University of Puget Sound Politics and Government

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Internship with Project VoteSmart

Check out this interesting opportunity:

Project Vote Smart is a national, non-partisan, non-profit political research library located in the Montana Rockies. The Project was founded by former US Presidents Carter and Ford, as well as 40 other prominent national leaders of both major political parties and funded by the Carnegie and Ford Foundations. The New York Times said that “Project Vote Smart is so good that even the Federal Government recommends it.”

We are currently accepting applications for our National Internship Program. This year we are excited to announce our new online application system where students can now submit their applications completely electronically, expediting the review and acceptance process! To apply online or to get more information about Project Vote Smart, please visit www.votesmart.org. I hope you will look over our website and forward our information to any interested students. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks to the generous support of our members across the country, we are once again able to offer the Barry Goldwater scholarship to all accepted students. This scholarship provides room and board for the duration of the student’s 10 week internship at our headquarters, the Great Divide Ranch in Montana.

Through our internships, your students will have a unique opportunity to be involved with the political process, while enjoying one of the most spectacular places on earth. Our internship will give your students the chance to provide millions of people with factual, unbiased information, as well as the opportunity to stroll around pristine lakes and rivers, hike throughout the Rocky Mountains, or ski some of the best slopes in the country. During an internship with Project Vote Smart, students will work hard and learn a great deal, all in an environment defined by its beautiful scenery and the commitment of its staff and interns.

Our internships, as with all the other areas of the organization, focus on the end product: providing voters with pertinent, factual information on presidential, congressional, gubernatorial, and state legislative candidates and elected officials. For students, this means a hands-on internship with significant opportunities for learning and growth. In fact, more than 90 percent of the information that Project Vote Smart provides is researched, entered, and checked by interns and volunteers. This system has been developed and cultivated specifically to ensure that interns are primarily responsible for the research; the few staff members are here simply to train and guide interns in what needs to be accomplished.

Please ask your students to consider this opportunity and contact me with any questions at 1-888-VOTESMART (1-888-868-3762) or via email at intern@votesmart.org. I look forward to working together to provide your students with an unforgettable learning experience.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Get hired in DC

I recently received this email from alum Kerry Burgott, who has moved to DC:

Hi Professor O'Neil. I was just thinking the other day about how UPS graduation is fast approaching. If any P&G seniors are planning on trying to make the move to DC, but are not sure how to do it, I highly recommend that they sign up with a DC temp or employment agency.

I used The Choice when I moved here in September and they placed me in the position I now hold permanently with the International Economic Development Council. The Choice (and others) does temp-to-hire or even direct hire. While the agency looks for an organization you would like to work with, they place you in short-term jobs like reception or data-entry positions. It's a good way to pay the bills while job-seeking. http://thechoiceinc.com/

Just a thought for some future UPS alum! Feel free to give anyone my email if they would like to get in touch. I hope all is well on your end as the year comes to a close.

Monday, March 11, 2013

IHS Summer Seminars

Summer Seminars

Find out how individual liberty and economic freedom have shaped the modern world
For students interested in political science, I recommend the Summer Seminars offered by the Institute for Humane Studies. The seminars are a week of informative lectures and lively discussions where participants explore topics such as non-governmental solutions, public choice theory, and the moral justifications for individual rights.
Discover the classical liberal ideas that have helped to end slavery, inspire women’s suffrage, and give us religious freedom. What’s in store at an IHS Summer Seminar?

• Plenty of discussion about today’s toughest political and social issues
• Top-tier teaching on principles of liberty
• Fun and purposeful interaction with peers from around the globe

The Right Seminar for You: Choose from 11 Options

IHS provides programs tailored to a wide variety of backgrounds. Whether you’re a seasoned libertarian or just getting curious about individual liberty, attending an IHS Summer Seminar geared toward your interests will connect you to rich resources, engaging people, and enriching ideas.

Seminar themes range from liberty fundamentals to challenging advanced topics, to career-specific material focused on public policy, academia, or journalism. Seminar topics include peace, natural rights, individual autonomy, the morality of free enterprise, the role of a free press in society, and more.

Locations
Seminars take place on college campuses located across the United States. All participants receive a full scholarship covering housing, meals, and books. Participants are responsible for travel costs.

Eligibility
Undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent graduates are eligible for most seminars (eligibility requirements vary by seminar; see specific seminar pages for details).
More info at http://www.theihs.org/summer-seminars

Applications due 3/31/13
www.TheIHS.org

Friday, March 08, 2013

Get Published--

The Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics is the only nationally published journal for undergraduate research in political science.

The deadline for submission for the Spring 2013 issue is March 31st, and we would like to encourage your students to submit high quality papers and theses. We would greatly appreciate it if you could suggest your students to submit to the Journal. For your students to submit a piece, please email it (as a Word document) to psajournalwm@gmail.com.

Please have them include his or her name, university, and contact details (mailing address, e-mail address, and phone number). Submitted manuscripts must include a short abstract (roughly 150 words), and citations and references should follow the APSA Style Manual for Political Science. The maximum page length for submitted manuscripts is 35 double-spaced pages. Please refer to our website, www.psajournal.org, for more information about the journal and the publication process.

Sincerely, The Editors
The Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics

Democracy Matters Internship

Democracy Matters is accepting applications for paid internships through our Campus Internship Program. We are a non-partisan organization of students and professors working on campuses across the country to educate people about the role of private money in politics, and its impact on democracy. We call for alternatives that can reform and revitalize our political process thereby deepening democracy in the United States. Specifically, we organize around issues of campaign finance reform, full and partial funding of elections, and election reform.
We differ from other political groups on campus in that we are not linked to a political party and we do not concern ourselves with specific election campaigns. Instead, we are concerned with the process of campaigns - especially fundraising - and issues specifically related to political accountability and democracy.

Campus Leaders are expected to work a minimum of 10 hours/week.

Responsibilities:
• Build coalitions of student activists on your campus.
• Create a Democracy Matters chapter that can work with students, faculty and community activists to get private money out of politics and people back in.
• Organize at least four campaigns/events per semester (see Action Campaigns)
Opportunities:
• Receive training and guidance from a Democracy Matter staff link who will work with you each week to develop your skills as an organizer.
• Attend the annual Democracy Matters student summit where you will meet with hundreds of other students from across the country and attend workshops to build your skills and issue awareness.
• Receive Democracy Matters materials – banner, flyers, DVD, t-shirt, stickers, and pins – to spread across your campus.
Compensation:
• $500 per semester
• Additional financial support for campaign/event expenses
• Service learning course credit (depends on college/university)
Applicants should have a commitment to social change and some organizing experience. No expertise in campaign finance reform is required.

For more information go to www.democracymatters.org

Thursday, March 07, 2013

LiNK Documentary Screening TODAY, March 7

Date and Time: Today 3/7, 7:30 pm

Place: Wyatt 101

Every year thousands of North Koreans make the dangerous journey across the border to escape oppression and poverty. Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) is an organization which raises awareness for this crisis.

Please join Model UN, Politics and Government, and Asian Studies for a screening of LiNK's new film "Danny, from North Korea." Following will be a discussion Q&A session with LiNK's representatives, who will provide more information on ways you can get involved.

Here is a preview of the film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6FdnlOKZNU

...and a link to the facebook event.

https://www.facebook.com/events/198799700244463/

Please email me with questions!

Joanna Kaufman

Vice President, Puget Sound Model UN

jkaufman@pugetsound.edu

505-629-5648

Match Corps Teacher Residency for recent graduates

I hope you’ll indulge a short, out-of-the-blue email. I'm the Admissions Director of a great teacher prep program in Boston called MATCH Teacher Residency. Basically, we give recent college graduates one year of intense training designed to make them unusually effective rookie teachers. We then help them find positions in high-need schools, and continue to support them as they begin their careers in the classroom.

Our program has been training teachers for grades 6-12 from the very beginning, and we’re especially excited about our new Elementary teacher training program that launched last year.

All the info on our program can be found here: http://www.matchschool.org/matchcorps/teacher.htm

I have a simple request that seems win-win if indeed you help one of your students find just the "right" opportunity upon graduation: Could you please take the time to forward the following blurb along to the students in your Political Science classes?

If you’d be kind enough to help, I'd be really grateful and send you all the positive karma I have.

All the best,

Colin Bottles
Director of Recruiting
MATCH Corps

To learn more, follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

If this email was an unwanted intrusion, please send me a reply to that effect, and I’ll refrain from contacting you in the future.

Do you want to be an unusually effective first year teacher in a high-poverty charter school?

If so, you should consider MATCH Teacher Residency--a highly innovative, one-year teacher residency program.

Basically, we give recent college graduates one year of incredibly intense training designed to make them unusually effective rookie teachers. We then help them find positions in high-need schools, and continue to support them as they begin their careers in the classroom.

What sets MTR apart from other teacher prep programs? 1) We’re prescriptive, like a sports coach or piano teacher; you learn and practice very specific “Teacher Moves.” 2) Trainees are specifically being prepared to teach in certain charter schools with a track record of “turning around” low-performing kids. 3) We have a very particular approach, which involves building relationships 1-on-1 with kids and parents, then using those relationships to run a tight ship in class, enforcing rules consistently, and pushing/demanding a LOT from our kids.

MTR is no different from the MATCH Corps (our full-time tutoring program) from Monday to Thursday. However, unlike MATCH Corps, MTRs want to go on to become full-time teachers in high-poverty, “No Excuses” charter schools. So on Fridays and Saturdays, MTRs learn about the nuts and bolts of teaching, do tons of practice, and get a lot of coaching.

We’re especially proud of our brand new elementary school, MATCH Community Day, which specifically serves students who speak a language other than English at home. MATCH Teacher Residents have the option to serve at MATCH Community Day, or our previously established High School or Middle School. For more information on MATCH Community Day, have a look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGUV8Jbeu-c

Does MTR work? Yes—check out this study to see how MTR trained teachers tend to outperform other rookie (and second year) teachers:

http://www.matchschool.org/publications/mtr_evaluation.pdf

For more information about MATCH Teacher Residency, check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32mkkuQnFYU

Or go to our website:

http://www.matchschool.org/matchcorps/teacher.htm

Indonesia: 10 week language program

Interesting--open to seniors, $2000 for 10 weeks...

http://www.usindo.org/usindo-grants/summer-language-study

The United States-Indonesia Society (USINDO) runs an intensive ten-week language and general studies program from June to August held at Gadjah Mada University for U.S. students and recent graduates selected in a competitive application process. The deadline for submitting an application is March 15, 2012.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and undergraduate college seniors, enrolled in a graduate or postgraduate degree program, or recent graduates of any tertiary educational institution (within 6 months). Applicants will be judged by the clarity of communication in their personal statements and by their demonstrated interest in Indonesia. A good academic record will be required as well as a demonstrated interest and success in learning languages. Previous foreign travel is desirable but not necessary. Stated career plans will be judged in part on the likelihood that such a career will involve communicating knowledge of Indonesia to a broader audience.

All application documentations must be submitted via email to summerstudies@usindo.org. In addition to the Application Cover Page, students are required to submit a 1-page personal statement, resume, transcripts, and one letter of recommendation.

For complete information on the program, including costs and eligibility requirements, please visit the USINDO website.

Job announcement

Research and Outreach Intern (Domestic Program)

March 7, 2013

Job Description: The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) is currently looking for a full-time Summer 2013 Intern. The internship will start in mid to late May and end in late August.
The intern will assist with a variety of research, outreach, and communications activities related to the U.S. economy and domestic policy. This may include outreach to the press, advocacy organizations and Congress, along with some research on upcoming papers and economic opinion pieces. Other tasks include communications duties such as generating website content and tracking CEPR’s appearances in the media.
The responsibilities of interns vary based on their interests and experience, as well as the particular issues that CEPR is working on at the time. Interns will have the opportunity to attend relevant events around Washington, DC.
Qualifications: We are looking for a recent college graduate or graduate student for this full-time position. Applicants should have a general understanding of economics and domestic policy, and an interest in economic justice. Excellent writing and communications skills are required. Previous research, outreach, or media experience is helpful. The intern will need to be able to work in a fast-paced environment and should be a self-starter, independent learner, and will receive limited supervision.
Stipend: $1,550 per month, plus up to $250 for health insurance reimbursement per month.
Closing Date of Position: March 29, 2013.
To Apply: Send cover letter, resume, and short (1 to 2 pp.) writing sample on the following topic via email to domesticintern@cepr.net.
“Though the recession officially ended in 2009, the United States continues to experience tepid growth. In order to bring about a more robust recovery, should economic policy focus on reining in our deficits or creating jobs?”
No telephone calls or faxes please.
Organization Description: The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was established in 1999 to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people’s lives. In order for citizens to effectively exercise their voices in a democracy, it is necessary that they be informed about the problems and choices that they face. An informed public should then be able to choose policies that lead to an improving quality of life, both for people within the United States, and around the world.
Toward this end, CEPR conducts both professional research and public education so that the public is better prepared to choose among the various policy options. The professional research is oriented towards filling important gaps in the understanding of particular economic and social problems, or the impact of specific policies, both domestically and globally. The public education portion of CEPR’s mission is to present the findings of professional research, both by CEPR and others, in a manner that allows broad segments of the public to know exactly what is at stake in major policy debates. As part of its public education initiative, CEPR utilizes research findings and analysis to challenge the myths, assumptions, policies and institutions that perpetuate economic and social inequality.

European Summer School- Prague

Dear colleagues,

Let me inform you that EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy - a think-tank that undertakes program, project, publishing and training activities related to the European integration process organizes 11th year of a summer school program for university students in July 2013.

In July 13 - 25, 2013 the summer school under a title "United States of Europe - Federalization of Europe as a Response to EU Crisis?" will take place in Prague. You can find further details on our homepage www.europeum.org/ess2013 or you can see the promotion leaflet at http://www.europeum.org/ess2013/doc/poster2013.pdf or video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUq2I32CxYk.

We would greatly appreciate if you could help us spread this information among your colleagues, students and friends.

Thank you in advance for your kind help.

Radomir Spok
Director of European Summer School 2013

LiNK Documentary Screening TODAY, March 7

Date and Time: Today 3/7, 7:30 pm

Place: Wyatt 101