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| UMD Diamondback: Thinking changeThinking changeby Nathan Ojanen 3/12/07 So you've just finished a research paper. You've spent countless hours reading books and journals, researching and compiling data, organizing and developing ideas. You have 15 solid pages of work to submit to your professor. You hand it in and that's probably the last time you'll see your paper again. Not anymore. Too many times we submit papers full of ideas that never get past our teacher's desk. There are 40,000 students submitting research at this university. How many ideas are being lost every semester? Students at the university create policy that has the potential to shape the future of this country. The question is: How can we make our voices heard by the people who matter? The answer is the Roosevelt Institution. Through the nation's first student think tank, students at the university will be given a voice in the political process. We will be developing solutions to the problems facing our society and laying the groundwork for a strong, hopeful, progressive future. Our fellows include students from up and down Campus Drive, the East and West coasts and the left and right. We are looking for enthusiastic, committed leaders to form the foundation of our group. Since its creation at Stanford after the 2004 presidential election, the Roosevelt Institution has established chapters at more than 70 campuses across the country and around the world. Students have developed their own policy solutions and through the Roosevelt Review, have worked to put the best of these solutions into the hands of those who have the ability and the desire to effect positive social change. And change they have. For their research, Roosevelt fellows have been recognized by The New York Times, The Nation, The Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times and more. As University of Maryland students, there is no reason our voices cannot be heard just a 20-minute drive down the Beltway. We hope to couple the optimism, energy and curiosity we have as college students with our access to some of the best research facilities in the country. Our separation from the daily grind of Washington makes us an ideal source of fresh and innovative approaches to contemporary problems. Our proximity and numbers make us impossible to ignore. This process is already happening. In the past few weeks, the Roosevelt Institution at this university has made connections with our state and national representatives, including Jim Rosapepe, Justin Ross and Chris Van Hollen. Our advisory board includes community leaders and faculty from all over, including the departments of public policy, public health, communication, government and politics, environmental science and policy. We are also working with several student programs and groups, including College Park Scholars, Gemstone, Honors, the Residence Halls Association and the Student Government Association. We have even established a partnership with the County Executive in Seattle, Wash., in order to create a model for adapting to climate change. The Roosevelt Institution at this university launched last Friday in the Atrium of Stamp Student Union. Students and local and national leaders came together to discuss policy ideas, to network and to hear some of the research opportunities being offered. Among those in attendance were Dean of Public Policy Steve Fetter, a staff member for congressmen Chris Van Hollen, former Del. Rushern Baker and mayor of Edmonston Adam Ortiz. This is an important first step in shaping our future. Those research papers you have been writing every semester could become the next innovative policy idea. We hope to make your thesis statements worth much more than 50 percent of your final grade. Click here to read the article from The Diamondback's website. |
The Roosevelt Institution is a nonpartisan, nonprofit national think tank devoted to bringing students' policy ideas to the policy process. The opinions expressed on this site are exclusively those of its members. DC Headquarters: Roosevelt Institution / 1527 New Hampshire Avenue NW, 4th Floor / Washington, DC 20036 || Fax: (202) 483-2657 |