Archive for the ‘Dem Apples’ Category
DEM SUMMERS: Will Poff-Webster’s Worthy, Positive Work
Posted 9/14/11 by Christine Hurd
The Dems have been busy over the summer: interning, working, volunteering, traveling, and of course, indulging in some leisure time not oft found in Cambridge (leave it to a Harvard student to be busy spending leisure time.) This is part VII of an indefinite series. If you’re a Harvard Dem (or rising pre-frosh with interest), we’d love to hear what you’ve been up to. | E-mail communications@harvarddems.com.
This summer I was a staff member and teacher at a Boston non-profit, the Summer Leadership Program, teaching political activism and social justice to youth ages 14-18. While it was hard to forego the more traditional route of interning for an elected official, I was drawn back to teach at the Summer Leadership Program because I did the program as my first summer job and it’s a big part of my passion for politics.
The Summer Leadership Program (SLP) is one of too few places in the city of Boston where teens from really different backgrounds get together. We had 71 students, two-thirds from Boston’s inner-city neighborhoods and one-third from more affluent areas of the city and suburbs. Amazingly enough the participants actually get paid, which is important because many need to help support their families and all of them learn about the value of a job.
One of the most challenging but rewarding parts of SLP is building a community across race and class lines, and it was my job to teach participants about the social justice issues underpinning the problems we have today. For the first few weeks we focused on racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexism (a more systemic word for homophobia). We did activities like “ten chairs,” which shows how the richest 10% of Americans own 70% of the wealth (one guy in one chair gets to stretch out over seven), while the other 90% of the population has to crowd onto three chairs. The biggest learning tool in SLP is just a conversation where everyone shares their life experiences, where we learned about how racism, sexism and homophobia remain problems today.
In the second part of the summer, I taught a seminar on environmental justice. We talked about the government response to Hurricane Katrina, the asthma epidemic in American cities, climate change (the participants were astounded that anyone could refuse to believe in climate change- in a moment of less-than-objectivity, I told them I thought it was the Republicans’ fault), and gentrification. I tried to show them everything through the focus of political action, highlighting community organizing and political campaigns that have stopped environmental degradation. At one point we walked through my neighborhood of Boston, Jamaica Plain, to show how community activists in the 1970s allied with state Democrats to defeat a proposed 10-lane highway that would’ve cut the neighborhood in two. They won, and successfully used federal highway money to build a long system of parks, playgrounds, bike paths, and the Orange Line subway system. I hope I was able to show my participants that political engagement and activism can lead to better communities!
Because one job is never enough, on the side I continued my term-time job at the Boston Student Advisory Council, an advocacy group of students in the Boston Public Schools. I’m the staff member working on making sure the new Boston Teachers’ Union contract addresses student concerns in education reform. It looks like I’ve already written way too much, so I won’t say more than that, but if you want to know about it just ask!
Of course I’m also really excited to work with you all this year. This summer just reinvigorated my commitment to the Democrats as the best way to bring change for this country. I can’t wait to work with you all soon!
Dem Summers: Adan Acevedo’s Art of Actualizing Awesome Abroad
Posted 8/24/11 by Christine Hurd
The Dems have been busy over the summer: interning, working, volunteering, traveling, and of course, indulging in some leisure time not oft found in Cambridge (leave it to a Harvard student to be busy spending leisure time.) This is part VI of an indefinite series. If you’re a Harvard Dem (or rising pre-frosh with interest), we’d love to hear what you’ve been up to. | E-mail communications@harvarddems.com.
Events Director Adan Acevedo was in Brazil and Los Angeles this summer!
I have one rule: spend as much time as possible in my city, Los Angeles, during the summer.
…unless you’re going to Rio de Janeiro.
I spent my summer taking language classes with Professor Clemence Jouet-Pastre, the head of the Romance Languages Department at Harvard, and learning about Brazil’s economic promise and cultural diversity. I talked to everyone I met about Cardoso, Lula and Roussef. Everyone (including some very charismatic receptionists) had opinions about the Plano Real, and how the economic boom was either helping or hurting those lower in the socioeconomic ladder.
Our first week and a half was spent in Sao Paulo, a city larger than New York and a city that has the jaw-dropping mansions of Higienopolis only a few minutes away from skycrapers with few windows that serve as, rather unsafe, housing to the very poor in the city.
After our time in Sao Paulo, we visited Paraty for about four days. Paraty, my version of paradise, is a romantic colonial city surrounded by islands, which we visited on a day-long boat trip. We spent the four days we had in Paraty exploring, swinging from ropes into waterfalls, and experiencing the religious traditions of the town.
Finally, we reached Rio de Janeiro. Rio is a city rich in culture that loves the modern. It is a city that has favelas just a few meters away from the fanciest of hotels. The city has the best beaches I’ve ever seen, the liveliest teenagers and some of the most honest people I’ve ever encountered (and that’s coming from someone who has lived in a Hispanic household for the past 20 years). The wealth discrepancy, the memories of a military regime, and the high crime rates tinge every aspect of Carioca (what people from Rio call themselves) life, but one can’t help but be amazed at the greatness and promise of the city. I wrote a few papers, took a few tests, but I learned a lot from my day-to-day interactions with people and the late nights at bars chatting with people who had just gotten out of class or work.
I read a ton this summer, improved at speaking Portuguese, ate delicious food, kept up with the ridiculous antics of our US Congress and managed to slip in a quick road trip to Northern California. Now I’m excited to meet all of you and work with you to make this year enjoyable (and to gear up for 2012!).
And if you’re wondering…yes, they are tall and tan and young and lovely.
Dem Summers: Allison Gofman’s Academic Greatness
Posted 8/23/11 by Christine Hurd
The Dems have been busy over the summer: interning, working, volunteering, traveling, and of course, indulging in some leisure time not oft found in Cambridge (leave it to a Harvard student to be busy spending leisure time.) This is part VII of an indefinite series. If you’re a Harvard Dem (or rising pre-frosh with interest), we’d love to hear what you’ve been up to. | E-mail communications@harvarddems.com
This summer I took a break from partisan politics to do some research and work for a nonprofit. I was research associate to Patricia Duff, Founder of nonprofit The Common Good, and Stuart Sundlun, Managing Director of BMB Group. My assignment was to research international statistics for an upcoming book – a 390 page report later, I’m finally done. Whewh. Comparing the United States to the rest of the world was an interesting project; the conclusion: we are no longer number one on many metrics, but I believe in our country enough that I’m sure that with enough dedication, we can remedy faults in the categories we need to focus on (the middle class and female health/representation are among our weakest points). Favorite fun fact is that we produce the most cheese in the world.
I also had the opportunity to intern with The Common Good, a non-partisan political nonprofit committed to a mission of increasing involvement in the political process and encouraging civil dialogue. Although I’m usually a firm Democrat, this was a great opportunity to encourage genuine discussion and debate across the isle, which is something that our political process does not have nearly enough of. We ran a large number of events over the summer, ranging from policy discussions on the Middle East, events with Representatives Shelley Berkley and Barney Frank, and larger events with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, a panel on social media in politics, and co-hosting the premier of documentary Life in a Day at the Museum of Modern Art.
During a bout of nerdiness and boredom, I wrote an article
about the politics of Lord of the Rings. I’m looking forward to returning to the Dems in lovely Cambridge, where civil dialogue is almost always the norm!
Dem Summers: Tori Wenger’s Parliamentary Power
Posted 8/21/11 by Christine Hurd
The Dems have been busy over the summer: interning, working, volunteering, traveling, and of course, indulging in some leisure time not oft found in Cambridge (leave it to a Harvard student to be busy spending leisure time.) This is part VI of an indefinite series. If you’re a Harvard Dem (or rising pre-frosh with interest), we’d love to hear what you’ve been up to. | E-mail communications@harvarddems.com.
Tori Wenger, HCD Treasurer in front of the Houses of Parliament
I spent the majority of my summer living in London while interning for Luciana Berger, who is the Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament for Liverpool-Wavertree. During my time in her office, Luciana was leading Labour through the committee stage of the Energy Bill in her role as the Shadow Minister for Climate Change. This meant that I was tasked with doing research on various amendments that Labour was presenting in committee and preparing notes and speeches for debate (and then literally running them to the committee room in time for Luciana to speak).
While Labour’s position as the opposition party to the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition government put the party at a disadvantage for getting any amendments passed in committee, a highlight of the Energy Bill’s committee stage was when Labour was able to pass it’s first amendment in committee (for ANY bill since the Coalition took over). The amendment ensured that a green apprenticeships program would be instated as part of the legislation, providing jobs and skills training for youth across the UK. While, for sake of full disclosure, the amendment only passed because the Conservatives weren’t paying attention when the vote was called and it passed by their abstention, I was nonetheless giddy to see some of my work payoff – even if only by mistake!
As the Energy Bill’s committee stage concluded, the News of the World phone hacking scandal hit the airwaves and entirely consumed Parliament’s agenda leading up to summer recess. I spent my final days in the office trying to juggle my daily tasks of scheduling meetings and sorting mail while fixating my eyes and ears on the coverage of the Murdoch committee hearings.
Needless to say, it was overall a very interesting time to be working in UK parliament. While I savored my experiences engrossed in UK politics – watching Prime Minister’s questions and laughing at the comedy of the tradition heckling on the Commons floor (something that would never be permissible in either of our government’s Congressional chambers), working in an office with only one other staffer and direct access to my MP (something that would never happen even in the office of the most junior Congressperson in the US), and chillin’ with the Queen (okay, that part didn’t actually happen), I certainly came home with a thirst for jumping back into American politics. Lucky for me, I’ve got another year ahead with the Dems to quench it!!
