Less than 24 hours remain

The papers have been turned in, the luggage is full, and only one event remains: the banquet tonight.

The 2008 Ralph Bunche Summer Institute is coming to a close.  For me, its not a moment too soon.  I am eager to return to Minnesota and get back to my life.  My existence here has run its course and it is time to go home.

The experience was valuable even if a bit inconvenient, unrealistic, and over the top.  The other budding scholars that I met from all over the country made the time much more tolerable.  There are even some that I will miss, believe it or not.

Political science as a discipline is an interesting beast.  While I am still very excited to be a part of it, some harsh realities about the discipline (and about academia in general) really came out during this program and I will have to seriously consider the emphasis I will allow those experiences to have in my future decisions.

I am also interested in continuing to investigate my research topic to understand more about it.  My paper was titled “Are Working Americans Being Pushed Out of Participatory Democracy?”  I studied the effect on political participation of increased work (additional hours, extra jobs).  My hypothesis held; people who work more hours participate less in politics.

The next time I add to this blog, I will be back in Saint Paul.

Captain Obvious strikes again!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/23/sanchez.obama/index.html

Oh, my stars and garters!

So, just the other night I complain about reporters asking The Boehner (pronounce it how YOU will) about Obama in Ohio.  Given that The House Minority Leader is a Republican, it came as no surprise to me that he said that Obama “can’t” win in Ohio.

NOW, I go to CNN to get a little news fix and I come upon the above “news” story posted on their website.  The author: Leslie Sanchez.  A familiar face this primary season on panels with David Gergen, Donna Brazile, Jeffrey Toobin, and Carl Bernstein.  But wait, there’s more!  Ms. Sanchez is a former Bush appointee and her book is titled: Los Republicanos: Why Hispanics and Republicans Need Each Other.

“CNN Contributor” or Bald-Faced Partisan?  You decide.

I have been complaining (to anyone who has been listening and there may not be many, of course) about this woman’s prominent role in the analysis during the DEMOCRATIC primary season for a while now.  She is not simply providing a counterpoint to an ideology that she doesn’t agree with, she is using every opportunity –  every open microphone, every TV camera, and now, every news website – to cast aspersion on the Dems and their nominee.

She makes a point of using “Nixon” three times in her little piece.  She muses aloud whether Obama is trying to “buy the election”, and she makes sure to mention that the post-watergate election finance rules were “written largely by Democrats” as if to say that he is betraying his own party’s ideals.  She clearly has the Karl Rove SEKRIT Decoder Ring and has used it for her commentary.

For [expletive removed]’s sake!

If she wants to get heard, she oughtta get her own blog, for crying out loud!

Don’t spend time researching the obvious

One rule of thumb here at Bunche has been that the research question we pursue ought not be something that is obvious to all.  If it fails to produce new knowledge, then it is not a satisfactory product.

Thusly, I would say to our media outlets, “Stop asking partisans about the other party’s candidate.”

At first, this thought was raised when I was watching CNN during the Democratic primary season.  When you have a Republican strategist on your panel to discuss the Democratic primary results, they by and large will use every opportunity to use your program to take pot shots at the Dems.  If you are talking about point/counterpoint issues, then it is ‘fair and balanced’ (up yours, FAUX NEWS) to have opposing viewpoints being voiced.  However, don’t give an already advantaged partisan the opportunity to plant the seeds of discontent into voters on a program discussing the opposing party’s election/primary results.

In addition, it is really not a surprise when a reporter asks an elected official about the possibility of the opposing party’s candidate’s chances to win in their state.  DUH!  John Boehner (R-Ohio) is going to tell you that Obama can’t win Ohio irrespective of how many Ohioans are for him:

House Minority Leader John Boehner said Barack Obama can’t win his prized battleground state of Ohio.

Boehner made the remark responding to a reporter’s question Thursday about Democrats’ confidence of winning races this year. While Boehner acknowledged the uphill fight he has against the better-funded Democrats, he said that Republicans will do better than many expect.

“And I’ve got to tell you that I think the issue matrix that we’re going to see in this election favors us,” he said. “And while some people think Obama is a strong candidate for them, I’m going to tell you what: He can’t win Ohio. It’s probably why his campaign people are saying, ‘Well, we can win without Ohio.’

He continued: “But I think he’s going to have serious problems winning Florida, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. You can’t forgo all four of those states. As a matter of fact, you can’t forgo three of those states. And so I’m growing more optimistic as each day goes by.”

(http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2008/06/19/boehner-obama-cant-win-ohio/)

How much sense would it make to ask the manager of a baseball team whether or not their team will get beat before a game?

What’s Boehner going to say to the press?  That the Republicans are gonna get their ass handed to them in the fall?  Whether that is true or not remains to be seen, but for crying out loud, why bother asking him about the Dems’ chances in his home state?

Career fair and choices, choices, choices!

The career fair went well today.  The initial temperature in the room notwithstanding, it was constructive and very informative.  I spoke to representatives of several schools that weren’t even on my initial list that was whittled down to 10 schools.

The problem now is that I have to recalculate my strategy for applications.  Notre Dame was on my initial list but was removed after trying to balance the number of top-tier schools on my list.  However, after speaking with their representatives today, I feel more confident in applying there.

Emory University (Atlanta, GA) wasn’t even on my radar prior to today.  However, there is a new assistant professor at Emory who is a former RBSI scholar and she was very encouraging.  The common message was that being selected for the Bunche program is a big deal and it will stand out on an application for admission.

University of Washington and The Ohio State University (sic) also were very impressive.  I did some research on Ohio State, but it never made it to my list.  U “DUB” didn’t even get my attention until today.

I was disappointed to find out that the professor at the University of Minnesota whose work I have been investigating is leaving for a position at University of Michigan; a place that simply is not a fit for me.  This is troubling somewhat, but another former Bunche scholar was here FROM the U of M and it was nice to get to spend time with him and another professor from their department.  As of this writing, the University of Minnesota remains my first choice of graduate programs.

I’m awfully tired right now; I might just take a nap and do some work later tonight.

Nearing the end of week three

I saw an advertisement from www.despair.com for a t-shirt that said “More People Have Read This Shirt Than Your Blog” and figure that it is pretty much on target.  For those that are reading, I appreciate your interest.  When I’m famous, you can say, “I remember when I posted on his crappy blog!”

So tomorrow is essentially the end of week three; there are no classes, but in the a.m., bright and early, I will be attending the recruitment fair in the Gothic Reading Room in the library’s 2nd floor.  There are over 20 schools sending representatives to shop their political science PhD programs and it is an opportunity to ask lots of questions.  there is even someone coming from the University of Minnesota which happens to be at the very top of my list.

The suit and tie are ready and I am prepared to impress as best as I can.

We are nearing the home stretch; I have a paper due on Monday and then the BIG paper due a week from Saturday at 5pm.  the topic has become more interesting as I have done some research on it and I can see myself studying it further once I get to grad school.  Essentially, I am going to see if there is a correlation between the amount of hours that people work and their political participation.  I hypothesize (see, I’m getting the jargon down already!) that since the U.S. economy has tanked and jobs are becoming more service related, that if Joe Sixpack is spending 70 hours a week working just to make the bills, he is less likely to participate in political activity.  He’d much rather chill in front of TV, watch COPS, and be grateful that he isn’t on the receiving end of a Taser™.

There are some schisms that have emerged within the group; one person split in the middle of the night and went home earlier this week.  That was a bit of a shock.  There have also been some ugly moments between other participants which, thankfully, I haven’t really been a party to.  The stress level is high and it is no surprise that it is getting to some of the folks.

Well, that’s all for now.  Hit me up and leave a comment!

Two weeks in . . .

So tomorrow begins the third week of the program and it ain’t getting any easier!  😛

This week is the recruitment fair.  On Friday I’ll get to don my new suit and rub elbows with folks from various graduate programs around the country.  I hope the weather doesn’t go crazy hot like it was when I first got here.

I submitted the proposal on Friday for my major research project and got some good feedback from the teaching assistant.  Tomorrow I meet with Dr. McClain, Dr. de Marchi, Dr. Perez, and the TA to talk about my project.  Some other folks appear to be worried about their meeting, but it is all for the best; they are there to provide guidance and suggestions.

This program is a little “over the top” in its expectations, IMHO.  Then again, I haven’t been a full time student in over 10 years; 20+ years since High School.  In addition, I don’t think that I will have huge projects like this one in every semester in grad school.  We’ll see . . .

I am anxious to finish this program despite having made good friends and having some fun being at Duke.  I’ll tell you though, this campus is like a police state.  I’ve seen boatloads of security and police all over.  In fact, the Duke campus police have citywide jurisdiction!  Cops in cars, on foot patrol, and on bicycles.

One thing is for sure: this work is harder than my “day” job. 🙂

Week one down

Well, so much for keeping every interested party up to date by regularly blogging.  The workload here at Duke is heavy and I am adjusting SLOWLY . . .

I turned in my first paper today, have an assignment due tomorrow and another paper due Friday.  That is in addition to all the reading that I have to do, which is a lot.

This afternoon, seven of us had lunch with Dr. McClain, the director of the Bunche Summer Institute at a very nice dining facility in the Fuqua School of Business.  Mmmm . . . roast beef.  Dr. McClain gave great insight and input into our career goals.  She is biased to the academy, but that is a given.

Tomorrow we are watching a documentary on Ralph Bunche, from whom the program gets its namesake.  He was the first African-American to earn a PhD in political science (Harvard) and a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Over the weekend I made it to the Northgate Mall and got to the GameFrog; the video game ‘cafe’.  They downloaded the EVE Online client for me and I was able to log in and get a skill changed on my alt (those of you who have NO IDEA what I’m talking about will have to ask me the next time we talk).

I still have to head back to the lab this evening to complete an assignment for STAT class.  😦

No rest for the wicked, I suppose . . .

I’m tired . . .

This morning when we started class, Dr. McClain said, “You’ve been here for three days; feels like a week, huh?” the response to which was chuckles and smiles.  In a dirge, I said under my breath, “More like a month . . .”

I am very tired.  I am falling asleep while reading books and this morning found myself dozing off during the video being shown.  This may have something to do with me staying up (like an uber-nerd) to watch the returns and commentary last night.  How could I not?  Obama clinches the democratic nomination.  A historic moment for our country, to be sure.

The expectations at Bunche are high, but I am confident that I will rise to the occasion.  This afternoon is the discussion section of the Race and Politics class with the TAs.  This is similar to the senior seminar that I just completed, so I figure I am well prepared for this exercise.

Since Duke is in summer session, campus stores and places to eat close early or are not even open.  That’s too bad, too, since there is a hot dog stand that sells Sabrett™ brand hot dogs which I thought I could only get in New York (or by ordering them on the internet which is quite expensive).

Tonight there is a writing workshop after the p.m. class.  I won’t be done with scheduled stuff until 6:30pm.  *SIGH*

Day one?

Cripes . . .

When I arrived at my dorm room there were eight books stacked on the desk for me.  In less than five weeks we are going to be using EIGHT BOOKS.  Not to mention the chapters of other books that we are required to read from the e-reserves (here they use a program called ‘BlackBoard’).  Ugh.

The reception last night was a good introduction to the faculty and staff of the Bunche Institute.  We all got to introduce ourselves to the other participants.  They even gave us food!  yummy . . .

Today was the first day of classes.  In the five weeks, I will be writing two four page concept papers and a final empirical project that is to be 25 – 35 pages.  *GULP*

Hey, if it didn’t kill anyone previously, it won’t kill me.  🙂

Three days from now . . .

. . . I’ll be in Durham, NC.

I’m getting some butterflies to be sure; mostly they are about the ‘back home’ logistics.  After calculating the accrued time off I have banked from my job, it looks like I will receive a regular paycheck on June 13th.  That is a bit of a relief for me; it gives me a little more financial breathing room.

I guess my take on it is this: when you have a once in a lifetime opportunity, like this program I’m going to at Duke, if you have to eat Ramen noodles or cancel your cable subscription to do it, better to make the sacrifices now and defer gratification for the future.  I mean, if I really want to go to grad school, which is my target right now, then struggling through these next few months is totally worth it.

There is a competitive component to this program as well: the top scholars will be invited to go to the annual conference in Boston this August (all expenses paid by the association) to present the research and findings they complete during the program.  That’s a pretty good motivation to try my hardest!

I’m bringing with me the journal that I have been noting possible research questions in.  Hopefully, this will give me a head start on selecting a topic for the paper that I will complete.