About

Students of political science and journalism at Kent State University tackle this year’s presidential race. This mixed class aspires to provide a well-researched perspective on the political climate in 2008.

Who We Are

Mary K. Clause is a 26-year-old is a senior political science major. She was born and raised in Northeast Ohio. During the past nine years, she has been pursuing her degree off and on and working at various jobs, all the while striving to learn more about the American political system. Once a fan of George W. Bush’s “compassionate conservative” rhetoric, she began to doubt those political leanings as the Iraq War began. She now finds herself on the left side of the aisle more often than not and has contributed to the Ohio Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She also volunteered with Move On PAC during the 2004 presidential election. Upon graduation, Clause will begin military service as a security forces officer in the United States Air Force.

Inside Katie Cleary lives an inquisitive four year old. Always questioning, never satisfied and continuing research on everything from important policy to inane trivia, Katie’s mind is constantly spinning. Thanks to a Republican father, a Democratic mother and very lively dinner conversations, Katie often sees more than one side to every issue, making voting day very difficult but writing about politics a little easier. Besides writing for this blog, Katie is also a DJ for Kent State’s only student-run radio station, Black Squirrel Radio. Check it out at www.blacksquirrelradio.com.

Ted Hamilton is a member of Kent State’s College Libertarians group.
Along with writing for Black Squirrel Politics, he is also a weekly
columnist for the Daily Kent Stater, a main writer for The Burr, a
writer for Artemis and a writer for theREBUTTAL.com.

Joe Harrington is a senior newspaper journalism major. He is the assistant sports editor for the Daily Kent Stater and writes columns and various other stories for the page. He is from Cincinnati, Texas and Kansas. He is a Republican, but he’s not a nut about it. He foolishly was duped into donating money to the Mike Huckabee campaign. He doesn’t even agree with him on many issues, but for some reason he gave money to him after the Buckeyes lost the national championship game. He only wishes he was kidding, but he’s not. The joke in the Daily Kent Stater newsroom is that he might be put into a Huckabee speech for giving money to him. He supports John McCain because he can beat Hillary or Obama.

Allen Hines is a senior political science-newspaper journalism double
major at Kent State University. He is a member of the International
Socialist Organization and the Kent State Anti-War Committee. He has
written for the Canton Repository and the Daily Kent Stater. He has won
a Wick Poetry Award and published a chapbook in 2007.

Gavin Jackson is a senior visual journalism major at Kent State University. A Silver Spring, Maryland, native, Jackson came to Kent in 2004 and has been an active photographer at the Daily Kent Stater and other student media. Though he’s in the College Democrats Facebook group, he’s not an active member. Check out his photoblog at actiongphoto.blogspot.com.

Liz Laubscher is a senior at Kent State University majoring in journalism and minoring in political science. She hopes to do an internship over the summer in Washington, D.C., and that is where she hopes to move to after graduation. One day she hopes to work for TIME magazine. She thinks it would be one of the most influential experiences she could ever have.

Lubna Najjar is a senior at Kent State University, main campus. As a political science major, she is interested in the politics of not just government but business, relationships and economics in the United States as well as other countries. She is a Palestinian American raised in Kent, Ohio. She has traveled all over the world and has studied abroad in Switzerland and Germany for months at a time. She values God, family, her education and the health and well-being of everyone. She is a member of the College Democrats of America (CDA) which is the official student outreach arm of the Democratic Party. She interned at the Ohio Democratic Party and Ohio Homeland Security for a semester in Fall 2007. She is open to new ideas, religions and cultures. If she had one superpower, it would be the ability to speak every language and understand every culture/people so that she could communicate with everyone.

Kiera Manion-Fischer is an identical triplet and professors’ brat. She’s a sophomore newspaper journalism major because all she wants to do in college is work for the student newspaper, where she’s now the safety reporter. She’s also a political science major because every journalist she has met told her to save journalism till graduate school and get a substantive liberal arts degree as an undergraduate. Basically, she wants the best of both worlds. If you see her on campus, don’t say hi because you might be talking to one of her sisters, and that would be very awkward.

Growing up with Black Nationalist for a father and a Jehovah’s Witness for a mother could do a number on one’s psyche, but not Sasha Parker’s. The 21-year-old magazine major grew up in Warren, Ohio, and has found a way to balance the polar oppositions of her childhood. When it comes to politics, she has a unique way of approaching topics from all sides. “My family has taught me never to be closed-minded,” she says. “I take things for what they are, not how I want them to be.” She’s the president of Black United Students, a campus organization to promote equality for minority students. She’d like to think of herself as one of those cool kids that just wants people to think. Think about the things going on around you. Stop and ask questions. If it doesn’t agree with
your own reasoning and common sense, question why it is.

Jeff Russ is a senior news journalism major at Kent State University. He is the sports editor for The Daily Kent Stater. It is his third semester with the Stater. He also has a radio show on Black Squirrel Radio that covers sports on Sunday nights. He previously voted for John Kerry and Ted Strickland, and he doesn’t know who is voting for in 2008 yet.

Though she grew up in a democrat household, Jessica Schecter was always encouraged to (and does) think for herself and consider multiple viewpoints on many issues. As the daughter of very active members in her family’s religious and secular communities, it is no wonder that Jessica is an active member in Kent State’s Hillel as well as a coach for her high school alma mater’s speech and debate team. Jessica looks forward to completing her senior year at Kent State and pursuing her education in graduate school.

Most people call Jen Steer by her first and last names at all times. She is a senior broadcast journalism major. While at Kent State, she has been an anchor and producer for TV2 news and a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Her two favorite holidays are Election Day and NFL draft day. She is a sucker for breaking news and watches a lot of CNN. She’s a diehard Democrat and wears it on her sleeve. Her room is plastered with signs that read “Not rich enough for a tax break” and “I am pro-choice America.”

Erik Urycki was born into a progressive family during the 1980s while Ronald Reagan was in the White House. The video was killing the radio star and the iron curtain had lost its shine. As a child, Erik watched his mother and father vote in every national, state and local election — losing constantly. Erik’s first presidential vote came during a 1988 kindergarten mock election at the age of 6. After Dukakis lost, Erik realized that as a Democrat living in the Midwest he would most likely be a political loser for the rest of his life. Erik has officially voted for President twice, he is currently 0-1-1. Erik is a journalism student at Kent State University. He also performs in the neo-acoustic band the Speedbumps. You can contact Erik at eurycki@kent.edu

Matthew White is a senior magazine journalism major and pre-law minor.
He is the former president of the Kent State College Republicans’ club
and remains active in Republican politics throughout the state of Ohio.
He is currently a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater.

Mike Wolf is a junior majoring in political science at Kent State University. He has also attended Ohio University and the University of Akron. He plans
to go to law school in the fall of 2009 and hopes to do so at the Ohio State University.