Ideopolis Volume 2, Issue 2, Spring 2015

Volume 2, Issue 2

Spring 2015

idea noun \ī-ˈdē-ə, -ˈdēə also ˈī-(ˌ)dē-ə or ˈīdē\: a thought, plan, or suggestion about what to do; an opinion or belief; something that you imagine or picture in your mind polis noun \ˈpä-ləs\: a Greek city-state; broadly: a state or society especially when characterized by a sense of community

From Student to Teacher: RIC Political Science/INGOs Student Educates Community about the Importance of Having a Voice

by Olinda Urizar ‘17 I have lived in Rhode Island since I was nine years old. My parents raised me in the city of Providence until I married. Years later I had two children. One day, while helping my children with school work, I realized I needed to complete my education to be an example. So, I decided to go back to school and get a college degree. However, now I knew that the degree I was going to pursue had to do with leaving something for my next generation.

I have always been active within my community; however, during the 2011 gubernatorial campaign, I became more concerned about our state's lack of civic knowledge, especially among the Latino community. A year later, I started my Political Science degree at the Community College of Rhode Island. Two years later, while holding a full-time job as an office manager and being the mother of two and the wife of an urban minister, I completed my Associates Degree with a 3.8 GPA. During the fall of 2014 I transferred to Rhode Island College to finish my undergraduate degree.

In 2012, the Hispanic Ministerial Association of Rhode Island nominated me for its board of directors and I was elected. With this opportunity, we started the conversation about politics and the importance of participation, which, in 2013, led to the creation of an entity focused on social transformation. It is called Social Transformation Alliance (ATS, for its Spanish acronym). Its goals are to: INSIDE: Getting RESULTS, Meet our Faculty, 1) awaken, develop and channel our community’s potential so that it becomes a so- News to Know, DC Internship Winners and MORE! cial transformation agent; 2) to create strategic alliances to engage and activate our communities so our people can influence those decisions and actions that affect us; and 3) to develop and empower leaders with social service backgrounds to represent (continued next page)

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the community with justice in all social spheres.

In 2014, while the different election campaigns were happening, other community statewide organizations asked us (ATS) to do a study on all candidates running for the primary elections.

We sat with over 30 candidates running for different government positions. After that, we transferred the information to the community leaders. During this process it was sad to hear people didn't want to cast their vote because they felt it wasn't going to make a difference.

Even worse, they felt their vote was not important. So, we started our own campaign to get more people interested. We visited different organizations and talked to their members about voting. As Social Transformation Alliance, we encouraged and helped people register to vote.

By the end of June 2014, we had delivered hundreds of voter registration forms to the Board of Elections.

The word got out that we had met with all the candidates. People wanted to know who we thought was the best for our community.

This reaction pushed us to make out a list of all candidates and their campaign promises, so people could choose. However, there were some community leaders who didn't want to talk about politics because they didn't want to influence their by suggesting they had favorites.

Olinda Olizar

After the 2014 elections, we decided to create a Civic Empowerment movement within the Latino community. In January of this year, we sat with Nellie Gorbea, Rhode Island Secretary of State, and Jorge Elorza, Mayor of Providence, and we all agreed there was a need to educate our people. Currently, we are scheduling Civic Empowerment Workshops all over the Providence, Central Falls and Cranston communities. Secretary Gorbea appointed Jason Hernandez to oversee this project. ATS will also create local, state and federal government materials for the Latino community which will provide citizens with information regarding their elected officials and future candidates. Additionally, ATS is holding tours of the State House and local City Halls and organizing open forums with political candidates in election years.

On March 11th, 2015 we had our first Civic Empowerment Workshop in the city of Cranston.

Sixteen adults over 21 and five individuals over 16 years old attended the workshop held at a local church. The Rhode Island Multi-service Center has already reserved two dates in April to hold this workshop. One will be with the Urban Ministry class and the other with the English as a Second Language (ESL) class. Incidentally, another church in the Olneyville area learned about the workshop and wants me to hold one there in April, too. I'm focused on reaching as many people as I can to encourage citizens to politically participate and increase voter turnout. Partnering with different local, state and nationwide organizations including such organizations as the Hispanic Access Foundation with headquarters in Washington, DC, the Pastoral Coalition of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Bible Institute, the Hispanic Ministerial Association of Rhode Island, among others, will make this project more effective and transform society.

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RESULTS: Real Life, Real Change

By Gianna Contillo ‘15, RESULTS Real Change Fellow and Advocate After returning from another valuable training and successful lobby day at the RESULTS Real Change mid-year retreat in Washington D.C., I can’t help to reflect on how it all began. As I contemplate all I have done within my time as a RESULTS Real Change Fellow, I can’t imagine what my life would be like had I said “no” to this incredible opportunity. I was in a place in my life and academic career where my schedule was jampacked; I was working, volunteering, and already involved in other trainings outside of my academic schooling. I had absolutely no right to add ONE MORE THING to my schedule, but I firmly believe that if opportunity knocks and you run from it, you are basically hanging up on your call to your destiny.

Flashback to April 2014—I set out for the Global Health and Innovation conference at Yale University with no idea of the life changing opportunity that awaited me. I attended an advocacy workshop for RESULTS. RESULTS is an organization engaging Americans to use their right as citizens to create the public and political will to end poverty on a global and domestic level.

After the training had concluded, I waited after to simply thank the presenter for his moving presentation and for the great work he and his organization, RESULTS, were doing out in the world, little did I know I was soon to be apart of this very greatness. Within moments of chatting, the presenter, Ken Patterson, informed me of the severe need for an advocate presence in Rhode Island, and urged me to apply for the RESULTS Real Change Fellowship. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I’ve always had an innate inner drive to be a change-maker, so I applied. I was accepted, and one month later, I was on my way to Washington D.C. (flight and hotel expense covered) to join over 100 Real Changers from all over the country for a 5-day advocacy training at the RESULTS International Conference in Washington, DC. The international conference was incredible; it included inspirational speakers such as Marianne Williamson, Tavis Smiley, and, World Bank President, Dr. Jim Yong Kim. On Day 5 of the conference, hundreds of RESULTS advocates marched to Capitol Hill to meet with our Representatives on the issue of alleviating poverty in America and around the world for fiscal year 2015. Within those 5 days, I gained knowledge that no text book could ever teach; I gained direct experience in the political field, working with members of Congress to make the world a better place (talk about experience and a resume builder).

I still consider those 5 days to be 5 of the most memorable days of my life, on so many different levels. The energy surge I had from being surrounded by like-minded, genuine-hearted, ready-to-change the world young people, literally had me up for 5 days straight. (continued next page)

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I now have friends all over the country. I consider them family, and have formed bonds, bonds that I know will last a lifetime, with some of the most remarkable young adults in America.

The Real Change program is a one year fellowship for young adults under the age of 30; the only prerequisite to apply is the will and want to create positive change in the world. Not only were we brought to Washington DC last June, but we (all the Real Changers) were flown back out to DC this past March 1st for mid year retreat! It was so exciting to be back in Washington DC, to prepare for more Lobby Day congressional meetings, and to be reunited with my fellow Real Changers. After our two day training and briefing on the issues, we were to work on fiscal year 2016; again, we marched to Capitol Hill, this time in the sleet, to meet with our Members of Congress on health and poverty issues. I was able to meet with Rhode Island Representative David Cicilline and a staffer in the office of Senator Jack Reed to discuss and ask for support on the appropriations to fund bills on Global Health and Education. I recently learned that Representative Cicilline signed on to sponsor the bills that I proposed to him on Capitol Hill. The feeling of fulfillment I feel, knowing that my voice will assist in enhanced education and health of people around the globe, is indescribable. Had I not used my voice, Representative Cicilline may not have signed on to this important proposal to save and enhance the lives of millions of children and adults around the world. With my work at RESULTS, not only have learned to use my voice, but I experienced the power of using it.

RESULTS is currently accepting applications for the 2015/2016 Real Change class. If you are looking to make sustainable change in this world, gain direct experience working with members of Congress, enhance your public speaking skills and learn priceless advocacy techniques—the Real Change Fellowship is for you. If you have a drive to make a difference, we need you, I need you. I am the only advocate here in Rhode Island working on these issues, and we all know there is power in numbers. Next year when I am lobbying on Capitol Hill in June at the International Conference, I would be ecstatic to have you by side at my congressional meetings. My voice will continue to make a difference, but the more voices behind me, the more change we can make together.

To apply for the Real Change program, head over to, www.results.org/realchange, read the details about the program and apply today!!! From what I have heard, the applications are coming in fast, so don’t put off applying!

If you have any questions at all, feel free to email me at contillogianna@gmail.com Now, let’s go change the world.

See page 10 for more information on RESULTS.

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Meet our Faculty: Richard Weiner Dr. Rich Weiner’s recent publication of “Les Reciproqueteurs: Post-Regulatory Corporatism” in the Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning has been garnering international recognition.

Dr. Weiner’s scholarship is part of a developing transnational normative orders perspective that shows how functional differentiation processes in global civil society engenders re-scaled space between inter-regional assemblages. As a result, there is the construction of new social capital in network trust-building manifested in norms of reciprocity and reflexive law necessary for ecological systems’ autopoiesis, resilience and sustainability.

Weiner is Invited to present a talk on “negotiated network connected contracts” as a critical paradigmatic institution at a conference on law and economics in the governance of corporations meeting in Lugano, Switzerland 23 April. This is a conference of the World Interdisciplinary Network on Institutional Research headed by Geoffrey Hodgson, editor Journal of Institutional Economics. A short version of the paper is being published by The European Legacy, and as part of a Paris Conference on Regulatory Economics this June. He has also put together a workshop of a dozen papers on “Multi-Scalarity and Transnational Policy Making” for the International Conference on Public Policy meeting in Milan at the start of July. These articles and papers are the result of presentations he has been making these past three years at the University of Chicago, Sciences Po Grenoble, Harvard University, New York University, the University of Vienna, Université du Quebec à Montréal, the European Consortium of Political Research, the World Congresses of the International Political Science Association, and for the Federación Española de Sociologia in Madrid at Centro des Estudios Politicos y Constitutionales and the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia. Further, a talk Weiner gave at NYU this February “Transnational History as Historical Subject” will be published by the Telos Institute.

For the past few years, Dr. Weiner has been engaged in a study of the anti-austerity movement of the 50 percent youth unemployed in Madrid known as Los Indignados with Iván Lopez of the Complutense University Madrid. The project has been now extended to analyze the movement’s transformation into the political party PODEMOS which now is the leading party in Spain. Weiner and Lopez argue there is a double legitimation crisis at work here not just with regard to the austerity policies undercutting the decades of embourgeoisment measures of the welfare state, but also the end of the transition from the Franco regime and toward a Third Republic. Weiner and Lopez have been presenting their findings and hypotheses to the Conference of Europeanists in Washington and Paris of the Council on European Studies of Columbia University, as well as a working paper for the Center for European Studies at Harvard where Weiner has been an Affiliate since returning to full time teaching in 2009 after 19 years service as RIC as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

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Geography Geography Corner Corner

Oh, the PLACES You'll Go...with GEOGRAPHY

Geography News Dr. Mark Motte was awarded the regional chapter of the Association of American Geographer’s “Lifetime Contribution to Geography Award” on October 25, 2014 at the Northeastern U.S. and Eastern Canada Association’s annual conference.

According to the New England and St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society (NESTVAL): This faculty award shall recognize a lifetime of effective contribution to the development of Geography through research, teaching, and professional and community service in the NESTVAL region, which includes the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, and the Provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec.

Such contributions by nominees shall include a sustained combination of: research and scholarship enhancing the breadth and depth of the discipline; furthering the understanding of the Geography of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada among scholars and other professional audiences; supporting geographical organizations such as NESTVAL or the national AAG; effective college-level teaching of Geography; promoting Geography in the schools of the region; leading academic departments or programs; and/or effectively representing Geography and Geographers within their educational institutions and systems of higher education.

CONGRATULATIONS, DR. MOTTE!!!

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INGOS Corner

In the KNOW about INGOs The INGOS Program introduces students to international nongovernmental organizations (like Amnesty International, Doctors without Borders and Greenpeace), and explores the many ways these important organizations are shaping the world. The program offers two tracks: a certificate and a minor; both tracks are open to all students.

For more information, contact Professor Robyn Linde at rlinde@ric.edu.

INGOS News The INGOS Program is off and running this semester. In INGOS and Social Entrepreneurship (INGO 302), students are working on a range of innovative community projects, including several of their own design. Students engaged in self-designed projects include: Kofua Kulah (INGOS and Political Science ’16) and Davina Metellus (INGOS and Public Administration ‘16) at Capital Good Fund; Samson Hampton at Rhode Island for Community & Justice; Kenya Louis (INGOS ’17) at the Rhode Island Free Clinic; Andrea Martin (INGOS ‘15) at the Well; and Janelle McCarren (INGOS ‘15) at Oxfam International.

Other students, including Olinda Urizar (INGOS and Political Science ’17) and Tim McLaughlin (INGOS and Political Science ’15), are working on a project to educate Latino Rhode Islanders on the merits and process of voting. Donna Segeren (INGOS ’17), Ashley Logan (INGOS ’16) and Kayla-Christie Laroche (INGOS and Political Science ’16) are organizing an art show in Central Falls for Central Falls High School students and RIC artists. Gianna Contillo (Political Science and INGOS ’15) is teaching a meditation course at the Parents’ College at Central Falls Middle School and at Central Falls High School to help hardworking parents and students destress.

This summer, Kenya Louis and Janelle McCarren will complete their internships to earn a certificate in INGOS (Congratulations, Kenya and Janelle!) And in the fall, Professor Holly Dygert (Anthropology) will offer a course on Economic Development and Globalization (ANTH 346) that will qualify for the INGO 301 development requirement. Professor Robyn Linde will also be teaching INGO 300, Introduction to INGOS, in the fall. Please note that POL 203 (Global Politics) is a pre-requisite for the INGOS program. Contact Professor Linde for more information: rlinde@ric.edu.

For a list of INGOS-sponsored events, please see pages 10 and 11.

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Public Administration Corner

Spring 2015

The PERKS of Being a PUB AD Major

Public Administration News Again this year, Dr. Leazes received a Faculty Research Grant to continue the interdisciplinary study of the Providence North Burial Ground. This year, the project is focused on Arts and Humanities by developing an on-line tour featuring well-known and slightly more obscure individuals interned in the cemetery who have made artistic and humanities based contributions to the nation, the state and Providence. Dr. Seth Dixon (Geography) and Dr. Erik Christiansen (Public History) and their students have helped the project by using their Geographic Information Systems (GIS) skills and their public history preservation curriculum that includes the planning, marketing and studying of historic places. Dr. Leazes’ Public Administration students have lent their organizational, budgeting, evaluation, grant writing and information technology knowledge to advance the project. Students from Sociology and Communications have also been instrumental in moving the project forward.

On May 2nd, 2015, the Project Team will present a physical walking tour of the North Burial Ground on behalf of the Providence Preservation Society and the Providence Department of Parks and Recreation. This tour is meant to: highlight the preservation needs of the cemetery, develop a "Friends of the North Burial Ground" advisory panel and begin a strategic planning process for the North Burial Ground. If you would like to assist the Project Team on May 2nd, please contact Dr. Leazes (fleazes@ric.edu).

The North Burial Ground Project is also looking for a student who has good web design and maintenance skills to begin working with the project in late April 2015 and through next year.

There would be a small financial stipend. The student would need to be very comfortable with html, CSS, Dreamweaver (maybe PHP) software and, of course,... enjoy being around cemeteries! Contact Dr. Leazes.

Visit the North Burial Ground Web Site at www.ric.edu/northburialground.

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NEWS to KNOW Faculty Update Dr. Larry Weil was awarded a sabbatical for the spring of 2016. During his leave, his research will use national health policy during the 70's as a window into how that decade came to be recognized as one of regime transition from New Deal liberalism to Reagan conservatism.

Student Updates Last semester, Arianna Morrocco (Public Administration), completed a service learning project in the Foundations of Public Administration class which resulted in a Human Resources Manual being produced for the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH).

Brian Luther received an assistantship from the University of Connecticut for Masters in Public Policy, focusing on health care policy.

RIC Students Go to Washington Congratulations to this year’s winners of the one week congressional internships in Washington DC! Each student will be placed with a member of the RI congressional delegation (Senators Reed and Whitehouse; Representatives Langevin and Cicilline) during the weeks of May 18-22 or June 1-5. Student Community Government awards each student an $800 stipend for travel and lodging.

Elisha Aldrich (junior) Gianna Contillo (senior)

Jeleny De Leon (junior) Josh Estrella (junior)

Sarah Isherwood (senior) Ariana Morrocco (junior)

Pi Sigma Alpha to Induct 17 New Members at April Luncheon Qualified Fall ‘14 Colin Donahue Sarah Isherwood Matthew Leo Hanna Mitchell Zakary Pereira Richard Rebolledo Sean Rock Tina Tavares

Qualified Spring ‘15 Elisha Aldrich Elisa Boschetti Lindsey Callahan Adam Fague Nicaurys Heredia Cameron Moquin David Otto Kimberly Rodrigues Olinda Urizar

Student STARS

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Goings-On in Craig-Lee and Beyond A look at student organizations, events and activities‌ Go ahead, get involved!

PAID INTERNSHIPS: Interested in a paid internship with the Rhode Island government?

Click here for more information: Paid Internship Opportunities.

APRIL 1: RESULTS Q&A. Interested in learning more about RESULTS and the Real Change Fellowship? Meeting is Wednesday, April 1st, at 12:30pm in Craig-Lee 206.

APRIL 2: Rhode Island Supreme Court at RIC. The Rhode Island Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments on the RIC campus on Thursday, April 2nd, from 9:00-11:30am. The event takes place in Sapinsley Hall in the Nazarian Center. All students, faculty and staff are invited to observe the Court in session. This is the first time that the justices have held a session at RIC. Appellate oral argument is quite different from a trial, and many people never get the chance to see it. The Court will hear three cases: An appeal of the denial of a permit to carry a concealed weapon, an appeal of a criminal conviction for sexual assault, and an appeal over an insurer’s duty to defend a policy holder. The Chief Justice will address the audience at 9:00am, so you are encouraged to arrive before that time. We expect there to be time for audience questions and answers at the end. You may arrive later or leave earlier if you must, but please try to do so quietly. To save time going through the security checkpoint, you might want to leave your backpack elsewhere if you can. The Court will be here on the invitation of the Political Science Department and the office of the president. For further information, contact Dr. Schmeling, chair of Political Science, at tschmeling@ric.edu.

APRIL 7: INGOS Lecture. Professor Jarred Goldstein, of Roger Williams Law School, will discuss his experience defending detainees at Guantanamo on April 7 at 2:00pm in Craig-Lee 224. Free and open to the public.

APRIL 8: Alumni Day. The Political Science Department and the Rhode Island College Alumni Association are co-sponsoring an Alumni Day on April 8, 2015 featuring graduates from our department who have agreed to come back to campus and share their experiences with our current students. The event is scheduled between 12:30-2PM in the Donovan Dining Center's South Dining Room. A light lunch will be available. This experience will be a valuable networking activity as well as information session for surviving graduate school, law school and building a career. An invitation to the event will come to your RIC email account.

APRIL 9: INGOS Lecture. Steven Kuada, Providence immigration attorney, will discuss human rights and immigration practices and his experience with the Rhode Island judiciary on April 9 at 2:00pm in Craig-Lee 224. Free and open to the public.

(Goings-On continued on next page)

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APRIL 15: Honor Society Luncheon. Pi Sigma Alpha’s annual induction luncheon will be held on Wednesday, April 15th, during the free period in the South Dining Room of the Faculty Center, Donovan Dining Center. Invitations will be emailed.

APRIL 30: INGOS and Social Entrepreneurship Presentations. Students in INGOS 302 will present their community projects on April 30 at 4:00pm in Craig-Lee 206. Free and open to the public.

Political Science Club: Contact any member of the Executive Board to find out more about the Political Science Club. President: Toby Riseborough (triseborough_3482@email.ric.edu); Vice President: Michelle Arias (marias_3250@email.ric.edu); Treasurer: Derrik Trombley (dtrombley_9128@email.ric.edu); Secretary: Adam Fague (afague_3583@email.ric.edu).

Pi Sigma Alpha: Each semester, the Alpha Beta Epsilon chapter of the National Political Science Honor Society, Pi Sigma Alpha, invites a small group of students to become members. To become a member, a student must have: completed 60 credit hours, taken a 300 (or above) level course, a 3.3 in their political science courses. Learn more about Pi Sigma Alpha at: http:// office2248.wix.com/pi-sigma-alpha. .

Fall registration begins Monday, March 30th. Be sure to register as soon as your appointment time arrives. There is no benefit to delaying registration, and students who register late often can’t get into courses that fill quickly, especially POL 300, 308, 315, 328, 332 and 335. If we have to cancel a class because not enough students register in time, you and others will lose out.

Political Science majors who will be sophomores and have had at least POL 202 should enroll in POL308 and POL 300 next fall or spring. These classes are limited to 20 students and fill fast!

Don’t let your seat get taken by a non-major.

And don’t forget that you need to average 15 credits per semester to graduate in four years!

Thomas Schmeling, Chair of the Political Science Department

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Ideopolis Rhode Island College Department of Political Science 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave. Providence, RI 02908

Visit the Political Science Department's website and Facebook page!

Editor Michelle Brophy-Baermann

IDEOPOLIS WANTS YOU! If you like to write, consider contributing to the newsletter. Ideopolis comes out once per semester. Send all comments, questions, suggestions, news, alumni updates and more to mbrophy@ric.edu.

Find this and previous issues of Ideopolis online at: http://issuu.com/ideopolis.

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