Student Life

Summer in Tacoma

Posted on July 11, 2010 by dwmiller

Even though I’m about to begin my senior year, this is my first summer in Tacoma. It has been a great experience so far. I’m staying in Tacoma to do my work as Associated Students of Puget Sound (ASUPS) President and also to take some summer classes. I’ve had the pleasure of staying on campus with the other executives in an on campus house. It has been great to work, eat, and spend time with all of them.

Campus is a different place during the summer. While class is in session, students are everywhere around campus, and one of my favorite aspects of Puget Sound is that every destination involves multiple encounters with friends along the paths. During the summer, Puget Sound students are a bit rarer, although we do have a variety of conferences that fill the dorms and diner. It does make running into a fellow student a bigger pleasure. Whether it is at the grocery store, in the SUB (Student Union Building – Wheelock Student Center), or at a restaurant it is always worth taking an extra moment to see how they have been.

Since the end of June, I’ve been taking two courses; one in Geology with Professor Valentine, and the other a History course about the West and Northwest with Professor Sackman. Both of the courses are challenging and I am learning a lot. Having class four days a week for multiple hours each day has made for a different pace than the school year, but not necessarily a bad one.

The quietness of campus has allowed me explore the greater Tacoma and Seattle area. I have been able to take advantage of the activities and sights that Puget Sound has to offer. I have been to several Mariners’ games this summer, enjoyed the scenery of Point Defiance Park, and even traveled across to the mountains to see the 4^th of July fireworks in Ellensburg.

Earlier in the summer I was also lucky enough to take a vacation to Hawaii and visit one of my buddies from school. It was great to have a local guide and see a lot of the sites that tourists don’t usually get to see. Joe, a recent graduate joined us before he started working in Seattle. I came back from the trip refreshed and ready to launch into the various projects that ASUPS has planned for the summer.

I will leave you with this for now. Before you go to sleep tonight, take a moment for yourself to do something you enjoy, no matter how busy you are.

Posted in Dan Miller '11 | Comments Off

Oregon’s Urban Growth Boundary and Washington’s Summer Life

Posted on July 9, 2010 by adautremont

As June has turned into July, I’ve realized that summer is almost halfway over. I suppose I could look at this more positively and say that I still have more than half the summer to enjoy, and work on research, but I am really more a glass is half empty type of person. For this reason, I am now beginning to feel somewhat stressed out about finishing my research project, as there is so much more I need to do.

I don’t think I fully explained what I am researching in my previous post, so here it goes: I am looking at the Oregon Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) and shifting public opinion surrounding it. Oregon’s UGB is a model for land management plans in the nation for containing urban sprawl… well, up until the past 10 years. In 2000, an initiative was put on the Oregon ballot which completely changed the way Oregon’s land was managed, which is odd in a state which is so concerned about the environment. Oregon appeared to have shifted its stance on containing development by allowing landowners to build houses on their rural property. However, this deviation from Oregon’s land management stance did not last long as another ballot measure was passed in 2007 which reversed the landowner’s rights that were given to them in the previous measure. I could jabber on about this, but in short, my research is looking at why public opinion changed in the period of a few years about the UGB, when historically, public opinion is never that volatile.

So I have been surfing the internet: reading archived newspaper articles to try to get a sense of the political climate during this period. I am particularly interested in the framing (what words, images, messages etc.) were used in the campaigns that pushed the two ballot measures. The concept of framing is actually what spurred this research project initially. I became fascinated by these so called “frames” in my Environmental Politics and Agenda Setting class last fall semester… and if you’ve ever heard of Frank Luntz, you know what I’m talking about (google him– you’ll be shocked). I am also interviewing people involved in the opposing campaigns as well as journalists who covered the events. The interviews have actually been the best part so far. Not to say that I don’t love sitting in front of a computer and reading until my eyes go cross, but I feel like I’m learning some good skills by interviewing people. I have realized that you get a lot more out of the interview, if you know what you are talking about. This may seem obvious, but the more research you’ve done and articles you’ve read really help make you sound intelligent and knowledgeable about the issue. I think the interviewee feels like they aren’t wasting their time and are more likely to give you valuable information. So the strain on my eyes is well worth the plethora of information being stored up in my brain. I have many more interviews to conduct, so hopefully by the end of the summer, I will feel extremely confident interviewing people. This is certainly a skill that can help me later on in life and I intend to use in a future career.

What else? Well, Tacoma is finally SUNNY! But of course, as I write this, I sit in the air conditioned Collins Library which is a wonderful break from the scorching 95 degree heat outside. I actually contemplated sleeping outside last night because my house was so warm. That would have been very UPS of me, dontcha think? Oh and by UPS, I of course mean, so very Puget Sound of me (UPS still sounds better to me). Besides the heat, Tacoma is still offering many new and exciting summer activities. I went to the Taste of Tacoma, the 4th of July Freedom Fair, explored the 6th Avenue Farmer’s market on multiple occasions, ran “4 miles on the 4th” at Steilacoom, and biked to Anderson Island, since my last posting, among other activities. Tacoma always amazes me at all it has to offer. I thought I had explored all the good biking destinations as of a few weeks ago: I mean I had done the Vashon and Gig Harbor routes but I never thought to bike to Steilacoom, which is actually a great little town near the McChord Airbase. I would go check it out, if you haven’t already. You can go to their farmer’s market or take the Anderson Island Ferry at the end of town, which is a great island with a swimming lake which the locals refer to as the ‘Ol Swimming Hole. And did I mention the breathtaking views of Mt. Rainier and the Olympics? Go check it out. Bike. Drive. Swim? Seriously, it is worth the trip.

Posted in Annette d'Autremont '11 | Comments Off

Discovering the Importance of Conversation

Posted on July 3, 2010 by rthompson

Welcome to my blog, where I will do my best to entertain you with tales of my newsroom internship. I’m working at the copy and design desk for The News Tribune (Tacoma’s premier daily newspaper) this summer. You may be wondering why in the world I’d want to intern in a newsroom during such an uncertain time for print journalism. Well, I’m not 100 percent certain of why either, but I do know that I believe newspapers are crucial watchdogs for our society, (hopefully) producing well-written stories with credible sources and keeping readers informed about local, national and world news. Newspapers are often accused of not adhering to these ideals, but I can assure you that despite extreme budget cuts and rapidly transforming job duties, newsroom employees are striving to create a paper chock full of good journalism (or as full as it can be with the copy sandwiched in between an inundation of ads).

Do you sense a hint of resentment? Well, you could say that the reporters I chat with are rubbing off on my attitude. However, I’m trying to stick to The News Tribune president and publisher David Zeeck’s advice, “Don’t be bitter; be perceptive.”

Although it’s tough to not become overwhelmed by feelings of nostalgia for the press’s better days (yes, even I remember these!), the future is unavoidable and has already revamped newspapers in a multitude of positive ways. Think multimedia stories and of-the-minute news available online. The increasing technology behind the traditional newspaper may be unfamiliar (and at the moment, revenue-zapping), but I do not think there is an end in sight for the field of journalism. Resentment over the poor state of the newspaper industry aside, there is a palpable sense in The News Tribune newsroom of working for something bigger; a sense of serving a higher purpose.

News Tribune Editor in Chief Karen Peterson wrote an inspiring column a few weeks ago about summer interns, which you can read by visiting http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/30/1206169/spark-of-summer-interns-returns.html. I hope the keen comments provided by a couple of my fellow interns make you feel significantly more hopeful about the future of journalism. They did for me.

As far as my actual intern duties go, I can be found doing anything from watching my mentor crop a photo of the Tacoma Rainier’s beloved mascot Rhubarb for local news column “The Nose” to working on print and web page design, but during a great deal of the time I am having conversations. I’ve talked to reporters, editors, photographers, human resources and upper management. Our conversations have ranged from mundane to hilarious to serious. I’ve realized that everyone has a story to share that teaches me more about them, and in turn, about being a journalist.

As I reflect on my days and nights at The News Tribune thus far, I can recall a large number of conversations that have made an impression on me. So, TNT employees, if you’re reading this, thanks for taking the time to chat with me! Because talking is really what my newsroom internship boils down to: learning through conversation.

In fact, isn’t conversation what journalism itself is all about? I frequently hear editors debate about which stories are better “talkers.” The “talkers” often make it onto the front page, but more importantly, the talkers provoke conversation amongst readers. Furthering the depth of this idea of conversation, the reporters write their stories based on conversations they had with interviewees. And finally, the act of reading a news story itself is sort of like conversing with your reporters; really, the degrees of separation between the reader and the subject of the story are not innumerable. When we think of stories as conversations, they become more approachable. Perhaps staying informed about current events is not as impossible as it sometimes seems. I’ve come to the conclusion that part of the solution to keeping up with the news involves having more conversations.

The future of journalism is ever-changing, yet in this time of great uncertainty for print media there operates a dedicated mass of underpaid, overworked reporters and editors, striving to deliver not only the daily news, but often quite a bit more. Being a small part of this daunting task has made for quite the summer internship, and I can truthfully say I’ve enjoyed (almost) every minute of it.

Keep reading for upcoming stories of my printing press tour, page design ventures and get-togethers with local reporters!

Posted in Rose Thompson '11, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Public Service Announcement: Moon snails are homewreckers

Posted on June 30, 2010 by mkrauszer

To the approximately 0.00014% of the population that owns a tank capable of maintaining such creatures, I feel I should warn that the moon snail, or likely any large, predatory gastropod, is a monumental homewrecker. In the clean, crisp, 10-degrees-Celsius salt water of the Thompson room 215 tank, the anemones, mussels, and gunnels were living in peace and tranquility, nestled in their smooth faux gravel and perfect salinity. And then came the moon snails. After just a few minutes Jaba the Moon Snail, Gus the Gastropod, and T-Swift the Tank Trasher had carved snail-trails through the neat gravel and displaced every rock in the tank. Hours later the mucus from their slimy laps around their glass corral began to collect in bubbly strands extending toward the surface of the water like ropes of bubbles. At one point a small shrimp was hanging upside down with his legs all wrapped in a mucus rope, a most panicked site. Eventually he wriggled free of his colloid trappings, but it will take a lot of years of therapy to relieve that fear of heights.

A shrimp caught upside-down in a mucus rope, residue from the gelatinous gallivanting of the moon snail terror trifecta.

An anemone also fell victim to the road rage of these massive mollusks, getting completely run over by the giant slimy foot of Jaba the Moon Snail and half-buried in displaced gravel. And the rest of the tank was left in general chaos and disarray. Ultimately, we decided to return the three moon snails to the beach where we found them and relieve our tank of their terror.

Jaba the Moon Snail on a tour of terror.

The snails were collected from Alkai Beach in Seattle where Stephen and I were conducting a sea star survey. As a popular family beach destination, Alkai was littered with children who were first curious as to what we were doing with buckets of sea stars and then excited to help our cause. One such little girl seemed particularly bent on ensuring my efficiency, following closely behind me with a snooty chorus of, “you missed one.” Needless to say, I was actually selecting certain color morphs for collection and ignoring others, but she just figured she had an eye for echinoderms that I did not.

For sea star surveys, such as the one at Alkai Beach, we collect sea stars (with a permit) and pack them carefully into buckets on plastic plates. After we have recorded all their details back at the lab, the stars need to be returned to their proper locations.

Pisaster ochraceus plated for collection and analysis.

Unfortunately, by the time we have finished with them the tide has come back in and their intertidal zone is covered by water. This led to one particularly exciting afternoon at Titlow Beach last week. We returned to Titlow with 115 sea stars to be returned to the intertidal and found that the water had come in about 50 meters and was certainly not of wade-able depth. Instead, Stephen insisted that I swim our five-legged fold back to the proper area. Seeing as we had no where else to house them overnight, and I am aware of the commitment of diligence and sacrifice I have made to science, I agreed. With a 5-gallon bucket of sea stars in each hand I did my best to float and kick my way out to sea. Although the Tacoma Locals watching seemed a bit surprised at my determined dip in South Sound, this worked fine. Until I had to get the sea stars out of the buckets. I was sprinkling sea stars like I was Cinderella and they were corn, hovering like a Disney princess. And then the buckets began filling with water.

I won’t bother explaining why I was unable to empty the buckets, but trying to swim with two full 5-gallon buckets of water was quite the struggle. I think it was Stephen’s reassurance that he would not be jumping in to save me and the slight assist of the tide still coming in that allowed my leaded trudge of a swim-stroke to actually propel me back to shore. I survived, so I suppose the endeavor was a success.

Our next set of adventures should take Stephen and I to the outer coast of Washington to visit some sites along the Pacific Coast, beginning in the first week of July.

My birthday is this Sunday and my hair is currently hot-hot pink.

Posted in Mary Krauszer '12 | Tagged marine biology, Pisaster ochraceus, student research | Comments Off

Is improvisation only appreciated by performers of the craft?

Posted on June 23, 2010 by leah vendl

Performers meaning people “of the craft”… Certainly improvisation is especially appreciated by performers of their specific craft (I’m thinking jazz improv) but audience members (or listeners) get enjoyment out of it too…

Caveat: Are people as resistant to watching dance improvisation as I think? Or am I setting up a false barrier to argue against? Whether or not it exists, setting up a resistance is forcing me to make a case for improvisation…

From my experience, in general people are more open to listening to jazz improv than witnessing dance improv… I suspect this is because they are less exposed to/familiar with dance than jazz and are therefore more uncomfortable with the improv dancer than the jazz performer—in jazz they know more what to expect. They are more willing to trust a performer in a performance that is ‘unplanned’ if they have a general structure to lean on.

This leads me to believe that maybe a person’s comfort with improvisation just come down to personal taste in art: however much someone wants to move outside the expected pattern or structure is how much they will enjoy the experience of witnessing (well-done, intentional) improv. But… I hope it’s not that easy to explain away.

::I want to make clear the difference between improvising out of necessity (my piece was not prepared well enough, music or dance) and improvising with intention (what I am interested in), where part of the thrill of witnessing the performance is its “liveness,” being with the performer as they approach and tread on the raw cusp of their human ingenuity.

This conversation will be pertinent to my argument for blues dancing, which, in its ideal state (for me) is the utmost form of improvisation; it is the raw ideas of both dancers responding to the external input of the music, and the external input of each other.

Posted in Leah Vendl '11 | Comments Off

Breaking New Ground

Posted on June 19, 2010 by ksleeper

A cool breeze rolls through my open window; a silent alarm clock. Unfortunately, Nature’s graceful alert mechanism lost the race of waking to a roaring engine, shouting voices, pounding hammers, and that remarkable safety feature indicative of large vehicles in their reverse gear: Beep! Beep! Beep! I welcome your imagination to envisioning our newest project on campus: The Center for Health Sciences! What what!! The ground has been broken! The unfolding of our “Master Plan” (*queue diabolical laughter*) continues unhindered by the recession! With no sarcasm in my spirit or voice, I am so grateful for that unfolding, and the noises that come with it. It allows for self-examination, and an opportunity to be humbled.

I ride my bike past the building site ever morning on my way to the gym, and marvel at human engineering, even on this relatively small scale. A little voice in the back of my mind poses the question what will I see that wasn’t there yesterday? This week they continued to level the foundation and were putting what I can only guess were support boards for reinforced concrete down in the dirt. Some steel rods were sticking perpendicular to the ground, and a gigantic upheaval of earth was sitting in a pile practically screaming for little children to hop the fence and slide down it. Not that I have that urge… Glancing through the chain-linked fence and watching workers toiling about their trade, I thank whatever power there may be for the luxury of wondering.

I do believe wondering is a luxury, and I always welcome encountering evidence of the fact that we are fortunate. Actually, we are pretty beyond fortunate. Chances are whoever is reading this has acknowledged that sentiment at some point in their American existence, but it’s always pleasant to remind ourselves. So, as I pass the construction site and the wheels on my bike are going round and round, I examine my own fortune: I am currently residing in the lush oasis that is Puget Sound. Whether I am launching my frisbee across Todd Field, or navigating my way to Point Defiance, I do so by my own volition, and am encouraged to spend my time in such a way. When I wake up, I don’t worry about whether or not I will have a full stomach, clean water, or energy to make it through the day, because I’m situated in the bosom of bounty. I can go to a Farmer’s market three days a week, throw rice in my cooker, rock out to Shakabrah, or, in moments of gluttony, grab a burger and malt down at Friso Freeze. Even the looming and most dangerous volcano in America in our backyard doesn’t present itself as anything short of beautiful in its awesome power. Rainier too inspires me with wonder, and therefore provides me with luxury.

I may be dramatic, but I do so with the intention of truly communicating my fortune. I’m taking a summer class with Professor Mike Valentine from the Geology Department, and even that academic nuisance is such a blessing. Apparently I didn’t get the memo that summer is not a time for schooling, but I’ve come to appreciate that my academic training is as important to me as my experiential education. The perspective of learning as a combination of outside stimulation and internal realization is at the heart of my fortune. I’m learning every day, with every breeze, beep, bike ride and book. The comfort which has been allowed to me should not be wasted, and I hope that what I take away from all my lessons and experiences here at the Sound will infuse future endeavors of mine with a sense of responsibility for the billions of people not as fortunate as I, at home and far away.

Perhaps my overtly optimistic viewpoints are my way of combating continuous strings of cloudy weather, or maybe it is just the effect my community and campus have on me. I have no problem radiating joy, annoying as that may be, and it fogs my head with delusions of grandeur and fighting the good fight. I enjoy those delusions though, and shall indulge in them until I feel like writing about military history and human nature. I assure you, that mood swing will come.

Party on Wayne.

P.S. Inspirational Quote! “Service is the rent we pay for living on this earth.” ~Shirley Chisholm

P.P.S. Chrisolm was the first African-American Woman elected to congress. Wikipedia her, she is saweet!

Posted in Kyle Sleeper '12 | Tagged appreciation, Beauty, Blog, Center for Health Sciences, education, Kyle Sleeper, Living the Dream, Optimism, Pink hat, Puget Sound, Student Life, Summer in Tacoma, summer school | Comments Off

Reporting from the San Juan Islands

Posted on June 18, 2010 by mkrauszer

How can you resist that face?

Update on the sea star models: dough colors created from food color, flour, and lard are not matching the colors of real sea stars very well (particularly showing severely different reflectance in the UV, which birds can see), so I am performing predation trials with clay models again. But enough with the technical stuff.

After turning the car around only once to get something we forgot (cinnamon Life cereal), my research partner, Stephen Reller, and I set out on our journey to the Friday Harbor Laboratories on San Juan Island. A two hour drive up I-5 and a ferry ride later, we arrived and settled in by consuming an entire Digiorno pizza and retiring to our cabins.

The Friday Harbor Labs are run by the University of Washington, equipped with facilities for instruction and research year round by resident and visiting biologists. We were stationed in Lab 2 with access to a continuous wet-lab salt water source for our tanks of sea stars, boats for traveling to sea star site around the island, and plenty of other research students and professionals ready to talk science any time. The lab complex was also frequented by an abundance of wildlife. Deer, foxes, raccoons, otters, birds and slugs galore! I was particularly fond of the slugs, but Stephen was not.

Giant black slug at Friday Harbor Labs. What a beautiful gastropod.

Our days were divided between sea star surveys and my predation trials. For the surveys we traveled to a number of sites around San Juan Island and gathered data on the size, GPS location, color, mass, species, microhabitat, arm number, tidal height, and color spectrum of every single sea star we found. This made for a lot of turning over rocks and peaking into crevasses while trying not to slip on algae and tumble into the ocean. We had great success with the surveys, processing around 50 sea stars at each site and covering 5 survey sites. My predation trials did not go quite as smoothly, as there seem to be very few gulls on San Juan Island to try to entice with clay models, and those we did find seemed more interested in preening and chatting with their neighbors than foraging in the intertidal.

Still, despite this disappointment, I managed to enjoy myself. Most afternoons we spent basking in the island sun after a morning of field work. Evenings were divided between berry picking, cooking delicious dinners, reading, and occasionally setting up in-lad trials. I took advantage of our proximity to the water and swam nearly every day. I even took one Pacific dip at 10:30 pm in the pouring rain as the ferry hummed by. This was not the first time I have swum at night but, being from Alaska, this was the first time I have swum in the dark at night and it was both intensely creepy and wonderfully liberating. Though, Stephen didn’t appreciate the rain and assured me he was only their to carry the flashlight and refused the assume the role of life guard in the event that I was consumed by a night-time sea monster. Fortunately, we found no sea monsters, at least not hostile ones.

We did go “night-lighting” one night, which involves lowering a bright light into the ocean and night and waiting for the late crowd to show up. Mostly we attracted thousands of silvery minnows, which swam incessant counter-clockwise circles around our lamp, but there were a few special visitors. As the highlights we caught two baby red octopuses (including the one pictured below) and a larval crustacean which looked like an alien and stumped most of the researchers at the labs for an ID. After some digging, Professor Joel Elliott found that this particular crustacean was actually the inspiration for the alien from the original Alien movie, which would explain my earlier association.

Baby red octopus caught while night-lighting (lowering a bright light into the water at night) off the dock at Friday Harbor Lab. Approximately 1.5 cm.

We return to Tacoma June 15 and I will be sad to leave. The small town, the ocean, the motor boats, and the aliens make me sure I’ve chosen the right major in marine biology.

My hair is currently supposed-to-be-teal, which would probably be more accurately described as radioactive snot or some kind of Smurf mucous.

Posted in Mary Krauszer '12 | Comments Off

Captain’s Log Stardate 06.05.2010

Posted on June 17, 2010 by mkrauszer

Model sea stars made from Sculpey clay to simulate the four color morphs of the sea star Pisaster ochraceus.

Greetings! My name is Mary Krauszer. I am a recipient of a 2010 Summer Research Grant in biology, working under the mentorship of Professor Joel Elliott and in collaboration with student Stephen Reller. The three of us will be spending this summer exploring the mystery of the ochre sea star, Pisaster ochraceus (hereafter referred to as Pisaster), abundant on the coast of Washington state. Specifically, most Pisaster that you find in areas like Puget Sound that are protected from heavy wave action are purple in color. Conversely, on the outer coast of Washington state, which receives plenty of wave action from the open ocean, Pisaster are commonly orange or brown and the purple coloring is less frequent. This color difference between geographic areas has never been explained, and thus our project was born.

From summer research so far I have learned that science is a lot like the third grade. My days are portioned between craft time, fieldtrips, and talking about poop. Craft time: I spend lab time meticulously crafting sea star models, which have already undergone four generational upgrades and are about to experience another. Models began as stock art store clay, evolved into Sculpey clay, were refurbished as lard and flour dough stars, and are finally being revamped with a whole new color system. It is simple to simulate the size and shape of Pisaster (I created molds from real, dried specimens) but reproducing color with models is more complex. Due to the complexity of gull eyes (which are even more complex than your own), gulls are able to see in the ultra violet spectrum, a region of light which humans cannot see. Thus, in matching hues and tones of colors for models, it is also important to consider whether the medium from which a model is created reflects light in the UV. Analyzing this component of the model color requires the use of a spectrophotometer and lots of trial and error with food coloring.

Fieldtrips: On days with “good low tides” (as defined by how much of the intertidal zone will be exposed during the low tide), we venture into the field. On various beaches perform predation trials using the models I created in the lab. I place five of each color of model (orange, purple, brown, and gray) next to rocks on the beach, two meters apart and about one meter away from the water. I then retreat about fifteen meters to my spotting scope and watch as gulls mosey through my 100-meter trial area and (hopefully) join us for lunch (aka attack my models).

Mary Krauszer placing "lard-stars" (dough model sea stars) at Point Defiance for gull predation trials.

Talking about poop: Another interesting side project that has formed as a byproduct of investigating gull eating behavior has been the investigation of gull after-eating products. Gulls commonly eat sea stars and other organisms that contain hard parts like skeletons that are not digested and are therefore visible in excrement. Sea star parts are easily identifiable in gull scat, usually appearing as spines or ossicles (small calcareous plates which make up the skeleton). Thus, I have been counting and collecting gull piles containing ossicles for analysis. As to what kind of data exactly is to be gathered from these droppings, I am not yet sure, but I enjoy washing and sorting poop under a microscope as much as the next guy and I am confident the process will prove enriching.

I will be in the lab promptly at 8:30 am tomorrow to begin color analysis of the newest version of the models in preparation for our trip to Friday Harbor Laboratories in the San Juan Islands beginning Monday. We will stay at the lab for access to its many facilities and in order to perform trials and sea star surveys at locations in the San Juans. I will be there June 7-15, and shall dye my hair teal on Wednesday.

Posted in Mary Krauszer '12 | Comments Off

The OTHER Washington!

Posted on June 16, 2010 by ksheeler

Welcome to my blog! Here I will be sharing my experiences as an intern in Washington, DC, where I will be participating in a summer internship program with the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. NCUSAR

2 of my roommates and I at the WWII Memorial on Memorial Day

is a non-profit in DC that works with other organizations to spread knowledge and awareness about the Arab/Islamic world in the United States and to facilitate cooperation and understanding between the two regions. As an intern with the NCUSAR this summer, I will be one of 25 students participating in a program that includes seminar classes on the Arab world with expert guest speakers, site visits to embassies and government buildings, and work placements with the Council’s partners throughout the city. I have been assigned to work at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies; others will be working with the media, lobbying groups, and other non-profits. I like that we will all have different experiences to share and learn from and a chance to expand our network of professional contacts. Even though I have had limited interaction with the other interns so far (since we just met yesterday, except for my roommate Karina), I am excited about being part of this group. Quite a few of the students have their roots in the Arab world, coming from Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Morocco, Iraq, and Kuwait to study in the U.S. Every aspect of this program promises to teach me a lot and to expand my horizons, so I am very excited to have gotten this opportunity.

Here are the highlights of my first few weeks in DC. I’ll put the topics in bold so you can pick and choose what to read…there’s a lot to cover already! :

I turned 21! And have since been enjoying the nightlife DC has to offer and socializing with other interns and young staffers in the area. The people in my program are great, my roommates are a lot of fun, and it really easy to meet new people. Your odds are pretty good that if you start talking to a college-aged person walking around DC in the summer, they’ll turn out to be an intern too. So you immediately have something to talk about and most people are out-of-towners looking for new people to hang out with while they’re here. So ya, the social life is going great!

I have seen a fair amount of the monuments and landmarks of DC that I had previously only seen in pictures, movies, and the news. Considering that I have wanted to study politics since I was about 10 years old and had never been to DC until now, I am pretty excited about all the important buildings and such. I got a few amused looks from locals when I had a friend take my picture next to the very plain, but to me very awesome and exciting, State Department sign outside the building. It was cool though to spend Memorial Day this year actually VISITING all the memorials—my roommates and I made it to most of them around the National Mall (see pic at WWII memorial), which is only a 5-10 minute walk from where we are living at the George Washington university campus. On my birthday I also ended up trapped in the Lincoln Memorial with about 200 other people during a freak downpour that no one saw coming. Luckily it was done after about 20 minutes. I have since discovered that those happen about every 3 days at this time of year in DC, so I now carry an umbrella regularly—even when it is sunny outside. As a life-long Seattlite, I am slightly ashamed. But the weather here seems even more schizophrenic than home. Oh, and people here use umbrellas even when it is less-than-drizzling. It amuses me greatly.

I have begun work over at Georgetown University and am doing some investigation of grad school possibilities at the same time. My work assignment for my internship is in Georgetown’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. I like my office and coworkers, and I have been looking at Georgetown as one of my top choices for grad school for quite some time so it is cool to be there meeting grad students and professors and getting to know the school better. My actual work involves helping the center with various events and programming, mostly office work and not super exciting yet so I will move on to other things.

As part of my internship program I have had lectures by the following speakers:

Dr. John Duke Anthony, founder and president of NCUSAR and adjunct professor at Georgetown, among other things. He has tons of experience in the Middle East and in working with policymakers, so I definitely enjoy his talks.

A member of the American Task Force on Palestine spoke to us about the Israel/Palestine issue. He provided a lot of interesting information about the issue and America’s changing relationship with that particular conflict. He says it has become a strategic imperative to the US to see the issue resolved, whereas it has previously been seen by administrators as something that would be nice but wasn’t necessary. Definitely relevant considering the recent flotilla incident.

2 retired CIA operatives speaking off the record about their time in the Middle East, including one who is the President of the Middle East Policy Council and the other has written several books and been a consultant on movies concerning the CIA and the region, like Charlie Wilson’s War. One thing I liked about this presentation was that it gave some insight into a potential career track that I have been interested in. I definitely want to work abroad and am interested in intelligence work as well, so hearing from people who spent most of their career in the CIA was a great experience.

The president of ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid), the organization responsible for providing humanitarian relief and assistance from the US primarily to Palestinians. It was simultaneously inspiring and depressing to hear about the work they do—they have helped bring aid to thousands of people, including feeding 20,000 malnourished Palestinian children PER DAY, but the sad thing is any long-term development projects they’d like to do are undermined by Israeli policies—especially the blockade of Gaza which prevents any building materials and thousands of food items from getting to the people of Gaza. Also interesting—this organization is associated with the US government and receives funding from our govt on their efforts. To do this, they go through a lot of oversight to ensure none of their partners are in any way affiliated with Hamas and other organizations on the US blacklist. But the ironic thing is that the US is sending money to help development in Gaza, while at the same time sending bombs and weapons to Israel to use against Gaza. Behold the madness that is politics sometimes. Anyway, that’s some food for thought.

Also as part of my program I have visited the following sites and received briefings, tours, etc. from officials and employees:

The Saudi Arabian Embassy—briefing and question/answer period with one of their Foreign Service Officers. We covered a lot of topics and I got a better idea of where Saudi Arabia stands on current issues and within the international political system.

The Supreme Court—briefing, tour, and question/answer period with the Deputy Clerk, a member of the clerk’s office, and the attorney in charge of handling all death penalty cases where execution dates have been set. This was an interesting visit—everyone really enjoyed themselves mostly because the people we met with and ran into throughout the building were super friendly and interesting, and just made the visit a lot of fun. We were led primarily by this lovely woman who had been at the Court for 30 years, and who traveled frequently to the Middle East. She had lots of great stories about the Justices and the region. She has also worked some Guantanamo cases that had been sent to the Supreme Court, so it was interesting to hear her perspective.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence—briefing, tour, and question/answer period with two Intelligence Analysts in the National Counterterrorism Center. I was especially excited about this visit, since I am seriously considering work as an Intelligence Officer/Analyst in the future. I definitely was not let down. It was fascinating to hear about the kind of work that was done there—in part because the people who spoke with us were very upfront but also reserved in that a lot of the information we would have liked to hear about was classified and they just were not allowed to say anything about certain subjects—namely sources and methods. But still, a lot of good information was shared and I talked to a couple people about fellowship programs there and employment possibilities, so that was awesome. And we got to see the “operations room” which was pretty cool. The show 24 basically copied the set-up and everything, though I don’t watch the show so can’t comment further…Overall though, AWESOME visit and I hope to be back there someday with a security clearance as one of the people who IS allowed to know classified things!

I have also sought out some other networking/educational opportunities (and DC certainly has plenty to offer!) Last week I went to a panel discussion at the World Affairs Council. The topic was U.S.-Iranian relations, an issue that I am particularly interested in especially after taking a course on Iran and Israel last semester from Professor O’Neil in the Politics department at Puget Sound. Turns out one of the speakers was Trita Parsi, a well known scholar in the field whose book (Treacherous Alliance) I read for O’Neil’s class! I got to talk to him at the event’s reception for a bit too! I also mingled with the other experts on the panel—one was a senior editorial writer for the Washington Times, with whom I discussed the future of U.S. and Iranian relations vis-à-vis Israeli actions and policies. The other speaker was an international policy analyst with the RAND Corporation. I talked to him about the research I had done for Professor O’Neil’s class on local governance in Iran and he was very encouraging of my project and gave me some useful insight. I walked away from that night with some interesting perspective, some business cards, and a lot of excitement! This kind of experience is EXACTLY what I came looking for in DC.

So overall things are going great! I love being here in DC and so far I would definitely recommend the NCUSAR summer program to students considering it for next summer. Sorry this was so long, I will try to stay on top of things better in the future! There’s a lot that happens in this program, though, so hopefully you all find it as interesting as I do!

p.s.—I am horrible at taking pictures. I will try to be better so that I can include interesting ones in my posts.

Posted in Kammi Sheeler '11 | Comments Off

Summer in T-Town

Posted on June 16, 2010 by adautremont

So I have survived my junior year. I have been home to recharge after finals aka sleep and eat my Mom’s good food. And I am back in my house in Tacoma. This must mean summer research is commencing. This summer I have been given the opportunity to research a topic of my choosing in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. As many know, the Science department gives out research grants every summer to students but until last summer, when my housemate told me she was researching in Politics and Government department, did I find out about the opportunity for us non-Science scholars. So I decided to submit a proposal to the research grant selection committee that looked at the causes for shifting public opinion surrounding Oregon’s Urban Growth Boundary.
First of all, before I even begin discussing my topic, I want to talk about this great opportunity I have been awarded, as many of us may be unfamiliar with it, like I was until recently. The Summer Research Program is put on by the Assistant Dean’s office and allows approximately 25 students in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences to research a topic of their choosing while compensating them with a $2500 stipend! And for those two students who are selected for the Richard Bangs Collier Grant, which is interdisciplinary, they each receive $3000. This amount of money is probably more than I would be able to make working at some entry level job over the summer, which was part of the appeal. However, the opportunity to research anything you want in your field of interest is just as, well, actually, more appealing, because it provides the opportunity to experience real life research without the pressure of a class or an employer breathing down your neck. This is not to say this experience is completely independent or stress-free. You must have an advisor and check in with them regularly throughout the summer. But for the most part, the research is your own and you are responsible for keeping up with the work, which can actually be more difficult than doing a research paper for a class. I have found it extremely difficult to pry myself out of bed at 7:30 in the morning to go to the library and work. When you know you have the ENTIRE summer to work on your project, it makes it hard to get motivated. But, it is this mind frame which can get you into trouble. So you get yourself up, drink some coffee and get to work.
Puget Sound is actually very enjoyable in the summer. I spent the summer after my sophomore year here too and fell in love with the atmosphere. The campus is quiet, there are no lines in the SUB (despite the fact that the food supply is limited), there is ample free time to go out and explore Tacoma going on biking trips to Vashon Island or Gig Harbor without being too bogged down with schoolwork. And best of all, there is sun! Daily views of Mt. Rainier, the waterfront and the Olympics bewitch you so that you think there is no other place you would rather be. And it is quite hard to argue with that beauty. I also ran my first 12k last weekend… Sound to Narrows, which is one of those things you must do to be considered a “gritty Tacoman.” There are many activities on my list to complete before the summer ends, which is a nice break from the sometimes hum-drum of research. But overall, I feel so lucky to have received a grant, as the selection pool is getting more and more competitive each year. My grant gives me the flexibility to learn about the Oregon Urban Growth Boundary while enjoying the greatness of Tacoma in the summer!