PHOTO CREDIT: Josh Yoo
What is your school affiliation and what year are you? What is your major?
I am an undergrad junior at the College of Arts and Science, double majoring in History and Journalism.
What inspired you to study in Washington, DC?
NYU currently has 13 global academic centers and campuses, so it is definitely worth grabbing an opportunity to study away. As an international student, Washington, D.C. is the perfect choice for me, because I can experience a different city while staying in America. New York and D.C. are two important cities in their own ways. As a journalism major, it is especially nice to explore different environments: New York is more like an economic and cultural hub, whereas D.C. is place for politicians and policy-makers. The two are also very close to each other, so I travel between them frequently.
How has your experience been thus far?
D.C. may be the most vibrant place many people will ever live in their entire life, but I come from Hong Kong and study at NYU, so D.C. in comparison is really calm and quiet to me. During the weekdays it is quite nice actually, but once it gets dark and during the weekends, it becomes a ghost town. A semester away from the super-busy urban life is great, and D.C. indeed has a lot to offer. My favorite class here is Investigating Journalism; my professor, Dan Vergano, really takes advantage of our being in Washington. In the context of All the President’s Men — one of the course’s required readings — he has taken us to the headquarters of the Washington Post, the White House, and right outside of the Watergate complex, where the political scandal of Richard Nixon all began. Seeing these places enables us to get more out of the class than we otherwise would have if we were taking the class back in New York.
Where are you interning and how have you found the internship experience?
I intern at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History where I work for the Division and Home and Community Life. I found the internship with assistance from NYU D.C. I study 20th century Chicago, with a research focus on popular music history and intellectual history. I think the work at the museum matches perfectly with my two majors: I can apply my knowledge in History as well as my passion in Journalism to make complex ideas accessible to the general public. I am enjoying it a lot so far.
I understand that you are from Hong Kong. How has it felt to observe the political upheaval in your home from the political heart of the United States? I also understand you have organized a solidarity movement, can you tell us about that?
This year, many core democratic values that Hong Kongers pride themselves on have been threatened. When I applied to study in D.C. back in February, not much had happened. Beginning with the assault on Kevin Lau — the former chief editor of Ming Pao, a pro-democratic newspaper in Hong Kong — so much has gone on. The ongoing occupy movement was sparked by Beijing’s decision on August 31, which states that candidates wishing to stand for the Chief Executive election of 2017 must first gain approval from half of the nominating committee, comprised mostly of tycoons and social elites in favor of the government. This process will allow China to screen out any opposition, and hence, is undemocratic.
Had I known about these things happening now, I would definitely have applied to the D.C. program in another semester; but of course, none of these were predictable. There is more going on in New York related to Hong Kong as it has a much larger Chinese community. They invited me to speak at a press conference on September 1 immediately following Beijing’s announcement, and I literally booked my bus ticket to New York just hours before the trip, with no time to think or plan. It was a pretty crazy experience. Since then, I have been involved in co-organizing several protests both in D.C. and New York. Through social media, we also formed a strong network of overseas Hong Kongers from all across the world in solidarity with the protests back home. We decided that on October 1 — China’s National Day — we would each lead a rally and over 50 cities ended up joining.
Here in D.C., our protest was originally going to be held outside of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office. We applied for a permit last minute to gather right outside of the White House, and it was approved! It was even more significant on that day because the Obama Administration just issued a statement earlier in response to the online petition that had received 100,000 signatures, urging America to “support Hong Kong democracy and prevent a second Tiananmen Massacre.” The White House’s response clearly conveyed that message.
I played the guitar and led the protesters to sing several Cantonese theme songs of the Umbrella Revolution outside of the White House. Organizing this has been one of the most interesting things I have ever done; the experience with, for example, communicating and negotiating with the police department, is unique and invaluable. Washington, D.C. itself is the product of a winning war for freedom and democracy, while the White House is its heart. So when a similar struggle for freedom and democracy is has broken out in my hometown, this protest was significant in the sense that we were able to be there and spread our message.
PHOTO CREDIT: Josh Yoo
What has happened since the rally?
Later that night, I got a call from a representative of the Wei Jingsheng Foundation, founded and named after the famous activist, who fought for democracy in China during the 1970s and was imprisoned for 18 years. I was informed about a Congressional event taking place the next day, which they wanted to add Hong Kong to the agenda because of the ongoing events. Our group of students, most of us who just met each other, decided to go. Among others in Congress, we met and addressed Hong Kong’s situation to Representative Frank Wolf, who has been a long-term advocate for human rights in China.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your time in DC?
I spoke at Newsday, a BBC news show, back in mid-September when the class boycotts first broke out in Hong Kong. I am a Journalism major so I am familiar with the newsroom and with interviewing people, but being interviewed felt completely different. I was experiencing news production at a truly international level: I spoke at the Washington, D.C. bureau, the anchor who asked me questions was in Singapore, and the control room was in London. After the show, they told me that I just spoke in front of a couple million people, who, from every corner around the world, watched it live from the BBC World News channel. It is still unimaginable even now when I think back.
I have to admit it is difficult at times to keep up with my academic work while simultaneously having to do so many other things, especially with everything going on back home. I sincerely thank some of my professors who are very helpful and understanding of what I am going through. I admire Americans, because they are born with free speech and a democratic system — something they can rightfully take for granted — which the people before them have fought hard for. Unfortunately, many often fail to notice that this is not the case in other parts of the world. As I would argue, something akin to the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, or more recently, to Martin Luther King’s Civil Rights Movement, is being staged in my hometown now: people are standing up to say, “This is enough”; people are standing up to show that they no longer wish to live their life confined by an unjust.
I try to do whatever I can overseas to support them, because I consider Hong Kong home. When I return there one day after I graduate, I wish to return to a land free from oppression. At the end of the day, I am confident that what I am doing is correct, because I genuinely care about my hometown and my country.
I came to Washington, D.C. since I have a strong interest in politics and that I believe freedom and democracy are universal values. Martin Luther King is one of the people I respect the most. He dedicated his life to leading massive civil disobedience movements to fight for what he believed was correct. I visited the Lincoln Memorial a while ago and stood in the exact spot where Dr. King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech urging an end to racism 51 years ago. Today, civil disobedience is the model that Hong Kong protesters have adopted in their fight for universal suffrage and a clean government. This is not an easy path, but just like every Hong Konger out there in the streets, I will do anything I can, so later generations can live in a freer and brighter future.
PHOTO CREDIT: Josh Yoo
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Dispatch from Washington, D.C.
It is an exciting time in Washington, D.C. We welcomed four new faculty members to our team in fall 2014. Dr. John Volpe is teaching Corporate Finance and has held executive-level positions in the corporate, trade association, foundation, think-tank, consultancy, and academic arenas. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from New York University, where he was a teaching fellow. He has published extensively, mainly in the area of public policy, and consulted for Departments of State and Labor, U.S. Agency for International Development, Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, Stanford Research Institute, International Trade and Investment Center, and the Center for International Private Enterprise. Dr. Charles Herrick is teaching History of Environmental Policy and is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Stratus Consulting. He’s worked with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Sloan Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Health Canada, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has published extensively in multi-disciplinary social science and policy journals. Dr. Herrick holds a PhD in Public Policy from the American University in Washington, DC, an MA in Political Theory from the University of Colorado, and a BA in Political Science from Fort Lewis College. Dr. Bulbul Tiwari teaches Cultural Foundations III and received her PhD from the University of Chicago in South Asian cultural history, and her BA in Literature from Harvard University. As a post-doctoral Humanities fellow at Stanford University she taught courses on media studies, religion and film. In addition to her scholarship, Dr. Tiwari has written and directed plays, made films, designed websites and curated museum exhibits. Dr. Mike Duggan teaches Social Foundations III and received his PhD in American History with a minor in Western Philosophy from Georgetown University. He has worked at the Supreme Court since 1991, and was the Supreme Court Fellow for 2011-2012. He has written on a variety of topics ranging from Critical Rationalism, Foreign Affairs, and the philosophy of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
We welcomed our first cohort of Liberal Studies and Global Liberal Studies students this fall, and they joined students from NYU NY and NYU Abu Dhabi from our major pathway partners and affiliates. Students were placed in a variety of impressive internships including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Ready for Hillary, The Hill Newspaper, Council of Economic Advisers, federal agencies, and Senate and Congressional offices. Fall programming will include visits to the Kennedy Center, Phillips Collection, Ford’s Theater, Washington Nationals baseball game, the Supreme Court, Italian Embassy and Smithsonian museums. Several special events are planned including a conference on Federalism and Contemporary Political Problems in collaboration with the Department of Politics.
We hosted NYU Imam Latif and Rabbi Sarna with Linda Mills as their film Of Many was part of a Presidential multi-faith conference and service. Fellow faith leaders joined them for a roundtable discussion with a focus on strategies for addressing tensions on campuses related to the Middle East conflict.
A variety of visiting student groups will also visit the site this fall, including the Steinhardt Fall Leadership Retreat, Student Senators Council, and Liberal Studies Student Council.
NYU Washington, DC Observes Constitution Day with an event reviewing the Watergate Constitutional Crisis
September 17 is Constitution Day. To mark the occasion, NYU Washington, DC is hosting a panel discussion tonight to examine how the Constitutional process laid out by the founders successfully tackled a crisis at the heart of American democracy, and lessons for today’s dysfunctional Washington; with former Congresswoman Liz Holtzman, who served on the House Judiciary Committee during Watergate; former Nixon Presidential Library Director and Head of the Tamiment Library Tim Naftali; and historian Marilyn Young of NYU. Introduction and welcome by Dean Gabrielle Starr, College of Arts and Science of NYU. The event is entitled Watergate 40 Years Later: How Congress Confronted a Constitutional Crisis and the Lessons for Today. The video will be available after the event.
Dispatch from Washington, D.C.
We welcomed two new faculty members to our team in spring 2015. Dr. Jim Zogby taught Politics of the Near and Middle East and is President of the Arab American Institute. President Obama appointed him to the US Commission for International Religious Freedom, which monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad. Dr. Zogby received his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from Temple University’s Department of Religion and later was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University. Dr. Greg Metcalf taught Expressive Cultures: Film and is also a Lecturer at the University of Maryland. He recently published The DVD Novel: How The Way We Watch Television Changed the Television (2012). He has an M.F.A. in Painting and Graphics from Bowling Green State University and a Ph.D. in Art and Culture from the University of Maryland.
The students in Dr. Zogby’s course attended the Democratic National Committee winter meeting where President Obama addressed the party. Our students were placed in several impressive internships including the White House, Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s office and the Center for American Progress. Our second scholar in the Weissberg Forum for Discourse in the Public Square was Dr. Gary Barker, Founder and International Director of Promundo, which is a leading voice on engaging men and boys in gender equality and ending violence against women. NYU faculty Dr. Pat Egan and Dr. Niobe Way served on a committee to identify the scholar. A World at School, in collaboration with civil society organizations and the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, hosted a daylong “Countdown to 2015 Summit.” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon provided remarks as well as Gordon Brown, former Prime Minster of the United Kingdom. President Sexton also visited our site and hosted the ambassadors to the United Arab Emirates and China at a dinner to honor NYU alumni Representative Dianne DeGette and Senator Lamar Alexander. We collaborated with several NYU faculty on a variety events as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities for a series of Black History Month events. We also teamed with NYU London for a shared panel on legislative bodies in the USA and UK.
A member of our local steering committee made a generous gift to establish the Directors Fund. With these funds, students were able to attend a variety of performances and events throughout the semester. For our required class, students were given a private tour by the curator of Made in the USA, a new exhibit at the Phillips Collection, and attended Camp David, a world premier play at Arena Stage. Other student life highlights included the White House Easter Egg Roll, Valentine’s Day at the French Embassy and a conference with the Dalai Lama.
NYU Washington D.C. Discussion on Obama at Midterm
With the control of both houses of the US Congress at risk, this program at NYU Washington D.C. looks at the role of the President in the midterm elections during his last term in office. Watch Associated Press journalists Julie Pace and Matthew Lee, along with Sam Stein, White House reporter for Huffington Post and Kathleen Hennessey White House reporter for the LATimes, for an insiders view as they examine the prospects for the president’s unfinished agenda at home and abroad against the backdrop of his lame-duck status. This discussion is moderated by AP Washington Bureau Chief Sally Buzbee.
You can watch the discussion here: http://www.nyu.edu/global/global-academic-centers/washington-dc/nyu-washington–dc-events/obama-at-midterm–an-inside-view.html#tripleBox_nyuimage_1
Dispatch from Washington, DC
NYU Washington, DC welcomed two new faculty members to our team this academic year. Laura Sponsler teaches our Internship and Fieldwork Seminar and is the content director for civic learning and democratic engagement at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. She holds both an M.S.Ed. and Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Pennsylvania.
Barbara Kotschwar teaches our new Politics of Latin America course, which introduces students to the evolution of politics and economic policy in Latin America after WWII. She is a research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and also adjunct professor of Latin American Studies and Economics at Georgetown University. She holds an M.A. in International Economics and Latin American Studies and a Ph.D. in International Relations and International Economics from Johns Hopkins University.
This fall, we were proud to host NYU Law, which sponsored The Legislative and Regulatory Process Clinic, which enrolled sixteen third-year law students working in DC at federal agencies and congressional offices. Visiting faculty member Sally Katzen, Senior Adviser with the Podesta Group, and Robert Bauer, Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence and Senior Lecturer, co-taught the course.
We are also proud to announce the launch of The Weissberg Forum for Discourse in the Public Square. The Weissberg Forum allows us to convene dialogues on timely issues each semester. Angela Maria Kelley, vice president for immigration policy at the Center for American Progress, was our first scholar for the Weissberg Forum, which included several public events, as well as meeting with students in our course Global Orientations: Citizens and Communities in Washington, DC.
Other recent events at NYU Washington, DC have included:
- Professor Anon Ben-Meir, Senior Fellow at the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies Center for Global Affairs, hosting of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Jordan’s Ambassador to the United States, Alia Hatoug-Bouran, as part of our Global Leaders conversation series.
- In partnership with the Global Language Network, we hosted G-Fest, an international festival of languages and cultural diversity for over 500 students and guests. In addition to these activities, we have recently accommodated a variety of visiting NYU groups, including students from the CAS Presidential Honors Scholars and the Academic Achievement Program.