Political Science CyberNewsletter

Number 11 - November 27, 2001

It has become almost trite to say it, but there is still a ring of truth to it that makes it worth saying. The world changed on September 11th. People of all ages will remember where they were, what they were doing, who they were with, and what they saw. These horrible actions of violence and death were so over-whelming in their magnitude that the reaction was inevitably powerful. One of the first things we learned was that even in the face of such massive fear and grief, the human spirit can amaze us. In New York, DC, and in the air above Pennsylvania; around the country and around the world; people cared for one another; knowingly sacrificed their well-being and lives; and calmly responded with determination.

Some responded with hatred and fear and prejudice; but mostly people turned to each other, to their faith, and to the duties and needs at hand. Evil, it has been said, carries with it the seeds of its own destruction. True or not, tragedy of this magnitude certainly carries with it the possibility of producing great goodness. This does not reduce the tragedy. To paraphrase Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I will not romanticize death, for life is too great and too precious. Thus, tragedy and grace, sorrow and joy, death and life, exist as parallel phenomena.

Even in the relatively small circle of Mercyhurst College Political Science Alumni, this single event affected many people; and, it will continue to affect our lives. Across this country, among those not directly affected by the immediate events, many people were shaken, many lives have been altered, and acquaintances lost; but as far as I know, all of you emerged okay. For that, I am truly grateful. My mind turned, on that memorable day, to those alumni in New York and DC. One of my hopes is that all of you have found your education here at Mercyhurst helpful as you have tried to make sense of all of this. As our nation tries to figure out how best to respond; the ability of citizens to bring critical thinking, values, historical context, empathy, and political theories and concepts to bear on the situation is crucial. As we try to find the appropriate balance between sacrificing our freedom and our security, I worry that in the face of extreme stress, too many people will -- as Orwell feared -- fail to retain mental awareness and surrender independent judgement and unhealthy amounts of authority to others.

Personally, sitting in the hometown of the Homeland Security Czar, I know that investments in our health care system, in funding medical research, and in using technology and personnel to safeguard our food and water supplies, our mail, and our transportation will make me feel more secure than encroachments on the Bill of Rights. I also believe that spending billions of dollars and hours of time and conversation to address the root causes that make people vulnerable for recruitment into extremist groups will make me more secure than the billions being spent on Ballistic Missile Defense. My colleagues might not agree with me, you might not either, and that's okay. I'm primarily concerned that the dialogue take place. Our political leaders have pulled together, perhaps a bit too together at times. As a few of you noted, some of the votes have been rather reminiscent of theTonkin Gulf Resolution. Afghanistan doesn't seem to me to resemble Vietnam very closely -- but there are echoes of the a government that doesn't trust the media, the Congress, the Constitution, or the public. Again, this is just one person's opinion and as most of you've heard me say in class "very little of what I say has been etched up on a mountain somewhere."

Still, someone (Rumi?) once wrote about our seeing the dust, not the wind. And, as you seek to understand (which does not excuse) I would recommend you consider Karen Armstrong's superb book on fundamentalism and extremism "The Battle for God"   and Thomas Friedman's great book on globalization and the backlash it can cause, "The Lexus and the Olive Tree." (This book was one of the books students in AFP read Fall term.) Also, the American Political Science Association has endorsed a great new Web Resource that lets you access scholarly social science reactions to what happened on September 11th. APSA described it thusly, "The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) has launched a new website "After September 11: Perspectives from the Social Sciences," which features a collection of essays by leading social scientists from around the world and across the social science disciplines.   The essays in the collection move beyond the discourse of Op-Ed pieces..." The site is listed below: Social Science Perspectives on September 11.

Finally, while more details will be provided below on last year's graduates, as well as on previous year's alumni, I recently received a query from the 'Hurst alumni office about Political Science major's from last year. I was pretty impressed when I reported on the six I know about (hey, Beth Stoessel, where are you?).

Brooke Emmerick - Working at a think tank in DC.

Anna Gauriloff - In law school.

Frank Kostic - In law school.

Jody Robinson - Playing professional hockey.Eric Wagner - In graduate school.

Perry Wood - In graduate school.

Whether in graduate school, law school, practicing politics, or in a non political science related career -- our alumni are a source of continuing pride. However, Dr. Federici and I both have discussed the fact that so many of you are married, marrying, having children, etc. It makes us feel rather old. I live in fear of the day a student says to me "You taught my Mom (or Dad); they graduated in political science."

Anyway, on a serious note, the newest addition to my door is a Latin phrase "Disipali Victoria, Gloria Magister." This translates to, "The advancement of the student is the glory of the professor." With all three of my colleagues, I sincerely believe this to be true. Which is to say, we are willing to take all of the credit for your hard work and success. Well, it is, more honestly to say, that our assessment of our performance does depend on how well you do. However, though, we do not limit our evaluation of your success to career advancement or post baccalaureate degrees. In sum, we are glad that so many of you are doing well personally as well as professionally.

WHO'S DOING WHAT: (Alumni)

Amanda Bhame '00 (Contract Major) - has been in Atlanta for several months now working with Americorp Vista.She reports that they have some refugees from Afghanistan and the majority of our students are Muslims (with the proper Muslim dress) from Somalia and Bosnia. She is also facilitating a group called Students For R.E.A.L. (Respectful Education about Life) at the local high school. At one meeting they watched a West Wing episode and then had a great conversation about racism and how one ought to handle judgements made that are made only because of ones skin, religion or ethnicity.   She described her situation as one where she was gaining "priceless experience" and mentioned a biweekly web newsletter that   "contains great information,articles, and job opportunities." It is called "Monday Developments"   Its web page is www.interaction.org.

Jill Bucceri '00 (Major) - reports that she is working for Congressman Jim Maloney again-- this time as part of the Washington staff, responsible for the   Congressman's schedule. Congrats Jill. She also reports that since anthrax wasfound in their building they have been working out of the GAO, but "we are still here and that is what counts."

Emilio Colaiacovo '98 (Minor) - graduated last summer from the University at Buffalo School of Law.   After graduation, following months of preparation, he took the New York State Bar Exam in July.   Emilio admits this was probably the most difficult experience of his life. However, he just received word that he passed the Bar Exam and will be admitted to the New York State Bar as a practicing attorney.   Congrats Emilio. Emilio sent a nice note to many of his professors here at Mercyhurst, thanking us for lessons he learned during his time on the hill and stating that this was as much Mercyhurst's accomplishment as it was his. Emilio has already had many offers, but is leaning toward working with the Erie County District Attorney's Office (NY).

Tammy (Duke) Connelly '00 (Major) - on the day I heard from Tammy, a BioHazard team was coming in to test her building for Anthrax.   She told me that her office at CATO is "one mile from the White House and the day of the attacks was one I'll surely never forget.   We could see the smoke from the Pentagon from the roof of our building, but we didn't know anything until we heard about it on TV. The Justice Department has offices right across the street from us and they were getting bomb threats, not to mention there seemed to be a million other bomb threats all over the area that day and for a couple of days after. There were also unidentified planes flying over our building that day.   We were told we could leave work at 10:30 that morning." Tammy also described the scene at the Pentagon (she used to carpool past the spot where the plane crashed) and the intense emotional reactions that seeing it causes.

Barb Deleo '97 (Major) - recently got confirmation of a job with the Department of State! Barb completed her Masters work (last year) and beginning on 14 January 2002 will be a federal employee. Thus, another alum is heading to DC to try to find some place to live. Barb had been living and working in Buffalo, including working as a program assistant for a youth services organization that operated out of the YWCA in Buffalo. Congrats Barb.

Brooke Emerick '01 (Major) - is now living in Fairfax, VA and working for a small think tank called The Progress and Freedom Foundation, in DC. Brooke has been thinking a lot about going back for a masters soon, including the possibility of getting a masters in secondary education and becoming a high school government teacher.

Brian Fromknecht '00 (Double Major) - is now in his second year of law school in Miami, FL. and regularly keeps us updated. He is currently doing some research on the 4th and 5th amendments related to the takings issue.

Jule Gardner '95 (Major) - was working at the NY public radio station on the show "The Next Big Thing." Her building was five blocks from the World Trade Center and their broadcast tower on top of it. She wrote an article about her experience that day that was published by the local paper (Erie Times-News). Jule had been contemplating a change of venue for some time and decided to move back to Erie. She was welcomed back by the newspaper and is currently writing for them.

Gina Giachetti '94 (Major) - reports that fireman and chemical teams seem to be in the federal building where she works just about everyday but so far no cases of actual anthrax. (Reminder: Gina is a Special Agent with the DEA.) Gina reports that a fellow agent is on the terrorism task force and several others have volunteered and are currently federal marshall's on airlines. She however is knee-deep in developing a Title III Wiretap investigation, but may participate in the Terrorism Task Force when her investigation ends. She could also receive a "call up" telephone call as she still has four years of ready reserve time. She reports that she would be happy to go if the call comes. But for now is going ahead and scheduling   night classes to begin her pursuit of a Master's Degree in Criminal Justice at California State University - Sacramento. Also, since the last newsletter, Gina got married (on September 1) to a local city police officer. Congrats.

Neal Hammill - '93 (Major) is still among those too busy to stay in touch, but rumor has it he's throwing a big house-warming sometime in the near future. Right, Neal? Actually, I did want Neal to know that they are finally replacing the 69 year-old elevator in Old Main. It will be closed until Jan. while they replace it.

Randy Hilliard - '99 (Double Major) - reports that "Liz and I were blessed with a daughter in July. She is doing very well and makes us very happy and proud parents. I have been reading the Federalist Papers to her at bedtime, but she just doesn't seem to appreciate them yet." Congrats anyway :) He is still working at the same company (you can visit their website http://www.mmi-inv.com) and plugging away at his masters (http://icp.gmu.edu). He will be done in May. Randy has discovered that it is a lot to juggle full time work, a full course load and daddy/husband duties. He was still narrowing his thesis topic down, but was interested in the on-going debate between foreign direct investment and aid monies, in terms improving the quality of life in foreign countries.

Ray Johnson - '99 (Major) - Ray is one of the people for whom everything changed on September 11.   As part of the Army and the 82nd Airborne Division's Military Intelligence Corp he has been kept very busy. He recently wrote to me on the day before Thanksgiving. He felt lucky to have been given the chance to go home and see family and friends before leaving for the Middle East.   He will be going for at least a month and maybe longer, as part of an effort to try to gain background information in the struggle against terrorism. As he steps into the unknown, he also passed along his hope that all is well with his fellow Alumi. We certainly also wish Ray well.

Frank Kostic, Jr. '01 (Major) - reports to us from the Widener University School of Law. As part of the army, a political science grad, and being Frank, he has been following current events very closely. He reports that "law school is going extremely well, Mercyhurst has definitely given me the background needed to succeed in this environment. I am not sure how others from the department have faired in grad. school, but the advantage is clear. Others (classmates) are amazed to hear that I have had entire classes devoted to the Vietnam War, NGO's, and Political Philosophy, to name a few."

Jen Kraus '94 (Major) - reports that all is well here in the Governor's office and they have made the transition to Governor Schweiker. She knew that Gov. Ridge was going to be named Homeland Security Director about 10 minutes before the President's speech on September 20th. It was quite a shock, but she's confident that we are in good hands. Jen has gone back to grad school for a Masters in Public Administration at Gannon (but reports she will always be a Laker at heart).

Sarah Lelle '00 (Major) -   reports that she got married last June (Congrats) and moved to Boston where she is having a great time. She left law school at Case Western, and misses it, but is now in law school at Boston College and she reports that "BC is a really great school and I like my classes a lot. This term I am taking: Evidence, Family Law, Trial Practice, Juvenile Rights Seminar and Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project. The Juvenile Rights classes are part of a clinic so I am getting some hands on experience. In MA second and third year law students can represent indigent clients under the supervision of a lawyer. In the clinic we represent juvenile delinquent girls. I have my own clients and have already been to court a couple of times this semester. I really like it and am leaning toward practicing in litigation when I get out."

Bill Melville '99 (Minor) - has been covering Columbus City hall (pop. 720,000) for about 8 months now. On 9-11 he ran down to police headquarters, where the city set up its Emergency Operations Center and ultimately decided to evacuate downtown. Bill noted without sympathy that the presidential speech writer who chose the word "crusade" should have been fired immediately. He also suggests the book "Taliban" by Ahmed Rahid.

Karen Petho '99 (Major) -    Karen reports that the "last time I wrote I had just started working for GZA GeoEnvironmental of New York, I worked there for about 1 1/2 years. Then on October 15 I started a volunteer program with Americorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).   I remember telling you in my exit interview that this was something that I wanted to do, so here I am.   I was assigned to the Sacramento, California campus.   The program lasts for ten months and in that time I will be traveling with a team of thirteen people to complete community service projects all over the western region.   The projects typically last for six weeks.   Currently we are in Salt Lake City, Utah learning how to run a homeless shelter.   We are living on the second floor of a day shelter so as I write this I can here the people downstairs.   We will be here until mid-December and then we will have a two week break.   After the break we will return and set up a temporary emergency overflow shelter.   The city felt that such a shelter would be necessary due to the rise in homelessness that accompanies the Olympic games. We arrived in Salt Lake City yesterday after completing a training program in Sacramento."    Congratulations on your interesting new position.

Jody Robinson '01 (Major) -   Jody is presently in Elmira NY, playing for the Elmira Jackals of the United Hockey. When he sent me his update he reported that everything was going really well. The Jackals were 12-0, and needed just one more win to break the UHL record for longest unbeaten streak. Reports suggest Jody has been playing well (and the Lakers sure have missed him) and he reports really enjoying himself, (Read this current students, it is a frequent reaction, believe it or not.) but he's missing going to class.

Brad Rybczynski '97 (Major) - whose b-day is 9-11, got married on September 15th. He and Andrea honeymooned in Cape Cod and (I add this part just to make Dr. Federici jealous) attended a game at Fenway. In fact, Brad noted that "this was the first American League game after the 9-11 tragedy. It was a mixture of sadness, anxiety and excitement. The pre-game ceremonies were extremely touching."   Congrats Brad.

Christie Stratthaus '98 (Major) - sent us a nice note of concern during the anthrax event. Here's part of what she said "The events of the last 2 months have really made me think about the education I received from all of you and really brought back my interest in political science (I even pulled out some of my old books). Christie is working long days as an Operations Manager for Litigation Solutions, Inc., a legal services firm in downtown Pittsburgh; but she says she is really enjoying her work.

Luke Turner '00 (Minor) - brought us up-to-date on his activities during the last two years. He moved to North Conway, NH in the Mt.Washington Valley Area where he has been working for the Appalachian Mountain Club as an environmental educator. He recently started an Americorps position with the Mt. Washington Observatory/ Discovery Center working with children in an outreach program. Glad to see another alumni being able to   use his environmental politics background!   And, glad to have him join the ranks ofthose staying in touch.

Gretchen Ulery '95 (Major) - I'm working on this on the weekend after Thanksgiving, and if my calculations are right Gretchen is now married. Congrats! Her fiancee ran for Council again and was unopposed. She also passed along a great local politics story about a   guy that really hates the school board and paid to have huge signs made and placed all over town.   Her favorite sign was prominently displayed on the way out of a McDonald's drive-thru. It read "If you doubt the existance of Satan, look at your local school board."    It's local politics at it's finest! Gretchen is still working for IBM, and has been working feverishly on an account in Ann Arbor. IBM may   have her start a virtual project management office to assist other accounts that do not have a need for a full time person staffed on their account.   It's supposed to be an advisory role to offer assistance or suggestions. As companies such as IBM are looking at how to use their resources a little bit better, Gretchen reports that this would be a great opportunity even though it would be a work-overload nightmare. Shortly after her one-year anniversary with IBM, Gretchen wrote that   despite getting her Masters in IT, she was concerned when she started that she didn't possess the technical skills to make it in the consulting/project management profession. She's found that the technical skills are not as important as being able to get along with clients and responding quickly to their needs. She works from home often and mentioned that IBM is always taking summer interns with government/computer/business skills (in case current majors or minors are interested). Getchen told me that if I have people with computer experience that want to work in a government or business sector, IBM Global Services is probably where they want to be.   That is the division she works in and it usually requires travel.   If there is interest, see me Gretchen may be able to set up something formal, otherwise, and for info., students can access the site below and submit resumes there. She's talked to employees that interned first and it seems they travel pretty extensively and pay pretty decently as well.   Here is the link with information internships.... http://www3.ibm.com/employment/us/university/html/hotnews.html

Rob Vescio '96 (Major) - Is still the top staffer for a PA state legislator and finishing up his Master's at Pitt. Recently he registered for his final 3 classes and is in the process of weighing his options for post grad school. He's been very successful in the campaign business as well, but told me at Alumni weekend that he thought he had managed his last campaign.

Rich Wagner '96 (Major) - will complete his MBA in December.   This is second Masters. Living and working in DC, Rich was one of our alums who had friends in the Air Force and Army that were in the Pentagon on Sept. 11th. All of his friends made it out, but many spent hours and days pulling the wounded and dead out from the rubble. He drives by the Pentagon every few days (on his way to play hockey) and the huge hole in the Building and the blackened walls help him keep things in perspective. Moreover, a woman in his MBA finance class works for Sen. Daschle. She tested negative for Anthrax, luckily.

Kari Wells '99 (Major) - reports that she and husband Jim (Fain) "are having a wonderful time in Maine.   We spent free time this summer and fall at Acadia - if you have never visited I recommend a trip.   It is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I started grad school in the fall (in history) but I am not enjoying my course of study.   Only 30 credits are required for the masters so I will complete the program and pursue a doctorate in Political Science. One of my classes assigns two books a week which equals about 1000 pages of reading! My brain is muddled with facts, dates, and names." Kari will also be working on Congressman Baldacci's campaign for governor of Maine as a fundraiser.

There are also a number of you who we know what you are doing, but we haven't had any recent updates from. A few, like Andrea (Bullota) Daloian and Sue Kukovec-Krasnicki, have graduated from law school and landed Jobs but haven't sent along any news. Others generally keep in touch, but didn't feel they had anything new to report. A number of alums also have changed email addresses and not told us, so their newsletters bounce back to me,   e.g. Diane (Ashmore) Dean, Jody Kim, Denise Miller, and Sherrie Weldon. If any of you keep in touch with any of these people, or others who you never see any info on, please encourage them to send me their updated addresses and information.   Also, if any one sent me information that did not appear I apologize. My on-going (2 years) computer problem -- it freezes and then information is lost -- is supposed to finally be resolved. The college has purchased me a new computer. I just hope nothing is lost when they move all my files....

WHO'S DOING WHAT: (Current Students)

Due to space and time constraints, I will keep this very brief and general. A large number of our majors and minors are involved again this year in student government, sports, theatre, volunteering, and internships. Considering the work load the department demands, and the fact that many students also work, it was a pleasure to see so many names (including some recent graduates) on the Dean's List.

DEPARTMENTAL NEWS:

Dr. Ripley had a chapter on Chinese foreign policy published in an edited volume entitled Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective from CQ Press. He is also currently at work on a couple of international relations case studies with student co-authors for possible publication (more on that in future newsletters). He will be teaching a newly-developed course, cross-listed in RIAP and Political Science, on Intelligence and National Security during the winter term. He spent a week in early September (prior to 9/11) travelling through Venezuela under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church and had the opportunity to get a first-hand look at the social, political, and economic situation in that country. Finally, he wishes to report success on the gardening experiments discussed in the summer newsletter with the caveat that zucchini does not trellis very well.

Dr. Federici is making final revisions for his book Eric Voegelin: The Restoration of Order. The book is scheduled to appear in print in April. He will give a presentation on Voegelin at Palm Beach Atlantic College in March 2002.   Dr. Federici also continues to work on the history of the American Constitution project for the National Humanities Institute. The first version of the project will appear on NH’s website in December or early January.   He will present a paper at the Midwestern Political Science Association in April related to the Constitution project and his research on judicial power.   Finally, Dr. Federici plans to work on his Supreme Court book during his Spring Term sabbatical. The Federici clan also expanded by one, welcoming Amy Rebecca to the fold this Fall.

Dr. Morris has just completed his first term at Mercyhurst. In addition to several sections of American Government, he will be teaching the American Congress course during the Winter term and a new course, Political Parties and Interest Groups, this Spring. As a first-year faculty member, Dr. Morris has devoted most of his time to teaching-related activities. He is preparing a paper, "Environmental Equity in the Intermountain West: A Multi-Level, Multi-Dimensional Assessment," for presentation at the 2002 Northwestern Political Science Association Annual Conference.

Dr. Clemons has enjoyed using his Public Policy textbook in the AOJ graduate course he taught this fall (along with an Honor's American Govt. class, and two classes significantly affected by the Fall's events, namely Geopolitics and American Foreign Policy). Winter term he will thankfully be down to two courses, Geopolitics and Environmental Politics. He is working on a paper for a conference in Long Beach in March that will discuss the adequacy of Realism. In Sept. he was part of a faculty panel at the college that discussed the events of Sept. 11.

On Sept. 27, Dr. Frank Hagan, of the criminal justice dept., and author of a book on political crime, led the first Ad Hoc of the year. The topic was "Terrorism". There was a good turn-out, good food and drink, and an interesting discussion ensued.

Finally, we hope to have a new website up and running by the New Year. The address will be http://polisci.mercyhurst.edu