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Features July 07, 2016

Stokes’ Award Winners Look Ahead to Washington

The Stokes' Prize is one of four prestigious awards granted to graduating MPA and MPP students at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. The award recognizes both academic achievement and public service leadership and is awarded to the graduating students whose achievements best exemplify the work of the late Donald E. Stokes, former dean of the Wilson School.This year’s graduation honored students Michael Carlson MPA '16 and Kabira Namit MPA '16 with Stokes’ Awards for their outstanding academic and service accomplishments.Carlson grew up in Galena, Illinois, and studied economics and history as an…

Features July 07, 2016

Politics & Polls #2: Does the VP Pick Still Matter?

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will soon announce their running mates—but does the vice president pick still matter? While it was once used as a way to bring regional balance to the ticket, it's not clear what the vice president selection means in 2016.Tune in to the second episode of Politics & Polls as Professors Julian E. Zelizer and Sam Wang debate this issue and more.Zelizer is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941  Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He has been one of the pioneers in the revival of American political history. He is the author of…

Features June 30, 2016

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Affirmative Action Program at University of Texas

Last week, the Supreme Court voted to uphold the use of race in the admissions process at the University of Texas (UT). The 4-3 ruling came as a surprise for some, especially university officials and civil rights advocates who believe affirmative action is an important piece in promoting diversity in higher education. The majority opinion was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. Elena Kagan was recused. She served as the solicitor general when the Fisher v. University of Texas case was before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. We discussed the ruling…

Features June 30, 2016

Politics & Polls #1: Goldwater, Brexit, and The Party Decides

In 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson crushed Barry Goldwater in the presidential election. Could we see another landslide like this in 2016? Or does today’s political environment make that impossible? Tune in to the first episode of "Politics and Polls” as Professors Julian E. Zelizer and Sam Wang debate this issue and more. Zelizer is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941  Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He has been one of the pioneers in the revival of American political history. He is the author of several books including, most recently, "The Fierce Urgency of…

Features June 29, 2016

WWS Reacts: Supreme Court Rules Texas Abortion Law Unconstitutional

In a 5-3 ruling, the Supreme Court this week struck down a Texas law that imposed regulations on abortion clinics in the state. The law, passed in 2013, required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. Clinics were also required to be outfitted like surgical centers. Both provisions placed "unconstitutional burdens" on women's reproductive choices, the court ruled in a decision issued June 27. Justice Anthony Kennedy joined the liberal side in the ruling, the first time in 15 years that the court limited state abortion legislation. Heather Howard, a lecturer in public affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow…

Features June 27, 2016

Household Fuels Exceed Power Plants and Cars as Source of Smog in Beijing

Beijing and surrounding areas of China often suffer from choking smog. The Chinese government has made commitments to improve air quality and has achieved notable results in reducing emissions from the power and transportation sectors. However, new research indicates that the government could dramatically improve air quality with more attention to an overlooked source of outdoor pollution — residential cooking and heating."Coal and other dirty solid fuels are frequently used in homes for cooking and heating," said Denise Mauzerall, a researcher who led the study and a professor of civil and environmental engineering and public and international…

Features June 24, 2016

WWS Reacts: What Does the Vote for 'Brexit' Mean for Britain and the EU?

On June 23, Britain voted to leave the European Union, opening a historic new chapter filled with questions. Harold James, the Claude and Lore Kelly Professor in European Studies and a professor of history and international affairs at Princeton University, commented on the immediate outcome of Britain's stunning "Brexit." Q. Are these results what you expected? What do you think made voters lean in this direction? James: No, I didn't expect it, though deep down I feared this outcome. The British vote for Brexit is the outcome of a vote against established opinion, against the political class and against the experts. Indeed in the course of the…

Features June 23, 2016

Zika Virus Alerts May Have Prompted Uptick in Abortion Requests in Latin America

Pregnant women in Latin American countries were more likely to seek an abortion after receiving health alerts about Zika virus, according to a study co-authored by Princeton University researchers and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.The researchers analyzed data from Women on Web — an online portal that pairs patients with doctors able to prescribe abortion pills — and found that many Latin American women using the site reported Zika as their reason for seeking an abortion. The mosquito-borne virus is associated with microcephaly, a congenital condition that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads. The researchers found a…

Features June 20, 2016

SINSI Spotlight: Wagner Carries Lessons From the Middle East to the United Nations

During his studies at Princeton University, Will Wagner '12 MPA '14 traded his backpack for a briefcase, stepping outside his Master in Public Affairs (MPA) classroom studies at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, to dive deeper into the intense world of international studies. He spent the first year of this immersion with the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, followed by a second year as a fellow in the Political Section of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (USUN) in New York.Wagner was able to pursue this two-year experience thanks to the Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI) at…

Features June 15, 2016

Wilson School Hosts Summer Policy Academy for Students from Pueblo and Navajo Nations

Eighteen high school students from 16 Pueblo Nations in New Mexico and two students from the Navajo Nation in Arizona are visiting the Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs this week as part of the Santa Fe Indian School Leadership Institute’s Summer Policy Academy (SPA). The academy brings together American Indian rising juniors, seniors and recent high school graduates to the Wilson School for a weeklong program to explore issues facing American Indian communities. Hosted every year since 2008, SPA was co-founded and is co-directed by Regis Pecos ’77, former chief of staff to the speaker of the New Mexico House of…

Features June 13, 2016

Youth With Parents and Household Members in Prison More Likely to Have First Baby Before Marriage

As incarceration rates have increased in the United States, so has the likelihood that children will endure the imprisonment of a parent — especially among the most disadvantaged populations. But how does the imprisonment of parents and other household members influence a child or adolescent’s future?A Princeton University study finds youth who are between ages 10 and 14 when a household member goes to prison are at a 41 percent greater risk for giving birth to their first child before marriage. This risk is especially pronounced when the father or an extended household member who is not a parent — such as a cousin, aunt, uncle or friend — is…

Features June 06, 2016

Achen Challenges Popular Conceptions of American Democracy

While on a fellowship at Princeton in the early 2000s, Christopher Achen wandered into a bookstore across from campus. On the front table he spotted two books about shark attacks along the New Jersey coast that killed four people over 12 days and sparked a panic in 1916. Those books gave Achen an idea, a way to test a theory he and colleague Larry Bartels had been batting around as part of a broader conversation about the way American democracy does — and doesn't — work. The theory in question: American voters often blame incumbents for things the officeholders can't control. So, did the shark attacks cost incumbent President Woodrow Wilson votes in…

Features June 06, 2016

The Rise of Intimate Partner Violence During the Great Recession

Financial strain has long been one of the leading causes of family discord, but a recent study suggests that simply living through major economic recessions increases a mother’s chance of suffering from domestic violence.Researchers from Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley, investigated the impact of economic distress on romantic relationships, demonstrating unexpected side effects of economic downturns.The study, published in Demography, carefully examined whether personal economic distress and high unemployment rates would increase a mother’s chances of being in a violent or controlling…

Features June 01, 2016

The Wilson School Congratulates the GREAT Class of 2016

The Woodrow Wilson School awarded 83 graduate students and 144 undergraduate students with degrees at its May 31 Commencement and through the 2015-16 academic year.The Wilson School congratulates the five Ph.D. students, 60 Master in Public Affairs (MPA) students and 18 Master in Public Policy (MPP) students who graduated. Both graduate and undergraduate students were recognized through prestigious awards. They are as follows.GRADUATE AWARDS & DISTINCTIONHigh DistinctionWylie Timmerman (Field III) received high distinction on the second-year qualifying exam.DistinctionThe following students achieved distinction in their second-year qualifying…

Features May 26, 2016

WWS Reacts: How Will Funding Help in the Fight Against Zika?

The Senate voted last week to advance $1.1 billion in emergency funding to help fight the spread of Zika, a mosquito-borne virus that is particularly harmful to pregnant women. The sum, which will likely be used for vaccine development and mosquito control, comes short of the $1.9 billion originally requested by the White House. Critics say the $1.1 billion may not be enough to control the virus from spreading. At this point in time, several hundred cases of Zika have been identified in the United States, many of whom are pregnant women. The virus has been linked to microcephaly, a congenital condition causing babies to be born with abnormally small…