Student News: Spring 2016

Student News: Spring 2016

Featured Student News from our 2016 department newsletter, Homo Politicus. Access the newsletter archive here.
Sumru Atuk, a level II doctoral candidate majoring in political theory, received a Provost’s Pre-Dissertation Research Fellowship to conduct preliminary fieldwork with anti-femicide activists in Mexico and Turkey in preparation for her dissertation proposal. 
Fernando Aquino, a level II doctoral candidate majoring in American politics, received an award in recognition for his outstanding work from the Dominican College of Journalists. An article about Fernando’s work and the nature of the award was subsequently published in El Dario. [http://www.eldiariony.com/2015/10/29/colegio-dominicano-de-periodistas-reconoce-a-fernando-aquino/]
Rachel Brown, a level III doctoral candidate majoring in political theory, had her article, “Multiple Modes of Care: Internet and the Formation of Migrant Caregiver Networks in Israel/Palestine,” published in the April 2016 issue of Global Networks. Additionally, her first collection of poems, Atop the Staircase, was published in February 2016 by Pomegranate Gallery Press. Rachel was also a recipient of  the Randolph L. Braham Dissertation Award, an award for dissertation-level students whose doctoral research is in the area of Jewish, East European politics and government, or Holocaust-related studies. [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.gc.cuny.edu/doi/10.1111/glob.12112/abstract]
Nina Connelly, a level I doctoral candidate studying immigration policy, has been invited to attend the Graduate Center-Humboldt University Summer Seminar in June. Nina will be comparing persistent urban inequalities in Germany and New York City.
Elena Cohen, a level III doctoral candidate majoring in political theory, was appointed the Executive Vice President of the National Lawyers Guild. Elena also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, along with Gideon Orion Oliver, against the City of New York, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton, and two police officers, claiming assault and battery, violations of Fourth Amendment and First Amendment rights, and other injuries following the NYPD’s use of the Long Range Acoustic Device (“LRAD”) sound weapon against protesters and journalists. The case has received extensive media attention.
Elizabeth Eisenberg, a level III doctoral candidate majoring in public policy, received a David Garth Dissertation Award in Public Policy as well as a Marilyn J. Gittell Dissertation Fellowship, established in honor of the late Political Science Professor at the Graduate Center.
Julie Hollar, a level III doctoral candidate majoring comparative politics, in won the Lanahan Best Graduate Student Paper Award from the Northeastern Political Science Association for “After Victory: The Impact of Divergent Marriage Equality Discourses on Movement Opportunities,” which she presented at their 2015 annual meeting.
Emma Jacobs, a level II doctoral candidate majoring in international relations, received a dissertation proposal development fellowship from the Social Science Research Council, and will be conducting research in Washington DC this summer.
Drake Logan, a level I doctoral candidate majoring in comparative politics, was accepted to the Critical Language Scholarship program, a US State Department program, which awarded full funding to complete an intensive advanced Arabic language program this summer in the Middle East or North Africa.
Christopher Michael, a level III doctoral candidate completing a dissertation on the history of worker cooperatives, had his article “Grantor Trusts: A Path to Employee Ownership” accepted for re-publication in the NYU Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation.
Nick Micinski, a level II doctoral candidate majoring in international relations and comparative politics, co-authored with professor Thomas G. Weiss “The European Migration Crisis: Can Development Agencies do Better?” in Future United Nations Development System Briefing 37, January 2016. Nick also published “NGO Frequent Flyers: Youth Organisations and the Undermining of Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina” in Journal of Peacebuilding & Development 11, no. 1 (April 2016).
Nick Pehlman, a level II doctoral candidate majoring in International Relations received a Provost’s Pre-Dissertation Research Fellowship to conduct fieldwork on police reform in Ukraine and to receive Russian language training in Ukraine.
Heidi Rhodes, a level I doctoral candidate majoring in political theory, had her article “Dreams and Dignity: Confronting Gendered Violence in Colombia” published in teleSUR English. She was also invited to present at the “Posthuman Futures Symposium” at NYU in April. [http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Dreams-and-Dignity-Confronting-Gendered-Violence-in-Colombia-20160307-0046.html]
Joyce Rivera, a doctoral candidate, was recognized in a New York Times article for her work as Executive Director of the St. Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction, which has provided health and healing community services in the Bronx for over twenty-six years. 
Joanna Tice, a level III doctoral candidate majoring in political theory, received the American Studies Dissertation Fellowship Award from the Graduate Center for the 2015-2016 academic year. Joanna is also a finalist for the prestigious Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Puangchon Unchanam, a level III doctoral candidate majoring in political theory, received a Graduate Center Dissertation Award for the 2016-2017 academic year for a dissertation project entitled “The Bourgeois Crown: Monarchy and Capitalism in Thailand.”
Tom Waters, a level III doctoral candidate majoring in public policy, published an opinion column, “Why Bill’s Zoning Plan is in Trouble,” in the New York Daily News on February 6. [http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/tom-waters-bill-zoning-plan-trouble-article-1.2521843]
Andrew Wilkes, a level I doctoral candidate majoring in public policy and comparative politics, received a proclamation from the New York City Council recognizing his work as a faith leader in the fields of activism and social justice. Andrew was invited to share brief remarks in the chamber in recognition of his work in activism and social justice.