THIS MONTH'S HEADLINES:
- PUBLIC POLICY INITIATIVE EVENT WITH MEMBER OF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT
- COLLEGE REPUBLICANS DEBATE COLLEGE DEMOCRATS
- LSAT ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM PRE-LAW ADVISOR
- PENN STATE BEHREND STUDENTS TO SPEND SPRING BREAK IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- STUDENT GROUP NEWS
- FACEBOOK PAGE
1. PUBLIC POLICY INITIATIVE EVENT WITH MEMBER OF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT
On Monday, February 27, at Noon, Dr. Lena Surzhko-Harned, Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science, will be hosting a Conversation with Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament and of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, on Zoom. The event is sponsored by the Behrend Public Policy Initiative, formerly known as the Public Policy Fund.
2. COLLEGE REPUBLICANS DEBATE COLLEGE DEMOCRATS
College Democrats is having a debate against College Republicans on Thursday, March 2, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Burke 1. The topics will include online freedom of speech, drug decriminalization, and healthcare issues.
3. LSAT ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM PRE-LAW ADVISOR
Interested in attending law school?
For students that are considering attending law school, most law school application deadlines are as early as February of the year the student would begin law school (for example, the last day to submit an application may be February 1 for law school beginning in the Fall of 2024). It is recommended that students take the LSAT at least six months before law school applications are due. Therefore, students looking to attend law school in the Fall of 2024, should consider taking the LSAT in June 2023 (test dates are June 9 and June 10). The deadline to register for the June 2023 LSAT is April 25, 2023. If you have questions or concerns about the law school application process, please reach out to the pre-law advisor, Melissa Shirey. Attorney Shirey can be reached via email at [email protected]. She also has office hours on Fridays from noon to 2:00 p.m. in 155 Kochel.
4. PENN STATE BEHREND STUDENTS TO SPEND SPRING BREAK IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
A group of Penn State Behrend students will be joining Dr. Robert Speel and Dr. Maggie Shum in Washington, D.C., during Spring Break as part of the course PLSC 177N, Politics and Government in Washington, D.C. While there, students are scheduled to meet with Pennsylvania members of Congress and diplomats, visit with officials from the State Department, the U.S. Institute of Peace and World Bank, visit the White House, Capitol, U.S. Supreme Court, Arlington National Cemetery, and National Archives, and meet alumni who work as lobbyists, political consultants, members of Congress, U.S. Marshals, for the French Embassy, and for the Department of Labor and Department of Treasury. More details about the trip will be in the March Newsletter.
5. FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- Dr. Maggie Shum, Assistant Professor of Political Science, gave a talk on “Resistance from Afar: Evolution of Hong Kong Diaspora's Transnational Mobilization During and After the 2019 Anti-ELAB Movement” in the Global Research Association of Politics in Hong Kong (GRAPH).
- Dr. Robert Speel, Associate Professor of Political Science, was interviewed by the Canadian Press (Canadian version of the Associated Press) last week about the reaction (and non-reaction) among Americans to the resignation of Toronto Mayor John Tory in a scandal this month. His comments appeared on news sites and in newspapers across Canada.
- Dr. Lena Surzhko-Harned, Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science, published two articles in February: "I am a Ukrainian American political scientist, and this is what the past year of war has taught me about Ukraine, Russia and defiance"; and Why the 'Kosovo precedent' was a gateway for Russia’s abuse of international law, the latter with Jiří Nykodým, a visiting scholar at Penn State Behrend last semester, and a student at Masaryk University in the International Relations and European Politics Master's program in the Czech Republic. Dr. Surzhko-Harned will also be speaking at the Jefferson Educational Society in Erie on Monday, February 27, at 7:00 p.m. about “Russia’s War On Ukraine One Year Later."
6. STUDENT GROUP NEWS
- Behrend Model United Nations competed in an intercollegiate scrimmage on February 11, and Spencer Finley won an excellent delegate award for his representation of the United Kingdom in the NATO North Atlantic Council. Students who are interested in getting involved should contact President Madison Kwiecinski at [email protected].
- College Democrats meets Wednesdays at 5:30 PM on Zoom. To get the Zoom link, contact President Mallory Flesik at [email protected]. Students who are interested in getting involved with the Jill Beck for Pennsylvania Superior Court campaign can also contact Mallory.
- The Behrend Political Society is planning future events. To get involved, contact President Spencer Finley at [email protected].
- College Republicans are planning future events. To get involved, contact President Noah Esper at [email protected].
7. FACEBOOK PAGE
All students and alumni are invited to like the Penn State Behrend Political Science Facebook page and get updated news and find out about events.