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Features May 23, 2016

Addressing Economic Hardships in Rural America Could Help Control Drug Epidemic, Wailoo Tells Congress

America’s drug epidemic could be better controlled by addressing the economic hardships facing rural America, Princeton University’s Keith Wailoo said at a recent Congressional briefing. The country must also consider how best to treat those suffering from chronic pain.The briefing—held May 9 by the National History Center of the American Historical Association (AHA)—coincided with voting on 18 bills aimed at the rampant opioid addiction problem sweeping the country. The briefing focused on American drug policy and drug addiction epidemics in a historical perspective.Wailoo, the Townsend Martin Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton’s…

Features May 18, 2016

WWS Reacts: Brazil’s President Was Impeached. Now What?

Brazil’s Senate voted last week to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, a move that suspends the president for 180 days. Rousseff, who is accused of using public bank money to cover budget gaps, now faces an impeachment trial. The suspended president is calling the situation a “coup d’etat” and maintains she didn’t act criminally regarding budgetary affairs. The impeachment raises significant questions for Brazil’s economic and political future. We discussed these issues and how they will affect Brazil going forward with John Londregan, professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and…

Features May 18, 2016

SINSI Spotlight: A Passion for the Health and Well-Being of Others

Concern for the health and well-being of others has long been a driving force for Marlise Pierre-Wright ’12, MPA ’16. As a Princeton University undergraduate student, this passion led her to assume several leadership roles on campus, including serving as a Healthy Minds peer advisor and a member of the Student Health Advisory Board.Pierre-Wright’s desire to serve others also led her to apply to the Scholars in the Nations’ Service Initiative (SINSI), a program sponsored by Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.Established in 2006, SINSI is designed to encourage, support and prepare exceptional students for careers in…

Features May 11, 2016

In the Nation’s Defense: SINSI Scholar Kevin McGinnis Shapes National Security Policy

Growing up, Kevin McGinnis ’11, MPA ’15, never imagined he’d someday be advising the U.S. Secretary of Defense on national security policy and overseas military basing. Hailing from the eastern shore of Maryland, an area facing many ecological and economic challenges, McGinnis originally thought he’d end up in environmental policy and sustainable water resources management, a major focus of his high school years. As an undergraduate at Princeton University, McGinnis majored in the Woodrow Wilson School and earned certificates in environmental studies, Latin American studies and Spanish language. He also joined Engineers Without Borders as part of a…

Features May 04, 2016

Students in Policy Task Force Study Migrant Crisis in Europe

Every year citizens flee their homelands to escape political instability, violent conflicts, environmental degradation and grinding poverty. In 2015 alone, roughly 1 million migrants sought a more secure future within the European Union (EU). Over the past few months, students in a Princeton University undergraduate policy task force have been studying the challenges EU leaders face in dealing with the migrant influx — and developing potential solutions.The task force represents the most distinctive feature of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs’ undergraduate program and is different from a course, seminar or independent…

Features May 04, 2016

As Global Temperatures Rise, Children Must Be Central to Climate Change Debates

Forecasts suggest that by 2050, the world could see 200 million environmental migrants, many of whom would be children. For this reason and others, children should be central to such climate change debates, according to a journal released by Princeton University and the Brookings Institution.Rising temperatures, rising sea levels and the increasing likelihood of extreme weather will all alter children’s lives and the lives of their own children. And yet, children are largely left out of discussions about appropriate responses to climate change. They—as well as future generations—must be included, as they have a much larger stake in the outcome than…

Features April 29, 2016

SINSI Spotlight: Wildlife Conservation on the Ground

For Alexandra Kasdin ’14, MPA ’18, a passion for wildlife conservation began when she was eight years old. Inspired by her first grade teacher—who had a classroom full of animals and lesson plans devoted to endangered species and the environment—Kasdin knew she would spend her life working toward wildlife protection.In elementary, middle and high school, Kasdin served as a Girl Scout, devoting her service projects to endangered species conservation. For two and a half years in high school, she worked at the Philadelphia Zoo, assisting with educational programming and talking to visitors about wildlife. One summer in high school, she traveled to assist…

Features April 27, 2016

Graduate Students Tackle Climate Change

The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference led to a historic agreement, in which 195 nations promised to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions. Questions still remain, however, as to how the global community will develop action plans to implement the agreement that are both scientifically and politically feasible.Three graduate students from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School chose to tackle these questions as part of a day-long climate change simulation competition prepared by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA).Cara Goldenberg MPA ’17, Bonnie Krenz MPA ’16 and Ken Sofer MPA ’17 were…

Features April 21, 2016

Students Collaborate Around Issues of Social Justice in Freshman Seminar

Halfway around the table, it came time for freshman Ryan Ozminkowski to report on his research."The world is insanely complex," he said by way of introduction, before describing to his 13 Princeton University classmates and professor how he was progressing with his study of intellectual property rights. "My goal," he said, "is still to make some kind of ideal copyright law. I'm going to come into class with a draft and get feedback."Tackling complex topics and exploring solutions as a group is a key feature of "Capitalism, Utopia and Social Justice," the Freshman Seminar in Human Values being offered this semester. It is taught by Marc Fleurbaey,…

Features April 20, 2016

Mortality Rates Improve Among Kids and Young Adults in the US, Especially in Poor Counties

Recent studies of mortality trends paint a gloomy picture for many middle-aged and older Americans, but a new study focused on children reveals a more optimistic future.Death rates have declined among children and young adults in the poorest counties in the United States, according to the study published in Science. These children may be more likely to be healthier as they grow older, regardless of the poverty level where they live, the findings suggest.Better health care, food and nutrition programs and less pollution are all potential contributors, the researchers say. The results should be particularly encouraging to policymakers engaged in…

Features April 20, 2016

Tighter Enforcement Along the US-Mexico Border Backfired, Researchers Find

The rapid escalation of border enforcement over the past three decades has backfired as a strategy to control undocumented immigration between Mexico and the United States, according to new research that suggests further militarization of the border is a waste of money."Rather than stopping undocumented Mexicans from coming to the U.S., greater enforcement stopped them from going home," said Douglas Massey, one of the researchers and the Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton.Advocated by bureaucrats, politicians and pundits, the militarization of the U.S. border with Mexico transformed undocumented Mexican migration…

Features April 14, 2016

Peace Corps to Princeton: Grassroots Experience and the Graduate Student

John F. Kennedy founded the Peace Corps in 1961 with the goal of sending volunteers on two-year missions to aid developing nations while simultaneously helping Americans understand foreign cultures. Since then, more than 220,000 Americans have traveled to 140 countries to assist with projects ranging from education to agriculture to technology. The Peace Corps provides volunteers with housing and a stipend to cover food and incidentals, allowing them to live with the people in their community.Because much of the work done through the Peace Corps focuses on social and economic development, volunteers often leave with a drive to continue helping their…

Features April 06, 2016

Researchers Propose Surveillance System for Zika Virus and Other Infectious Diseases

A group of prominent researchers from seven institutions including Princeton University are calling for the establishment of a worldwide program to collect and test blood and other human bodily fluids to aid in the study and prevention of emerging infectious diseases such as the mosquito-borne Zika fever, which is caused by the Zika virus and has spread throughout Latin America and the Caribbean since early 2015.In an article published in The Lancet April 5, the authors call for the creation of a World Serology Bank that would include storage repositories located around the world that use a common set of best practices to collect and evaluate blood…

Features April 06, 2016

Age and Mobility Predict Death Better Than One’s ‘Molecular Clock’

Advances in technology allow scientists to measure intricate details about the human body that greatly enhance understanding of health, disease and aging.Yet, when it comes to predicting death, more rudimentary measures—like a person’s age or a person’s ability to climb stairs or walk a short distance—are much more powerful predictors of survival than certain biomarkers, according to a study published in PLOS ONE by researchers at Princeton University; Georgetown University; University of Washington; Stanford University; the University of California, Berkeley; and the Universidad de Costa Rica. Using data from the United States, Costa Rica and Taiwan,…

Features April 05, 2016

Q&A with America’s First Female Four-Star General

The past few decades have seen remarkable changes in the role of women in the United States military, from the integration of women into the army in 1976 to the Secretary of Defense’s lift of the ban on women in combat roles just months ago.In 2008, Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody became the first woman in military history to achieve the rank of four-star general, a landmark moment in the growing role of women in the U.S. military over the years.Dunwoody’s new memoir, "A Higher Standard: Leadership Strategies from America's First Female Four-Star General,” shares what she’s learned in her nearly four decades in the U.S. Army, from her first command leading 100…