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the party line

Oil, Polar Bears, War, and Plumbing: A Productive Thursday Evening with the Penn Political Union

2/22/2015

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Gavels, screams, and enormously explicit conservative caucus wall banners…the Penn Political Union’s fifth session on Thursday was arguably its most memorable to date.  The evening—hectic even by PPU standards—saw the passage of the resolution at hand (take that Congress), a near-death scare for the Canadian polar bear population, an homage the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and oh so much more.

The session began with the first Speaker election in PPU’s history.  After many months of dedicated and wholehearted service, the Union’s inaugural speaker Gabe Delaney peacefully passed the robe of office (figuratively and literally) to his popularly elected successor, Brit Marsh, PPU founding member and until then chair of the independent caucus.  Many in the Union (including Marsh’s gracious opposing candidate, active conservative caucus member Mitchell Chan) look forward to the experience and personality that Marsh will undoubtedly bring to her new position.

The centerpiece of the session’s debate was PPU Resolution #5, a legislative proposal to build the Keystone XL Pipeline.  For a PPU debate, the arguments were quite predictable.  Pro-pipeline supporters highlighted the project’s potential to create jobs, the pipeline’s technological superiority relative to other forms of modern energy transport, and the Canada tar sands’ ability to significantly reduce American dependence on Middle Eastern oil.  The anti-XL crowd worried about wild discrepancies in job creation projections, environmental risks, and the rights of local Plains Indians, who were largely not consulted in the matter.  Eminent domain was briefly a hot topic for discussion until the idea was shut down.  The resolution passed with an overwhelming majority of 25 ayes to 8 nays.

With the night still young, the Union proceeded to debate another resolution presented by Polybian Consul and progressive caucus member Eli Pollock.  More comedic fun than sound government policy, the resolution dismissed mere access to the Canadian tar sands and instead called for a full military invasion of Canada (using polar bears, no less).  The reintroduction of Sean McGeehan into the progressive caucus was snuck in as a last-minute rider.

A thunderous (and completely frivolous) assortment of clever-tongued quips and crafty rhetorical antics as PPU revealed itself to be as pro-American as it was anti-Canadian.  Liberal caucus chair Kyle Grigel employed international relations theory to justify the use of hard power against the Canadian geopolitical threat.  Sarah Simon lamented that the McGeehan rider rendered the resolution unconstitutional, thus preventing an otherwise desirable invasion of Canada.  Sujay Dewan accurately pointed out that Canada was “hovering over us” (on the map anyway).  A particularly fashionable member of the conservative caucus eyed Canada as a source of the wonderful white fur that polar bears provide so much of (“taking them to a better place,” as he described it).  Speaker Marsh herself expressed interest in hearing proposed military strategies for actually conquering Canada.

But all arguments in favor of annihilating the Canadian state were shut down by what should be named the Pop Culture Reference of the Season.  In analyzing the costs of invading such a large territory, Those in the Libertarian Caucus (aka Mr. Hunter Pearl) reminded listeners that the U.S. and Canada share the world’s longest fortified border.  One stretching for hundreds of miles in the bitter North, protecting the south from those free folk who live beyond.  A true castle of black, built from volumes of ice and (metaphorical) fire.  Yes, you guessed it.  The Wall.

(One could almost hear Ygritte scolding the Union for its red-hawk hastiness.  Apparently PPU, like Jon Snow, knows nothing.)

The final vote on Canada was 15 ayes, 8 nays, and 7 abstentions.  So much for Canada being America’s best friend.  Maybe next session will feature a budget increase for the United States military, because marching into the vast Canadian expanse in this weather is not going to be cheap.
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GPA hosts prominent Taiwanese diplomat at his alma mater, followed by another heated evening at the Polybian House

2/15/2015

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By Mitchell Chan, Deputy Director of Public Relations


Last Thursday saw a visit from Penn alumnus Dr. Shen Lyu-shun (AM ’79, PhD ‘81), current Republic of China Representative to the United States.  Representative Shen, who came with his wife from Washington, D.C., spoke for an audience of nearly 150 Penn students, faculty, and members of the Philadelphia community.  The visit came exactly one week before the upcoming Chinese New Year.

One of Taiwan’s most respected and longest-serving diplomats, Shen Lyu-shun completed his undergraduate education at the prestigious National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan before receiving a master’s degree and doctorate in international relations from Penn.  In his presentation, Shen repeatedly credited Penn for teaching him to think about issues, especially those relating to his homeland, from many different angles (in his own words, “[he] had seen the trees, but Penn allowed [him] to see the forest”).  For example, he recalled one of his professors asking him why Chiang Kai-shek had lost Mainland China; no Taiwanese academic would ever ask that question so explicitly.

Shen’s diplomatic career has taken him to posts around the world, including Belgium, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the Taiwanese missions in Kansas City and Washington.  He was appointed to his current position by Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and assumed the post on April 1, 2014.  Shen has a long history of working closely with the United States government (especially the U.S. Congress) to accomplish Taiwan’s diplomatic goals.  He has dedicated much of his career to working around the disadvantages posed by Taiwan’s lack of formal diplomatic ties in most of the world.

His diplomatic stature and responsibilities grew over the years in tandem with the rise of Taiwan.  Despite its relatively small size and population, the island country (or province, depending on who you ask) exerts disproportionately strong influence in world politics and trade.  Shen notes, for example, that Taiwan is one of the largest buyers of American grain imports, referring to his time at the Taiwanese mission in Kansas City, where he oversaw Taiwanese purchases of Midwestern wheat for use in Asian flour mills.  He also discussed at length Taiwan’s growing importance to the economy of the People’s Republic of China, which has recently granted Taiwanese shippers unprecedented access to dozens to Mainland Chinese coastal and river ports.  He describes the current direction of China-Taiwan relations as one of integration, with the two entities becoming increasingly economically dependent on one another despite standing political tension between them.

As one listens to him speak, it doesn’t take long to understand why this man has had such success as a diplomat and international negotiator.  His affable, warm personality evokes images of a Chinese gentleman telling stories to his grandchildren.  He refers, for example, to his audience as “my dear friends.”  While not boastful, he is proud of his many years of diplomatic service to Taiwan.  However, as he made clear when addressing a particularly contentious question targeting Anthony Cruz’s opening introductions, he is equally proud of his Chinese ethnicity and cultural heritage.  In his view, the people of Taiwan and the citizens of the People’s Republic of China share a common history and are inexorably tied to each other.

After the event’s conclusion, dozens waited to speak to or snap photographs with the representative before he left. View some images taken by Deputy Director of Public Relations Melissa Tustin-Gore here.

This insightful speaker event was followed by the weekly Polybian symposium, this time discussing the state of American higher education.  Between the fact that the discussion involved college students talking about college and the general atmosphere of the room at that particular time, it really did not take long for tensions to run high.

Much of the debate centered on reasons why the American college mentality exists the way it currently does.  Some Polybians questioned why there is so much emphasis on the idea that going to a good college gets you a good job.  Some talked about acquaintances for whom college would have been a waste of four years.  Others talked about family and personal values that painted college as the all but default life step after prom and graduation.  Naturally, the conversation was personal for many (or at least, for those sitting in the Polybian House who happened to be college students).  Somebody recounted memories of friends melting into nervous breakdowns over a single rough midterm that was droplet in the grand scheme of life.  Somebody else indignantly wondered why anybody would want to go to college just for a successful career and rewarding future.

Of course, for the Polybians, who in general tend to be in better control of their lives than most eighteen/nineteen/twenty-year-olds, a dose of “get out of the Penn bubble” was in order.  In a perfectly valid argument, several people pointed out that not everybody has the intellectual inclination to read volume after volume of Aristotle, Nietzsche, and Francis Fukuyama, nor does everyone have the luxury to.  Students at Penn and other top-tier universities spend most of their lives insulated in an educational bubble where dreams of becoming a financier, banker, lawyer, doctor, engineer, consultant, journalist, or academic range from desirable to expected.  But outside of the world of Ivy League schools lies a wealth of career opportunities and futures besides those things.  Granted, not everyone places “plumber” at the top of their career lists, but it is important to remember that for some people, the right career doesn’t require a college education.  Is there a place for them in higher education?  Depends on who you ask.

So there we have it, folks—two exciting, unforgettable GPA events in one evening.  Politics never rests, and neither do we.
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Polybians mull over the meaning of patriotism

2/7/2015

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By Mitchell Chan, Deputy Director of Public Relations

The latest Polybian symposium brought another sizable crowd to Baltimore Avenue on Thursday. The question of the hour revolved around patriotism, long a polarizing and complex subject for political thinkers and social commentators alike.  Predictably, it didn’t take much to get the discussion off the ground.


A significant block of discussion focused on actually defining the word “patriotism.”  To some, patriotism is simply acknowledgment one’s country of birth.  To others, patriotism involves a deeper emotional investment in the affairs and values of that country.  Still others believe that patriotism has more to do with loyalty to a living community of individuals than to any geographic location.  The picture becomes even more complicated when ethnicity, immigration and emigration, partisanship, and sports teams (2014 World Cup, anyone?) enter the equation.

In typical Polybian fashion, much debate centered on an analogy.  At least six people reiterated the comparison between patriotism and loyalty to one’s family, an idea first introduced by Questor Kyle Tebo.  Granted, it’s not the most clean-cut parallel, it’s probably not a coincidence that it often doesn’t take much to identify Americans traveling in foreign lands as such.  Culturally speaking, Americans kind of are one big (if slightly dysfunctional) family.

It therefore wasn’t surprising that American exceptionalism came up repeatedly, especially in the later stages of the debate.  American history is sprinkled with highly-memorable examples of patriotic expression, from the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima to images of George W. Bush standing courageously atop collapsed skyscrapers with his megaphone after 9/11.  As one Polybian aptly pointed out, even the soldiers who first fought for independence during the Revolution referred to themselves not as “Americans” or “The Anti-Brits,” but as “Patriots.”  Being patriotic has often been seen as a central tenet of what it means to be an American.

By the end of the evening, only one concept seemed universally accepted—patriotism is as sensitive, multi-faceted, and brain-energizing a subject as politics itself.  Nobody broke out into a loud “Helan Går” rendition, but I’d say it was a productive Polybian evening indeed.
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Another year of political speakers at Penn begins with former congressman Jim Gerlach

2/2/2015

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Former U.S. Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-PA) gave a well-attended talk during his visit to Penn last Thursday.  The event was co-hosted by GPA, Penn College Republicans, and the Penn Political Review.  Nearly all of the 88 seats in the room were filled.

Getting the guest of honor to Huntsman Hall took longer than originally expected, allowing the assembled audience to fuel up on freshly-baked pizza from Zesto Pizza & Grill; few in the room seemed to mind the shortage of paper plates when there was so much food to go around.  When the congressman finally arrived, everybody was full, energized, and paying full attention to the speaker of the hour.

Congressman Gerlach represented Pennsylvania’s 6th congressional district (an area that includes parts of the Philadelphia Main Line and other Philadelphia suburbs) from 2003 until January 3 of this year.  His district is one of the most competitive in the country (its most recent Cook Partisan Voting Index was R+1).  Despite representing many Democratic constituents, Congressman Gerlach has long been respected in his district as a moderate Republican.

Gerlach’s congressional service included a stint on the House Committee on Ways and Means and membership in the German-American Caucus, which he co-founded with fellow Pennsylvania congressman Tim Holden to promote greater transatlantic ties with Germany.

The congressman spoke about his 12 years in Washington with a mix of pride and nostalgia.  The secret to his electoral success: he listens to his constituents.  Gerlach viewed his time in office as a mouthpiece for his constituents’ political voices.  His constituents, he explained, were both his best sounding board for legislative actions and his go-to source for reelection campaign financing.  In one of his more memorable anecdotes, he claimed that the Republican leadership in the House always gave him the partisan flexibility to vote in accordance with the views of his district.

In person, Congressman Gerlach fills the room with a loud, confident voice.  However, he is affable and friendly with down-to-earth demeanor, even in front of eighty-plus college students.  Despite his many years as a politician, it isn’t difficult to catch a trace of the town lawyer and ordinary neighbor that Jim Gerlach was before all this began.

When asked why he chose not to seek reelection in 2014, Congressman Gerlach cited personal reasons, including a desire to spend more time with his children.  Despite his exit from office, he clearly maintains active interest in and connections to Washington, where many of his former colleagues remain.

Gerlach is also friends with former U.S. Congressman Jon Runyan (R-NJ), who spoke at Penn in October.

Thursday night’s event, which was overall a success, is the start of what its host organizations hope will be another great year of political speakers at the University of Pennsylvania.
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