Millennial Must-Reads are student-contributed posts by members of the "Millennial" generation - America's 18-29 year-olds - on current events and politics and public service. Viewpoints expressed are exclusively attributed to undergraduate authors and not endorsed by Harvard's Institute of Politics.

My name is Jason Ge, and I teach with the Institute of Politics' CIVICS program, which provides classes in American politics for 5th graders in local, low-income schools. Below are the five most important things I've learned as a teacher. 

1. Kids can be smart. Really smart.

Walking into a 5th grade class as a newly minted college student can be quite the humbling experience. I thought college students knew a lot, but I was blown away by the expertise that some of these kids have. One of my students, Derek, shocked me and my partner with his understanding of complex international relations. After discussing the right to bear arms with us, he gave expert analysis on how ISIS has gained territory in Iraq and Syria. I’ll admit right now that as a 5th grader, there is no way I could have commented on foreign policy or really anything that intelligently. I have learned that every student has the ability to expand their knowledge and interpret difficult concepts; we teachers just have to give them opportunities to do so! More power to Derek and the 5th graders of this nation!

2. Preparation. Preparation. Preparation. 

There is nothing more important than being prepared. In my time working with kids back home and especially in CIVICS, I’ve learned how crucial it is to be prepared. Like I said before, KIDS CAN BE SMART. Every week, I plan out an activity, prepare discussion questions, and have a few jokes pre-selected for the lesson (please don't tell the kids that I’m not making those up on the fly). All of this helps me be ready. If I’m not ready for a lesson, I’ll lose their interest before I even begin and NO ONE wants spitballs thrown at them all day. Trust me, it’s not fun.

3. Feedback is essential.

Trying to wrangle a group of students AND teach them at the same time is not an easy task. I can’t even begin to tell you how different I am as a teacher now as compared to my first day. The only way to improve and better serve your students is to get honest feedback. Talking directly with my students has been immensely helpful. Seeing their reactions and asking them questions led me to bring in more real world activities and less lecturing. And reaching out to their homeroom teacher to learn about the ins and outs of a particular group of students is extremely helpful. Whether you're running a club, selling newspapers, or performing music, feedback will always be essential.

4. Set a good example.

This one may sound obvious but it’s probably the most important one on this list. Students really feed off of what a teacher gives them and they look up to their teacher as a role model, not just someone standing at the front of the room lecturing at them. Everything from speaking clearly to showing up on time is important for a teacher to show students how they should be behaving, but even more than that, how I interact with individual students (especially when they’re acting up) and the face I put on when the class is being difficult shows them how I feel about them and how I am as a person—that I respect them, and that I wish to always treat them with kindness and understanding. And besides, the only way I can expect students to follow my rules is if I follow them myself.

5. Teach for a reason.

I’ve always felt a need to understand why I’m doing something. Teaching is an especially important task that requires a high level of passion. In order to get up to go teach a class, I feel like I need to understand I’m teaching to begin with.

Luckily, it’s not hard for me to figure it out. The kids that I have the honor of working with are the highlight of my week and ensure that every Friday begins with a bang. I know that teaching is what I am supposed to be doing because it makes me feel energized and happy. Moreover, I teach because I believe that education is the foremost issue of our time. The future of our country depends on how we educate the next generation of Americans and I am proud to be a part of the process that can help our education system improve. I would strongly recommend teaching to anyone who wants to do it for the right reasons. And of course, if you want to teach about public service, politics, and the history of American government, inspire a group of 5th graders, and get inspired yourself while you’re at it, join CIVICS at the IOP!

Millennial Must-Reads are student-contributed posts by members of the "Millennial" generation - America's 18-29 year-olds - on current events and politics and public service. Viewpoints expressed are exclusively attributed to undergraduate authors and not endorsed by Harvard's Institute of Politics.

Authored By Katy Dolan '18

Members of the Harvard community filled the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on Thursday, excited to hear an analysis of the ills of the justice system from one of the nation’s leading experts in that field. What the audience (which included Harvard University President Drew Faust, indicating the eminence of the speaker) didn’t expect, though, was a remarkably inspiring address about changing the world.

Bryan Stevenson, the founder and current Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative based in Montgomery, Alabama and a professor at New York University’s School of Law, is known as a dynamic speaker. His TED talk, “We need to talk about an injustice,” has more than 2 million views. He is a courtroom-tested lawyer and thus no stranger to making a convincing argument; this time he spoke not to free an innocent prisoner from death row or advocate for a poorly defended juvenile, but to persuade every single listener to do everything in their power to make our society a more just place.

“We each have the capacity to change the world, and change it in ways that are profound and meaningful and important,” opened Stevenson, who has personally chosen to make an effect by relieving 116 death row sentences for those who were unjustly accused or discriminated against (amongst other successes). Unlike many speakers who abstractly encourage their audiences to do good things and make an impact, Stevenson specified his argument by providing four key ways to “change the world.”

First, he said, “you’ve got to get proximate to the people you care about.” Stevenson has not found success in fighting for justice by staying away from the problems and the tough stories; he has ventured into prisons and depressed areas, talked to those who have been victimized by the system, and asked how he can solve the issue. Once the sources of prejudice are identified, Stevenson says that we must “change the narratives that sustain the problems we see.” We cannot be made uncomfortable by conversations about race and inequality, which Stevenson doesn’t believe that we’ve “ever really confronted.” We must release our “fear and anger,” and address the roots of societal divides head on.

Stevenson’s last two recommendations for making lasting change are, he admits, more difficult. “We’ve got to protect our hope,” he said, and “we’ve got to choose to do uncomfortable things.” He encouraged students of the College and the Kennedy School to retain optimism that they actually can do something to change society for the better, even when that task seems incredibly difficult.

The standing ovation at the end of Stevenson’s remarks was reflective of his stirring message. I strongly encourage anyone who is intrigued by the concept of social change to watch Stevenson’s entire speech, which can be found here. At the very least, I challenge the Harvard community to carry Stevenson’s principles forward as they accept opportunities to make a difference in society. It is all too easy, as Stevenson acknowledged, to lose that crucial hope for a better future when we get mired in the details of our chosen fields. It is too easy to accept the status quo, to shrug and remain silent when everyone else is doing the same. We simply should not choose to do only what is easy. “Too few people have had the… courage and leadership to do justice,” Stevenson said. Yes, the phrase “change the world” is trite and seemingly unrealistic, but the reality is that the world will only ever be changed if people trust that it can be done. “We need people who are prepared to believe things they haven’t seen,” said Stevenson, even if “you’ve got to stand when everybody else is sitting… and it’s your hope that will get you out of your seat.”

Katy Dolan ('18) hails from Spokane, Washington and is studying Government and Psychology at Harvard. She balances her political interests with work in the fields of social entrepreneurship and youth empowerment, and spends her precious free time playing piano and being annoyingly sarcastic."

Millennial Must-Reads are student-contributed posts by members of the "Millennial" generation - America's 18-29 year-olds - on current events and politics and public service. Viewpoints expressed are exclusively attributed to undergraduate authors and not endorsed by Harvard's Institute of Politics.

By Alex Wirth and Jonathan Marks

In Washington D.C. there are over 30,000 people who every day run, staff, and influence the legislative process without being able to take advantage of modern technology. These individuals rely on experience, intuition, and guesswork to make strategic decisions. They look for information about the legislative process across hundreds of different websites, often manually tabulating votes and bills to find trends. They compare different versions of bills with a highlighter and use Excel to track their outreach.

The future of politics is one where all the information necessary to plan and implement a legislative strategy is in one easy to use website with easily understood quantitative insights and 21st century productivity tools. This is why we built Quorum, Washington’s next generation legislative strategy platform.

Featuring interactive visualizations, up-to-date statistics, and comprehensive congressional data including bills, votes, tweets, press releases, and floor statements, Quorum equips users with the tools they need to navigate the legislative process in a sortable, searchable, and easy-to-use format.

Quorum’s algorithms process over 800 million data points to calculate hundreds of different statistics about each Member of Congress’ legislative history including top issues, most frequent collaborators, ideology, voting history, and legislative effectiveness. By enabling users to quickly highlight differences between bills, save notes on Members, conduct advanced full text searches, and create legislative scorecards, Quorum’s productivity features save its users valuable time.

Quorum’s development would not have been possible without the incredible team who spent the summer of 2014 building the beta version of the project and the Harvard Institute of Politics’ $5,000 Gov 2.0 grant that provided the financial support for three of our team members to spend the summer doing so. Steven Kekacs ‘16, Ty Rocca ‘16, and Tony Li ‘17 to spend their summer working with three other Harvard and MIT students to built the Quorum platform.

Steven and Tony are both computer science concentrators. With IOP’s support, Steven was able to work with the Quorum team instead of as an administrative assistant for the summer. “I learned so much from my experience including many things that can not be taught in a classroom,” said Steven.

Tony was able to gain new experience working on programming outside of a classroom setting as well as learning more about the political process. Without the Gov 2.0 grant, Tony “would have missed out on meeting a bunch of great guys, learning lifelong-valuable computer skills, and contributing to the development of an incredible product.” For Tony, the Gov 2.0 grant has “gifted far beyond its monetary value.”

As a first-time coder, Ty used this summer as an opportunity to learn to code and is now concentrating in computer science as a result of his experience. “This opportunity really allowed me to find my passions. Without working with Quorum this summer I would have never have thought nor would it have been possible for me switch my concentration to computer science,” said Ty.

Our day started every morning at 9:30 with a stand-up meeting where our team would come together and share what they had accomplished the previous day, discuss the plan for the current day, and start off on the daily allotment of cookies and coffee that were never too far from our desks. We spent the summer working in the lovely offices of the OCS On-Campus Interview Program and would often be found pushing code late into the night. Every Saturday, we explored a different restaurant experiencing many of the unique options that Harvard and Central Square have to offer

The Harvard IOP’s Gov 2.0 grant gave Quorum’s team of developers the opportunity to design solutions for the future of politics using modern computer science technology. These solutions are now in use across Washington by people in congressional offices, government relations firms, advocacy groups, and media organizations.

With the support of the Harvard IOP, the Quorum team is building the future of politics one line of code at a time. Find out more at www.quorum.us

Alex Wirth and Jonathan Marks are seniors at Harvard and the Cofounders of Quorum.  Alex is a member of the Harvard IOP’s student advisory committee and chaired the Harvard Public Opinion Project.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the first IOP Presidential March Madness event.
Our winner is Lyndon B. Johnson by 11 votes!

"If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac, the headline that afternoon would read: 'President Can't Swim."
- Lyndon B. Johnson

Millennial Must-Reads are student-contributed posts by members of the "Millennial" generation - America's 18-29 year-olds - on current events and politics and public service. Viewpoints expressed are exclusively attributed to undergraduate authors and not endorsed by Harvard's Institute of Politics.

 Authored By Larry Cherkasov '18

The IOP Citizenship Tutoring program provides an interesting environment in which Harvard students are allowed to shed their roles as students and become teachers. The IOP is certainly an ideal organization for a university that does not think of community and leadership as mutually exclusive concepts—Harvard stresses the Newtonian concept of ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ as necessary for its members to progress and thrive. Therefore, I am very grateful to the IOP for the opportunity to tutor immigrants in the citizenship rhetoric that I am both familiar with and love.

Being a freshman at Harvard University, one of the world’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning, is an incredible privilege. I am very humbled by the surreal opportunities this role offers me. I have a vast amount of resources at my fingertips and these form the foundation of the opportunities I am granted. Through them, I am able to pursue any career or activism I desire. Few are able to claim this luxury and in response to this disparity, I choose to assist others through the IOP.

I am grateful to Citizenship Tutoring for giving me the opportunity to hone the skills that I have learned in class, amidst my peers, and through thriving in this intellectual atmosphere, through tutoring. Citizenship is an important concept in America. Through it, we all share a rich and complex history and regardless of our individual nationalities, ethnicities, religious preferences, etc., we can all be considered to be American through it. I have enjoyed every minute of tutoring my wonderful tutee, Blanca, as it has not only allowed me to flex my teaching muscles in the midst of being a student myself, but it has been a great way to share our enthusiasm for history and linguistics with one another. Not only do we memorize vocabulary words/phrases in our sessions, but we also review the etymologies of these words and their significance in American culture, concepts that I relish teaching. This program has granted me an incredibly satisfying experience and I am only too happy to continue my little journey with my tutee.

Larry Cherkasov is currently a freshman at Harvard University, contemplating a joint concentration of History & Literature with Philosophy, and a secondary in Film Studies. He is a Brooklyn native, soon to reside in Lowell House. In his spare time, Larry enjoys reading, working out, watching films, writing about fitness and playing the trumpet. He relishes teaching others about any variety of topics and is very fond of Einstein's aphorism, "If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself."

This past Saturday, Team Hagan endeavored on a mission. Team Hagan (Senator Hagan, her husband and her liaisons) set out to volunteer for the Food Project, an organization committed to building sustainable food systems and supporting their local community. Senator Hagan is passionate about increasing accessibility to nutritious foods and educating youth to live and eat healthy, so we were really excited to find the Food Project and learn about all of their awesome youth programs. Our Saturday was spent at their Lincoln Farm by Walden Pond, where we helped their "Dirt Crew" plant potatoes. So, without further adieu, Team Hagan presents how to (help) grow potatoes.
 

How To (Help) Grow Potatoes:

Step 1: Wake up extremely early, wonder how you possibly woke up this early in high school. Put on lots of sunscreen and bring a hat.
 

Step 2: Meet at Dunkin' Donuts, armed with snacks for the long ride ahead, take an Uber to Lincoln Massachusetts. 

Step 3: Arrive in Lincoln, meet farmer Tim and the rest of the Food Project crew who will be our leaders for the day.
 

Step 4: Go through orientation with our Food Project Dirt Crew: four high schoolers from Boston and the greater Boston area who are dirt experts, and who will guide us through planting our potatoes. 

Step 5: Number off into two groups: planters and rakers. Platers will go about putting foundation potatoes into carefully crafted shallow trenches, these potatoes are in fact the seeds that will sprout new potatoes. Rakers will cover up the potato seed with the soil from the trench piled next to it.

Step 6: Rake, and rake, and rake, drop potato, after potato, after potato. Learn about the different varieties of potatoes the Food Project grows and spend time talking with the diverse group of volunteers who came out to help that day. Learn how Senator and Mr. Hagan met each other, and share philosophies on life with your liaison team.

Step 7: Finish up the snacks while awaiting the Uber back, newly aware of how much work goes into the food we eat everyday. Take the time to reflect on how thankful we are to have had this awesome opportunity to get involved in the community while appreciating all the different manifestations of what it means to serve a community.

Millennial Must-Reads are student-contributed posts by members of the "Millennial" generation - America's 18-29 year-olds - on current events and politics and public service. Viewpoints expressed are exclusively attributed to undergraduate authors and not endorsed by Harvard's Institute of Politics.

Millennial Must-Reads are student-contributed posts by members of the "Millennial" generation - America's 18-29 year-olds - on current events and politics and public service. Viewpoints expressed are exclusively attributed to undergraduate authors and not endorsed by Harvard's Institute of Politics.

By Ignacio Arbona

Journalist, trailblazer, leader. These are just some of the words I could use to define Jorge Ramos, a man who I had the tremendous opportunity to interview at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard University. For those of you who may not have heard of him, where have you been? Ramos is Univision’s Noticiero news anchor, host of the Sunday-morning political show, Al Punto, and host of America, a new, millennial-focused, news show on Fusion. He began his career as a journalist in Mexico but, after facing censorship in 1983, he decided to immigrate to the United States and has stayed here ever since. He is known for his tough interviews, unique style, and strong advocacy for Latino and immigrant rights in the United States.

Although many have criticized Ramos for not drawing a clear line between his journalism and advocacy efforts, he remains steadfast in his battle. So much so that he was just recognized as one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and chosen as one of the five covers going to print. CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour said of Ramos: “He knows he has a voice and is not afraid to use it. He shouts from every rooftop that Hispanic rights are human rights….With another presidential election coming up, if anyone can move this needle, Jorge Ramos can—and he must.” Above all, one thing is clear: Jorge Ramos gave, and continues to give, Latinos a voice, and his personal accomplishments are a triumph for all Latinos.

I began my interview by asking him about the upcoming 2016 elections and how important the Latino vote would be for any aspiring candidate. He told me what he has been telling anyone who has been willing to listen: “There’s a new rule in American politics: No one can make it to the White House without the Latino vote.” He is sure that Latino voters will be pivotal from now on and that the issues they care about most, such as immigration policy, will take center stage. He also told me that we are currently witnessing history. For the first time ever, there are two Latino candidates running for President of the United States (or three, if we count Jeb Bush’s recent bout of confusion). As time goes on, and the Latino population in the United States continues to increase, we can be sure that that number will continue to rise.

After talking a bit of politics, I asked him about something that has been on the back of my mind ever since coming from Puerto Rico to study in Boston. I must admit I experienced some culture shock when I first arrived. Sure, Puerto Rico is a US territory, and there is no doubt it is very Americanized, but it is still radically different from most of the US. We speak Spanish and have different culinary tastes, a warm beach climate, and a distinct lifestyle. In a phrase, I would say Puerto Rico is ‘politically American, but culturally Latino.’ Many Puerto Ricans struggle with the fact that we are literally part of two completely different worlds. A blessing and a curse, Puerto Rico is as much a part of Latin America as it is a part of the United States; there is no separating the two.

If I struggled adapting to a completely US-centric day-to-day life, I could not even begin to imagine how most immigrants, who come from countries strikingly different from the US, were able to cope. How, I asked Ramos, did he manage to balance his double identity? He is Mexican and American, a Latino clearly trying to find a balance between staying in touch with his original base and connecting with a larger American audience. An immigrant himself, Ramos knows what it is like to step into another country and try to adapt to a new home and a different way of life.

His answer surprised me. He told me about a conversation he once had with the famous Chilean-American writer, Isabel Allende. “We realized we didn’t have to choose between Mexico and the US, or Chile and the US,” he said. “We could be from two countries and have two passports. I finally realized I could be part of two countries and have two homes.” He has expressed this feeling before. On a previous visit to Harvard, he stated: “One of the reasons I took so long to become a US citizen is that I always had this secret desire that, someday, I was going to go back, because I was looking for home. I never had a home [in the US] and sometimes I feel like I’m still looking for that home. Until I realized I didn’t have to choose between Mexico and the United States.” He was clear about the importance of identifying ourselves, figuring out who we are, challenging preconceived notions of ourselves, and striving to be the best we can be.

Ramos taught me that moving to another country does not mean you abandon the other; you do not have to pick between two homes. In fact, after completing their studies, many immigrant students go back to their countries to try to help in any way they can. Others stay in the United States and try to achieve the infamous ‘American Dream.’ In the end, it is an extremely personal choice. But one thing is definitely clear to me now: No one should have to be forced to choose. Latinos, or any other immigrant groups that come to the US, should not have to give up one country for another. They should embrace what makes them unique and different, and use it to stand out. 

Many have asked me why I was so excited to meet Mr. Ramos. I think it was because he was the first prominent Latino to visit the JFK Jr. Forum while I have been at Harvard. He was, and is, someone whom I can identify with. I feel that, in some way, his visit represented Latinos’ growing place in American culture and politics; it proves we are gaining ground. The simple fact that a Mexican immigrant could come to Harvard and talk to us about how we can help shape the future of our country speaks for itself.

After so many years of asking questions, Ramos knows how to play the interview game. He answered all of my questions with thoughtful and moving answers. In those ten minutes I sat with him, he helped me understand more about who I was. He taught me that I do not have to pick a side. I am rooted in two worlds, and that is okay. I thanked him for his time and left, inspired, hopeful for my future and for the future of all Latinos to come. And for that, and everything else he has done for Latinos, I only have one thing to say to Jorge Ramos: gracias.

Ignacio Arbona, a member of the Class of 2018, is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He plans to concentrate in Economics. Beyond politics, Ignacio enjoys Model UN, reading, and going to the beach.

Millennial Must-Reads are student-contributed posts by members of the "Millennial" generation - America's 18-29 year-olds - on current events and politics and public service. Viewpoints expressed are exclusively attributed to undergraduate authors and not endorsed by Harvard's Institute of Politics.

Authored by HPOP Chair Ellen Robo.

As a member of Harvard Public Opinion Project (HPOP), I have poured over thousands of poll question crosstabs. I have learned a lot about my generation. We view community service (70%) as a lot more honorable than running for office (31%) and as a result we are much more likely to be involved in community service (31%) than in political or government groups (7%). We care less about marijuana legalization (44% support) than student debt (57% major problem) or income inequality (52% major problem). We are not trusting of government, even local (33%) and state governments (34%). Very few of us believe that their congressman represents their constituents in Washington (10%). Most of these findings are consistent with the picture we have begun to create about our generation. We care a lot about the country and what happens to it but no longer trust the institutions in place to exact the changes we wish to see.

When it comes to the midterm voting gap between men and women though, our findings do not paint such a clear picture. Women are less cynical about politics than men yet a smaller percent of them vote. Things like cynicism and apathy tend to negatively correlate with voting, yet here that is not the case.   Men are 6 points more likely than women  to think that political involvement rarely has tangible results and yet when asked before the midterm elections, men were 10 points more likely to say they were definitely voting. This difference shrinks to about even when it comes to presidential election years though. Women are less likely to think politicians are motivated by selfish reasons (-3 points), more likely to care who the President is (+8 points), and more likely to think people like them have a say in the government (+5 points).  Women are even slightly more likely to be registered to vote (+ 4 points) and slightly more likely to consider themselves politically engaged (+4 points) and yet these numbers are not being reflected in polling places.  

Because we have never asked questions about why this gap exists, my thoughts are supported by gut and personal experience more than data.  Women are much more likely to say they need more practical information before getting involved in politics (+14 points).  This is by far the largest gender gap in our community service and political engagement questions.  Today, women receive more education per capita than men so the failure in information that women feel is most likely not an actual dearth but rather a view we have instilled in women that they do not know enough about politics to be involved.  To find evidence of our failure to empower women into politics we do not need to look further than the gender gap that exists within Congress where the number of women in both the House and Senate are hovering just around 20%.  This failure is not unique to politics.  Female premed students who receive intermediate grades are much less likely to apply to medical school than male students who receive the same grades.  We have somehow convinced women that they need more information, need to be better prepared, need to be more qualified than their male counterparts.  While I applaud the strive for excellence, this view we have imparted to women stops them from entering fields and muffles their voices.  Words I never thought I would say, but we need to let mediocrity reign!  Or more accurately we need to empower women and not just the women who have seemingly learned to empower themselves at the risk of losing so many voices.
 

Ellen Robo is a proud Floridian living in Winthrop house and concentrating in Physics and Earth and Planetary Sciences. A self-appointed data junkie, she is excited for the chance to valiantly lead the HPOPers on a quest to better understand our generation’s view on topics pertaining to politics and public service.

Authored by 2015 Spring IOP Fellow Martha Coakley.
Just as I was planning my study group this Spring to encourage students to think about ways to make change, a young woman walks into my office.  She is on a mission, because she believes that the Massachusetts law regarding forensic evidence in assault cases is outdated and unfair to her and others. She wants to change it. She has spoken to advocates, legislators, and filed a bill. But it is HER voice - her story about the unfairness that affected her- that will make her a champion. She is willing to devote time and energy to something she really cares about, and is using tools available to try to make that happen. Brava!  I am encouraged that change and progress might have a future.

At a time when Washington seems gridlocked if not totally broken, and just as our economy is turning around, I worry that too many people will be left out of the rebound.

Another young man, a  dentist, walks into my office with a great idea: why can't we use technology to provide better tele-health care to those in Western Massachusetts, or another, poorer state where young kids who need preventative care don't get it?  I am impressed by his dedication to attack a problem that we can and should.  Such problems are often ignored by either government or the private sector and fall through the cracks of the non-profit world. His is a desire to give back as he believes he and his family have prospered in this country. Bravo! A good idea needs a push sometimes.

It is not easy work to identify AND implement good public policy. Environment?  Work to do. Income inequality?  Ditto.  Providing good public education? ...Fairer criminal justice?...Continuing to move civil rights to the right side of history? ...  Sign-on up....!

Legislative changes can be powerful but only if supported and funded. Grassroots can empower voters and others to get engaged and be heard. The Courts can provide access for change in many areas, whether it be education  or marriage equality.

But change and progress don't happen in a vacuum, not without leaders and those willing to follow and support. There's the challenge.  

Young people, can you spare a dime?

Re-elected to her second term as Attorney General in 2010, Martha Coakley has devoted her career to protecting children and public safety, standing up for consumers and taxpayers, and fighting for equality for all. After growing up in North Adams reading Nancy Drew novels and watching Perry Mason, perhaps it’s no coincidence that Coakley has charted a career as a distinguished prosecutor on the state and federal levels before serving as Middlesex District Attorney and now as the Commonwealth’s first female Attorney General.

Do you like March Madness? Do you like presidents? Then you should vote in the IOP’s “Presidential March Madness: Funniest Slam Dunks from the Commander-in-Chief.” We’ve picked sixteen of the funniest one-liners from the forty-four presidents and sorted them into four regions: On Being President, On Dogs, Founding Fathers, and Facial Hair. First round voting will close on March 31^st and the winners from each region will advance to the Final Four. Final four voting will then close on April 4^th with the top two vote-getters advancing to the championship. Finally, championship voting will close on April 7^th and the completed bracket will be posted for all to see, post, Tweet, criticize, and debate. Follow us on Twitter (@HarvardIOP) and Facebook so you don’t miss your chance to vote in the three rounds!

On Being President

"The pay is good and I can walk to work." - John F. Kennedy

"If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac, the headline
that afternoon would read: 'President Can't Swim."  - Lyndon B. Johnson

"I have left orders to be awakened at any time during national emerency,
even if I'm in a cabinet meeting."- Ronald Reagan

"I do not like broccoli...I'm president of the United States
and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli."
- George H. W. Bush

On Dogs

"If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face,
you should go home and examine your conscience."- Woodrow Wilson

"You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog."- Harry Truman

"Sometimes I feel like a fire hydrant looking at a pack of dogs.'- Bill Clinton

"What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the
fight—it's the size of the fight in the dog." - Dwight Eisenhower

the Founding Fathers

"Old minds are like old horses; you must
exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order."- John Adams

"If men were angels, no government would be necessary."- James Madison

"It is better to be alone than in bad company." - George Washington

"When angry, count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred."- Thomas Jefferson

Facial Hair

"I know only two tunes: one of them is 'Yankee Doodle,' and the other isn't."- Ulysses S. Grant

"That is cool."- Abraham Lincoln

"When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all."- Theodore Roosevelt

"As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon
the office and my surrender of it."- Martin Van Buren

Do you like March Madness? Do you like presidents? Then you should vote in the IOP’s “Presidential March Madness: Funniest Slam Dunks from the Commander-in-Chief.” We’ve picked sixteen of the funniest one-liners from the forty-four presidents and sorted them into four regions: On Being President, On Dogs, Founding Fathers, and Facial Hair. The final four voting will then close on April 6^th with the top two vote-getters advancing to the championship. Finally, championship voting will close on April 9^th and the completed bracket will be posted for all to see, post, Tweet, criticize, and debate. Follow us on Twitter (@HarvardIOP) and Facebook so you don’t miss your chance to vote in the three rounds!
 

final four

"If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac, the headline that afternoon would read: 'President Can't Swim." - Lyndon B. Johnson

"You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog." - Harry Truman

"It is better to be alone than in bad company." - George Washington

"That is cool." - Abraham Lincoln

At PRE’s final discussion of the year, our members had a unique opportunity to reflect on the group’s purpose and place at the Institute of Politics with IOP Director Maggie Williams. Her extensive experience in the political arena, from her time in the White House to her tenure as Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager (for the good part of the campaign, mind you), informed the perspective from which she spoke to us about PRE’s importance to the IOP. For so many reasons, PRE was an invaluable addition to the IOP’s roster of programs, and will continue to enrich the IOP’s understanding of race and politics as more students have the opportunity to participate in its discussions.

As I see it, PRE’s first and most important mission is to challenge the perception that racial diversity and cultural competence are synonymous. Harvard’s student body is lauded by administrators and students alike for the racial and ethnic diversity that it boasts, but this diversity is nothing more than a starting point for conversations about race. It in no way guarantees that they will happen, nor does it create a conducive spaces. Harvard’s well-rounded, liberal arts education lacks an element of true racial education, and this is where PRE enters. PRE’s dedication as a space to discuss the way that race functions in modern society pushes back against the assumption that sitting next to people who look different from me in the dining hall is enough to encourage culturally aware thinking.

PRE has achieved this goal through its creation and fierce defense of a safe space for discussion. Primarily, the space is safe because members are expected to speak only from their personal experience: There’s no expectation that students speak as representatives of their race, or even more benign, as a person of their racial identity, and this lends authenticity and truth to our speech. We speak our truth; this truth, as the sum total of our experiences, cannot be wrong. Speaking from my experience, this has uniquely given me confidence to voice my perspectives in conversations as sensitive as those about race tend to be. The diversity that our group presents - both racially and in terms of our various backgrounds - and the atmosphere in which we hold discussions allows our conversations to be productive, kind, safe, and interesting.

To paraphrase our guest, diversity is a prerequisite to innovation because bringing together people with different identities ultimately brings together people with different perspectives. The ability to approach a problem - whether a policy dilemma or in-class assignment - from a variety of perspectives is integral to the success of the group, and diversity uniquely achieves this. Admittedly, PRE is a bit self-selecting in a way that defies this principle of diversity for innovation: students who are interested in race and politics join, and although our opinions aren’t homogeneous, they are not representative of the College’s - or even the IOP’s - general population. This is where PRE’s outreach has become important, and will continue to be one of its most important functions. The many events coordinated between PRE and other IOP groups - for example, our recent discussion on immigration with Citizenship Tutoring - are exposing other students to considerations of race in politics, and this influence will only expand. 

PRE is actively turning diversity into innovation by equipping students to discuss the tough issues. These conversations, informed by a wide range of perspectives, yield fascinating insights and personal experiences that have changed the way I think not only about race, but also how we talk about it. Its importance as an institutional space for this conversation cannot be exaggerated: diversity is good, but it is not enough, and PRE is actively working with Harvard’s unique diversity to yield innovative, aware, and passionate thinkers.

Elena Sokoloski is a member of the Class of 2018 and a proud Kirklander, originally from Toledo, Ohio. At the IOP, she is involved with PRE, and outside the Institute she is a member of the Harvard College Democrats and a writer for the Harvard Salient. She enjoys music almost as much as politics, and plays and composes on the piano in her free time.

This summer the IOP Internships and Career Services Program is supporting hundreds of undergraduate interns around the world, working in politics and public service, through its Director’s Internship, Summer Stipend, and Summer in Washington (SIW) programs.

This past Saturday marked the official kickoff of the Institute’s SIW Program. IOP Board Members, alumni, former fellows and over 100 Harvard interns gathered at Georgetown University to celebrate the commencement of what’s often referred to as the IOP’s “third semester.” The SIW program gives students a chance to gain exposure to the broad range of political and public service opportunities in our nation’s capital.

The Institute will be following all of its interns via social media using the hashtag #IOPSummer15. During the summer, IOP students will post content on their social channels - from work to social life – which will be compiled on the Institute’s "Summer of Service" page.

Make sure to check it out for updates throughout the summer: http://rbl.ms/1vMnt6p

Have a great #IOPSummer15!

I began my internship with the Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee for the Democratic National Convention three weeks ago. The Host Committee’s job is to prepare the City of Philadelphia for the Convention, which will take place in July of next year. What that means is that we work with venues, restaurants, hotels, and individuals throughout Philadelphia to get ready to accommodate the 50,000 delegates, members of the media, politicians, and families that will be attending. This unique internship incorporates aspects of a number of different industries, including politics, event planning, tourism, and press.

So far, I have loved my experience. The Host Committee team has welcomed me and let me get a hands-on feel for what it takes to present at a convention. I have gotten to visit restaurants and venues throughout the city, which has given me the opportunity to view many different parts of Philadelphia, a city I knew little about before this internship. I have also been able to help with a variety of projects from across a number of sectors, including media, finance, diversity, community engagement and more, all of which are enabling me to learn about the many aspects involved in hosting such a major, national-level event. I am excited for the rest of my time here this summer and can’t wait to see the team’s hard work pay off next July.

Megan McLaughlin
Director’s Intern
Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee for the DNC

#IOPSummer15: During the summer of 2015, the Institute is proud to sponsor and work with over 250 students who are spending their summers in politics and public service around the world. Follow our interns on our blog and on social using #IOPSummer15.

On June 15, joined by NAACP staff and volunteers, IOP Director's Intern Dennis Ojogho '16 stands on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to culminate an 860-mile march from Selma to Washington for the America's Journey for Justice initiative. Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais

This has turned out to be a critical time to be at the NAACP and I feel so fortunate to be here. If I could point to one moment that sums it up so far, it was the office-wide meeting I just came back from. President Cornell Brooks was in the middle of commending the staff for remaining focused throughout the Rachel Dolezal controversy. He also wanted to thank us for helping to make the announcement of America's Journey for Justice, an 860-mile march from Selma to Washington, a success when a legislative point person in Charleston, South Carolina called in. They were announcing to the entire room that the South Carolina House had just overwhelmingly voted to consider bringing down the Confederate flag in front of the State House and that the Senate would almost certainly follow suit later today.

The entire room erupted in a thunderous applause. Bringing down the South Carolina Confederate flag had been an initiative of the NAACP that had gained little traction since it was started in 2000. The president made sure to emphasize that much of this progress was because of the work of the people in that very room. All I could do was sit in awe, fully taking in that moment and knowing that I would never forget being in this special place at this special time.

Dennis Ojogho '16
Director's Intern, NAACP

Policy Perspectivesare posts authored by Resident and Visiting Fellows or Fellows alumni at the Institute of Politics.  The views expressed are attributed to the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the Institute of Politics.

By Jeff Amestoy, Fall 2004 IOP Fellow

Today's momentous Supreme Court opinion culminates an astonishing transformation in social, political, and judicial responses to same-sex marriage. It was fifteen years ago almost to the day (July 1, 2000) when Vermont's "civil union" law went into effect. Enacted in response to the Vermont Supreme Court's decision that same-sex couples were entitled to the rights and benefits of marriage, the statute (the first of its kind in the United States) set off a firestorm in Vermont that threatened to engulf the gay marriage movement. Justices were threatened with impeachment, legislators who voted for the law lost seats, and Governor Howard Dean (who signed the law) barely held on to his majority in the 2000 election. States rushed to pass state constitutional amendments prohibiting judicial recognition of same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Defense of Marriage Act had already been signed into law by President Clinton.

When four years later, I proposed the IOP study group "Law, Politics, and Same-Sex Marriage", some considered the subject one of limited interest without national ramifications. But the 2004 decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recognizing a right to same-sex marriage catapulted the issue into the nation's consciousness – and the presidential election. The last ten years for gay marriage advocates have been history at warp speed – at least as measured by the long painful years of discrimination.

Whatever else may be said about today's Supreme Court decision, it may be fairly observed that this was a case of the court catching up with country. And – if I may take the liberty – of the country catching up with Vermont and Massachusetts.

Jeff Amestoy is a Fall 2004 IOP Fellow and a former Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.

Matt Mahan '05 attended Harvard College where he served as UC President and participated in Harvard Institute of Politics programming, graduating magna cum laude in Social Studies. Mahan, a native of Watsonville, Calif., is now CEO of Brigade, a San Francisco tech startup tackling the problem of declining citizen power and engagement in our democracy.

Brigade released its first app for iOS and Android in June. IOP students at Harvard and those involved the IOP's National Campaign for Political and Civic Engagement at colleges and universities across the country will be working with Brigade to test the company's platform and engagement tools and provide feedback as the startup rolls out new tools and features over the next year. More information about Brigade is available here: http://bit.ly/1KplAHk

Mahan recently did a brief Q and A with the IOP on Brigade and the company’s recent launch.
 

What do you see as the future of politics?

Today, the average citizen is represented by more than 40 elected officials, yet it is rare to meet someone who can name more than a few. Worse yet, people increasingly feel disenfranchised and disconnected from their government. For many, there is a pervasive feeling that not only does my vote not matter – neither does my voice. To solve these problems, we need to demystify the political system and make civic discourse and direct action easy, enjoyable, and most importantly, effective.

How do we begin to do that? The Internet is the world’s most powerful tool for connecting the right people in the right context to create and share the right information at the right time. There’s tremendous potential to re-energize our democracy and overcome popular disillusionment through an online network that does for our civic lives what Facebook has done for our social lives and what LinkedIn has done for our professional lives. Brigade’s philosophy is that emerging social and mobile technologies can help make this a reality through new connections and new tools to help address the problem.

Many studies show that millennials have grown tired with the government and its inability to get things done. Millennials are the largest generation in the American workforce, though. What will it take to win their support and get them involved civically?

While millennial frustration with government is real, there are also indicators that the pendulum can swing back in the other direction. According to recent research, a majority of millennials (61%) believe it’s important to be active citizens but only 26% say they are doing a good job themselves. Moreover, millennials’ trust in government is improving, as the IOP’s Millennials and politics polling indicates, and they're making their voices heard across a range of issues from racial justice to climate change to LGBTQ equality. They value participating in their local communities, volunteering and doing things to help shape their own future.

And this is where technology comes in. Our smartphones can help us get a ride, a meal, a date or a gift within minutes -- and there’s massive potential for those devices to help us interface with our civic lives too. The hard part is getting to a scale that ensures people’s voices and votes have real influence. That’s why those of us operating at the intersection of tech and politics must lead with issues millennials care about and find ways to keep them engaged by taking action with friends and neighbors, and seeing the effect of that collective action in the world.

So how does Brigade play a role in all of this?

About a year ago, we announced our intention to create a social network for people to declare their beliefs, organize with others and take action to shape the policies and elections affecting their lives. Since then we’ve been assembling a world-class team and building and testing technologies that can help us realize that mission. Just last week, we released a private beta, the first in a series of tools that will be rolled out ahead of the 2016 election with the goal of re-energizing civic participation in America. This initial private beta is a place to express what you think about important issues, and see where your friends and others stand, but there’s much more to come! We hope members of the IOP community will become founding members of Brigade by downloading our iOS and Android apps and requesting an invite code to use the app at brigade.com.

There’s no shortage of apps and websites that encourage free speech and social good. How will Brigade be different?

Fortunately, there are a number of interesting startups – as well as nonprofits and academic institutions – dedicated to helping people understand what’s happening in government and inspire collective action. But changing American democracy is not a one-company or one-idea project. Brigade’s approach complements many of the other resources that currently exist, but the value of our platform is providing a safe space for people to weigh in on news and politics and ultimately organize supporters around causes and issues they care about. On Brigade, people can find agreement without being disagreeable in a place specifically built for debate, discussion and discourse – the building blocks of a functioning democratic system. Other popular consumer social platforms just aren’t engineered for this.

Athens, the birthplace of democracy, has been at the epicenter of some of the most trying tests of politics in modern Europe. This summer alone, protests have rocked Sy­ntagma Square, the heart of the city, located across the street from the Hellenic Parliament, on an almost daily basis. As negotiations continue over the fate of the Greek debt crisis and whether the Grexit will come to fruition (if Greece should leave the Eurozone or the EU), it has been incredible to watch the resilience of Greeks as they shoulder the tensions of the world watching their government’s every move. I am fortunate enough to watch this first-hand thanks to the IOP Director’s Internship with the Andreas Papandreou Foundation. 

This internship has been one of the most incredible parts of my Harvard experience thus far. I have fallen in love with Greece and her capitol, and have attempted to immerse myself in the history and culture of this foreign place. Doing so has been easier thanks to my work with the Papandreou Foundation. Here, I research current events and aggregate news from locations that former Prime Minister George Papandreou visits as part of his duties as President of Socialist International, and help with preparations for the annual Symi Symposium and Young Leaders Summit that the foundation organizes. My crash course in modern Greek and European politics, and discovering their view of the world, has helped me adapt to my new home and will make me a more informed citizen back home, with a better understanding of the news I consume every day. 

I have also jumped on the opportunity to visit various historical sites, including the Acropolis of Athens and the Parthenon, the Acropolis Museum, the Arch of Hadrian and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Panathenaic Stadium, and more – almost all of which I pass by every day on my bus ride to work. I’ve been fortunate enough to watch the Greek National Opera’s rendition of Tosca at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, visit the Greek islands of Serifos, Santorini, and Mykonos, and will be watching the tragedy Electra, written by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides, tomorrow. All of this is part of the experience of being an intern with the Andreas Papandreou Foundation, and it would not be possible without the resources and support of the Institute of Politics. I will not be the same Michael Kikukawa who arrived here six weeks ago when I leave in August, and I will never forget my summer in Greece.

By Michael Kikukawa '17
Director's Intern, Andreas Papandreou Foundation, Greece

Back in May, speakers at the IOP Director’s Internship sendoff dinner gave us advice before we left for our postings. Many of them advised us to ask our supervisors out to coffee, to get to know them and learn more about their careers. It can’t hurt to ask, they assured us. Most of them will probably say yes. As it turns out, I didn’t have the chance. Within my first week at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute, all three of my supervisors (and our Senior Vice President) had asked me to coffee.

The folks working at Victory are kind, brilliant, and terrifically effective at connecting LGBT leaders with the opportunities they need to make change (and often, the people at Victory are creating those opportunities, too). It’s a real inspiration to experience firsthand the impact they’re making, and it’s an honor to pitch in. My supervisors at Victory have given me substantial projects, like generating complex expense reports for audits and researching funding sources for our leadership development programs. I’ve also scheduled appointments, written blog posts and awards nominations about LGBT leaders, and taken notes during interviews for full-time positions. I’ve seen smart interviewing strategies in action, learned some Serbian while studying foreign receipts, and discovered a foundation that devotes half its resources to LGBT equality and the other half to great ape preservation.

But above all, I’ve had a blast spending time with some great people who are doing important work. At Harvard, public service and nonprofit careers can get lost in the shuffle as big-name companies outshine and out-swag at career fairs. To counter this the folks here at Victory offer fulfillment as its own reward, developing a model for how to meaningfully devote one’s life to social progress and the common good. I’m surrounded by do-gooders who are actually living the lives they dreamed of long ago. Full of purpose and determination, these aren’t the “harried, sad-sack, living on instant ramen” stereotypes of old. Rather, my colleagues are funny, joyful, passionate, extremely competent, and above all, they’re making a difference in the world. The best part is that I get to be a part of that change.

Ted Waechter '18
Director's Intern, Victory Institute

Perhaps it was looking down the rope line at the President, realizing his inevitable approach and the handshake that would follow. Perhaps it was when I stepped off the bus and walked the red carpet into San Francisco City Hall, decked to the nines to greet the nation’s mayors. Or perhaps it was on the bus back, when I texted my LA-native friend, the only person I knew who would be awake to hear my story. Yes, it was then when I realized that I had just experienced the greatest day of my life. And that was just the first day of the annual meeting.

My time with the United States Conference of Mayors has been everything one could ever ask for in an internship. As soon as I arrived, the friendly, funny staff (including former Director's Intern Paul Leroux) greeted me warmly and entrusted in me responsibilities unusual for someone starting out. Hours into the position, I was tasked with writing introductions for speakers at the large plenary sessions at the mayors’ annual meeting in San Francisco. Throughout the next two and a half weeks, I put my writing skills from the Harvard Political Review to use, crafting and editing the continuity and other documents for the meeting.

Then, with less than three weeks under my belt, I was shipped off to the West Coast to staff the four-day summer session. Over the course of the meeting, I helped coordinate behind the scenes for a number of A-list speakers: President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, Nancy Pelosi, MC Hammer, Santana, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, Sal Khan of the Khan Academy, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, and a host of mayors from our country’s largest cities. After working from dawn to dusk each day, I joined the mayors at locations around San Francisco, where nightly celebrations (and key mingling opportunities) were held. 

Upon returning to DC, things have slowed down considerably, but my excitement from being involved at the forefront of the national conversation has not waned. Despite being just an intern, I felt and continue to feel that I’m contributing to improving America’s future through its mayors and cities. The nonpartisanship of the organization and its members has been refreshing; as Mayor LaGuardia once said, “There’s no Republican or Democratic way to pick up the garbage.” The experience has rekindled my interest in public service, and I hope to be involved in local politics in the years to come.

Mark Bode '18
Director's Intern, Conference of Mayors