1 Po l i Sc i and MPA News l e t te r :

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Dates:

January 18th:

Spring Classes

Begin

March 6th-

March 10th:

Spring Break

May 11th:

Graduate

Commence-

ment

May 13th: Un-

dergraduate

Commence-

ment

Volume , Sept/Dec 2016

Political Science Department

Introducing the Dr. Guy C. Clifford House

In May of 2016 the beloved

Summer Street house (which

houses the Political Science

Department of Bridgewater

State University) took on its

new name, the Dr. Guy C.

Clifford House in honor of for-

mer member Guy C. Clifford.

Dr. Clifford was the first faculty

member to join the depart-

ment in 1971 and later served

as chair from 1982-1985. The

plaque (pictured below), hon-

ors Mr. Clifford and his com-

mitment to students.

At the ceremony in May, all of

Mr. Clifford's family joined

BSU in dedicating the Political

Science Department to Dr.

Guy C. Clifford. Through teary

eyes, Dr. Clifford's sons spoke

about their admiration of their

father. President Fred Clark

also spoke at the ceremony,

“"We're so pleased and hon-

ored, truly honored, to name

this building, after your dad,

your granddad, your husband,

my teacher, my professor, my

mentor as well. Its a beautiful

day and a beautiful honor truly

for all of us".

Dr. Clifford's Son Bob giving his

remarks during the May Ceremony

2

BSU’s MPA Students Make Headlines

As the town of Bridgewater prepared

to put its plastic bag ban in place, offi-

cials turned to BSU for some exper-

tise.

Answering the call were Jordan Remy

of Plymouth, and Andrew Sukeforth of

Middleboro, both enrolled in BSU’s

masters of public administration pro-

gram. The duo has spent the past few

months helping the town prepare for

the ban. They worked in conjunction

with Dr. Madhavi Venkatesan, assis-

tant professor economics, who advo-

cated for the ban leading up to the

town council’s March 8 decision to im-

plement the ban. She worked with

BSU’s The Students for Sustainability

and collected 700 signatures in sup-

port of the measure, which goes into

effect on Sept. 5.assistant professor

of economics, who advocated for the

ban leading up to the town council’s

March 8 decision to implement the

ban. She worked with BSU’s The Stu-

dents for Sustainability and collected

700 signatures in support of the

measure, which goes into effect on

Sept. 5.

“I’m interested in a career in town

government and wanted to gain some

experience working on the partnership

between the town and the university,”

Mr. Sukeforth said. Learning about

Ireland’s approach to the plastic bag

issue also sparked his interest in do-

ing something locally.

Mr. Remy learned in a BSU classroom

just how much more sustainable the

practices of most people and commu-

nities across America could be.

“We use plastic bags every day and

never realize the effect they have,” he

said. “I thought (our work) could be

useful to the town of Bridgewater, to

the state, and even useful to the na-

tion as a whole.”

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Plastic Bag Ban Continued

To help the community

prepare for the implemen-

tation of the ban, the two

created a survey to find

out what people knew

about the plastic bag is-

sue and the imminent

ban. Working with Profes-

sor Venkatesan, they

compiled the findings and

created a list of sugges-

tions they will present to

the council on Tuesday,

Sept. 6.

Plastic bags are a source

of intractable pollution.

They were introduced in

the 1970s, and today, four

out of every five bags is

made of plastic, according

to an article in National

Geographic. David

Barnes, a marine scientist

with the British Antarctic

Survey in Cambridge,

England, who studies the

impact of marine debris,

told the magazine that the

success of the plastic bag

has meant a dramatic in-

crease in the amount of

sacks found floating in the

oceans where they choke,

strangle, and starve wild-

life and raft alien species

around the world.

Locally, the bags can be

found stuck in trees and

as litter. Since they are

not biodegradable, their

environmental impact can

be long lasting.

Locally, the move to ban

the bags dates to 2011,

when Bridgewater resi-

dent Pat Neary, head of

the town’s green commit-

tee, showed the docu-

mentary Bag It, which

demonstrated the pollu-

tion and hazards caused

by plastic bags.

Dr. Venkatesan, a pas-

sionate environmentalist,

joined the fight, along with

BSU’s students. She be-

lieves education is an im-

portant part of changing

harmful behaviors.

“That’s the conduit that’s

missing in most of our ini-

tiatives,” she said. “That’s

a tremendous learning op-

portunity we’re losing out

on. If people understood

why we do these things,

they would know it was for

their own betterment.”

Mr. Remy and Sukeforth

stood with their survey at

various locations around

town and met the public

face to face to discuss the

ban. They learned how

much people knew about

the issue, how much they

cared, and whether they

would be willing to pay for

the right to use bags or

opt for reusable ones.

“I think everyone should

have this kind of first-hand

experience,” Professor

Venkatesan said.

The men learned much

about attitudes toward the

ban and conservation in

general.

“Basically you got a sense

of how people felt,” Mr.

Sukeforth said. “Most felt

strongly one way or the

other; there were not

many who didn’t know

about (the ban).”

Both men were surprised

by how many people were

in favor of the ban. Then

again, they also learned

quickly that sometimes

survey takers say what

they think the questioner

wants to hear. Many of

those queried were open

to discuss the issue and

clearly desired more infor-

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Plastic Bag Ban Continued

survey takers say what they think the questioner wants to hear. Many of those queried were open to discuss the issue and clearly desired more information.

“I think people want to do the right thing, but they’re hesitant or not sure how to,” Mr. Remy said. “That’s where our opportunity comes in to provide them with the correct steps to take in order to be more environmentally aware.”

One of the suggestions the men and Dr. Venkatesan will make before the coun-cil will be for more education.

The students have co-authored a paper with Professor Venkatesan and they will present it in May at the Sustainability and Social Science Research Symposium will be held at the University of Michigan.

Other faculty and staff involved in securing the internship were Diane Bell and Dr. Brian Frederick. Wendy Haynes, interim dean of the College of Graduate Studies, provided the funding for the students and professor to travel to Michi-gan. (Story and photo by John Winters, G ’11, University News & Me-dia) (Original Article from BSU Community Aid, 2016)

5

Meet the Political Science Departments

New Professors:

Na Sai just received her doctoral degree in public policy

from Georgia State University and Georgia Institute of

Technology in 2016. In this fall, she started her teaching

career in the Department of Political Science, given the

collegiality and cooperation within the department. She

is currently teaching Introduction to American Govern-

ment (POLI 172), Public Finance (POLI 390), Founda-

tions of Public Administration (MPA Program) (POLI

501), and Public Finance (MPA Program) (POLI 521).

Her research is focused on organization theory, human

resource management and education policy, especially

on investigating and analyzing the work-related behav-

iors of public school employees. In her spare time, she

enjoys playing badminton and planting flowers.

Dr. Inkyoung Kim

Inkyoung Kim joins Political Science Department as

an assistant professor in August 2016. She received

her Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of

Massachusetts, Amherst. Before coming to BSU,

she taught at Clark University and Reed College.

She is teaching POLI 275, Comparative Govern-

ment, POLI 488, Politics in the Developing World,

and POLI 475, Global Environmental Politics in fall

2016. Her research interests include regional envi-

ronmental cooperation, transboundary pollution, re-

gionalism, government and politics in East Asia, and

sustainable consumption patterns. She is a contrib-

utor to journals such as International Relations of

the Asia-Pacific and International Environmental

Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics. She

loves playing tennis and the piano.

Dr. Na Sai

6

Undergraduate Spotlight: Elizabeth Warren Interns

Internships are built into the Political Sci-

ence major curriculum for many reasons

including (but not limited to); gaining val-

uable work experience, help deciding ca-

reer path, learning more about your field

and of course networking opportunities.

Internships are treasure troves for stu-

dents, opening up opportunities that can-

not be given in just a classroom setting.

Bridgewater State University Junior, Sa-

rah Fender, had the honor of interning

with Senator Elizabeth Warren during

her summer break in 2016. Sarah is a

perfect example of someone who took

complete advantage of the internship op-

portunity, making her aware of where

she wants life to take her after Bridge-

water.

With her junior year approaching, Sarah

figured the summer would be a good

time to pursue an internship. Feeling mo-

tivated by the 2016 election, Sarah, an

English major, decided to declare her

major in Political Science. Her professor

saw the Elizabeth Warren internship po-

sition posted online and suggested she

go for it, which is exactly what she did.

Interning with a U.S Senator is no easy

task, especially one so deeply immersed

in her constituency. Sarah described her-

self as an “advocate for constituents”

when asked what her role was. A day in

the life at her internship involved listening

to voicemails from constituents

(sometimes with a concern or sometimes

just citizens updating the Senator on their

day-to-day life), processing mail, volun-

teering, planning events and much more.

Interns for Senator Warren are assigned

to regional directors, who work directly

with constituents of different districts.

7

Elizabeth Warren Interns Cont.

when asked what her role was. A day in the life at her internship involved listening to

voicemails from constituents (sometimes with a concern or sometimes just citizens

updating the Senator on their day-to-day life), processing mail, volunteering, plan-

ning events and much more. Interns for Senator Warren are assigned to regional

directors, who work directly with constituents of different districts.

Sarah would take the phone calls, log them into the computer, and the regional di-

rectors would directly contact federal agencies.

Sarah got to work closely with the regional director, including preparing research for

her in order to make sure she was fully prepared for different meetings and also

helping to write up briefs for meetings with neighborhood coalitions. Sarah credits

her background in English for helping her write concisely, and take thorough notes.

While interning with Senator Warren Sarah realized how much she enjoyed doing

constituent work, sparking her curiosity in what it would be like to work more directly

with policy. Now, she is interested in pursuing something similar to her work with

Senator Warren in Washington D.C, where she would deal directly with policy and

navigating federal agencies. Working on a policy team that helps with advocacy,

and formulating policy for constituents is something Sarah may not have considered

before embarking on her internship.

When asked what advice Sarah would give to someone else considering applying

for a similar internship she said, “It is important to have patience with yourself. In

that position you are representing a person, what you feel may not be what Eliza-

beth Warren feels”. Sarah learned the invaluable lesson of representation and pa-

tience, something essential for all Political Science majors.

“It is important to have patience with

yourself”

8

Undergraduate Spotlight: Elizabeth Warren Interns

Sarah Fender ended her

internship with Senator Warren

after the summer ended, and

Bridgewater State University

was proud to see another Po-

litical Science department stu-

dent begin an internship in her

office. Honors Senior Adam

Costa was encouraged this

past year to apply for a spot at

the Democratic National Con-

vention, he was accepted

along with two other students.

The Democratic National Con-

vention was held at the Wells

Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Penn-

sylvania from July 25th to July 28th

of 2016. Adam embraced this networking

opportunity, and met politicians from all

over the country including almost every sin-

gle Massachusetts politician. With all the

experiences and connections gained at the

DNC, Adam decided to apply to intern with

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Adam discussed how interning with Senator

Warren gave him a whole different perspec-

tive on society, seeing all different income

levels come to the same source with their

problems. Little did he know that something

like having internet access was still a prob-

lem for many people living in Massachu-

setts. Adam would take phone calls about

social

security

issues, immigration issues, crime issues,

etc. on any given day, “You never say I

can’t help you, you can always find a way

to help”. Adam joked that he was like

Google for constituents who were not sure

how to find certain resources. On top of tak-

ing about 30-40 phone calls a day, Adam

also helped the Senator sort through an av-

erage of 1,000 letters received a week. Ab-

solutely nothing gets thrown away, all con-

stituent letters are logged and responded

to.

Currently, Adam is working with Dr. Donnel-

ly and Dr. Tarsi on his honors thesis, which

is focused on a comparative policy analysis

Senior Adam Costa with MA Congressman Jo-

seph Kennedy III at the DNC

9

Undergraduate Spotlight: Elizabeth Warren Interns

of youth crime reduction. I asked Adam

how his internship with the Senator has

helped him with his thesis, and he dis-

cussed how it has given him a new per-

spective on crime policy, “You’re build-

ing legislation that affects people’s

lives, you have to understand how pol-

icy and people mix”. Adam intends to

spend the next semester working

closely with his professors to finish his

thesis.

Adams passion to make a difference is

very apparent, and the Political Sci-

ence Department is proud to have indi-

viduals like him and Sarah represent-

ing them. I asked Adam was his piece

of advice would be to those just start-

ing out in the Political Science pro-

gram and his response was, “If you’re

just starting out you got to go to office

hours. This leads to opportunities you

never thought you’d have. The profes-

sors want to see us, they want us to

show initiative.” Take advantage of

your time at Bridgewater State University

before you realize it is too late. Get in-

volved, go to office hours and show your

dedication. Without having initiative, op-

portunities like attending the DNC and in-

terning with a United States Senator may

have never fallen into Adams lap.

Senior Adam Costa with Mayor Mitchell of New

Bedford

10

CPM Spring Modules 2017

Understanding/Promoting Ethical

Behavior: 3/25&4/01 (Cape Cod)

Leading Sustainable Organizations:

4/15&4/29.

Legal Practices in Human Re-

sources: 4/07&4/08&4/22

Managing Human Resources &

Nonprofit Leadership 2/11&2/18

Leadership Self-Awareness:

1/28&2/04

Web: http://www.bridgew.edu/academics/

colleges-departments/department-political-

science

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