehaffy, a vice president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. “The degrees are in high demand, and this is an optimal time to enter or expand the market.”

For students, the degrees are often expensive; at private universities, many students take out $50,000 in loans for every year of school. And scholarships and fellowships are rare, unlike doctoral programs, which are usually fully financed by universities.

Still, many say the price is worth it..."

Read the whole piece here.

Friday Roundup of Opportunities

Don't forget the White House Internship Program that we posted yesterday as well.

In this post:

• WOLA Sally Yudelman Internship, Washington, D.C.
• Stimson Center- Communications Associate- Washington, D.C.
• UN Foundation- The People Speak Intern- Washington, D.C.
• MoveOn- Rising Stars Fellow, DC

WOLA Sally Yudelman Internship, Washington, D.C.
WOLA's internship program is named after Sally Yudelman for her contribution and commitment to WOLA, human rights and democracy in Latin America. Through WOLA's Yudelman Internship Program we hope to provide unique mentoring opportunities to interns thereby encouraging the next generation of young people to become actors in the formation of U.S. foreign policy.

WOLA's Yudelman Internship Program works to give interns a broad exposure to the foreign policy-making process and aims to familiarize its interns with current events in Latin America through regular meetings with our staff and by attending NGO coalition meetings, congressional hearings, and other discussions and events. In addition, throughout the semester, interns will have a series of "brown bag" lunch discussions with representatives from ! different sectors that interact with the NGO world, such as foundation s, governments, and multilateral institutions. Upon arrival each intern is assigned to work with a WOLA Associate on one issue and will produce a detailed research project that meets the intern's interests and the Associate's needs. At the end of the semester, the results of the research project will be presented to WOLA's staff. One project will be selected and the intern will publish an article related to their project in WOLA's newsletter.

Applications to the WOLA's Yudelman Internship are three times each year- summer, fall and spring. WOLA selects seven interns per session. The internship is unpaid. During the fall and spring, interns are expected to work at least 24 hours each week. During the summer, they are expected to work 32 hours each week.

Approximately 65% of the internship is administrative in nature-answering telephones, faxing, copying, or working on a specific task (i.e. fulfilling orders for our many publications, helping to keep our website updated, monitoring the media). The reminder of the time is spent on the intern project or other substantive work.

Interested applicants should have a demonstrated interest in human rights, democracy and economic justice in Latin America; initiative and flexibility; the capability to work in a fast-paced environment; good organizational skills; follow-through and attention to detail. Spanish or Portuguese proficiency is strongly recommended.

Latin American and minority students are encouraged to apply. In general, the Yudelman Internship Program is not open to either graduate students or to students who have already graduated as they are generally looking for something more substantive in nature.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
In order to be considered for an internship, WOLA needs the following materials:
*a cover letter in which you state:
* that you understand the internship is unpaid
* your specific dates of availability
* your willingness to work at least 24 hours each week (32 if you are applying for a summer internship)
* why you want to intern at WOLA, an idea of your specific interests regarding Latin America, and your language abilities.
*a resume
*the names and telephone numbers of at least two references
*a short writing sample (no more than 2-3 pages) on a topic of your choice. It can be a paper you submitted for a class.

DEADLINES:
Spring internship (mid-January through May) November 15
Application materials should be addressed to the Intern Coordinator:
Kristina DeMain
Internship Recruitment Coordinator
1630 Connecticut Avenue, NW Floor 2
Washington, D.C. 20009
InternApp@wola.org


Stimson Center- Communications Associate- Washington, D.C.
The Henry L. Stimson Center, a nonprofit public policy institute committed to finding and promoting practical, innovative solutions to security challenges, seeks a full-time, experienced communications associate will support the planning and implementation of communications and outreach activities at the programmatic and institutional levels.


Major responsibilities
o Assist with the planning, implementation and coordination of communications activities
o Monitor outreach timelines
o Draft written materials including press releases, promotional materials, proposals and policy briefs
o Coordinate media outreach including mass mailings, fax blasts and information requests
o Assist with the maintenance of the website--writing and editing content; preparing reports on defined usage metrics; and coordinating specific website initiatives
o Maintain organizational and media lists--coordinate with research and administration project teams to ensure data integrity
o Review Stimson products against institutional design and editorial standards to ensure consistency and clarity
o Coordinate logistics for meetings, press conferences, seminars and other special events
o Research and assess new communications tools
o Track Stimson's media and other outreach efforts--maintain files and prepare reports on presscoverage, testimony, speeches and presentations
o Coordinate marketing and sale of Stimson books including vendor relations, inventory management, and paid advertising

The above specified tasks may not be the only duties assigned. Employees may be required to carry out other job-related tasks as requested by their supervisor, subject to reasonable accommodations.

QUALIFICATIONS

* Required: Bachelors degree and 2-3 years experience or equivalent education.

How to Apply
Qualified candidates are encouraged to email a resume, cover letter, salary requirements and references to resume@stimson.org. Please indicate "Communications Associate" in the subject line of all correspondence.

The Henry L. Stimson Center is an equal opportunity employer and actively seeks candidates from diverse backgrounds. The Center provides competitive compensation and an exceptional package of benefits.



UN Foundation- The People Speak Intern- Washington, D.C.
The United Nations Foundation (UNF) and the Better World Fund (BWF) were established in 1998 to administer Ted Turner's unprecedented gift of $1 billion in the service of global causes. UNF exists to promote the well-being of the global population, the responsible stewardship and preservation of the world's climate and essential ecosystems, the protection of human rights, and peaceful coexistence by strengthening the United Nations as a vehicle for promoting international cooperation. To achieve its objectives, UNF provides grants to UN agencies, funds, and programs for work in the areas of population, children's health, the environment, and peace, security, and human rights. BWF complements the work of UNF through support of selected programs designed to strengthen the relationship between the United States and the United Nations.

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

. To provide a framework by which graduate and post-graduate students from diverse academic backgrounds can utilize their theoretical knowledge in practical work assignments;
. To expose students to the work of the UN and to encourage them to consider careers in the UN or UN related causes, and;
. To aid the UNF in achieving its mission.

OVERALL FORMAT OF THE PROGRAM

. UNF hosts a semester long internship program during the Fall, Spring, and Summer school sessions.
. The UNF offers full and part-time paid and unpaid internships. The number of each kind of internship offered will depend on the needs of the various departments.
. Intern duties and responsibilities will vary according to the assignment.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

This position supports The People Speak (TPS), an educational campaign to inspire young people on the global issues that will shape their future. This year, TPS is organizing a series of grass roots high school activities called the Global Debates and two college mini grant programs called Buzz Cuts and Climate Crews. The position will report to the Director of The People Speak. General Responsibilities include:

. Coordinating Global Debates - This position will support over 2,000 high schools participating in the Global Debates. This includes helping schools document activities to accumulate points, tracking activities by schools, assisting high school students and teachers plan a public debate in their school, and other support as needed.

. Conducting Outreach - Researching youth organizations and providing outreach materials about TPS to interested parties. Outreach will also occur through online platforms, such as Facebook and MySpace, among others.

. Administrative Support - Assists with large mailings and outreach projects and helps with UNF-sponsored special events.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The following criterion is used to determine eligibility for the Internship Program:

. Applicants should be enrolled in a degree-granting program in an undergraduate or graduate school during the internship.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

. Requirements (only completed packages will be considered)
o Current résumé or curriculum vitae; and
o Cover letter addressed to Intern Administrator stating your purpose for obtaining this internship and your skills and experiences related to the general responsiblities.

How to apply

Visit the following site: http://www.unfoundation.org

o Select "Public Affairs" from the Department drop down menu.
o Only electronic applications will be accepted.


MoveOn- Rising Stars Fellow, DC
Salary: Equivalent of $50,000 / year
Description:
MoveOn is starting a fellowship program, to give talented up-and-comers a chance to work on the biggest issues in the progressive movement. Rising stars of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply for this 5-month, full-time, paid
position.



Details or to apply: http://www.moveon.org/fellowship

MoveOn Fellows will work alongside our top campaigners to end the war in Iraq, stop the climate crisis, win the '08 election and make their mark on other high-profile issues.

The program will start with a dozen finalists coming together for an intimate, behind-the-scenes crash course in MoveOn's strategies and tactics. After this two-day intensive, up to four Fellows will have the opportunity to remain at MoveOn for
in a five-month, full-time, paid position.

Each Fellow will have a one-on-one mentoring relationship with a senior
MoveOn staffer. Fellows will have opportunities to launch their own projects and work with the team to test new ideas in online and off-line organizing. MoveOn will assist
Fellows in searching for jobs in the progressive movement -- possibly
within MoveOn itself.

We are looking for a diverse group of applicants, united by their passion for
a more progressive America. We don't care if you've spent years working for progressive organizations or if you haven't even finished school. How you got here
isn't important; where you're going is.

The first Fellowship training course will begin Friday, Oct 12. Applications
will be accepted until Sept 21. For more details, go to http://www.moveon.org/fellowship

Visit http://pol.moveon.org/fellowship to apply. No followup calls or email, please!

Tags:

• Internships

Alums: We need your advice!

I'm currently teaching PG 250, which is the department's course on writing and research. It's also a good place for us to get majors together at an early stage in their degree to talk about maximizing their education and about life after graduation.

To that end, I'm hoping I might call upon our alums to share their wisdom with us about life after UPS. What exact form this might take isn't set in place, but I am thinking about having alums give their advice and thoughts in response to particular issues or questions that the students would provide. So we might generate a range of questions, and alums could give their thoughts to whatever questions and to whatever extent they saw fit.

In the near future I will contact some of you directly to ask for your participation, but I'd like to reach out to all of our alums, many of whom I don't know. If you are willing to help guide our majors, would you be so kind as to drop me an email at poneil@ups.edu?

Thanks in advance for all our alums have done in making our program and university a great place to teach.

White House Internship Program

I just got a reminder from Sam Stookesberry '09 that the deadline for the White House Internship Program is fast approaching. Sam reminded me of it because he did an internship there last summer, so if anyone has any questions about what the program is like Sam is a good resource. Even if you're not interested in doing it in spring, they accept interns for the summer so there's lots of lead time. I asked Sam to write up a short blurb on his experience, and I'll blog that in the near future.

Update Here's Sam's thoughts on the internship:

This summer I was an intern in the White House office of Records Management. As the name implies, our office was responsible for handling all of the administration’s documents. The duties of an intern vary greatly depending on the office within the White House, and I did everything from filing, copying, and data entry to reading and proofing outgoing presidential correspondence. Getting an inside look at how the government runs at the highest level was awesome and a great learning experience. Probably the best part about the internship is the speaker series put on for the interns. We had about 10 speakers over the summer including the Chief of Staff to the President, The Secretary of the Treasury, Karl Rove, and The President, all of whom were amazing. Living in D.C. was exciting, but age (21 or not) will probably have a significant impact on your experience. Overall interning at the White House was a lot of work but a great summer, and I’d be happy to talk with anybody interested in doing it. My email is sstookesberry@ups.edu

There is Fred Ross '86

A recent email from Fred Ross '86. Alums, especially those who remember Fred, do drop him a line at his blog. Fred's blog is a great read (I can't imagine driving from Portland to Central America) and he's got an excellent Flickr site with pictures as well.

Professor O'Neil,

I have perused a few of the blogs you have sent over the past year. I´m new to the blog world having just started one myself in the last few months. Is there a way for me to place a post on your blog to perhaps make contact with fellow UPS students from the past or students involved in similar endeavors as myself right now?

I recently ended my career of 17 years as a Realtor in Portland, Oregon. It was a good 17 years but I want to do something different. I am currently driving through Central and South America learning Spanish and enjoying myself but ultimately looking to find work with an NGO doing humanitarian aid work.

Presently I am in Leon, Nicaragua in my third week of immersion classes. From here I will be heading to Colombia for another 4 weeks of immersion. Then I´m meeting friends to hike the Inka Trail, camp in Patagonia, enjoy Buenos Aires, etc. etc.

I have a blog for friends to keep track of me at
whereisfred.wordpress.com.

Other than when friends meet me along the way I´m making this journey alone and would love to make contacts with other people associated with the univeristy, past and present. I´m also looking for any contacts with different relief and aid organizations. I´m especially interested in Nicaragua (I studied this country at UPS in the 80´s)and Bolivia.

Best,
Fred Ross ´86

Junior Summer Institute at Princeton

This is a great opportunity for any of our juniors with an interest in public policy and international affairs. Each student enrolled in the Summer Institute is fully funded and receives financial support for the total cost. Deadline is November 1. Come see me if you have any questions.


PPIA Junior Summer Institute at Princeton

The Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute at Princeton University has been an important part of the fabric of the Woodrow Wilson School for over 20 years. While the program's name and admissions criteria have changed over the years, the School has never wavered in its commitment to prepare a diverse cadre of professionals for careers in public service, particularly in those areas of government related to foreign affairs. Past and future participants, therefore, represent a variety of backgrounds and perspectives similar to the national and international communities in which they hope to serve.

The Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute at Princeton University has been an important part of the fabric of the Woodrow Wilson School for over 20 years. While the program's name and admissions criteria have changed over the years, the School has never wavered in its commitment to prepare a diverse cadre of professionals for careers in public service, particularly in those areas of government related to foreign affairs. Past and future participants, therefore, represent a variety of backgrounds and perspectives similar to the national and international communities in which they hope to serve.

This goal has given us a clear vision of what students will gain from attending our summer program. First, they will become friends with a group of extremely talented students from colleges and universities all over the country. These colleagues will be impressive academically, and more importantly, they will be culturally aware, socially sensitive, committed to public service, and they will share a common vision about making the world a better place.

Second, students will be exposed to the various tools that they will need to become effective policy practitioners, including critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, memo writing, and oral presentation skills. They will also engage in curricular and extracurricular activities that are designed to teach and strengthen their cross-cultural competence in making and implementing policy--because navigating across cultural boundaries and being sensitive to one's own culture (real and perceived) are key elements of policymaking in our rapidly changing world.

Third, students will explore a broad range of interesting public policy issues and expand their horizons regarding career options. We challenge students by bringing in a range of public policy practitioners and academics to speak about careers in public affairs and cutting-edge research. Throughout the summer, students find themselves sitting around the table with high-level policy professionals discussing the issues of the day, while at the same time building a solid foundation for graduate study.

Ultimately, we offer a program that is challenging to those at all skill levels and that will increase students' interests in pursuing a career in public or international affairs and will prepare them for entrance into graduate school. We believe that our summer institute is a springboard to an exciting future and will give participants an opportunity to fashion a career consistent with their passions.

We hope that you will choose to be a part of the group of successful alumni who have made their start in the PPIA Junior Summer Institute. Thank you for your interest in our program.

Tags:

• Gradschool
• Fellowships
• Employment

Katie Callaghan '03 to AU in DC

We got word from Katie Callaghan '03 the other day. After graduation Katie went on Peace Corps, like so many of our graduates, and was based in a village in Panama (the stories she told were something else). This fall Katie began graduate school at American University in their International Development Program.

She writes: "in addition to classes, I'm working at the Academy on Human Rights at the American University Washington College of Law where my official role is to help coordinate a Human Rights Summer Program that they do each May-June. They offer classes in both Spanish and English on topics related to Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (mainly focusing on Latin America) and bring in professors and speakers from all over the globe who work with or study Human Rights. There are people from different European and Latin American universities as well as directors from programs like the United Nations Development Programme."

Katie says classes are going well and that she likes the program. Another educational option for PG students who might be thinking about graduate school down the road.

Best wishes for grad school, Katie, and we look forward to hearing more about the program.

Tags:

• Alums
• Gradschool

Evan Howe '05; Peace Corps ends, Latin America Calls

An email from PG alum Evan Howe '05, who is finishing up his Peace Corps work in Niger:

My service has gone by rather quickly but it has certainly been an experience. It was difficult to leave my village, but I also feel that it's time for something new and different. It looks like I'm going to follow through with my plan to travel around South America after my service, so I'll be headed to Brazil and a few other countries until January. I've been attempting to study a little Portuguese and Spanish, but I don't think it's been going that well. Hopefully by the time I get there it will decent enough that i can communicate basic things. I leave next week.

When I return to the U.S. I have been thinking of moving to Washington D.C. to try to get a entry-level job at a law firm, with the hopes of doing that until the summer and applying for inner-city teaching positions in the fall of 2008. Working in the educational system in Niger has given me the motivation to continue to work with youth upon my return. Although I imagine it's going to be a completely different experience. So we will see how that goes.

I hope that all is well in Tacoma and you have a nice semester. I will do my best to send a picture for your blog, I'm trying to catch up with some of the entries over the last few months, sounds like you are all keeping quite busy. Please say hello to all in the P&G department for me.

We are looking forward to hearing more about Evan's time in Niger--and indeed, from any of our alums out there. Send us a note, let us know how you are doing.

International Youth Leadership Conference, Prague

Some interesting things on offer, and hey, it's Prague for the holidays--

This email brings you information on an interesting educational opportunity, the 15th International Youth Leadership Conference, which is to be held January 6-11th, 2008 in Prague, the Czech Republic. I am the Conference Director of the 15th International Youth Leadership Conference (IYLC) and I would like to make sure that your students are informed about this unique international conference.

The 15th IYLC will be welcoming 130 top university students from around the world. As we are now accepting applications online, we would very much appreciate your help with spreading this information. We will soon send you a package with posters and further details, but for now I am sending you, and your students, the following information.

The theme of the conference is “a cross-cultural exchange of ideas concerning the future of world leadership” and the main objective of the IYLC is to blend educational activities and social interaction using a number of inter-related events:

A United Nations Security Council Crisis simulation
A mock International Criminal Court pre-trial
Model Parliament proceedings
Visits to Foreign Embassies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Czech Senates Panel Discussion and Presentations led by speakers of the highest caliber in their fields.

To view a draft schedule of events for the winter session please view: http://czechleadership.com/itinerary.php and you are also invited to visit our website at www.czechleadership.com for further details.

To view the Student Invitation Letter, which could potentially be forwarded to your students, please view: http://czechleadership.com/invitation-letter.pdf

For students who apply early, we have a special ‘Early Bird’ discount, worth 100 EUR. For more information please check our website.

Please let me know if you, or your students, have any questions.

I will be looking forward to hearing from you.
With best regards from Prague,

Katarina Olsova
katarina@civicconcepts.org
Conference Director - 15th International Youth Leadership Conference
Civic Concepts International
www.czechleadership.com
tel: +420 272 730 897

NYT...U?

From Inside Higher Ed:

The New York Times on Thursday announced a major push into higher education — with new efforts to provide distance education, course content and social networking. A number of colleges are already either committed to using the new technologies or are in negotiations to start doing so, evidence of the strong power of the Times brand in academe...

In distance education, the Times will be providing technology and marketing for non-credit courses taught by college and university professors. Funds from tuition revenue will be split (with the precise formula varying) between the colleges and the Times. Among the institutions that are already part of the effort are Mount Holyoke College; New York, Northern Kentucky, Stanford and Towson Universities; and the Society for College and University Planning. Felice Nudelman, director of education for the Times, said that the list would soon grow significantly. She said that the emphasis would be on having a range of institutions and a range of high quality programs. Tuition rates are set by the colleges — in some cases with in-state and out-of-state rates.

Here's the link to the NYT site.

Campaign 2008: Issue Tracker

The Washington Post has set up an "Issue Coverage Tracker" for the Presidential campaign:

Washingtonpost.com today announced the release of the "Issue
Coverage Tracker," a new application that compares the volume of press
coverage between candidates and the major issues of the 2008
presidential race. Featured on washingtonpost.com, the application is
being made freely available for distribution to any user's website.
Developed by Daylife, a news distribution platform that analyzes and
organizes news coverage from thousands of sources, the "Issue Coverage
Tracker" has a compelling graphic presentation that is fun and
easy-to-use.

The application, which features an interactive display designed to
encourage participation, provides a unique lens on election news,
allowing users to customize their experience by candidate or topic,
ranging from abortion to health care to the war in Iraq. Drawing
information from thousands of news and opinion sources, the "Issue
Coverage Tracker" provides a quick visual scale of coverage between
candidates and the issues, allowing a user to:

* select a candidate and view the issues related to that candidate
* select an issue and view the candidates who focus on that issue
* expand or limit the coverage timetable
* customize the application to default to a particular candidate

It's has a nice interface from the little that I've played with it. Worth a peruse--

Watson Fellowship Workshop

This in from Professor Joshi, our university's faculty Watson coordinator. Last year three UPS students were awarded Watson Fellowships, which is an extraordinarily high number, including PG major Zorba Leslie. Read on:

Please announce in your upper division classes the following two informational meetings for students who are interested in applying for the Watson Fellowship this year:

Wed, Sept 12, 4-5:30 pm in Wyatt 208

or

Thurs, Sept 13, 5:30-7 pm in Wyatt 208

Any interested students are welcome to attend, although given the timeline, this meeting will likely be most pertinent to seniors who are considering applying this year (the deadline is Fri, Oct 5th). For juniors and other lower-division students, I run several additional meetings in the spring.

A Few Words about the Watson Fellowship: The Watson is a highly competitive and prestigious national fellowship that provides students with a $25,000 grant to pursue a year of travel outside the United States. Fellows develop innovative projects that take them to diverse locations to address what are often highly idiosyncratic interests (e.g.: kite building and flying, communities with lake monster myths, retracing Darwin’s Beagle journey). Watson does not support "library" or research projects; instead, the foundation is interested in students who demonstrate curiosity and independent thinking and in projects that develop a young person’s self-reliance and interpersonal skills. Consequently, students who are successful can be but are not necessarily "A students"; they are always bold and original thinkers and very resourceful. The program is highly selective not only in the students it picks, but also in the roughly 50 colleges it invites to participate. Puget Sound has been a "Watson school" since 1992 and we have been extremely successful in those years with one or two winners almost every year since 1994, and three in 2006-7. This is a unique opportunity for our students, one they are fortunate to have available to them because they attend UPS.

Please take a few moments to announce these informational meetings in your classes. And if you or your students have any questions about the program, please do not hesitate to contact me at pjoshi@ups.edu.

Many thanks,

Priti Joshi

Davies-Jackson Scholarship: Deadline November 12

If you're interested, contact the fellowships office, Howarth 114:

Davies-Jackson Scholarship

The Davies-Jackson Scholarship presents a unique opportunity for students with exceptional academic records, who are among the first in their families to graduate college, to participate in a course of study at St. John’s College at the University of Cambridge. After two years of study, candidates are awarded a Cambridge B.A. degree, known as the Cantab degree, which is often viewed as the equivalent of a masters degree in the U.S.

Scholarship recipients will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the rich educational environment of St. John’s, which was founded in the 16th century, by reading in one of the following subjects: Archaeology and Anthropology, Classics, Economics, English, Geography, History, History of Art, Modern and Medieval Languages, Music, Philosophy, or Social and Political Sciences.

Applications for the 2008 Davies-Jackson Scholarship will be accepted September 10-November 12, 2007. For information about the scholarship and application process, as well as a list of previous scholarship recipients, go here.

Tags:

• Fellowships

Alum update and more opportunities--

This in from Ryan Dumm '07. Congrats on his new job, and we've had much good feedback from students who have interned in Norm Dicks' office. In fact, Ryan himself did a stint there prior to landing this job. Ryan writes:

So after several months I finally found a job and it has all worked out great. Last week I was going to start working for Mike Weinman and John Winkler on three local campaigns doing field organizing, but then I interviewed for a position with Norm's office to replace Mike English and took that immediately. I started on Monday and it has been great so far...looks like I will mostly be handling Democratic outreach in the 6th District. My new email address is ryan.dumm@mail.house.gov

And this in turn raises some other opportunities:

Mike and John will be looking for someone to work on those campaigns if you have anyone in mind? It would last until November and be for Don Johnson (port commissioner), Mike Weinman (fircrest city council) and Bruce Banfield (Lakewood city council).

And...

Congressman Norm Dicks’ (D) District Office in downtown Tacoma is looking for quality interns for the fall and spring semesters. Intern responsibilities include constituent services, letters of achievement, scheduling, news briefs, legislative research and a host of other office duties. Internships are unpaid but students can receive credit for 120 hours per semester. This is wonderful opportunity for P&G majors to gain experience in a Congressional office and network for post-graduate employment. To apply, send a letter of interest and your resume to LaTasha Wortham.

latasha.wortham@mail.house.gov
1019 Pacific Ave. Suite 806
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 593-6536

Homecoming?

Alums: will you be back on campus for homecoming, October 12-14? If so, please drop me a note, I'd enjoy getting back in touch or meeting for the first time.

Students: There are some really interesting things going on at homecoming, including "speed networking," and panels on non-profits and civic engagement. Go go go.

Local internship for Congress...and Obama...right now!

This in from Matt Perry '06. What an incredible opportunity:

Just wanted to give you an update on what I've been up to. I continue to work for Rep. Adam Smith as his Political Director, which involves managing his campaign and being his political eyes and ears back here in the state. Recently I have also taken on in-state fundraising and assisting with the Obama campaign in Washington (Rep. Smith is the Chair for Obama's campaign here).

I am getting a wide variety of experiences that continues to sharpen my understanding of what campaigns are all about. It is especially interesting to contrast my current fundraising experiences with the findings of my senior thesis, which analyzed U.S. campaign finance laws.

I also wanted to let you know about two internships that we will be offering for the fall, in case any students may be interested. I took advantage of internships throughout college and found that they gave me an edge for finding a job after graduation.

Students will get a wide range of experience with exposure to both Rep. Adam Smith's campaign and also Barack Obama's campaign in the Northwest. Interns will learn the nuts and bolts of organizing a grassroots campaign both on a regional and national scale. Duties will include assisting in the planning of events, attending community meetings, maintaining a database, organizing mailings and all of the other tasks that are involved in running successful campaign.

Anyone interested can reach me at 253-572-6125 or mattperry83@gmail.com.

Thanks!

-Matt

Where are we headed?

I mentioned in an earlier post that last week saw the Fall Faculty Conversation, where President Thomas, Dean Bartanen and other members of the administration spoke about where we are now and where we are heading as an institution.

As always, there are good developments and challenges. And these two things are tightly connected. The university is getting better all the time, with a stronger set of applicants and, I think, a greater set of expectations in what we teach and expect our students to learn.

But as a result, it also means we are trying to punch above our weight. Whereas in past our prospective students might have been considering us over local state schools or liberal arts colleges, what the administration is now hearing is that when we lose a prospective to another school, it's a school much higher ranked than ourselves.

And therein lies the problem. If we want to compete against prestigious liberal arts colleges, we are going to need to offer more financial aid. As it stands, we can't offer as much as many of our competitors, a number of whom rely on merit-based aid to grab the strongest applicants (irrespective of their financial need).

So a stronger set of competitors, and tighter competition. The university's challenge in the coming years will be to build that financial base to improve our financial aid to get a strong and diverse incoming class. If you're an alum, no doubt you'll be hearing more about this in coming years. And to that end, I was also happy to hear that the entire alumni relations structure will be dramatically revamped to better tie our alums to our campus and current students. That, I think, is absolutely crucial.

Freshly Scrubbed

I was on campus this weekend and snapped a few pics of the students as they slowly gathered on campus.



The weather is a bit ickier today, but I guess that is appropriate. Storm clouds gather as classes begin...!

Happy Labor Day!

And best wishes for the fall.

Thank you, donor!

We got a note from the library saying that they received a donation to be spent on additional political science books for the collection. I don't know if that donor is a blog reader, but if you are, many thanks--we appreciate the ongoing support that many of you provide to the university, whether through donations, volunteer work, or simply spreading the good name of our school.

That said, yesterday was the Fall Faculty Conversation, where President Thomas and other members of the administration provide a kind of "state of the campus" address. I will blog with some of the main points next week and let you know how we're doing and what challenges lie ahead.

Have a great Labor Day.

Idealism and Grad School

Idealist.org writes about their upcoming grad school fairs, Graduate Degrees for the Public Good. They write:

"These fairs are a resource for all new, aspiring, and mid-career nonprofit and public service professionals who want to learn more about their graduate education options."

You can find all the details at http://www.idealist.org/gradfairs for the dates across the country. Seattle is on October 23, at Seattle University, and there will be over 80 organizations present, including:

American University School of International Service
AustraLearn: Study in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific
Bard Center for Environmental Policy-New York
Carnegie Mellon University H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management
Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service MA Programs
Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government
International Organizations MBA - University of Geneva (Switzerland)
Master of Arts in Policy Studies (UW Bothell)
Masters degree program in Conflict and Dispute Resolution, University of Oregon
Monterey Institute of International Studies
National Urban Fellows, Inc.
New York University's School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Pacific School of Religion
Pepperdine University School of Public Policy
School of Public and Environmental Affairs - Indiana University
Thunderbird School of Global Management
University of Denver Graduate School of International Studies
University of Melbourne - Faculty of Arts
University of Washington Jackson School of International Studies
Willamette University MBA for Business, Government and Not-for-Profit Management

If you plan to go, would you let me know in case you or anyone else needs a ride?

Global Youth Connect

Forwarded by Professor Share. Interesting?

Global Youth Connect

Human Rights Delegations for Young Leaders -- Winter 2007-2008

Program Locations: El Salvador & Rwanda
Application Deadline: September 21, 2007

Global Youth Connect , an international human rights organization, is pleased to announce that we are accepting applications from young leaders (ages 18-25) for our Winter 2007-2008 International Human Rights Delegations. Program locations include: El Salvador and Rwanda.

Human rights delegations are a unique, first-hand opportunity to cross cultural boundaries and learn about the daily reality of human rights as experienced in a complex and increasingly globalized world. Each delegation weaves together three core sets of activities: site visits to local organizations, hands-on fieldwork projects, and a human rights training workshop with local youth activists.

El Salvador (January 1 -- January 13, 2008)
Program Tuition: $1,635

This delegation will explore the roots of El Salvador ’s 12-year civil war, the long-term impact of the war on Salvadoran society, and the continued persistence of long-standing economic and social inequities that have fueled conflict throughout this tiny nation’s history. Delegation participants will come to understand current social, political, and economic problems faced by Salvadoran society within a broader historical context—including the impact of past and present U.S foreign policies on the lives of Salvadorans. Delegation activities will focus in particular on the efforts of human rights activists and youth to recover from a tumultuous and devastating period of violence and repression, and build a more just, equitable, and peaceful society. Spanish proficiency is required.

Rwanda (December 29, 2007 - January 13, 2008)
Program Tuition: $1,795

This delegation will explore the roots of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, how this legacy of violence has impacted the country and its people, particularly Rwandan youth, and also how the country is attempting to rebuild today. We will examine issues of truth, justice and reconciliation in the context of post-conflict Rwanda and what is needed to strengthen local institutions and programs dedicated to promoting a culture of respect for human rights. Participants will connect with young Rwandans and get involved in a variety of collaborative projects aimed at promoting human rights as well as meet with leading human rights defenders, government representatives, international institutions, youth and others from local communities to learn more about the political, economic and social challenges faced by Rwandans today.

Application Deadline: September 21, 2007

How to Apply: We invite interested young leaders to apply. We are looking for participants who are between the ages of 18-25 and who possess U.S. citizenship or residency as well as international students studying full-time at a U.S. college or university. Most importantly, applicants should wish to expand their knowledge and understanding of human rights and social justice. Participants will become part of a growing global movement of youth acting together for compassion, human rights and responsibility.

For detailed information on program activities, costs, fundraising/financial aid, and application information, please visit our website:

www.globalyouthconnect.org/participate

Best wishes,
Jennifer Kloes
Executive Director
Global Youth Connect
www.globalyouthconnect.org
Acting together for compassion, human rights and responsibility

Tags:

• Studyabroad

Q and A: Visiting Professor Eric Williams

This fall we have the pleasure of working with Professor Eric Williams, who is filling in for Professor Haltom while he is on sabbatical. I asked Professor Williams if he'd submit to a few nosy questions:



Where are you from, where did you go to school?

I grew up in Bangor, Maine and did my undergraduate work at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I did my graduate work at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. If you haven't had the pleasure of visiting New Jersey yet, don't worry. You're not missing much.

What are you writing your dissertation on?

For my dissertation, I'm studying the relationship between prisons and the local government in two rural communities that lobbied for prisons as an economic development strategy. I spent a year and a half living in Beeville, Texas and Florence Colorado interviewing prison officials, governmental officials and community residents. Beeville has three Texas state prisons and Florence has four federal facilities including the federal supermax prison where the federal government holds its most dangerous inmates, including the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski and the men that carried out the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. Richard Reid, the man who tried to light a shoe bomb on a plane in 2001 is also there. All told, I spent time in 19 different prisons in Colorado and Texas, a fact that makes my family very proud.

What are you teaching this semester, and what kind of topics are you going to focus on?

I'm teaching Law and Society, Constitutional Law and Introduction to US Politics. In Constitutional law, we will be looking at the principles, power and politics of Constitutional law with a focus on the relationship between law and politics. In Law and Society, we will begin by looking at historical and international notions of justice and its application and will then focus on law and justice in the United States context. The readings for this course are a mix of novels, memoirs, journalistic accounts, court cases and philosophic works. In Introduction to US Politics, we will study the formal and informal institutions that make up the American political system and then see how these institutions interact by looking at some of the issues that are most important today.

So, is it true that your students will go to prison?

I think everyone should have to go to prison at some point in their college career, so I think this is a good opportunity to do so with the near guarantee of being let out at the end of the day! I'm setting up a tour of the old federal facility and current state facility on McNeil Island which will include a visit to the segregation unit, commonly known as the "hole," meetings with corrections officers and small group meetings with inmates there.

What do you do when you're not working?

My main hobby is hiking and I spend as much time as I can in the mountains.

In sum: students, you'd be crazy not to take a course from Professor Williams while you have the chance. If you have questions or want to know more, you'll find him in Professor Haltom's office, Wyatt 219

Google is not gospel

From PC World:

"University students may be encouraged to be critical but they don't seem to question Google's ranking system, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.

The experiment involved 22 undergraduate students (with various majors) from Cornell University in the U.S. It found that overall, the students had an inherent trust in Google's ability to rank results by their true relevance to the query.

"When participants selected a link from Google's result pages, their decisions were strongly biased towards links higher in position, even if that content was less relevant to the search query," states the report. "

Read the news bite here; the whole study can be found here.

Hat tip: Melissa Rohlfs, Office of Communications.

Cupcakey Goodness

http://www.hello-cupcake.com/
Now, what more a reason do you need to go downtown? (hat tip: Exit 133).

Burst the bubble

Students, now that you're here, it's time to go. Break through the campus/North End bubble.

Get off of campus.

Get an internship, meet some people, develop some contacts, get some experience.

Go downtown, check out the museums, walk the International District on 38th, have dinner in a Korean restaurant in South Tacoma, shop the Russian store on Center Street, take the ferry to Vashon Island.

Find something new and seemingly undiscovered, then act all in the know around your friends.

This is that time--make the most of it.

They're Here...

The freshmen started showing up last week in earnest; Friday I saw several clutches of incomings and their parents unloading their dorm flotsam. Perhaps my favorite sight was a family who had towed everything in a horse trailer--no horse, though, and I assumed they'd cleaned it thoroughly before the trip.

I caught the tail end of President Thomas' convocation speech over Baker Stadium; wonderful weather and a fine way of kicking off one's life in college.

If there are any freshmen reading this post, I wish you all the best in the years to come. And as always, if you have any questions about the major, drop by my office (Wyatt 222). I'd be happy to chat.

Intern with Congressman Adam Smith

Stephen Souval '09 writes:

I recently finished my summer internship at Congressman Adam Smith's district office, and thought you may want to tell your blog subscribers that the office is seeking interns for both spring and fall (they said they will be especially in need this fall). The link to the internship is: http://www.house.gov/adamsmith/cs/internship.shtml. The office is very flexible with interns' schedules and would be a perfect position for busy students (and they especially love UPS students).

We've placed many students there, many of whom have gone on to use their experience to open doors to employment here and around the country. A great opportunity that all of our majors should consider.

Fast Cities 2007

Thanks to Elaine Bolton '64 for this bit of fun from Fast Company:
Fast Cities 2007
Which cities are best for work? Culture? Startups? And which are overheated or dead in the water? And should you disagree, they've got room for you to put in your own two cents (I added a comment on Tacoma).

Intern in DC--Meet Alum--Monday

Julie Housh, ’06 UPS Politics and Government alum, will be on campus Monday, August 27th. She is currently the staff assistant and intern coordinator for Congressman Rick Larsen (WA-02) in Washington, D.C. Julie will be around to talk to anyone interested in interning with Congressman Larsen, her internship experience, working on Capitol Hill, or anything in between. If you’d like to chat with her please e-mail her at Julie.housh@mail.house.gov.

We're number 122?

In past we've noted that Washington Monthly does a completely different set of rankings for schools, based on categories they title Social Mobility, Research, and Service. UPS comes in at 121 of 201 colleges. While that may sound bad, according to their criteria schools like Reed come in at 106 and Lewis and Clark at 105. Where do we do well? How many of our students go on to get PhDs (we rank 40), and the number of alums in the Peace Corps (they give the rank as 7--what year this data is from I can't tell, though this year our rank was number one). We do less well in having many students on Pell Grants and also spending work-study money on community service. Read it here.

Probably the odder thing about these ratings is the way in which the schools can so radically shift from year to year--last year Reed was ranked 24. I'm not certain how much value one can get out of an evaluation system where many of the schools fluctuate so much from year to year (13 of the top twenty weren't in the top twenty last year, and many of those weren't anywere near it).

Former President Susan Pierce in Newsweek

Former President Susan Pierce has a piece in Newsweek online that describes her husband Ken's long illness and the challenges of dealing with sickness (Ken Pierce died last December). You can find the piece here (Hat tip: Melissa Rohlfs, Office of Communications).

New Alum Blog: Another One L

Morgan O'Neal '06 has not only begun law school (see earlier post) but has gotten into the swing of things with a blog entitled Another One L. As I know that many of our readers either a) want to be lawyers; b) are in law school; or c) are lawyers, you may find that Morgan's ruminations pique your interest, strike fear, engage your morbid curiosity, generate feelings of solidarity or invoke a nostalgia for times past.

Maybe you'd like to leave a comment--bloggers like them.

We're Number Eighty!

US News has its college rankings for 2008 out, I see, and UPS comes in 80 among national liberal arts colleges, tied with Lewis and Clark in Oregon. See the list here.

Internship Opportunity

Something extra to keep you busy...

Roads and Transit Proposition 1

Campaign Internship and Volunteer Opportunities for UPS Students

Positions involve field work, voter contact, volunteer coordinating, and fundraising

ROADS & TRANSIT IS A BALANCED AND COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO SOLVING OUR REGION’S TRAFFIC PROBLEMS

A comprehensive transportation system will improve our quality of life
• Addressing major choke-points will reduce congestion.
• Building a fast, safe and reliable light rail system across the region will help lift people out of congestion and make it easier to live and do business here.
More transportation choices means a cleaner environment
• Building an additional 50 miles of light rail to connect Bellevue, Redmond’s Overlake area, Mercer Island, Northgate, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, Alderwood, the 164th Street/Ash Way area, Des Moines, Federal Way and Tacoma will take cars off the road and provide better mobility options.
• Creating nearly 12,000 park and ride slots at bus, commuter rail and light rail stations will help commuters get out of their cars.

Upgrading our infrastructure improves safety
• Replacing and retrofitting overpasses and bridges vulnerable to earthquakes.
• Reducing congestion will allow first responders to move more quickly during an emergency.
Investing in transportation drives our economy
• Building transit and fixing choke-points will help improve traffic and move people and goods more quickly and reliably.
• Improving freight mobility will allow our region to compete in an expanding global economy.

For more information about specific projects in Snohomish, King, or Pierce Counties, go to www.yesonroadsandtransit.org

PLEASE CONTACT:
Shannon Murphy
Pierce County Outreach Coordinator
Shannon@yesonroadsandtransit.org
206-381-1251

Now the truth can be told

Our earlier snapshot of Marx was anonymous; I can now tell all that it was taken by none other than Chris Pohlad '07, who was at Corvinus University in Budapest looking up some old friends of mine in the Political Science Department there. Chris was in Budapest in advance of his new job there, working for PepsiAmericas. Yes, I know Hungary isn't in the Americas, but they also have a presence across Central Europe. Chris will be there for a year or so, and sees it as a good opportunity to get both business and foreign experience. I'm excited for Chris to set up shop in my old stomping ground, and the department wishes him the best of luck.

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• Alums

All not well with study abroad?

In the New York Times, a piece questioning some of the practices surrounding study abroad and the intermediate institutions that often run these programs. Find the piece here.

I don't know these details too well, but I think the author may be overstating the degree to which a university can "make money" or get "perks" on study abroad, especially if a student has university financial aid which is being directed toward the study abroad program and away from campus. The article also suggests that students could easily directly enroll abroad, but that would not necessarily be covered by federal or campus-based financial aid, nor would one necessarily find a program in a non-English speaking country set up for study abroad (though they do exist). I think the author is straining to draw parallels with the recent student loan scandal, but it's not quite so evident--at least to me.

Job Opening, DC

Position Available in Smith's DC Office

Congressman Adam Smith seeks experienced legislative assistant to manage portfolio including labor, transportation, financial services, and judiciary issues. This is not an entry level position. Must have ability to work in fast-paced office, possess excellent writing skills, and have a solid understanding of the legislative process. Pacific Northwest ties and sense of humor are a plus. Salary range 35K+ dependent upon experience. Please email resume and cover letter to WA09LegislativeAssistant@mail.house.gov No calls or drop-bys.

The Honorable Adam Smith
2402 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-8901

Not Groucho

This image showed up in my in box a few days back from a recent alum who was in Budapest. The statue is at Corvinus University (where I was affiliated on a research Fulbright 15 years ago), which back in the Bad Old Days was Karl Marx University. The statue, a huge affair, remains, for reasons obscure to me. And what was our intrepid alum doing in Budapest? Details to follow.

Textbooks are Spendy

From the New York Times, an editorial suggesting a whole new model for college textbook sales, or rather an old one with a different application. Should textbooks function akin to software, with site licenses? Would this bring the price down? Interesting idea; the article is here.

Potemkin

The Secret Service has its own mock-up of a city for training? I did not know this.

Kudos, Torey

Torey Holderith got a nice comment from his superior at the USMMA for his work during the internship. Makes us look good. It's here.

Beltway Strategy

A piece in Inside Higher Ed on specialized programs in DC that focus on strategic/defense studies, including, interestingly, Missouri State (yes, in DC). Some observations on the difficulties (practical and ideological) in setting up these kinds of programs and training students well. The article is here.

Ghost Sign

A few weeks back UW Tacoma took down the "Dawg Shed," a rather sad and nondescript building on Pacific Avenue, to make way for a new assembly hall. The demolition revealed this nice ghost sign, along with a few others, that are now open to the sky until the new building hides them again for another half-century or so.

Big Darlin' Professor Share

Hot off them Internets, Professor Share's bluegrass band wins praise for its recent album, Big Darlin--

The Downtown Mountain Boys are Paul Elliott, Don Share, David Keenan, Terrence Enyeart and Tom Moran, the cream of Seattle-area pickers, top teachers, session musicians, and musicologists . . . so the release of their latest, Big Darlin’ comes with weighty expectations. Happily, they make it sound easy, as great musicians can. Big Darlin’ is a solid slice of real, straight-ahead Bluegrass, with only the faintest hints that the band members do some work outside the genre, too (banjoist Keenan, who made his name in rockabilly and sports Seattle’s most iconic haircut, can’t help singing like Lefty Frizzell.) The disc features a couple numbers by award-winning songwriter and former Seattleite Nancy Riccio, including the scorching opening cut, “Back in the Black,” which is about how payday means not just solvency but a general lifting of spirits. Most of the disc is wisely chosen material from a variety of County and Bluegrass sources, like Jesse Fuller’s “99 Years and One Dark Day” and “Till the End of the World Rolls Around.” The cuts are committed with the drive and verve Bluegrass needs, but just to be different, DTMB does the usually-hyper “Black Eyed Suzie” as a slow country lope. Fiddler Paul Elliott penned the title track, while Keenan contributes a fascinating, hilarious, philosophical piece of cornpone Zen, “Sometimes Dig for Taters.” Big Darlin’ is the big local Bluegrass release of the summer, and should go national. It’s big, darlin’.
–Tom Petersen, Victory Music Review, August 2007.

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• DonShare

Torey Holderith '09: USMMA Internship Update

Torey Holderith '09 checks in as his internship winds down--and he's off to do another at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies.
We hope to offer this internship again next summer, so if what you hear below sounds attractive, drop me a note or come by once the school year begins.

My internship at the United States Merchant Marine Academy is coming to close, and I wanted recap some of the highlights of my several months here. On June 18th 2007 the academy held its annual commencement exercises. This was really the big event of my internship, as I had been helping to assemble guest lists and in preparation of the logistical nightmare which is a graduation ceremony, but which is made even worse by the attendance of Senator John S. McCain, Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, and Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton. My primary task during this time was managing a guest list of about 700 VIPs who were invited to the ceremony and a luncheon following, but as an intern I was also given the opportunity to help with a large amount of random tasks.

The ceremony was a very successful and while there were a few hitches the critiques were overwhelmingly positive. The ceremony was moving, it is hard to go into detail, but Midshipmen wear the uniforms of the service into which they are entering (they have a choice between all services upon graduation) and during the ceremony those going into each service rose to take their respective oaths of service. Senator John McCain delivered an excellent commencement speech and the graduates threw their hats into the air. The only thing missing from the ceremony was the flyover by Navy Jets, which was unfortunately denied due to Navy disciplinary policy (pilot had apparently done an unauthorized flyover of a Mets game). I fear I have not done the ceremony justice in my description, but Midshipmen work with little break from the time they enter the academy to reach graduation, so to say that they were excited to graduate would be a gross understatement.



Following graduation there was a short break, and then on July 5th 2007 the freshmen (Plebe) class arrived. They were met with haircuts and drill instructors. Part of what makes this phase (indoctrination) remarkable is that the drill instructors are comprised entirely of upper-classmen with only limited Marine Corps supervision. Although my role in the indoctrination phase was small, witnessing it was certainly an experience. Parents drop their kids off, listen to a welcoming speech by the Superintendent of the academy and then are promptly escorted off campus. This two and a half week “orientation” phase is meant to instill discipline and etiquette into the plebe candidates and introduce them to the academy. I found myself invited to do PT with them in the mornings, but sadly only participated several times, primarily because waking up at 0530 was not on my schedule. To say the least it was not quite the same as I remember my first week of school at UPS.



My last day here at Kings Point is this Friday, and I will certainly miss this place. UPS has a beautiful campus, but its hard to beat this prime waterfront property here along the Long Island Sound. My final task during my stay here is to develop an intern succession plan, so it is my hope that this may be an annual experience for UPS students so that a closer relationship may be attained between the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the University of Puget Sound. In my short time here I have witnessed the end of one class’s time at Kings Point, and the beginning of another. It has been quite remarkable. That being said, I look forward to returning to UPS and the great Pacific Northwest, following several great months in Kings Point.



Cheers,

Torey Holderith
Class of 2009

Hanseatic Haltom

A few days back Bill Haltom travelled to Berlin for the Law and Society Conference, and was joined by Professor Ostrom from the English Department. Professor Haltom's paper, co-authored with Michael McCann (Political Science, University of Washington) was titled "Gunning for Justice and Pressing for Reform: How U. S. Newspapers Report Disputes over Firearms". Professor Ostrom's paper dealt with Langston Hughes' work as it related to issues of race, ethnicity, and rights. Read the abstracts here.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I think they had a good time at the conference. And I know that Berlin is not really Hanseatic. A bit of bloggy license for sake of alliteration.

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• BillHaltom