By Mitchell Chan, Deputy Director of Public Relations and PPU Press Secretary
March 28, 2015
The past week was perhaps the busiest to date of GPA's existence. For some of us, midday exhaustion, rich dark coffee, and days that dragged later and later into the night became reliable companions. But Penn breeds strong, hearty students, and nothing does that better than government and politics.
Monday, March 23: Former U.S. Congressman Rob Andrews
On Monday night, GPA hosted Rob Andrews, former congressman from New Jersey's 1st congressional district. Andrews' former constituency included Philadelphia's trans-river neighbor Camden.
No stranger to controversy, Andrews proposed a bill to enhance sanctions against Iran in 2007. During his presentation, Andrews spoke briefly about the latest round of Iranian nuclear negotiations. He was particularly critical of the Senate Republicans' now notorious letter to the Iranian government. Andrews views foreign policy (especially diplomatic negotiations) as the President's prerogative. Congress' responsibilities with regards to foreign policy are to oversee and finance; the Senate letter did neither. Whatever his views of the incumbent president, Andrews has great respect for the office of the Presidency (and all it entails). That means supporting the President (or at least not publicly undermining him).
Andrews also spoke about the nationwide decline in political participation and civic engagement. Social media and the Internet, Andrews believes, are the future of American politics. To get more people involved in politics, both the Democrats and the Republicans will have to figure out how to use social media to target specific groups with specific views. The days of primetime TV campaign ads are ending. Strategic online campaigning is rapidly taking its place.
(Read the Daily Pennsylvanian's article here. View pictures from the event, taken by Deputy Director of Public Relations Melissa Tustin-Gore here.)
Tuesday, March 24: D.C. Power Attorney Benjamin Ginsberg
On Tuesday, GPA and College Republicans co-sponsored a presentation by Benjamin Ginsberg, law partner at Jones Day. Ginsberg, who graduated from Penn in 1974 with a major in history, is a highly respected conservative jurist and recognized as one of Washington's most powerful attorneys. His clients have included state legislatures, congressional campaigns, PACs, numerous elected officials, and the Republican presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and Mitt Romney. He was a key figure in the aftermath of the 2000 Florida election recount that led to the Bush v. Gore ruling.
Friendly and conversational, Ginsberg spoke at length about the experiences that led him to becoming a top elections lawyer. Having been active on the DP while at Penn, Ginsberg had initially embarked on a post-graduation career in journalism. He did not decide to get a law degree until he ended up in a workplace situation where knowledge of the law would have been beneficial. He does not regret this indirect path to becoming a lawyer; he feels he got much more out of working his way to that point instead of just going blindly to law school for lack of alternatives. He encouraged all present who were interested in law school to only consider it if
they knew that it genuinely was what they wanted their futures to be.
He had plenty of interesting stories to tell, especially about the 2000 Bush-Cheney presidential campaign. He explained the restlessness in the campaign office as vote totals were gradually announced, the initial dismay when networks began calling for Al Gore, the excitement when they began calling for Bush, and the worry when the networks went silent as votes in Florida got closer. In an especially memorable anecdote, he said that he had joked earlier with several campaign staffers about how it might feel to walk up the steps of the Supreme Court to present a high-stakes case. Weeks later, that's exactly what he was doing.
Ginsberg concluded his presentation with an interactive game in which the audience determined which Republican presidential campaign he should work for in 2016. He had quite a few things to say about various potential candidates (note: Lindsey Graham is not his favorite). He observes that never in history have there been so many Republican candidates gunning up for one primary season. The order of primaries (especially South Carolina's) will be especially important this time.
(Ed.: This event was immediately followed by a student debt workshop co-sponsored by GPA and Penn Democrats. The workshop, led by a representative from Philadelphia's own Clarifi, served as a primer to the personal finance workshops the following Friday, which were open to all students who registered.)
Thursday, March 26: Selling Sexual Solace, yay or nay?
On Thursday, the Penn Political Union held its sixth session. The question on the table was the proposed legalization of prostitution. Oh lord.
Opening statements proved the resolution to be divisive. The Liberal and Progressive Caucuses both supported it, while the Conservatives and Libertarians generally opposed (albeit not particularly passionately). Unsurprisingly, the Independents themselves were split down the middle.
Due to the highly sensitive nature of the issue, Speaker Britt Marsh warned she would not tolerate crude, offensive, or inappropriately provocative rhetoric. As a whole, the Union complied. It was, in the words of Klaudia Amenabar, "a professional, nuanced debate."
Two dominant lines of thought emerged. First, there was concern for the working conditions of prostitutes and other sex workers. On this, there were was virtually unanimous agreement that the status quo was unacceptable. Even the conservatives, who tend to oppose increased government regulations, recognized the need for reform on behalf of sex workers' safety, if not their survival. Second, there was talk about the appropriate actions to take in order to protect sex workers. This is where the disagreements began.
The entire evening was subject to live-tweeting on the PPU Twitter page (@pennunion if you're interested--follow it!). Some choice tweets that will forever immortalize both the wisdom and cautious humor of Thursday's debate:
Later in the evening, the Liberal Caucus introduced an amendment to legalize the sale, but not the purchase, of sexual favors. Caucus chair Kyle Grigel and caucus member GPA President Sarah Simon both summarized the amendment as essentially replicating the successful Nordic model of prostitution reform in the United States. This raised concern from the Libertarian and Conservative Caucuses, who were unconvinced that a system designed for small, largely homogenous Scandinavian countries would work in the 300-million-person, multi-ethnic United States of America. Even a few members of the Progressive Caucus concurred with this point.
The amendment passed with 14 ayes to 13 nays, courtesy of a certain misspoken near-last vote. Nine people abstained from voting on the amendment (yes, the abstinence joke was made). Ultimately, the resolution to legalize prostitution (with the amendment attached), passed with 22 ayes to 10 nays and 4 abstentions.
As an ending note, special thanks to both everyone who attended all of this week's event and those who had a hand in planning them! You all deserve hard-earned praise for endurance.
Now stop reading and go to bed!
March 28, 2015
The past week was perhaps the busiest to date of GPA's existence. For some of us, midday exhaustion, rich dark coffee, and days that dragged later and later into the night became reliable companions. But Penn breeds strong, hearty students, and nothing does that better than government and politics.
Monday, March 23: Former U.S. Congressman Rob Andrews
On Monday night, GPA hosted Rob Andrews, former congressman from New Jersey's 1st congressional district. Andrews' former constituency included Philadelphia's trans-river neighbor Camden.
No stranger to controversy, Andrews proposed a bill to enhance sanctions against Iran in 2007. During his presentation, Andrews spoke briefly about the latest round of Iranian nuclear negotiations. He was particularly critical of the Senate Republicans' now notorious letter to the Iranian government. Andrews views foreign policy (especially diplomatic negotiations) as the President's prerogative. Congress' responsibilities with regards to foreign policy are to oversee and finance; the Senate letter did neither. Whatever his views of the incumbent president, Andrews has great respect for the office of the Presidency (and all it entails). That means supporting the President (or at least not publicly undermining him).
Andrews also spoke about the nationwide decline in political participation and civic engagement. Social media and the Internet, Andrews believes, are the future of American politics. To get more people involved in politics, both the Democrats and the Republicans will have to figure out how to use social media to target specific groups with specific views. The days of primetime TV campaign ads are ending. Strategic online campaigning is rapidly taking its place.
(Read the Daily Pennsylvanian's article here. View pictures from the event, taken by Deputy Director of Public Relations Melissa Tustin-Gore here.)
Tuesday, March 24: D.C. Power Attorney Benjamin Ginsberg
On Tuesday, GPA and College Republicans co-sponsored a presentation by Benjamin Ginsberg, law partner at Jones Day. Ginsberg, who graduated from Penn in 1974 with a major in history, is a highly respected conservative jurist and recognized as one of Washington's most powerful attorneys. His clients have included state legislatures, congressional campaigns, PACs, numerous elected officials, and the Republican presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and Mitt Romney. He was a key figure in the aftermath of the 2000 Florida election recount that led to the Bush v. Gore ruling.
Friendly and conversational, Ginsberg spoke at length about the experiences that led him to becoming a top elections lawyer. Having been active on the DP while at Penn, Ginsberg had initially embarked on a post-graduation career in journalism. He did not decide to get a law degree until he ended up in a workplace situation where knowledge of the law would have been beneficial. He does not regret this indirect path to becoming a lawyer; he feels he got much more out of working his way to that point instead of just going blindly to law school for lack of alternatives. He encouraged all present who were interested in law school to only consider it if
they knew that it genuinely was what they wanted their futures to be.
He had plenty of interesting stories to tell, especially about the 2000 Bush-Cheney presidential campaign. He explained the restlessness in the campaign office as vote totals were gradually announced, the initial dismay when networks began calling for Al Gore, the excitement when they began calling for Bush, and the worry when the networks went silent as votes in Florida got closer. In an especially memorable anecdote, he said that he had joked earlier with several campaign staffers about how it might feel to walk up the steps of the Supreme Court to present a high-stakes case. Weeks later, that's exactly what he was doing.
Ginsberg concluded his presentation with an interactive game in which the audience determined which Republican presidential campaign he should work for in 2016. He had quite a few things to say about various potential candidates (note: Lindsey Graham is not his favorite). He observes that never in history have there been so many Republican candidates gunning up for one primary season. The order of primaries (especially South Carolina's) will be especially important this time.
(Ed.: This event was immediately followed by a student debt workshop co-sponsored by GPA and Penn Democrats. The workshop, led by a representative from Philadelphia's own Clarifi, served as a primer to the personal finance workshops the following Friday, which were open to all students who registered.)
Thursday, March 26: Selling Sexual Solace, yay or nay?
On Thursday, the Penn Political Union held its sixth session. The question on the table was the proposed legalization of prostitution. Oh lord.
Opening statements proved the resolution to be divisive. The Liberal and Progressive Caucuses both supported it, while the Conservatives and Libertarians generally opposed (albeit not particularly passionately). Unsurprisingly, the Independents themselves were split down the middle.
Due to the highly sensitive nature of the issue, Speaker Britt Marsh warned she would not tolerate crude, offensive, or inappropriately provocative rhetoric. As a whole, the Union complied. It was, in the words of Klaudia Amenabar, "a professional, nuanced debate."
Two dominant lines of thought emerged. First, there was concern for the working conditions of prostitutes and other sex workers. On this, there were was virtually unanimous agreement that the status quo was unacceptable. Even the conservatives, who tend to oppose increased government regulations, recognized the need for reform on behalf of sex workers' safety, if not their survival. Second, there was talk about the appropriate actions to take in order to protect sex workers. This is where the disagreements began.
The entire evening was subject to live-tweeting on the PPU Twitter page (@pennunion if you're interested--follow it!). Some choice tweets that will forever immortalize both the wisdom and cautious humor of Thursday's debate:
- Speaker Marsh will be tolerating: laughter, passion
- we shouldn't punish people for being good at sex
- I can't choose words today
- I can show you the citation if you want.
- a great philosopher once said that great sex is not possible without great books
Later in the evening, the Liberal Caucus introduced an amendment to legalize the sale, but not the purchase, of sexual favors. Caucus chair Kyle Grigel and caucus member GPA President Sarah Simon both summarized the amendment as essentially replicating the successful Nordic model of prostitution reform in the United States. This raised concern from the Libertarian and Conservative Caucuses, who were unconvinced that a system designed for small, largely homogenous Scandinavian countries would work in the 300-million-person, multi-ethnic United States of America. Even a few members of the Progressive Caucus concurred with this point.
The amendment passed with 14 ayes to 13 nays, courtesy of a certain misspoken near-last vote. Nine people abstained from voting on the amendment (yes, the abstinence joke was made). Ultimately, the resolution to legalize prostitution (with the amendment attached), passed with 22 ayes to 10 nays and 4 abstentions.
As an ending note, special thanks to both everyone who attended all of this week's event and those who had a hand in planning them! You all deserve hard-earned praise for endurance.
Now stop reading and go to bed!