I am the Policy Values and Communications Chair and blog manager. I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. Snowboarding and golfing take up most of my time back home. At school I am a second year International Political Economy Major, Minoring in Energy and Resources. This is my second year writing for ”Connected.”
A great place to start is looking at the data:
Gallup Poll “Education” 9-5-07
If you read this Gallup Poll analysis and then come to the PVC meeting I will love you!
Next article: Europe’s bold moves toward parental choice show radical de-bureaucratizaiton (What? Since when am I not allowed to make up words?). What can Americans draw from this “blind man and an elephant” parable to the our education system?
Schools unchained: How to go about giving parents the schools they want
This week in PVC you’re gonna get schooled! …so to speak.
So you’re a member of Cal Dems and you want to make something of membership. THE BLOG! That’s the answer; but you don’t always have time. What do you do?
Easy, sift through the enormity of recent news and general interest articles and post something so we can share in what you have found. Like this:
Hey Democrats! Check this BBC article out.
“Citizens offer new take on news”
And for those weeks where you do have time give us your analysis.
First of all, I would like to welcome all newcomers to Cal Dems and especially all the eager freshmen who are showing such an early/heartwarming interest in this campus’ greatest club – Cal Dems.
More to the point, the 2008 White House scramble is an attention grabber. Like most recent elections, choosing a president has been a horse race pimped out by the media. Needless to say, it’s harder and harder to choose my bling-adorned candidate.
There are many ways to sneak through Sproul Plaza: One—blast music from you iPod, flip your hood on and don’t stop. Two—the more common approach—fight your way past campaigners with signs and slogans with lightning fast “no thank you”s and the more methodical “I don’t have time, I am going to class.”
If you ascribe to those “get me out of here” beliefs you are missing out. Walk a mile in my shoes, rather, walk through Sproul in my shoes. Before, between and after classes you’ll find me tabling, enjoying the sun, the chaos and most importantly the people. Yes that’s right, the soul-less individuals who parade around with signs, stealing your time. In fact, they are not soul-less at all; they give their all, enduring the sun and their nerves as they go outside their comfort level to inform and help Berkeley students. They volunteer time because they love both Berkeley and their candidate enough to make asses out of themselves. So follow me, as we continue through Sproul, in the slogan-stiffened shoes of a campaigner.
When I arrived on the Berkeley campus this fall, I assumed everyone listened to NPR. I was wrong. I was shocked to learn that even many members of Cal Dems don’t listen to NPR! Now, I completely understand that radio is antiquated even by the standards of my parents’ generation, but NPR is quite possibly one of the best, if not the best, way of disseminating information—especially for people like college students who are always on the go. Podcasts make NPR more accessible than ever. For instance, on my way to class and to meetings I listen the greatest show ever, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me: The NPR News Quiz. When other Cal students ask “What the hell is that?” I just about fall to my knees and pray to Carl Kassel, the famed and godlike moderator of Wait Wait.