Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down
by Marilinda Garcia, Culture Columnist on February 25, 2010 in Culture, Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down
A Guide to Grumblings and Gratifications at HKS
Email submissions to: marilinda_garcia@hks10.harvard.edu. Contributors will remain anonymous.
Thumbs up:
To Valentine’s Day…pink and red are great colors and what a great excuse to go out and eat and drink too much.
To the unemployment rate dropping. This is, hopefully, good news for those of us graduating this year!
To snowwww!!!!!!!!!!! If you don’t like it, go ahead and submit your own thumbs opinion.
Thumbs Down:
To delayed registration…why, in the second week of classes, did we not yet have set schedules?
To the enormous cockroach terrorizing the newly renovated library. We preferred the cute field mouse that was there pre-renovation.
To redundancy in case studies for class. This is the third time I have been assigned the “Aravind Eye Hospital”…wasn’t once, maybe twice, enough?
The PAE Experience
by Lena Benson on February 25, 2010 in Culture
You can run. You can hide. But if you plan on graduating with a master’s degree in public policy from HKS, one thing is for sure: you must complete a Policy Analysis Exercise, or as we’ve all come to know and dread it, a PAE. Like Spring Exercise for first-year MPPs, the PAE is a rite of passage for second-year MPPs.
They come in all shapes but are essentially one size: 40 pages due on March 23rd. Beware when you ask an MPP2 “how’s your PAE going,” because at this point in the year, those three letters will inevitable stir up feelings of anxiety and contempt. If you ask that same individual about the experience in April, their response will assuredly be much different. A flush of pride and accomplishment sweeps over their face as they reply, for they, too, have joined the thousands before them on the other side of “The PAE Experience.”
The PAE is designed as a learning tool that enables students to combine knowledge acquired in their core courses and put them to use in a more realistic setting. The school takes great pains to prepare students for the process of completing a PAE, as well as supports and provides resources through Laura Homokay’s office in OCA and the Policy Area of Concentration Seminars that take place virtually every Thursday.
So how does one go about doing a PAE? First you need to find an outside client to work with and a policy idea or topic to focus on. Some students, like Lauren Siciliano (MPP2), were able to capitalize on connections made during their summer internship. Last summer, Lauren worked with the Agency Services division of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Operations and found not only a project topic but also a client. She is now in the final stages of completing a PAE on maximizing the benefits of reflective rooftops in New York City.
Other students look to the HKS PAE Database for inspiration. Here potential clients post information indicating their interest in working with students on specific projects. Kai Carter (MPP2) found her client, UNICEF, through the PAE database and is writing her PAE on identifying national entry points to roll out school-based climate change initiatives in the Philippines.
Another important initial decision is whether to work with a partner or to forge the journey alone. Kai chose to work with Rachel Tulchin (MPP2), while Lauren opted to work on her own.
Throughout the PAE process, students encounter challenges to completing their project. Some of these challenges are foreseeable; others are completely unexpected. Clients disappear, projects evolve outside of an advisor’s area of expertise, and travel funding becomes difficult to secure. MPP2s Ben Supple and Matt Homer were able to turn past experiences working with the Olympics into a PAE with the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, evaluating options for U.S. diplomacy connected to the 2016 Olympics. Matt and Ben even received Brazilian media attention while working with officials from the Brazilian Olympic Committee. However, they encountered problems obtaining funding for international travel between HKS and their client. Another issue is data availability: Lauren advises current MPP1s to consider the availability of data sources early on in the project proposal.
After completing a PAE, many students ask themselves, “How do I turn this experience into a job opportunity?” Some students are successful in securing employment with former PAE clients. Sam Sanders, former KSSG Activities Chair and 2009 MPP graduate was able to turn his PAE with National Public Radio into a full time job and is currently working with the organization in Washington, DC. This is not always the case, though. It is important to take this question into account prior to even beginning your PAE, since much of one’s spring semester is spent completing the project while peers at other Harvard graduate schools focus their non-coursework time exclusively on a job hunt.
Still, completing the PAE gives HKS students a particular skill that others graduating in May are often deprived of: the ability to critically look at a project or policy and bridge the gap between academically-focused theory and real-world results that will be effective, efficient, and relevant outside of our Cambridge “bubble.”
Weekly Horoscope
by Victoria Criado, Editor-in-Chief on February 25, 2010 in Culture
Aries (3/21 – 4/19)
Lingering to converse in L140 after your class has ended, while others try to get seated to start their own class, might land a fist-moon into your face-orbit. In a spirit of non-violence and respect, take the post-class discussion to the Forum where nobody cares how much space you take up (that is, unless you’re hovering by the staircase). Yes, that means all of the staircases.
Taurus (4/20-5/20)
As Saturn enters its ascending-descending post-lunar orbit, beware of making those erroneous, lamentable, and all-too-frequent sweeping generalizations in class – this week they might cause you to spontaneously combust. On the other hand, engaging in fruitful, yet sparse commentary will bring forth a month brimming with free cookies and a less than 2-minute wait at the HKS library computers. Hey, it’s the little things.
Gemini (5/21-6/21)
Last week’s Moon-Jupiter conjunction and Venus-Pluto link (horoscopes are so scientific) is telling you to watch-out. Taking that fifth shot of Captain Morgans on a Tuesday night at the Kong will not end well (especially if you christened the evening with a scorpion bowl on an empty stomach). You may experience dry mouth, loss of appetite, nausea, and dizziness. Oh, wait – those are the side effects of your Restless Leg Syndrome medication. Never mind.
Cancer (6/22-7/22)
February will prove to be a particular good month to actually start doing some of your class reading before class. Manipulating your participation grade (and averting a potentially embarrassing cold calling episode) by raising your hand early on to ask the professor a question, which barely scratches at the surface of anything related to the course, will surely end in disaster (more disastrous than the already low opinion you’ve managed to conjure from your classmates).
Leo (7/23-8/22)
Expect favorable tidings to come your way after the 27th, when Uranus encounters a seven-dimensional meteor shower. PAE/SYPA writing will weave its way as seamlessly as your Spring Exercise group presentation did back in April 2009. Yes, that means there might be crying. Don’t you wish everyone lived by the baseball rule? (Hint: Tom Hanks)
Virgo (8/23–9/22)
Romance is in the air, Virgo! Whether it’s that new bacon wrapped Sodexo pizza slice, or the slightly awkward, but extremely affable course assistant who lingers incessantly by Carrel 2, this is your lucky month. So slap some extra dollars on your crimson cash card and/or dress-to-impress those problem sets with a little typing/color-coding action – you don’t want to let this opportunity pass you by.
Libra (9/23-10/22)
Just when you thought the core curriculum couldn’t drain any more life force out of your already frail mind, Mars enters its fifth crescent eclipse. Stata will take even longer to decipher (I mean, it’s so user-friendly to begin with – I know this might seem difficult to even remotely conjecture) and those illuminating DPI readings will make you feel a strange sense of deja vu. Oh wait, that’s because you already learned the material in high school. I mean, college. I mean, on Wikipedia.
Scorpio (10/23–11/21)
Hold on to your sombreros, Scorpio! A lunar phase by the name of JACK might lead you to apply to yet another undergraduate-only job posting. Save yourself the trouble and just throw a stack of resumes on a Braintree-bound Red Line train and pray to Mount Olympus for a highly coveted, informational interview (sorry, we’re not currently hiring).
Sagittarius (11/22–12/21)
Low tides on the third week of the month will amplify the already deafening sound of people using the bathroom in the HKS library. Steer clear of the laptop-friendly tables and/or bring your extra-duty earplugs. There’s no holding back – these people are going to the mattresses.
Capricorn (12/22–1/19)
Beware the Ides of March, Capricorn (even though it’s still February). Pretending to be taking notes in class while actually reading TMZ might lead to a potentially mortifying moment. Yes, graduate school is optional. No, you don’t have to be here. Yes, someone else didn’t get in because you decided to attend. No, they wouldn’t be reading celebrity gossip while the professor discusses global hunger.
Aquarius (1/20–2/18)
Delirium will set in as Saturn returns to normal orbit. Don’t let the delusion overtake you and lead you to believe that this time your mandatory group project might not include any free riders. I know this is the Kennedy School, but didn’t you take API-101/105? Brace for the no-shows, the slackers, and the “Sorry, I’m going to be a little late” –ers. The first step is acceptance.
Pisces (2/19–3/20)
Pisces, Pisces, Pisces. Woe is you. Neptune’s gliding overtures on the third cycle of the month will wreak havoc. Forum events will engulf Littauer. Strange people who don’t even go to HKS will be everywhere (even at HKS student-only events). The it’s-been-four-minutes-and-I’m-still-talking person in your class will speak for three minutes instead (but you know that still feels too long). People will block the main arteries of the cafeteria-side staircase. They won’t move when you say, “Excuse me.” They still won’t move when you physically push them out of the way (gently of course). Oh, Pisces. Thank goodness horoscopes have low predictive power.
Affirmative Reaction
by Mike Wolking on February 25, 2010 in Culture
As I hurried to class the other day with my hands shoved in my pockets to combat the fierce cold, I made inadvertent eye contact with a man a few yards away. He carried a red tote bag and the seeking look of an altruist with a public agenda. In Harvard Square, this is a death sentence on punctuality. I readied myself to deliver a bluntly unapologetic response to whatever cause he purported to champion.
“Free coffee?” he asked.
“No, sorry,” I reflexively replied, and continued on my way.
A few paces later I stopped: free coffee? The stuff I strategically case the Forum seeking on a daily basis? Of course I support free coffee. In fact, I consider myself a staunch free coffee advocate.
What I don’t support is the charitable cause minefield known as Harvard Square. You see, I have limited compassion capital, suffering from what your friendly neighborhood psychotherapist might call “compassion fatigue.” I spend all day at the Kennedy School living and breathing public service, not just being asked what I can do, but literally demanding that I pose the question on myself repeatedly. When I leave at the day’s end, I just need a moral power nap. Instead, I often face a set of questions for which an automated “No, sorry,” masks many of my own:
Got a minute for the children? If all you need is a 60 seconds, things can’t really be that bad for the children, can they?
Care to spare the environment? Which kind? Does it have mosquitoes? Then probably not.
Would you be interested in saving the whales? Are you the person responsible for giving them a record deal? Horrible singers. Tone deaf. And while we’re at it who thought Free Willy could sing AND act?
The problem with all of this of course is that such categorical denial becomes habit. I get used to saying no. Spare change always makes it home to my laundry fund. I make more eye contact with distant objects than people hoping to make a connection. And the worst part? I don’t even notice. Psychologist Stanley Cohen refers to this denial as “a high-speed cognitive mechanism for processing information, like the computer command ‘delete’ rather than ‘save’.”
On most of my walks through Harvard Square I’m in ‘delete’ mode, if I even download anything around me at all. So I asked myself: what if I entered into a ‘save’ state of mind for a while?
Over the course of the next 40 days, I’m going to do just that. Call it Affirmative Reaction.
Will you sign this petition? I’m your John Hancock.
Got a minute for the children? How about two?
Spare change? Like a meter-maid, my friend.
Like any good Kennedy School student, I’ll try to bring in some quantitative metrics along with qualitative observations. I’ll track how many causes I end up joining, paying special attention to what they really do with my anemic support. I’ll calculate how much it actually costs to give a quarter to someone every time I’m asked. And I’ll test the null hypothesis that there is no difference between ignoring everything that happens in Harvard Square and being constantly attentive to its incessant needs.
One thing I know: when I get that free coffee back, I’ll at least be able to call the results of this experiment deliciously significant.
HKS Thailand Study Trip
by Malik Ahmad Jalal on February 25, 2010 in News
A magnificent Georgian styled colonial building housed the Thai Prime Minister’s office. The exquisite marbled floor, crystal chandeliers and mahogany-wood panels permeated a sense of grandeur and history. Five HKS students were there to meet with the Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The door flung open and the Prime Minister walked in, followed by Mr. Korbsak Sabhavasu, Deputy PM for Economic Affairs, and his team of advisers.
PM Abhishit was open and thoughtful in sharing his views with HKS students on the Thai model of economic development, the implications of recent regional and global developments as well as the current political situation in Thailand. His advice to Kennedy School students on leading a country during crises was to practice loads of patience and tolerance.
PM Abhishit was also keen to strengthen HKS-Thailand links through the Brain-Exchange Program. This program was initiated by Santitarn Sathirathai (PhD Public Policy) and is envisioned to provide summer internship opportunities for Harvard University students with the Thai government’s Ministry of Finance, the Social Enterprise Committee and the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office.
The first HKS Thailand Winter Study Trip started off as a low-key affair, however, due to efforts of South-East Asia caucus leadership of Nina Teng and Jennifer Yenn with key support from Warawat Sabhavasu, the trip provided the student-delegation an insightful exposure to Thailand’s economy, politics and culture.
The student delegation found that HKS is well respected in Thailand and many of its alumni hold important positions in politics, government and the private sector. One such alum is Sopon Asawanuchit (MPA/ID’ 06) who is advisor to Deputy PM and project leader for the vocational training program that has re-trained 480,000 unemployed workers in skills to help them set up micro enterprises. The delegation also received a historical perspective on development of institutions in Thailand from Professor Kriengsak Chareonwongsak, a former senior fellow at M-RCBG and Member of Parliament, and exchanged ideas on industrialization and education policy.
The student delegation discovered that HKS has also influenced the domain of development practice in Thailand. For example, the Center for International Development conducted an evaluation research along with the former Deputy PM Dr Surikiart Sathirathai (himself a senior fellow at the Belfer Center) that was key to reforming a scheme for reviving the rural areas. The One Tambon (District) One Product Scheme encouraged each community to identify a product they could produce by utilizing unique community-based traditional knowledge. The scheme involved creating specialist regional sub-committees and a village micro-enterprise fund to coordinate and finance activities of these community producers. This scheme resulted in development of over 30,000 products and saved traditional skills and knowledge from being lost forever.
The student-delegation also witnessed CID’s development philosophy at work in reviving a scenic floating market of Amphawa - an hour drive out of Bangkok - from decline (http://www.amphawafloatingmarket.com) as visitor numbers had dropped drastically and the younger generation left for Bangkok to earn a better livelihood. The floating markets were now re-generated with weekly visitor numbers rising to forty- five thousand and a renaissance of local culture with flourishing of handicrafts and folk dances. The success of the rejuvenation scheme was due to a community-led effort which involved making the problem visible to the local community, organizing the communities into committees to exchange ideas and providing support to formulate and implement a solution utilizing traditional knowledge and wisdom. This community-led development approach has been successful in creating sustainable development outcomes.
The KSSG sponsored Study Trips are a valuable part of the Kennedy School experience as the delegation found the Thailand trip to provide an informative real life case study of public policy issues that greatly complimented learning in the classroom.
Read This if You Want to Earn $10,000 More
by Michael Zakaras, News Asst. Editor on February 25, 2010 in HKS News, News
Think about the whole benefits package, not just the salary. Develop a personal scale weighing the value of each component. Kill off a bad offer as soon as possible. These were some of the tips Professor Brian Mandell had on negotiation compensation.
Mandell, who teaches a highly popular negotiation course at HKS, illustrated strategies that could help prevent a job taker’s version of buyer’s remorse in a seminar organized by the Office of Career Advancement on Feb. 17.
The seminar was a mix of more general advice about job interviews and specific suggestions about how to maneuver through the dreaded salary conversation. While he acknowledged that job interviews are largely spontaneous, Mandell also said that a certain level of “self-scripting” is important for developing an “anticipatory stance.” Such a stance is key for walking away with compensation to be happy about.
Part of being anticipatory is being prepared to answer the kinds of statements or questions you’ll frequently hear. Such “squeezing” tactics might include: “It’s a very tough economy now,” “I’m sorry, but this is company policy ” or, “By the way, do you have an MBA or JD?” Each is a subtle – or not so subtle – way of telling you that you need to lower your expectations.
According to Mandell, the ability to respond properly to such questions can make up to a $10,000 dollar difference in salary offer between two otherwise identical candidates. “You have the power in the interview to shape their expectations just as they shape yours,” he said.
Mandell began the seminar by reminding listeners about the importance of the first few minutes after you sit down for the interview. “You’re largely getting the job in the first 3-5 minutes or you’re not,” he said. “It’s like the starting pistol at the Olympics.”
How exactly are employers evaluating you in those early moments? Mandell walked through his “6 Cs” – Credibility, Competence, Collaboration potential, Commitment, Congruence, and Confidence. These form what he believes are the basis of what will become your salary.
Credibility is essentially whether there is a clear connection between your narrative, your CV, and the job you are applying for. If you’re applying for a “stretch position” – like in a sector you’ve never worked in before – your credibility will appear a bit thinner. Competence, meanwhile, is about coming across as articulate, focused, and engaged. Mandell was careful to distinguish between being smart and signaling competence. “People want to know, ‘Can I trust your judgment’?” he said. “Do not assume that graduating from this 375-year old institution is a substitute for competence.”
Collaboration potential and commitment are largely self-explanatory, while congruence refers to whether or not there’s a gap between your verbal and non-verbal communication. Looking and sounding committed, in other words, is as important as the level of commitment displayed in your CV and cover letter. Mandell referred to Confidence as the “sniff test” about one’s “ability to be able to persevere under conditions of turbulence and uncertainty.”
Then Mandell got into the nitty-gritty of compensation negotiation. He began by reminding students that compensation is about more than just salary, but rather the full package of salary and benefits such as health care, vacation, bonuses, training opportunities, etc. When considering an offer, he stressed the importance of taking these factors into consideration – perhaps even of developing a 100-point scale to weigh the value of each component. For some, a strong health care package might be nearly as important as the salary figure itself, and many companies are more willing to budge in these areas than on salary.
When should salary come up in the interview? Some employers might try to discuss it early on, but Mandell said discussing compensation later in the interview, gives you a better chance to present your value proposition to the company.
If you feel confident and want to bring up the topic of compensation yourself, Mandell recommended setting an anchor at 20 percent higher than you want. Meanwhile, if they bring it up first, Mandell stressed the importance of quickly “de-anchoring” a bad offer. Otherwise, the longer a figure is on the table, the more likely it is to solidify. “It’s like drying cement,” he said.
What do you say if you don’t feel comfortable with an offer? If only a few thousand short, you can use the “yes, but” tactic. If the offer seems way off the mark, you can politely say, “This doesn’t sound reasonable given my value proposition,” or “Frankly I’m a bit surprised” and give two or three reasons why you think the offer is unreasonable.
Finally, for anyone feeling overwhelmed or flustered, there’s the ultimate get-out-of-jail card: “Excuse me, can you direct me to the bathroom?” Taking a couple of minutes to gather your thoughts and come back in prepared is perfectly acceptable and much smarter than agreeing to something you wish you hadn’t.
Among the participants was Wade Barnes, MPP’11, who found the scenarios Mandell played through to be especially beneficial. “Professor Mandell did a good job demonstrating how employees preserve their leverage during compensation negotiations – and that the amount of leverage you control is dictated by the strength of your performance at the negotiating table” said Barnes.
Dean McCarthy Receives Retirement Reception by Kennedy School Community
by Michael Zakaras, News Asst. Editor on February 25, 2010 in News
By David Ring, MPP’10
Students and faculty thanked former dean Joseph McCarthy’s 26 years of service to HKS and Harvard University in a reception February 16. McCarthy served 13 years as dean and director of degree programs. “The Kennedy School … was a thrilling place to spend so much of my professional life,” McCarthy said in a speech thanking attendees. McCarthy was also presented with gifts and letters of thanks, including a notable message from Governor Deval Patrick and an extensive written proclamation from HKS.
The Reception drew over 150 second-year students, current and former faculty and staff, former students, and members of the wider Harvard community. Former dean Graham Allison gave the first tribute, praising McCarthy’s “deep investment in making the Kennedy School a place that we’re proud to be part of” and noting that though the school would go on without McCarthy, “it’s hard to imagine it doing so.”
Former dean Joseph Nye reminded the audience of some of the qualities familiar to all those who know McCarthy. “Joe McCarthy cared for every student; he knew them, he listened to them, he sat with them at length,” Nye recalled. Noting McCarthy’s decision-making skills, Nye remarked, “He was extraordinary in his judgment because of a deep knowledge of the students and the people he worked with.”
After a video message from Acting Dean Judy Kugel – who spoke of the “privilege and challenge of filling Joe’s shoes” – Dean Ellwood gave his perspective on what made dean McCarthy so successful. “Joe loves people and it shows every time you see him,” Ellwood remarked. “He really believes in service and is loyal to that mission.”
After the presentation of gifts, which included not only proclamations but also a customary University Chair, McCarthy himself gave closing remarks. He noted that it had taken faculty seven months to secure his agreement for a date for the reception, and he saved most of his time for praising and thanking those around him. He closed by telling the audience: “The Kennedy School is the most exciting place at Harvard and maybe the most exciting place in higher education in the whole world.’”
McCarthy’s role in making it so was never in doubt, but all present were reminded of his hard work, commitment and generosity during Tuesday’s reception.
Stacking Up the HKS Library Renovations: Mixed Reviews
by Sayce Falk, News Asst. Editor on February 25, 2010 in HKS News, News
HKS students returned to school this January to find fewer shelves and more study rooms in the library, which just completed phase one of its renovations. Though the renovations have been welcomed by most as an improvement, many pointed out that more could have been done. “I appreciate the space, but I don’t know if it’s a better set-up with the tables that they currently have [in the extension area]. I’ve also heard that some people are interested in having a no-keyboard zone,” said September Hargrove, MPP ’11.
The planning for the renovations began nearly a year ago as a result of HKS ’09 graduates’ complaints about the space available. Since then, the school administration, the Kennedy School Student Government (KSSG), and the librarian staff have continued to work together on a new library design that would better meet student needs.
The library managed to finish phase one of its renovations in time for the first week of classes to begin, but in order to do so, it was forced to close a week earlier than originally anticipated. That closure eliminated the school’s primary study space throughout the second week of finals, a controversial move that many students did not understand.
“The architect said we have to start it that week,” said Imran Alimohammed, vice president of student services for KSSG, “which was also difficult for the library staff, because they were not ready. But it was out of our hands; it was the architect’s decision.” The renovations included the creation of four new group study rooms, capable of accommodating up to eight students, which are open from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. and feature sign-up sheets next to the door. The left two of the four also feature large flat-screen televisions with a converter cable that allows students to display their PC laptop screens to the rest of the group; a converter cable for Apple computers is available for check- out from the circulation desk, but is not compatible with new laptops that have a Mini Displayport.
“I like the new study rooms,” said Gregory Foo, MPP ’11. “You can book them, which makes them easier to use when you need them.” For now, the rooms are open to all, but Alimohammed said that KSSG plans to work with the library to institute a three-person minimum for room usage in the future. “We’re going to institute a minimum three-person policy for the study rooms because people are using it as their personal offices. Once you get above two people, it’s very difficult to find space in this school, so we wanted to give larger groups priority there,” said Alimohammed.
The focus of the renovation was on the library extension, which opens an hour earlier, at 7, and closes two hours later, at 1 a.m., than the rest of the library. However, the design of the extension has been criticized for its inefficient use of space and an oddly shaped wall-hugging bench. The result has not satisfied students who expected the new area to focus on high student densities much as the rear of the main library does.
“In terms of a face lift, I think HKS did a good job restructuring the library. However, we still face similar problems as last year. We need a larger and quiet study area,” said Zeke Geh, MPP ’11. “The expansion of seating and work areas almost make it a library where I would choose to study,” said Jesse Wald, MPA ’10. Some of those concerns are already being addressed – Alimohammed said that phase two of the renovation, which is currently underway, will bring in new and additional furniture.
“The administration wanted to get something done as quickly as possible even though not everything was ready,” he said, and as a result, plastic chairs and tables were brought in from other places in the school to provide temporary space for work.
As work in the library enters additional phases, KSSG and school administrators continue to discuss other issues – possibly including stricter limits on what drink containers are allowable in the library in order to limit spillage. Student and school leaders are also working on other initiatives to provide students televisions in Taubman Rotunda, for example, and a discussion about the low lighting in the forum in the evenings.
“If students have other concerns, they should definitely bring them up with their student representatives,” said Alimohammed. “We really do want to help.”
Citizen Conversation With…Marshall Ganz
by Matt Bieber, News Writer on February 24, 2010 in Citizen Conversation with..., Features
Marshall Ganz. Photo Courtesy of HKS.
Interview conducted by Matt Bieber, MPP’11
Last year, you and Peter Dreier wrote an essay for the Washington Post in which you attempted to diagnose why health care reform had stalled. You wrote that “The White House and its allies forgot that success requires more than proposing legislation, negotiating with Congress and polite lobbying. It demands movement-building of the kind that propelled Obama’s long-shot candidacy to an almost landslide victory. And it must be rooted in the moral energy that can transform people’s anger, frustrations and hopes into focused public action, creating a sense of urgency equal to the crises facing the country.”
For readers who didn’t catch the Post piece, can you elaborate a little on what you’re recommending here?
…The history of reform in this country, of social reform, and political reform, has been a history of the “two hands clapping.” It’s been a history of responsive political leadership and assertive social movement.
If you go back as far as you’d like to go back, there’s this dynamic where the political leader gets elected and then he has to do their thing, and runs into all sorts of pressures and opposition. So unless there’s somebody out here whose main mission is to achieve reform, then all the energy shifts in one direction, to those that oppose it.
So unless you can create the power to - it’s not so much holding the political leadership accountable as it is creating the demand, the urgency, the need for reform – then it goes away….
Anytime you’re trying to change the status quo, the status quo has the overwhelming preponderance of resources on its side, plus inertia, plus habit, plus apathy, so it’s tough. You don’t just change things because you want to.
The legislative process has been much more responsive to the creation of crises that legislation is needed to resolve than it has been to, “Gee, wouldn’t it be a good idea if we made things work better?” So, the job of those trying to create change is actually to create crises that require legislative solution.
Now, a crisis that is felt by the powerless isn’t a crisis, because the powers that be don’t experience it to be a crisis, and so the challenge the powerless or those whose needs are not being addressed face is how to create the urgency.
So when Saul Alinsky, the community organizer, said, “Organizers need to be willing to be schizoids, because you have to polarize to mobilize, and you have to de-polarize to settle.” In other words, you have to create the urgency and the need for action, which inherently involves a process of polarization. But then, to actually settle anything, you have to shift and be able to negotiate….
Now, what the Obama Administration seemed to try to do was to mobilize by depolarizing….[I]n other words, it seemed like an effort to compromise your way to deep reform. I’ve never seen that that has ever worked in the history of this country, and I doubt anywhere, because it’s a contradiction.
So, on the one hand, the administration was not being clear, aggressive…as it had been in the campaign…and more culpably, the leadership of the reform movements, the people who were fighting for health care, for labor law reform, for environmental reform, for immigration reform, all bought in to this strategy. They all bought into “let Obama do it. He knows what he’s doing.”
Well, that’s kind of convenient. Some people confused access with outcomes, or access with power. So you may now have the power so long you get to go to the White House; well, that’s kind of cool. And the White House is saying, “Don’t rock the boat. We’ll take care of it.” So, you’re saying, “Gee, I don’t know. It’s the White House, so I better not rock the boat.”
Now, I don’t know if you saw today’s Washington Post, there’s stuff that the unions are clearly pissed off, because for a year, they’ve been struggling along on this idea that they’re going to get labor law reform, and so they haven’t been doing a damn thing to get it.
But the same thing happened in health care, the same thing….It’s like a mirroring kind of thing [that] resulted in no mobilization.
In the essay, you talk about the Obama for America organizing effort, how it was quite effective at getting people out and asking them to do things that would move the entire movement along. When the Obama team got to the White House, do you think they wondered whether it was appropriate to deploy that organization now that their guy was the President, and not just an aspiring leader?
I think there’s a couple of things going on. I mean, there is a question about leadership style, and conflict aversion versus “getting into a fight when you need to.” As we’ve seen, the President has pursued a pathway that has been conciliatory in almost everything.
That’s not appropriate for everything, because the world is full of bad guys and people whose interests conflict. You have to be willing to take on these fights, so that there’s something to mediate later on.
That’s an issue. In the campaign, it was less of an issue because it was defined as an adversarial – you know, there was “us” and “them.” But then moving into the governance, all of a sudden, it shifted. So here, you have this whole organization. This movement’s been built on trying to bring about some real change in the country. If your strategy doesn’t continue to be proactive, then what do you do with this movement?
So deciding to put [Organizing for America] into the DNC was a critical choice, because it meant, one, that it couldn’t be a mechanism to put pressure on Democrats. And of course, as we’ve seen, one of the major sources of problem has been the Democrats. So right there, it sort of tied the hands of the operation.
Then, by keeping it tied directly to the President, then it was like if the President was pursuing a strategy of, “Let’s compromise with everybody, and I’m not going to define what I’m for and I’m not going to-” And you’re out here in the field trying to mobilize people around “we don’t know what, from who, under what circumstances,” you can’t mobilize that way. You can’t organize that way.
So they wound up being in a very weird position, where they really had no program, that there was nothing they were clearly fighting for….So there was no strategy. So they were reduced to getting people to make phone calls to legislators who already supported their position, and act as if that was mobilizing something.
You know, it almost makes it appear like what they wanted to do was keep the machine on for the next election.
Since your essay was published, have you noticed any change in…
Well, right after it…there was a lot of stir. I got a lot of feedback of different kinds. All my friends in OFA thought I was a jerk, and so we had to work that out, which, eventually, we sort of did.
I know within the immigration reform movement, there was a reassessment of like, “Wait a second, we can’t just keep waiting around. We’ve got to do something,” so some of us have been involved in that campaign since August to try to create a much more of a movement mobilization base demanding immigration reform. That then actually has turned into what’s going to be a mobilization in DC for March 22nd.
….I think our piece sort of struck a chord, but not enough of the chord, and I think helped strike a deeper chord of realization that unless people who want to see deep reform mobilize and fight for it, it’s not going to happen, and that what Obama offers is an opportunity to do that. But Obama is not the messiah, and is not going to do it. It’s like Alinsky once said, “The liberals need radicals.”…Unless you have that pressure out there, it’s not going to happen.
Is it too late to turn health care around?
I don’t know. It’s hard to see where the momentum is going to come from. You know, we got civil rights legislation because there was reality out in the world that demanded it. It wasn’t because of lobbying tactics. Now, Lyndon Johnson played an important role, but we got environmental legislation in the early 70s even from the Nixon administration, because the whole country was going nuts around Earth Day and a whole lot of stuff was happening.
It’s like everybody seemed to forget all that in the last year and think that somehow now, deep reform is going to happen through congressional horse-trading. But that’s how you maintain the status quo; it’s not how you change it.
It’s what I learned in the Farm Workers….Now, see, we were fighting to build a union in California, and so eventually, we needed legislation…For a long period of time, the opposition was advocating legislation, because they saw that as the way to control us.
The conditions under which legislation became useful, and actually turned into a very positive thing, were that we had had a strike involving 70,000 people in California, 3,000 arrests, 44 beatings, 2 murders – I mean, of our people. A boycott going on all over the country of, you know, grapes and lettuce produced in California; county governments being bankrupted because of having to pay for jury trials for every single person arrested in the strike and which we demanded, and having to pay overtime for sheriffs; supermarket industry that was really - that because the growers couldn’t settle their problem in California turned into boycotts, were picketing supermarkets all over the country – they sure didn’t want it.
So legislation came in a context in which the supermarkets wanted it. The growers needed it. The county governments needed it. That gave us the power to negotiate legislation that was beneficial for us. Now, if all that hadn’t been going on and we’re just being sort of politely trying to negotiate what would be in the best interest of farm workers, nothing would have happened.
So there’s a kind of ahistoricism about the whole thing that really just surprises me.
It’s amazing how despite the momentum that the Dems brought with them to Washington this time, watching the ‘sausage-making’ in Congress seems to have really put a lot of Americans off the entire process. And perhaps as a result, nothing’s getting through.
…Well, the people who created the basic institutions in American government were very concerned, they were very fearful that government would become a source of power, and so they didn’t want that. And of course then, there weren’t huge corporations; there weren’t all these private concentrations of power that [were] so enormous.
So, the whole instrument is very enfeebled, so it becomes much more effective as a way of checking change than enabling it. And we’ve just seen now, for a year, how that works, and it’s all just checks…nobody can get anything done.
It’s extraordinary to have an opportunity when you can actually make reform. Now, Reagan made that happen, and he didn’t even have a congressional majority. I mean, Reagan figured out how to use his moment of power to restructure the financing of government in such a way that we’d never have debates on that programs anymore. All we debate about is finance and taxes and revenues. That’s a brilliant, brilliant move by the conservative movement, as they call it “to starve the beast.” They accomplished that, and it redefined how we do our politics.
Now, they were very smart about using the movement, using the moment. We’ve just blown a year on the progressive side. Lining up all the dots in such a way that we can actually get Congress to - I don’t know. It’s not set up to make change. It’s set up to resist change. So to make change takes an extraordinary effort and an extraordinary kind of focus and opportunity.
But…I was looking yesterday [at] all the appointments that just haven’t been made because “This congressman, or this senator [had an issue].”…Well, that didn’t stop Bush….Bush used the recesses to make these appointments.
So it isn’t just the institution. It’s also…this government strategy that is curiously non-assertive.
Cocktail Party 102: Advanced Applied Sports Talk
by Chris Arlene, Sports Editor on February 24, 2010 in Sports
Two people told me they actually used some tidbits from last semester’s Cocktail Party 101 column (shout out to Morna Ha and Melissa “Mojo” Wojciechowsk), so I figured it was time to break out version 2.0. Just to refresh, the following points will allow you to fake the sports talk chit chat you’ll encounter at networking events, job interviews, or at a friendly get together. March and April are two of the best sports months of the year, so study-up and get ready to be accepted as a sports aficionado…
National Basketball Association (NBA):
The NBA hasn’t been this good since the Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird heyday of the late 80’s/early 90’s. There’s a plethora of likeable established stars (LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, etc.) and a crop of likeable rising stars (Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy, Rajon Rondo, etc.). The future is bright.
The Eastern Conference is almost back from the decades-long collapse it suffered went Shaq signed with the Lakers, though the Western Conference is still tougher from top to bottom.
Really sucks to be a Seattle fan these days. Not only do the Sonics move to Oklahoma City, but after years of ineptitude, they have the best young roster in the league and 21-year-old future Hall of Famer in Durant. Ouch…
Best player? Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers. Best coach? Greg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs. Best team? Lakers.
After cleaning house to give themselves $32 million in cap space, the New York Knicks will let go of All-Star David Lee and sign Joe Johnson and Rudy Gay (OK, this is more a wish than a talking point. Preface it with “Wouldn’t be funny if…”).
David Stern, the league’s Commissioner since 1984, is the best in the business.
Updated Championship Prediction: still the Cleveland Cavaliers. Just have a gut feeling LeBron is going to pull it off. Who wants to root for the Lakers anyway?
Major League Baseball (MLB):
Roy Halladay, one of the best three pitchers of the last 20 years, will win 20 games and his first National League Cy Young Award with his new team, the fightin’ Philadelphia Phillies.
The Chicago Cubs’ 101-year World Series winless drought will continue. Wrigley Field is an amazing stadium, but don’t go for the winning baseball.
Besides having one of the greatest nicknames ever (“The Big Hurt”), recently retired Chicago White Sox first baseman Frank Thomas was one of the best hitters in recent memory.
Baseball once saw heroes like Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, and the Negro League barnstormers help integrate this country through their excellence on the playing field. Now, only 8% of Major League players are black.
World Series Prediction: Yankees vs. Phillies part II. The two best teams in baseball actually got better in the off-season.
National Football League (NFL):
Peyton Manning was a game-winning drive away from making a case for being the best quarterback to ever play. Now he’s got to overcome his old choke artist label. Crazy…
Tennessee’s Chris Johnson and Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson are the two best running backs in the league. Who’s better? Johnson. Unbelievable speed, unbelievable vision, and ran for more than 2,000 yards when he was the only option on offense.
Breakout star of 2009? Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. He’s a younger, stronger Brian Westbrook and is only getting better.
Super Bowl Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs vs. St. Louis Rams (NOTE: this is a gag prediction that will allow you to use sarcasm to bolster your “inherent” sports credibility).
Men’s College Basketball (NCAA):
John Wall, Kentucky’s “one and done” freshman superstar, is the real deal. He’s a lock to be the first pick in June’s NBA Draft.
The Big East may be the toughest conference ever over the last 5 years. It can certainly challenge the ACC’s glory days.
Speaking of the ACC…it stinks! Duke is the only legitimate team in the conference this year, and they’ll be lucky to make it out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament (sorry Antoine!).
Speaking of bad conferences…the PAC 10 may be the worst major conference in college basketball history. If they get more than one team in the field of 65, it will be an outrage.
Chances are he won’t make it in the NBA, but Villanova’s senior guard Scott Reynolds is one of the best college players of the last 15 years.
Best player? Kentucky’s Wall. Best coach? Kansas’ Bill Self. Best team? Kansas.
Championship Prediction: Syracuse Orangemen. A future top 5 draft pick on the wing, a 2-guard who can shoot and create, two good big guys inside, and their traditionally stiff 2-3 matchup zone defense. The only question is their young guards. Other contenders: Kansas, Villanova, Purdue, Michigan State.
Some Other Stuff:
The Winter Olympics will never be as great as the Summer Olympics. It’s tough when only half the world can actually participate.
Has ESPN ever explained why it shows fishing, bowling, and pool? I’d expect to see them on the “Recreational Activity Network,” but not one devoted to sports.
Whenever Tiger Woods does return to golf, he will be even more dominant than he was before his personal life became national fodder.
