KSSG Passes Resolution to Increase International Student Aid
by Sayce Falk, News Asst. Editor on April 29, 2010 in HKS News, News
As MPP ’10 Jonathan Faull began school in the fall of 2008, there were only a few signs that the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression was about to erupt. Because he hadn’t received a great deal of aid from HKS, Faull had lined up other funding sources, including a private scholarship and a loan through a Kennedy School-associated program known as CitiAssist.
For most students entering the Kennedy School, the timing of the crisis could not have come at a more fortuitous moment – two years of intellectual stimulation within the ivory towers of the world’s most prestigious university as friends and colleagues were laid off in droves. The tuition costs would be high, but at least they were stable. Compared to those faced with unemployment and sudden decisions about how to care for children or pay the bills on a drastically lower budget, the anticipated safety of school was an inviting idea.
But Faull was coming from South Africa – an open economy with a floating currency – and the downturn in the global economy meant that his carefully laid financial plans now lay in ruins. From late August to November of 2008, the rand fell more than 31 percent, from 7.75 to the dollar to more than 10.
“The money we had put aside to come here,” said Anna York, an MPP’10 from Australia who faced a similar situation, “was, in some cases, worth up to a third less than it had been a day before.”
Making matters worse, the financial recession pulled the rug out from under CitiAssist, a six-year old joint venture between Citigroup and HKS. The program allowed Harvard University and Citigroup to jointly underwrite loans to Harvard graduate students; it also allowed international students to obtain a loan without an American co-signer, a key requirement of virtually all other American financial institutions.
After CitiAssist folded, HKS administrators stepped in with a new program run through the Harvard University Employees Credit Union, holding the maximum loanable amount to $10,000 for international students without a co-signer. In its session earlier this month, the KSSG passed a motion urging the HKS administration to double the maximum amount of the loan, to $20,000.
“We want credit union loans to cover at least 30% of [international students’] tuition,” said Dave Baumwoll, MPP ’10 and KSSG President. “We want to enhance the financial options for international students. If you’re here, the Kennedy School should be able to find ways to allow you to stay here.”
“Ideally I would have liked to take up more than double [the 10,000 maximum],” said Faull, “but I’ve had to essentially loan against my parents’ mortgage in South Africa to cover my tuition costs.”
Other graduate schools on campus allow international students to take out loans covering their entire tuition burden, while the current $10,000 limit only covers about 10-15% of HKS’ anticipated annual expense. In addition to the benefits of dollar-denominated debt and generally lower interest rates than private lenders offer, Credit Union loans also qualify as part of HKS’ Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which assists graduates who go into public service by defraying part of the costs of their student loans.
“It is definitely a consideration that HKS students have lower expected incomes than HBS or HLS,” said Stephanie Streletz, Associate Director of Student Financial Services. “The Harvard Credit Union’s loan program is a wonderful addition, but we deem it as gap funding, not a primary resource for students.” Administrators also expressed concerns over the inability of the school to collect on students who default on their loans, as well as the higher likelihood of international student default, given the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and many developing country currencies.
“We may need to consider taking on additional risk,” said Chris Fortunato, the new Dean of Students, “[but] if we do cover it, where do we pull the funding away from?”
HKS administration is currently discussing the issue of student aid, though administrators refuse to discuss the level or growth of the HKS endowment. A number of current international students received increased financial aid for their second year, though the administration has not said whether that aid came as a result of student government pressure.
Though the short-term crisis has passed, the KSSG’s resolution is part of its effort to institutionalize some of the solutions that students and administrators used last spring. In the meantime, the consequences of the lack of funding linger on. “I am interviewing for some management consulting positions,” said Faull, “which I would have never considered doing before coming to the Kennedy School.”
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.”
State Insurance Deal Remains Unused By Mass. Towns
by Sayce Falk, News Asst. Editor on November 14, 2009 in News
Despite the crushing burden imposed on local governments by state budget shortfalls – Massachusetts has already decreased funding by $90 million to its 351 cities and towns within the last year – one of the largest money-saving measures available remains largely out of reach to many communities in the Boston area.
The Group Insurance Commission (GIC), a health insurance system for state public employees created in 1955, was opened to local governments to enter their employees in 2007. Yet only a tiny majority of eligible towns have entered into the agreement. There is no indication that they are any closer this year, despite the enormous shortfall in state aid.
“This is the biggest savings state government could give them,” said Representative Stephen Kulik, assistant vice-chair of the State House Ways and Means Committee. “But unions have inaccurately framed this as being an assault on the very basic principles of collective bargaining.” Massachusetts municipal governments face major problems as they try to balance their budgets. They are limited by state law from raising property taxes by more than 2.5 percent a year. Under the original proposal, the state agreed to provide more local aid in exchange for such a limitation, but that promise has been repeatedly broken, under governor Mitt Romney in 2001 and Governor Deval Patrick earlier this year.
In contrast with the limited growth in revenue, the cost of medical care has been rising rapidly – the Boston Municipal Research Bureau found that Boston’s employee health costs leapt 92 percent from 2001 to 2007. Yet Boston and other local communities do not retain the independence and flexibility of many other public sector employers. In particular, the Massachusetts state government, which enrolls its employees under the GIC, does not have to negotiate the details of the plan with each union before they make the change. State law requires that local governments include such details in its collective bargaining negotiations.
The result is evident in the state’s response to the economic crisis last summer – the legislature increased the premiums paid by state workers from 20 to 25 percent. That kind of swift reaction to changing economic circumstances is virtually unheard of at the local level.
The GIC keeps costs down in a variety of ways – strict requirements for documentation, the spreading of risk over a large pool of enrollees, and purchasing power as a result of its size – which largely mirror the policies of other successful private and public health insurers.
Yet less than 10 percent of eligible communities have been able to opt into the program. One of the chief reasons is that the GIC requires 70 percent of all employees to agree to a change before it can go into effect – which means governments must deal simultaneously with multiple unions.
Most unions are loathe to relinquish such an important negotiating chip, argued John Dunlap, Boston’s director of labor relations. The well-known ability of teacher, police, and firefighter unions to muster state-level support to block any statutory changes has also kept the issue from being resolved. Another worry is that the cost savings are a proxy for cuts in the quality of care.
“The GIC is not a good insurance plan,” said Tom Ross, secretary-treasurer for the Somerville firefighter’s union. “It’s not a good deal for the firefighters and it’s not going to have the same level of care for firefighters.”
Cities and towns in the Boston region have been dealing with the GIC in different ways. Some, like Boston itself, have been pressing the state to allow them the greatest degree of independence – devising their own health care plan, similar to but separate from the GIC, without union interference.
Dunlap has pressed for such flexibility, pointing out that the city would gain the benefits of greater flexibility but still allow some input from Boston unions. “The unions are in a strange place. They want to keep [health care negotiations] on the table, but some recognize that the Boston position is a compromise between what we have now and the GIC.”
Other communities, like Brookline and Somerville, have continued to press their unions to remove health care from the negotiating table, but without much to show for it. “There’s been no new urgency in GIC negotiations yet,” said Harry Bohrs, the chair of the Town of Brookline’s Advisory Committee.
Though little progress has been made to date, the budget crunch is far from over for Massachusetts. Governor Patrick is currently considering how to close an additional $600 million hole in the state’s budget, and many communities expect that means even more cuts to local aid.
“The moment has not yet come,” said Kulik, referring to union recognition that GIC entry is necessary to forestall layoffs, “but it could happen as early as the end of this legislative session in July 2010.”
“Take Tremendous Risks While You’re Young”
by Sayce Falk, News Asst. Editor on October 14, 2009 in HKS News, News
Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton presidential campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe spoke on October 6th in the John F. Kennedy, Jr. Forum on the prospects of the Democratic Party. In a sweeping speech that covered everything from his experience as president Carter’s fundraising chairman to the inevitable loss of Democratic House seats in the 2010 elections, McAuliffe demonstrated the on-stage charisma of a man who has made a career in American politics.
“I want others to have the same opportunities that I had,” McAuliffe said in discussing his reasons for staying active in politics. Widely credited with effectively eliminating the burden of debt that the Democratic Party had accumulated throughout the 1990s, McAuliffe was DNC chairman from 2001-2005. Throughout a career that began in 1979, McAuliffe ran multiple private companies and served in some capacity in almost every Presidential Campaign of the last 30 years; most recently, he placed second in a surprising finish of the 2009 Democratic primary campaign for governor of Virginia.
Speaking in front of a small but supportive audience last week, McAuliffe was equally comfortable cracking political jokes as he was encouraging his listeners to get involved with politics.
“For the young people in this audience…it’s really about your future,” McAuliffe said, “Take tremendous risks while you’re young.”
McAuliffe was optimistic about the future of the Democratic Party, citing population and voting trends – especially among minorities and youth – as heavily favorable to the party over the next decade. Still, he warned the audience of the dangers of overconfidence, reminding them of post-9/11 Republican claims of a “permanent majority.”
McAuliffe also highlighted the central importance of health care reform legislation to the Obama administration and Democratic Party, saying, “We’ve got to get this legislation done now … otherwise we never will.” He described himself as a “huge” supporter of the public option.
Despite a polished persona and a deft touch, McAuliffe did not earn the praise of every listener.
“He pulled a stump speech on us,” Katy Peters (MPP ’11) said later. And while McAuliffe did admit minor flaws in the current state of the Democratic Party, he spent most of the allotted hour discussing past successes and anticipated future achievements.
“The 2008 race was great for the Democratic Party – we had a woman and an African-American (running),” McAuliffe said in a style that some listeners found jarring for its naked political message.
“He is a world leader at is the sport of politics, not of policy,” said Dominic Maxwell, MPP ’11. Highlighted against recent Forum events – speeches by the presidents of Colombia and Indonesia and the prime minister of Kenya – the informative value of McAuliffe’s talk rested heavily on insider stories and a broad-brushed review of the Democratic Party since the dawn of the 21st century.
“The ’08 campaign…was probably the greatest race I’ve ever been in,” McAuliffe acknowledged. Though he is not currently active with any formal candidacy organization, McAuliffe left no doubts about whether he would be around for the next campaign.
With Newt Gingrich speaking later in the week, McAuliffe ended his talk exhorting young people to get involved in public life regardless of where they stood on the political spectrum. His upbeat, enthusiastic message, though light on substance, set the stage for a week of political debate and discussion that’s sure to have people talking.
Kenyan PM Expresses Hope for Democracy, Prosperity
by Sayce Falk, News Asst. Editor on October 1, 2009 in HKS News, News
Almost two years after a disputed 2007 presidential election, Kenya remains a country still wrestling with the consequences of politically-fueled ethnic violence. As one of the more stable, democratic countries in Africa, Kenya has long maintained a warm relationship with the United States. Since its independence in 1963, it has largely moved beyond the internecine conflict and ethnic violence that continue to beset neighboring Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda. Yet national elections are rarely without controversy, and the current major political parties largely reflect tribal divisions within the society.
Speaking at the John F. Kennedy, Jr. Forum on September 24, Prime Minister Raila Odinga spoke on the topic, “Making Democracy Work,” but only briefly discussed international concerns over future elections-related violence. For most of his prepared speech, Odinga focused on financial and trade obstacles that have limited Kenya’s ability to grow, citing as necessary the improvements of roads and information technology (IT) infrastructure.
“We need to look at what we can do for ourselves in investment and trade,” Odinga said, “We would like to make Kenya the hub of East Africa.” Kenya has continued to express interest in East African regionalism, and has used its reputation as one of the quieter countries in the area to push for the use of Mombasa, its main port, and Nairobi, the capital city, as the commercial hub in the Horn of Africa, similar to Dubai or Hong Kong.
Yet seemingly intractable internal problems continue to dominate Kenyan politics and foreign affairs. Governance still is a critical issue, experts pointed out.
“If no one is held accountable for the 2008 violence, that will be a tremendous incentive to resort to violence in the upcoming 2012 election, however free and fair they might be,” said Jennifer Cooke, Africa Program Director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. What happened, and how, in late 2007 and early 2008, undoubtedly remains a critical part of the Kenyan political psyche.
On December 30, 2007, the Electoral Commission declared incumbent President Mwai Kibaki the winner of the nation’s 27 December vote. Within days, Odinga had rallied thousands of people throughout Kenya to protest alleged fraudulence. Their anger was fueled by growing distaste for the Kikuyu tribe, a dominant tribe in Kenyan politics and one in which Kibaki is a member. As talks between Kibaki and Odinga failed to produce results, Kenyans continued to take to the streets, leading to clashes with police and raids on enclaves of Kikuyus living in territory largely composed of other tribes.
By early February, amidst continued violence and inflammatory remarks by both sides, former United Nations Security Secretary-General Kofi Annan was meeting regularly with both sides. They agreed to a power-sharing agreement on February 28 which permitted Kibaki to remain as president while Odinga filled the newly-created post of prime minister. That power-sharing agreement remains in effect today, though spats between Kibaki and Odinga continue to arise.
In speaking to the Forum, Odinga kept his remarks relatively free of any concrete plans for preventing such violence from occurring in 2012.
“We are trying to deal with past violations of human rights in order to prevent violence from happening in the future,” Odinga said in response to a question from the audience at the Forum.
“President Obama has made it clear he sees the broad implementation of the reforms agenda as an urgent step to ensure there is no repeat of the violence witnessed in 2007 or worse,” said Kenyan Ambassador Michael Ranneberger in Kenya last week, according to the BBC. The 2007 violence was largely tribally based, as both candidates relied on geographically and ethnically distinct constituencies. Though some of the violence seemed to be spontaneous, many believe that both political parties, if not directly responsible for some actions, gave their tacit approval.
“I wasn’t too satisfied with the measures taken to prevent future violence,” said Dennis Mwaura, a Kenyan student at Harvard College who attended Odinga’s speech. Pressed by another questioner on the complex web of issues surrounding the elections, Odinga expressed some dissatisfaction with the process without clearly identifying concrete solutions.
“The Kenyan example should not be used as a model,” Odinga said, referring to its use as an example for the power-sharing agreement reached in Zimbabwe after flawed elections there.
“Expectations for Kenya are high because of its many strengths,” Cooke said, discussing its future relations with the United States. However, she added, “the new administration has made it clear that Kenya will not be let off lightly on the governance issues just because of its close relationship with the U.S.”
Obama Pushes Nation Toward Health Care Reform
by Sayce Falk, News Asst. Editor on September 16, 2009 in News
With the Obama administration’s effort to push yet another massive piece of legislation through Congress foundering, President Obama took to the podium at the Capitol on September 9th, 2009 to lay out his case for health care reform. “I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last,” Obama said in a speech that left open the possibility of creating bipartisan support while indicating the administration’s determination to forge ahead on Democratic support alone.
The president’s speech was notable at least as much for how it was said as for what Obama had to say. After early successes in office built arguably on soaring and lyrical rhetoric, Obama for the first time addressed specific details of the legislation currently under consideration in Congress. The decision was acknowledged by the president as a necessary step after giving Congress perhaps too much leeway in determining the ultimate shape of the bill.
“I, out of an effort to give Congress the ability to do their thing and not step on their toes, probably left too much ambiguity out there,” Obama said in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America, “which allowed then opponents of reform to come in and to fill up the airwaves with a lot of nonsense.”
Although Obama’s tone was more forceful and directive than it had been in the past, the speech itself was not a clear break from past messages out of the White House. “He broke some new ground,” said Professor Joseph Newhouse, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy and Management at HKS, “but I don’t regard these as major changes.”
The night before Obama pressed the case on a national level, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean made an impassioned speech on similar themes closer to home, at First Unitarian Church of Cambridge. “We’re not going to compromise any more – (the public option) is the compromise,” said Dean, who is also a licensed physician, speaking on the so-called public option, which would set up government-run insurance coverage alongside private and not-for-profit organizations,
On the legislation currently before the Senate Finance Committee, Dean said, “I think it’s a piece of junk. It will make things worse, not better.” He spoke approvingly of the insurance plans of Massachusetts and Vermont, his home state. Advocating for “a partisan bill that actually reforms the health care system,” Dean added, “If you have a majority and you don’t use it – you lose it.”
Congress reconvened in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday after running a gamut of town-hall meetings across the country. Some Democrats have been working hard to generate Republican support for their version of reform; others, like Dean, have begun to more vocally express their frustration with the lack of progress.
The White House, in Obama’s speech and in recent discussions with representatives of both parties, has been attempting to chart a course between liberal Democrats, conservative Democrats, and moderate Republicans in an attempt to cobble together enough votes to work reform through Congress. While such a process worked with the financial stimulus bill, experts pointed out it is unclear whether such consensus-building is possible for an issue on which Republicans have become more organized and vociferous in their critiques.
“I think the administration prefers to pass a bill through regular order,” Prof. Newhouse said, “but if it can’t be done that way (they) are willing to try reconciliation.” Reconciliation, a controversial tactic that allows the Senate to pass some bills with only 51 instead of 60 votes has been used in the past, most notably in the passage of tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, but most Democratic leaders have expressed reluctance to use such a divisive solution.
Various forms of the bill are currently working their way through Congress, but the critical chokepoint has been the Senate Finance Committee, led by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana). He has been leading an effort of a bipartisan ‘gang of six’ on that committee to create a bill that would garner sixty votes, enough to break any possible filibuster. Because of the bipartisan nature of that group and the possible defection of some conservative Democratic Senators on a full vote, any bill that does clear the Senate is expected to be more conservative than the version currently in the House.
Nonetheless, Obama called on both parties in his speech to produce results broadly in line with his demand for security and stability. “If you misrepresent what’s in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now.” Obama said.
