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Courses sponsored by the Keller Center:

Political Science 3774: "Free Speech and Dangerous Ideas"

Spring Semester 2021, Prof. Matthew Harvey

LSAT Preparation Award Winners:

Aaron Gafari:

• "Post graduation, Aaron intends to go into law school and emphasize on either Constitutional or Criminal Law. With the ambition of eventually serving as a judge, Aaron hopes to practice law and work his way through the U.S. legal system. Aaron seeks to serve the United States in all practices by maintaining authentic constitutional values and actively challenging dogmatic thought wherever it may sprout."

 

Belinda Nicholas:

• "After graduating from the ²ÊÃñ±¦µä, I plan on attending law school to become a civil rights attorney, with the aim of bringing justice to marginalized Americans by upholding the Fourteenth Amendment. Working as a civil rights attorney will provide me with extensive knowledge and firsthand experience with our country’s institutions. I hope to identify weaknesses in our system and bring areas of injustice to the surface when I eventually run for public office. A position in Congress will allow me to use my experience as an attorney to design just legislation."

 

Joe Kennedy:

• "I plan to graduate in the spring of 2023, and move on to law school, hopefully Harvard. I'm interested in money in politics and Wall Street regulation. A life goal of mine outside of law is to be published in the New Yorker."

 

Nigeena Taj:

• "My post graduation plans are to attend law school on the east coast, ideally, Virginia or New York. While attending law school, I want to also get into business. My goal is to eventually start a joint business and aim for it to be successful by the time I graduate law school so I have another stream of income I can rely on."

Political Science 3155: "Survey Research Practicum: Civil Liberties and Public Opinion"

Fall Semester 2020, Prof. Courtney Johnson

Links to recorded student presentations:

Day 1 - 

Day 2 - 

Student reviews:

Joris Alawoe: 

"PSCI 3155 was a great class to be a part of. Having the opportunity to participate in developing a survey allowed my peers and I to have hands-on experience. We were able to learn the "science" behind polls. We learned what makes them tick and why we trust them. It was beneficial to learn how polls are made, what considerations pollsters make, and so much more. This has given me a framework to fall on whenever I examine a poll in the future. The research we conducted allowed us to take an active role in examining our state's political discourse. Having the opportunity to conduct research as an undergrad, especially statewide, was very exciting and a great privilege. When we also throw in that this year was an election year, it made this class even more interesting. This course allowed me to go home and say "well....the polls aren't actually wrong and here's why". My family was happy to see that my degree is going to good use (hahaha). On a more serious note, this course will help me tremendously in my college and professional career. As someone who hopes to be involved in the political sphere, whether it is in the government, at a nonprofit, or a consulting firm, polls will be a factor in making decisions. Having some basis on how to conduct/understand the results from a poll will have me better prepared for my potential future."

James Kim: 

"Hello! My name is James Kim, and I am a student in Professor Johnson's PSCI 3155 (Survey Design Analysis) course. I believe this course has been very engaging and interesting, as someone who does not have a great interest in data science. After the first few weeks of coming to class, I was unsure of if this course was a good fit for me and was considering dropping the course. However, I eventually grew more comfortable in the course, and I believe I have learned a significant amount of relevant information regarding how to read and interpret surveys/survey data, how to distinguish valid from invalid surveys and sources, and the different factors that influence people's opinions. In addition, I enjoyed being able to work with real survey data and applying what we have been taught to a hands-on experiment. Overall, I believe the information this course presents is crucial information that more people should know because it is beneficial to be more cognizant of how we base our attitudes and values around the information we are fed and more understanding of different national trends in opinions. I believe that these skills and considerations have and will make me a more informed individual, and I see myself relaying much of the sentiments of this course in a teaching career."

Maria Carolina De La Torre: 

"First, I would like to thank the Political Science department for sponsoring this class. It was one of the most engaging, stimulating, and challenging classes that I have taken as a senior student in the department. Not only did the class do a beautiful job of presenting applied research methods, but this class also helps with organization and project management. By assigning large groups for this project, the course both teaches effective management techniques and team-building skills that are great professional development tools. Although the current pandemic complicated many aspects of this semester, this well-structured class was moved online with ease."