Politics, politics

Dear America (and prospective students from overseas reading this),

Today (depending on where you stand) you're either elated or saddened by the election results. This obviously doesn't apply to the Fox/ MSNBC set. Whether their side wins or not they're always just as angry.

Naturally, this being a school in Washington, D.C., we have somewhat of a different view on the new Republican majority than most places around. It's not that GW as a school supports or opposes it--I don't care to generalize that much--but rather that we experience politics differently. If you were to walk around on campus over the next few days, here's what you'd most likely see:

Frenzied job applications: a lot of GW students want to work for Congress. But did you know that the majority party gets a great deal more money with which to hire/ support interns and staff? What this means is that everybody who wanted to work for a Republican member of Congress and might not have been able to before now may have a better chance of doing so. On the flip side, some people working for outgoing Democrats in the House of Representatives may have to find another job. (Don't worry, more liberal readers, because everybody gets their turn sooner or later.)

Wild Political Mood Swings: Not everybody here is a political nerd. But many people are. If somebody's looking a little downcast or suspiciously pleased with themselves, the Congressional midterms are one good reason why. Either that or vanilla midterms, whichever.

Professorial concerns: I don't know how well-known this is, but much of academic research is dependent on Congressional funding for DARPA, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other grant-making bodies. A change in political direction often means a change in funding for research, which can have a big impact on our performance in science--and, ultimately, our international economic competitiveness.

Luckily I'm an International Affairs major, so my professors never got any grant money from the government to begin with. That field's funded mostly by grants from smaller foundations that aren't as sensitive to political changes. (Students can also do independent research funded by GW, which is maybe a topic I'll touch on in the future.)

Questions? Comments? Want to call me out for my liberal/ conservative hackery? (If you think you've figured out my political stance on the basis of this article, think again.) Email me at ash1290@gwmail.gwu.edu.

Look out for more posts soon--
Adam