Digging In for the Long Fight
by Phillip Martin on February 25, 2009 in Opinion
MPP2 Insecurities, Revealed
The force and focus of our academic careers at HKS is shaped around the concept of public service. Whether it is to serve an underprivileged constituency, improve the health and strength of our home communities, or discover the best ideas on issues of public policy, we are learning how to dig in for the long fight. For the good fight. For the right fight - however it is we choose to define it, and through whatever avenues of opportunity are available to conquer it.
Public service is a struggle. An absolute, cosmically cursed struggle. It is a struggle of perseverance against odds more daunting than we’re often willing to admit. It is also a struggle that, regardless of our prior education and expertise, we can never fully prepare to meet.
Soon, we will throw our lives and livelihoods into an uncertain economy, shouldering tremendous debts of financial and personal magnitude, and seeking asylum in the belief that our dedication to the good fight will solve the problems of the people we aspire to lead. All the years of expectations, whether generated by others or ourselves, are reaching a proving ground whose earth is uncertain. And still, after years of education, I feel dramatically unprepared. Read more
Bridging the Cultural Divide
by Phillip Martin on October 18, 2008 in Opinion
I don’t know where Ethiopia is. I mean, I know it’s in Africa, but if you gave me a blank map of Africa and asked me to point to it, I’d have to take a few guesses.
As much as I want to care about the struggles of Israel and Palestine, I honestly don’t unless someone is putting it in my face. I know there is suffering, and I believe a peaceful resolution of the conflict would help stabilize the region, but I still tune out when confronted with the topic because it seems like those states value stubbornness over peace.
I share these examples of international ignorance and possibly sacrifice my future political career for a reason. The Kennedy School, both institutionally and through student-led initiatives, needs to do more to bridge the massive cultural divide at our school. Read more
Hey ‘Tini, Gimme Back My Barstool!
by Phillip Martin on April 17, 2008 in Culture
You may have missed it, but an assault on working-class America somehow snuck into the previous issue of the Citizen. Among our fellow KSG students, there are some who are waging class warfare among their crimson brethren. They probably don’t even think they are KSG students -they probably consider themselves HKS students. Elitists.
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The Citizen Conversation with … Sergio Bendixen
by Phillip Martin on February 26, 2008 in Citizen Conversation with...
With Senator Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign staking the survival of her candidacy on winning the Ohio and Texas primaries on March 4, her success, particularly in Texas, rests largely on her ability to turn out Hispanic Democrats - a demographic that helped deliver the state of California for her on Super Tuesday.
On February 20, one of the Clinton campaign’s chief pollsters, Sergio Bendixen, visited campus for a Shorenstein Center brownbag lunch to discuss polling and the Hispanic vote. Bendixen has been a leading expert in the field of Hispanic polling for more than 20 years, having served as the chief pollster for each of the four major Spanish-language television stations, including Univision and Telemundo. Though Bendixen wasn’t able to share any secrets about internal poll numbers or strategy, he took a few minutes to talk to the Citizen and shed some light on the voting patterns and behaviors of Hispanic voters in Texas and across the country.
