Professors defend student dissertation on immigrant

THECITIZEN
VOL. 19 N O. 1 | SEPT EMBER 30, 2 013
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL
Professors defend student
dissertation on immigrant IQs
By Chrissie Long, Staff Writer
Responding to criticism of a dissertation
written by a former PhD student on the
IQs of immigrants, Harvard Kennedy
School Professor Richard Zeckhauser
defended the thesis, saying the “empirical work was careful.”
“None of his advisors would have
accepted his thesis had he thought that
his empirical work was tilted or in error,”
said Zeckhauser, an economist and longtime professor at the Kennedy School.
The thesis was reviewed by a committee made up of “three highly respected
and discerning faculty members who
come from diverse intellectual traditions,” according to a statement by Kennedy School Dean David Ellwood. In an e-mail to The Citizen, Professor
George Borjas, one of three professors
who approved the dissertation, echoed
Zeckhauser’s claim.
However, had former student Jason
Richwine, Class of 2009, simply let the
facts speak for themselves, Richwine’s
work would ”have a long run greater
influence on policy,” Zeckhauser said.
Instead, Richwine might have been
“too eager to extrapolate his empirical results to inferences for policy,”
Zekhauser added.
The paper — which recently surfaced
as a means to discredit the author’s
employer, The Heritage Foundation, in
the immigration hearings — set off a
firestorm of comments on media web
sites, as well as in internal sites of the
Kennedy School.
However, as the controversy attracted
public attention, even the Heritage
Foundation sought to distance itself
from the paper
“The Harvard paper is not a work
product of The Heritage Foundation. Its
findings do not reflect the positions of
The Heritage Foundation or the conclusions of our study on the cost of amnesty
to U.S. taxpayers, as race and ethnicity
are not part of Heritage immigration
policy recommendations.” the rightleaning think tank wrote in a statement
published this past May.
In addition, 23 student organizations
at the Kennedy School wrotn a letter to
the larger community condemning the
dissertatio and asking for a response
from the administration for the paper’s
“disturbing claims.:
“In any healthy democracy there is
always disagreement, but such plain
racism cannot and must not be tolerated,” the letter stated.
Calling the analysis ‘flawed’, the student organizations state that they believe
pputting forth claims of racial superiority based on inherent genetic advantage to be on par with those who have
used pseudo-science throughout history
to justify state-based hate.”
“Even if such claims had merit, the
Kennedy School cannot ethically stand
by this dissertation whose end result can
only be furthering discrimination under
the guise of academic discourse,” the
letter added.
“If you’re going to make policy suggestions that would have a dramatic
impact on the lives of real people, your
analysis had better be rock-solid,”
Melissa Threadgill, a Masters in Public
Policy candidate at the Kennedy School,
wrote.
Students elect Baek as KSSG president
portive and instructive along the way,”
she added. “I look forward to working
with as many colleagues as possible to
make this a rich year for the HKS community.”
Sixty-five percent of Kennedy School
students voted in the election.
Given the other commitments students face, the turnout was impressive,
said Karly Schledwitz, an MPP2 who
serves on the Student Government Elections Committee.
“We’re glad so many people engaged
in the process and we hope more continue to be involved this year and next
year. The student government is a great
By Chrissie Long, Staff Writer
Jieun Baek, a second-year master of
public policy student from California,
was elected president of the student government last week with 56 percent of the
vote. Her opponent, Shashank Shukla, a
mid-career master of public affairs student, received 44 percent of the vote.
Baek will serve with executive vice
president-elect Maggie Williams, also an
MPP2, who played an active role in student government the previous year.
In an interview with The Citizen, Baek
said she was “extremely excited and
humbled.”
“I am deeply appreciative of my classmates and friends who have been sup-
Continued on page 3
New Vice President Maggie Williams and President Jieun Baek
COLOMBIAN, NORWEGIAN
LEADERS VISIT HKS
YOUR SPACE IS MY SPACE,
MY SPACE IS YOUR SPACE
BEAT HOTEL REVIEW
By Chrissie Long
PAGE 4
By Jeff Kushner
PAGE 5
By Simon R. Bone
PAGE 12
NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT:
SHASHANK SHEKHAR SHUKLA
PAGE 14
2
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
CITIZENNEWS
THECITIZEN
2013-2014 Masthead
Editor-in-Chief
Simon R. Bone, MC-MPA ‘14
News Editor
Kelly Lack, MPP ’15
Opinions Editor
Wei Ran, MPAM’14,
Mason Fellow ’13
Culture Editor
Ted Zagraniski, MC-MPA ‘14
Cartoonists
Benjamin Weinryb Grohsgal,
MPP ’14
Daren Walsh (ext)
Staff Writers
Chrissy Long, MPP ’14
Jeef Kushner, MC-MPA ‘14
Fernando Berdion del Valle, MPP ’14
Jieun Baek, MPP ’14
Business Editor
Alsherif Wahdan, MC-MPA ‘14
Layout & Design & Online
Janell Sims (ext)
Like To Have Your Say?
We’re starting a letter
column next issue
- please send your
correspondence to
hkscitizen@gmail.com
Create Reality
By Simon R.
Bone, Editor in
Chief
Lazily crossing
the Charles on
a briskly cutting
morn as translucent currents ebb
and flow beneath. Drinking drenched
in late sunshine in a Cambridge terrace.
Engulfed by books and the distant low
chatter of night-time fluorescent lighting.
Congratulations. You made it. The
full realisation has still to sink in. Your
friends and family have started to look
at you differently . Some have already
started to drop the “H”-word when
referring to your name.
You hear differing reports of the time
you will endure. Some rumours say the
hard part was getting in and few ever
get asked to leave (always touch wood).
Others that to study at this high level
means pushing yourself to limits until
you break and fall.
Friends. In times of greatest anxiety,
remember back. Remember to the times
of tension in your past. How simple they
would seem if you could but journey
back. All this now is but more of the
same. Just a gateway to the next stage of
your life’s progression.
A degree is nothing on its own. This
Institution’s name garners prestige but
not by itself. But by association with
those who have gone before and what
they have achieved.
See "Colombian, Norwegian
leaders visit HKS" on page 4
See "Your Space Is My Space..."
on page 5
Election Results, Kennedy School Student Government, 2013-2014
President Jieun Baek, MPP2 (56%)
Shashank Shukla, MC MPA (44%)
Executive Vice President Simon R. Bone, MC MPA (36%)
Maggie Williams, MPP2 (64%)
VP International Student Affairs
Mario Jaimes, MPA1 (59%)
Lance Li, MPP1 (41%)
VP Technology and Operations Shradha Balakrishnan, MPA2 (61%)
George Xue, MC MPA (39%)
The following positions were uncontested. We are grateful for the students
who have stepped up to these roles:
VP Internal Affairs Faton Limani, MC/MPA
VP Academic Affairs Joanna Ain, MPA1
VP Communications
Isaac Lara, MPP1
VP Student Activities Allister Chang, MPP1
VP Finance Ocean Dalton, MC MPA
VP Professional Development
Evelien Blom, MPA1
VP Diversity
Paul E. Monge-Rodriguez, MPP1
Harvard Graduate Council (4 representatives): Mariam Derin Raji, MPP1
Ishani Mehta, MPP2
Jose Felix Magana, MC MPA
Christina Marin, MPP2
Class Representatives:
MPP1 (6 spots):
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Burns Samantha Jordan
Chao (Cedric) Pan
Tommy Tobin 2 vacant spots MPP2 (6 spots):
Nick Carney Elsa Sze Nick Wilson 3 vacant spots NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
MPA1 (2 spots):
Archie Drake
Laura Franklin MPA2 (2 spots):
2 vacant spots
MPA/ID1 (2 spots):
Lucila Arboleya
Osman Siddiqi MPA/ID2 (2 spots):
Lauren Abel Diana Zamora MPA/MC (6 spots):
Sabreen Hayat Dogar Budimir Milic Carmen Dominguez
Susanne Amsler Shaloo Puri Wei Ran
P.D (1 spot):
1 vacant spot
** If you are still interested in one of
the vacant class representative spots, you
may contact the newtKSGG president at
jieun_baek@hks14.harvard.edu
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
3
CITIZENNEWS
Q&A with KSSG President Jieun Baek
By Chrissy Long, Staff Writer
Q: Where are you from?
A: Northridge, California. We’re famous
for the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.
That’s when I got my big scar on my
forehead. I was 6 years old, and a bookshelf fell on me, and I got 39 stiches that
morning. I was a very popular girl in
school for a few weeks after the earthquake because I would secretly take off
my bandage and show off my crazy scar
to my fellow classmates. Growing up, I
heard all the jokes about Harry Potter
(or Harriet Potter), so don’t even try. I’ve
heard them all.
Q: What did you do before Harvard?
A: Before HKS, I worked at Google
Headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: Ooh, so many things! I love watching
Friends reruns (my roommate Valerie
Tann and I each have the entire Friends
DVD set), traveling, yoga, salsa danc-
ing, running (though I’m not good – am
always looking for a running buddy!),
learning about coffee, and most importantly, hanging out with my close
friends. I love playing piano and listening to all sorts of music. I love going to
the symphony and concerts. Love checking out new cafes, bars, and restaurants.
Like trying funky ice cream flavors. I
would like to learn how to bake.
Q: Why did you decide to go to HKS?
A: I’ve always wanted to attend since my
freshman year. It’s truly a unique place
to learn about things that matter to me
in a multidimensional approach with
some of the most interesting people on
Earth.
Q: What is your favorite/least favorite
part of HKS?
A: Favorite part of HKS: The lottery
system (just kidding)! I really, really
love just how interesting every single
person is at HKS. I also love the HKS
treks.Least favorite things: That bottleneck at the top of the Littauer stairway
that leads to the café. I tried to think of
a platform item to propose a solution
to this phenomenon, but alas, I wasn’t
creative enough. If anyone has any ideas,
please shoot me a note.Q: What is one
that most people don’t know about you?
A: I almost couldn’t graduate from high
school because I didn’t have enough P.E.
(Physical Education) credits. I had to
scramble and convince the girls’ basketball coach to please let me be in her class
so that I could graduate. She let me be
her teaching assistant (a.k.a. make coffee
and grade her students’ homework
about health) and I was able to graduate.
Thank you, Coach Hogan!I’m an awful
cook. One time in college, I tried to
make cookies for someone, and bought
“bake-and-break” cookie dough. I mean,
how hard could it be? Well, I ended up
leaving them in the oven for over 45
minutes and set off the fire alarm in my
dorm. Someone, please help me!
Q: What is your top goal for your time
as student body president?
A: My main goal is to strengthen our
student body by creating opportunities
for students to reach across program
and cohort divisions. We have one of
the most diverse student bodies, and it’s
such a shame that the HKS community
becomes so ‘silo’-ed after each program’s
orientation week. Maggie and I have
thought of an array of both small and
large scale programs that will facilitate
introductions among students that probably would not happen otherwise. It’s
going to be a great year.
Q: What do you want students to know
about the upcoming year/student government?
A: We want to be a very accessible,
engaged and transparent student government. One small way that I want to
achieve this is to be in the HKS forum
from 1 to-2 p.m. Monday throughThursday so that anyone can swing by
and ask questions, share ideas, etc. The
main job for KSSG is for students to
serve fellow students, and we won’t be
able to do our job well unless our colleagues know exactly where to find us.
Seats still open for student government leadership
Continued from page 1
way to give back to the school,” Schledwitz said.
“While Jieun is both passionate and
a visionary, she also has the capacity
to boil these qualities down to work,”
fellow MPP2 Tim McDonald said of
Baek’s election. “She knows how to move
things, to make progress.”
Last year, Baek co-chaired several
active student groups, including the
Diplomacy Professional Interest Council
and the North Korea Study Group, and
served as an IGA Fellow for the Belfer
Center. Williams served as vice president of student activities and interim
student government president.
The MPP2 duo ran on a platform
of creating a more cohesive community where relationships go beyond
the “resume pitch” and become lasting
friendships and networks.
“HKS students are each other’s biggest asset, and we want to strengthen the
HKS community to make your experience at Harvard and our network after
graduation as rich and meaningful as
possible,” Baek and Williams wrote in
their candidate statements.
“We have seen what has worked
and what has failed, and have figured
out ways in which we can realistically
improve our collective experience both
this year at HKS, and after we all move
onto bigger things,” they added. “We
want to implement a real vision for how
meaningful we can make this coming
year.”
Despite a technical glitch in the poll
on Monday night, the student government election was free of the errors that
plagued prior HKS elections. In 2011,
the entire election had to be recast after
one student recognized there were more
votes than students enrolled. And, in
2012, a miscommunication on campaign finance threatened to cut short a
run-off election.
Asked what the Student Government Elections Committee did this
year to ensure a successful election,
Schledwitz said they held information
sessions for candidates and met with
the HKS administration to learn “best
practices.” Though the Kennedy School
had four contested races in this year’s
student government election, there are
still eight vacant spaces (see sidebar).
Those still interested in serving on the
student government can contact Baek
atnjieunkbaek@hks14.harvard.edu.
NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
Time for(presiden)T
4
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
CITIZENNEWS
Colombian, Norwegian leaders visit HKS
By Chrissie Long, Staff Writer
The heads of state of Colombia and
Norway spoke at the Harvard Kennedy
School on Wednesday night. Both came
to Cambridge following the 61st proceedings of the General Assembly of the
United Nations last week in New York.
For Colombian President Juan Manuel
Santos Calderón, it was a bit of a homecoming. Santos graduated from the
Kennedy School’s mid-career master in
public administration program in 1981,
and returned to Harvard as a Nieman
Fellow in 1988.
Pointing to the risers above the forum,
he said, “What I learned here, I’ve been
applying throughout my life.”
Though Norway Prime Minister Jens
Stoltenberghad never spent time at Harvard, he admitted to being an aspiring
academic who “got stuck” in politics for
22 years.
Both heads of state – while facing different challenges in their home countries –described how they used their
experience as finance ministers to exercise fiscal restraint and move their country toward greater sustainability.
For Santos, it meant eliminating tax
breaks for the wealthy and improving tax collection while simultaneously
investing in education and infrastructure.
When he took office in 2010, he said
Colombia was the ”most unequal country in Latin America.” Though the gap
between rich and poor has not entirely
closed, he said, “the trend is now positive.”
Santos said his greatest challenge has
been ending Colombia’s 50-year war
with guerrillas – a struggle he has tackled through peace negotiations rather
than force.
Though he admits that “it’s much
easier to wage war than to try to win
peace,” Santos said he is optimistic that
successful negotiations will “liberate the
real potential” of Colombia.
Laura Cepeda, a student in the Harvard Kennedy School’s master of public
administration/international development program who is from Colombia,
was disappointed that Santos “almost
sole[ly]” focused on “showcasing” the
policies of his government.
“While he did address some of
Colombia’s problems—high inequality,
violence, largest number of displaced
population—he didn’t acknowledge the
difficulties his government is having in
enforcing laws,” Cepeda said.
She said that one challenge has been
the restoration of land to the population displaced by years of conflict and
violence.
“This is a critical issue if we are thinking about a negotiated peace with the
guerrillas,” Cepeda noted.
Juan Pablo Remolina, an HKS master
in public administration student who
is also from Colombia, said he appreciated the discussion on negotiations with
FARC because many are anxious about
the process.
But he agreed with Cepeda on the
desire for greater discourse, explaining,
“Selling the country in every situation
inhibits us to have more open and hard
debates.”
The Case of Norway: Avoiding the Oil
Curse
While Santos emphasized the need
to increase tax revenue to improve the
economy, Prime Minister Stoltenberg
said the Norwegian government needed
to spend less to achieve economic stability.
Norway also needed to avoid the socalled “Dutch disease,” in which
countries with a wealth of natural
resources often spend themselves into
economic crisis. The term comes from
the economic troubles that plagued the
Netherlands in the 1960s as a result
of the discovery of large national gas
deposits in the North Sea.To avoid a
similar fate, Stoltenberg said, Norway’s
leaders resolved to save by directing all
N EW S 1– 4 | O PI N IONS 5– 7 | P HO T OS 8– 9 | CULT UR E 10–15
oil profits to a national fund, which the
government could access only to obtain
the returns.
“It took political courage,” Stoltenberg said, explaining it was difficult to
confront Norwegians and tell them they
had to continue paying taxes when their
country was sitting on a massive surplus. Nor was it easy to explain losses
when the economy (and the fund) took
a nosedive in 2008.
Aside from its wealth of oil and gas,
Norway’s success can also be attributed
to efficiency of government operations
and a strong labor force, Stoltenberg
said, adding that Norway has some of
the highest female participation rates in
the labor force in the world.
Measured in economic return,
“women are a greater investment in
Norway than oil and gas,” Stoltenberg
said half-jokingly.
In a question-and-answer session
following Stoltenberg’s lecture, several
audience members asked how other
countries rich in natural resources could
achieve similar success to Norway.
Noting that “all countries have different histories and experiences,” Stoltenberg said, “I don’t believe countries
can copy one another … [but] they can
inspire one another.”
Stoltenberg was pressed by the audience to say more.
“There are definitely lessons to be
learned,” he said. At least one of those
lessons is not to spend so much money.”
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
5
CITIZENOPINION
Your Space Is My Space, My Space Is Your Space
By Jeff Kushner
New and returning Kennedy School students have been greeted this semester by
significant overcrowding throughout the
Kennedy School, in classrooms as well
as public spaces.
On Friday the 20th, a number of MidCareer MPA students voiced their concerns to the administration.
During the meeting, students cited
incidents of pushing and shoving, long
lines in the cafeteria, bottlenecks in the
Forum, and numerous classrooms that
are filled well past capacity. The latter
situation may be of greatest concern,
with some students standing or sitting
in the aisles in overcrowded classrooms.
Other solutions brought up during the
meeting include expanding class offerings both at HKS and at other Harvard
schools, exploring the use of alternative
space at other Harvard schools, alternative scheduling arrangements such as
increasing Friday and evening classes,
moving Executive Education offsite, and
building additional facilities at HKS.
While no decision wasdreached at
the meeting, it is anticipated that the
students will continue to push for a solution.
The Kennedy School has increased its
enrollment significantly over the years.
While the number of classes that are
overcrowded has declined from over
twenty to about five, the process has
been confusing and there is no clear
path to a solution to the remaining overcrowding.
It seems to many that the school is
significantly over its capacity and needs
to either expand its physical space or cut
enrollment. Additionally, the existence
of a large Executive Education program
has strained facilities. Finally, it appears
that the number of course offerings is
lower this semester than in previous
years.
Furthermore, there seems to be
a communication deficit. New students were not given any indication of
the existence of this situation that has
existed for a number of years. Further-
Are Start-ups a Public Policy Tool?
This summer, Fernando Berdion del
Valle interned at a start-up incubator
in Mexico City called Venture Institute.
He followed a class of entrepreneurs and
researched public-private partnerships
between incubators in Mexico and the
federal agency dedicated to supporting
them, Institututo Nacional del Emprendedor (INADEM). You can follow him on
his blog Verano Startupero.
At first blush, entrepreneurs and policymakers don’t have much in common.
Entrepreneurs are sexy. They compete
Starupería coworking space en Roma Norte
for spots in elite accelerators and receive
millions in venture capital. They wear
purple, patterned socks.
Public policymakers are technocratic
and boring. They make decisions based
on cost-benefit analyses and care about
p-values. Their ultimate goal is to build
up the very type of stable systems that
entrepreneurs would like to disrupt.
In the United States, at least, we
are very comfortable separating these
worlds. If we think of public policymakers at all, it is mostly to ensure that
they are not intruding into free market
mechanisms that drive innovation. Back
in Boston, I asked a friend who works in
venture capital what was the best thing
government could do to promote entrepreneurial ecosystems. His (only slightly
facetious) answer was: “Stay out of the
way.”
Here in Mexico, the discussions about
entrepreneurship and policy are much
more closely linked. Government is not
viewed as an impediment to growth so
much as one of the primary resources
that can help build an entrepreneurial
economy. This year, the administration
of President Enrique Peña Nieto has set
up the National Institute for Entrepreneurship (INADEM) specifically to systematically support start-ups, incubators
and accelerators.
Recently, President Peña announced
$9 billion pesos in additional support for
small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Interestingly, the majority of private
equity and venture capital funds in
Mexico receive direct public support.
If anything, the conversations in
Mexico revolve around how best to
manage public involvement and how to
prevent an overreliance on government
funding as the ecosistema emprendedor matures.
Of course, with a great deal of money
at stake in Latin America, there is
the obvious problem of corruption.
(According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index,
Mexico ranks 105 – only a couple spots
above Ethiopia and substantially lower
NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
more, many professors seem to be unaware of priority between HKS students,
cross registrants, and auditors for overcrowded classes.
than other Latin American countries
like Colombia and Argentina). Even if
corruption per se is controlled, there is
always the threat that valuable public
funds are being spent on low impact
projects, going either directly to startups that would not otherwise be viable,
or else to ineffectively-managed incubators or accelerator programs that add
only marginal value to entrepreneurs.
Still, it’s interesting to be in a place
that sees start-ups as more than an
investment vehicle, or a non-traditional
way for twenty-somethings to kick-start
their careers (although they are those
things as well).
Perhaps most importantly, the
INADEM project is a kind of a laboratory for other nations looking to foster
entrepreneurial ecosystems in their
own economies. In the coming months
we will have to see whether programs
like the INADEM – and similar efforts
like Start-up Chile – will lead to an
expanded role of public policymakers
in the entrepreneurial world, or whether
start-ups are best left to the people with
the purple-patterned socks.
6
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
speaker series
Tuesday, October 8, 12 p.m.
Taubman 275
“The Fact of a Dual Society.”
Ta-Nehisi COaTes, senior editor and writer for The Atlantic. He is the
Martin Luther King Visiting Scholar at MIT.
Tuesday, October 15, 12 p.m.
Taubman 275
“‘The Snowden Effect’: Leaks & Consequences at the NSA.”
baRT GeLLmaN, author, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and blogger;
writes for The Washington Post and is a contributing editor at large for Time
magazine.
Thursday, October 17, 12 p.m.
Taubman 275
“Unveiling the Secret World of Special Operations Forces.”
LiNda RObiNsON, senior international policy analyst at the RAND
Corporation and author of One Hundred Victories: Special Operations Forces
and the Future of American Warfare.
Stay up to date
with the
Shorenstein Center
@ShorensteinCtr
facebook.com/
shorensteincenter
soundcloud.com/harvard/
sets/shorenstein-center
http://shorensteincenter.org | @shorensteinctr
NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
7
CITIZENOPINION
On Bidding
By Alsherif Wahdan
Alsherif Wahdan, a Mid-Career MPA
student and an investment banker from
Egypt, opines on the bidding system
at HKS. While voicing support for the
mechanism, he also offers his intriguing
insights on how it can be adjusted and,
therefore, be improved.
The Louvre Syndrome is when excited
tourists leave the famous museum in
Paris very tired, unhappy and frustrated,
despite having had the chance to see a
lot of wonderful paintings and artwork.
Why? Because there is still so much
more to see and there is so little time!
So, here we are again at the beginning of the Fall semester at HKS after
surviving a stressful bidding process. I
am here to argue that bidding is actually
good for you, as a student, despite the
unintended consequences of stress or
feelings of “loss” in the event you do not
get the course(s) you wanted. I agreed
that the system can be improved, but I
also think that bidding should stay. Here
is why.
Before we get into bidding, we need to
discuss an element of the dismal science,
economics, and scarcity of resources.
And by that, I mean your time. You, the
student, are here at Harvard, for a very
limited period and then you are off to
do all the great things you will be doing
(no pressure intended). That means that
whether you are at HKS, the College,
or another graduate school in this fine
institution, the likelihood that you are
bombarded, continuously, with great
classes, fantastic events, and awesome
insights, is massive. Actually, in HKS
and other graduate schools at Harvard, MIT, Tufts and Brown, there are
hundreds of courses available, which
means that if you want to sit for all of
them, you need to invest a decade of no
sleep working your way 24/7, and even
that might not be enough. No wonder
students across Harvard share the feeling that they must have not made the
optimal choices. Simply put, it is a once
in a lifetime opportunity and the menu
is both DELICIOUS and HUGE. The
rational thing to do? We should realize that we cannot cover it all, realize
that we will be fine, and we should start
choosing carefully, on a best use of your
time basis.
The issue at hand is that some of the
courses are simply popular. So popular that you have to bid for them. I will
not go through the details and bidding
strategies that we all know off by heart.
But here is the scoop: Some popular
courses in themes of security, leadership,
communication (including writing and
public speaking), negotiation etc. are
getting a lot of attention from students.
The rationale of HKS administration for
a bidding system is to give the students
the chance to secure an oversubscribed
course by bidding all your points on it.
The problem starts when students start
dividing their points, hoping to secure
two courses (guilty as charged, I admit.)
you will be very lucky if you do not lose
both (which I did). Moral of the story:
do not be greedy, take the chance, and
secure the one course that you really
want.
There are ways to reform the system.
One way is to do without bidding altogether and start a lottery system, as is
the case in HLS and HBS. But do we
really want that? Or do we want to have
the right to secure the course we really
prefer, albeit for, maybe, only particular
course?
On the other hand, the administration
has to be aware of the plight of the students. The courses that go to bidding, to
a great extent, are not redundant. On the
contrary, they are very much complements and also fundamental. I am quite
surprised that negotiation and leadership are not core courses regardless of
your program at HKS. These are two sets
of skills that are imperative for any HKS
graduate to succeed in higher ranks.
The communication packages should
be equally mandatory. I would argue
that there should not be a graduate from
HKS who has not passed through a rigorous writing program or workshop. Of
course, there should be exceptions based
on experience from previous education.
What should we do then? First the
administration should make the course
information easier to extract from the
Knet and easier to connect with one’s
career objectives. The Office Of Career
Advancement has come up with a wonderful document on careers in public
finance where it clearly shows which
courses you should consider for that
career. This effort should be extended to
include more career paths and relevant
course. Second, perhaps bidding on a
bundle would serve everyone better. Say
if one is looking for a career in finance
then they can bid for a finance bundle
that includes writing, negotiation and
leadership. This gives the student a
chance not to miss out on the whole
skill set and get at least one star professor (though I actually take the view that
they are all stars.) Thirdly, to Professor
Heifetz and Professor Mandel: besides
fall, spring is also a fantastic season to
teach in Cambridge, don’t you think so?
A final word for my fellow students:
You will be OK, regardless. Actually, you
will be more than OK. So enjoy it, while
it lasts.
Good luck!
From Turkey to the Gulf to North Korea: A summer of exploration
Jieun Baek is a second-yean MPS student.
A Los Angeles native, Baek graduated
from Harvard College in 2009, and then
worked at Google for several years before
coming to the Kennedy School.
I spent the bulk of my summer learning about the Turkish economy in a
rotational internship in Ankara. Several
classmates and I had the opportunity to
work at the Turkish Ministry of Treasury, Ministry of Development, Central
Bank and the Capital Markets Board,
and, in so doing, to develop strong relationships with government officials.
What made it a truly memorable
summer was getting an insider’s view
into one of the top 17 economies, which
is moving through political and social
transitions. We were also able to meet
quite a few HKS alumni and incoming
students from Turkey.
After my two months in Ankara, I
travelled through several Gulf countries
during the month of Ramadan. It was
my first time traveling through Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab
Emirates. I spent a lot of time with new
friends, who afforded me deeper experiences, beyond that of a typical tourist.
By spending time in these countries
during the Holy month of Ramadan
and participating in special customs –
such as having nightly Iftar dinners, or
visiting mosques with friends – I began
to understand the multidimensional
aspects of Islam; the cultural, familia,
and individual elements of this religion
that plays such an important force in
this region. The deep warmth and hospitality with which people welcomed me,
an American Christian, into their special customs are unforgettable.
After my two and a half weeks in the
Gulf countries, I made my way to North
Korea for the HKS Trek to North Korea
that I co-organized with classmate JiYoung Han. Twenty-four of us met in
Beijing in order to fly into Pyongyang
on an Air Koryo flight. We spent eight
days with a team of five tour guides and
their assistants and toured Pyongyang
and several other cities in North Korea.
I have been studying various dimensions of this country for over eight years
now, and this first visit to North Korea
was quite an emotional and curious
experience. I spoke Korean with people
there – waitresses, bartenders, military
officers, kids on the streets – and was
surprised by just how many questions
NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
people asked me from a standpoint of
sheerlnon-judgmental curiosity.
“What is it like to live in America? Do you go to church? Have you dated a non-Korean boy? What do your parents do? Does Harvard really have red brick
walls? What’s your favorite food?”
Though this trip was a carefully
curated and monitored tour, I had the
opportunity to peak into nuanced situations that further enriched my understanding of the people, culture, history,
politics and the partial reality of North
Korea.
I can only begin to imagine just how
rich each of my classmates’ summers
have been. Welcome back, everyone!
8
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
PHOTOCOMPETITION
The Citizen Gallery
“What I Did On My Holidays”
We are surrounded by some amazing individuals
here at HKS of whom we know many have done
some fascinating and amazing things over the
Summer. Here is just a small selection.
Mai Mislang | Flushing Meadows, Queens, NY
Mai Mislang | The Hamptons
Mai Mislang | Pebble Beach, California
The Us Open
Labor Day weekend
One of my favorite stops
Chad Schumacher
Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach
Chad, a former TOPGUN instructor posing with
his daughter, Ella, in front of an FA-18 Super Hornet
Shawn Cheung
The remote village of Bikokora, Kisoro, Uganda
This boy carries his 40 lb jerry can weighing up to
8 kilometres a day, he still passed me hiking up the
mountain
Sabreen Dogar | Chiapas, Mexico
Nate Mackinnon | Long Island in Boston
Outside the ruins of Palenque - a town of ancient
Mayan ruins
Over the summer I ran a 5k. The race benefited
Camp Harborview, an island Outward Bound
summer camp for low income inner city kids
Gregory Pavone | Panmunjom, North Korea
Simon R. Bone | The Oval, London
Worked at the United Nations Command Military
Armistice Commission (UNCMAC) at Panmunjom
along the 38th parallel
The 5th Ashes Test - a cricket series between England
and Australia, all-rounder Stuart Broad pictured
NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
PHOTOCOMPETITION
Winn
er
Jonathan Chang
! $50
Amaz
on Vo
u
cher
Jonathan Chang is an MC/
MPA 2014 at HKS. He is from San
Francisco, a graduate of UC Berkeley and the
Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a serial
entrepreneur, having founded and co-founded four
tech startups. His latest company is called Oh My
Green! (http://www.ohmygreen.com), a social enterprise marketplace for organic and non-GMO foods.
Location: Grindavík, Iceland
Wei | Cambridge, MA
Testing out the panorama feature on my camera
Alexis Eggermont | Pyongyang, North Korea
Leading a smartphone revolution in North Korea
My summer at HKS was amazing and exciting,
filled with a great mixture of academic and social
activities. But since I just finished Stanford in June,
I was looking forward to a much-needed break in
mid-August.
I serendipitously found a great deal to Barcelona
through Iceland Air, with a stopover in Reykjavik.
I never visited both cities and was curious about
them. I generally don’t read reviews about a new
place before visiting, as I want the people, culture,
and environment to surprise me in a positive way.
Reykjavik, a city of 120,000 people, is the heart of
Iceland's economic and governmental activity. My
first stop was the famed Blue Lagoon geothermal spa located in a lava field in Grindavík on the Reykjanes
Peninsula, southwestern Iceland. I got there so early that the place was still quiet.
I never set foot in a hot spring before and the feeling was surreal, to say the least. The warm waters were
rich in minerals like silica and sulfur, which I was told were good for my skin. The water quickly made me
feel relaxed. Though the smell of sulfur made the air a bit heavy, it also kept the air smelling fresh. After
doing a light swim across the lagoon, I decided to meditate in the water. The serenity of the lagoon and the
soft sound of water hitting nearby rocks blended into my meditation session. With low visibility due to the
heavy mist resulting from the outside temperature changes, I used my other senses to really feel the peace
and quietness of the lagoon.
It was one of the best summer experiences I ever had. Thank you, Iceland!
Fun fact: At the lagoon, I ran into the White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney, who came with his
family.
Our next photo competition is simple entitled “I Heart Harvard” so
let your imagination run wild.
The prize is a $50 Amazon voucher! Email your JPEGS plus a short (up
to 120 characters) description, location (and names if more than one
person in the shots) to hkscitizen@gmail.com
• They can be visually amazing, shocking, funny, celebrity filled or
just generally impressive
• They don’t need to be politically themed (might help though)
• They don’t just to have HKS students in them (though obviously
we’re all damned good looking so that might help as well)
• You may submit multiple entries
The deadline is MIDNIGHT TUESDAY 8th OCTOBER so better get
snapping...
NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
Photo by Chensiyuan, Creative Commons.
9
10
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
CITIZENCULTURE
Kendall Square Cinema Offers Unique
Titles, Experience
By Ted
Zagraniski,
Culture Editor
If you’re sick of
the cookie-cutter megaplex,
boy do I have a
theater for you!
Only in a place as unique and (quietly)
bohemian as Cambridge could you find
a place like this. Gone are the days when
you had to dig endlessly on the Internet to find those rare movie gems that
weren’t playing on any of the 10, 20, 30
screens at your city’s super-theater. Now
all you need for a nostalgic theater experience a la 1995 is your Charlie Card.
Let me introduce you to Kendall Square
Cinema.
Built in and operated by the same
company since 1995, Kendall Square
Cinema is a nine-screen multiplex
located between Kendall and Central
squares. Every screen now uses digital
projection and sound technology, so the
quality of the viewing experience at this
theater is essentially identical to your
average American cinema. The intriguing façade facing Binney Street beckons
patrons into a small lobby, befitting the
overall scale of the building and its generally more thoughtful attitude towards
film. There is a snack bar – of course –
and a staff of friendly people dedicated
to your enjoyment of the film of your
choice. The facility is clean and functional, and on the day I was there it was
relatively quiet. I’m sure on a weekend
night it picks up, but I would not expect
you to have any need to dodge gaggles of
bobbleheaded wags or cellphone obsessives on your way into or out of any
show.
What makes Kendall Square Cinema
truly special, however, is not the building – comfortably sized and appointed
though it may be. The reason I went –
and the reason you should go – is for
the films. Kendall Square Cinema specializes in “independent film, foreign
language cinema, restored classics and
documentaries”. A quick look at the
Kendall Square Cinema website (http://
www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/
Boston/Boston_Frameset.htm) proves
at even the most cursory glance that this
theater offers truly unique fare. I myself
saw “Black Fish”, although that particular documentary on the treatment of
Orcas (Killer Whales) in captivity is no
longer playing. At the moment Kendall
Square Cinema is offering two foreign
NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
pictures (one Afghan, one French), a
Hugh Jackman/Jake Gyllenhaal thriller,
a Cate Blanchett dramatic comedy, three
feature-length documentaries, and the
comedy that won the 2013 Sundance
Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay.
Frankly, no megaplex anywhere could
possibly compare.
Logistics at Kendall Square Cinema
leave something to be desired. For one
thing, the student and military discounts
are only valid Monday through Thursday. Parking is abundant (in the adjacent
garage), but the same cannot be said for
transit access. The easiest ways to get to
Kendall Square Cinema are via the #69
bus from Harvard Yard or the Red Line
stop at Kendall Square. Either way, the
walk from stop to destination is about
ten minutes. But honestly, for a theater
which seems to regard life as a journey
seen through myriad lenses, your personal journey to the front door should
just be taken as your individual pilgrimage to an American shrine to thoughtful
cinematic art. I encourage you to make
Kendall Square Cinema a part of your
next study break – or date night.
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
11
CITIZENCULTURE
The Hard Bendy Stool
KNET - bidding Snapshot
KNET>
KNET>
KNET>
KNET>
Welcome to the KNET bidding system
You have 1000 points to bid on courses
Today’s special offers:
Advanced Quantometrics and Protractor Studies:
-100 points
KNET> Which course would you like to bid on?
USER> Heifetz, 998 Points
KNET> Are you an idiot?
USER> Heifetz, 998 Points
KNET> Just buy his book. $5 at Amazon.
KNET> I’ll lend you mine.
USER> Email all my friends and say I bid 1 point
KNET> I’m sorry but I can’t do that for you Dave
USER> My names not Dave
KNET> Would you like to play “Tic-Tac-toe”?
USER> No
KNET> Would you like to play “Global Thermonuclear
War”?
USER> No. Exit.
KNET> Double or nothing? I can score you some great
looking courses with the hipsters over at the
Arts school
Dear Piers
How the devil are you? What
happened with your court-case
in the end? Who’d have thought
nuns could be so litigious.
Things here are grand now
that I’ve got over that little
problem of thinking that “zipcode” meant to take your trousers down. I hear that little
story even made it back all the
way across the pond. Of course
it’s obviously not a patch on the
original Cambridge but they try
and make it up with lots of twee
little details and use of the word
“olde”. Some of their building
here are over a hundred years
old! Can you imagine.
The course here at the Kennedy School is fine except for
their infernal habit of interrupting my socialising by constantly
setting work. The main college
campus is strange and appears
to have been designed by some
fan of M. C. Escher. Though I
can’t recall many of his painting ever containing hundreds of
students with massive rucksacks
generally getting in my way.
They are indeed fortunate to
have someone of my standing
and experience on the course. So
much so that I often feel I am
actually more knowledgeable
than the professors and I try to
let them know this as soon possible. Normally by interrupting
their very first sentence to the
class.
The other day after finishing a relevant and particularly
detailed anecdote about the time
my vintner messed up a case of
port I could see the class were
deeply moved. Many of them
were in fact crying or absent, no
doubt due to the shock that such
a thing might have happened to
me.
By far the most delightful
thing I have encountered over
here though is this contraption
NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
called a “self-service checkout”
in their shops. I perhaps wonder
if our transatlantic cousins lost
some war we haven’t yet been
told about?
“Hello, mother? BEEP Yes,
it’s me. Ha, yes. BEEP Well
you remember how you BEEP
warned me if I didn’t get into
Oxbridge I’d end up working
BEEP behind the tills in a supermarket? BEEP Well it didn’t
BEEP make a blind bit of difference. BEEP Yes, yes, that’s right
BEEP No, well that’s the funny
thing BEEP for free actually.
BEEP. Yes, for free. BEEP Next
week I’m going to pay them so
I can mop their bloody floors
BEEP Don’t call again. Goodbye.”
As for girls? Well not much to
report there I’m afraid.. Annoyingly in this country they seem
to be quite well educated and
rich so the usual tricks don’t
work. Though the other night I
was having some luck with some
delightful filly who was fascinated by the fact I was the
brother of Princes William and
Harry. In my defence it was only
a small lie. Followed by a succession of many other small lies.
We gazed into each other
eyes and I could feel the Atlantic Ocean evaporate between
us. Two lovers bonded as one on
the shores this far-flung academic town. I’ll never forget the
moment when she leant over
and said to me: “You’re quite
drunk”.
It was this point that the oik
behind the bar informed me
that all three of my credit cards
had been rejected. I asked them
to simply write to my club in
Piccadilly for remuneration and
there was then some unnecessary aggravation.
And then the familiar darkness
faded in....
12
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
CITIZENCULTURE
Beat Your Meat
By Simon R. Bone, Editor-in-Chief
One of the things about running a newspaper like The Citizen is that it quickly
becomes apparent that while we attend
a well-regarded school that eschews all
polices and concepts of discrimination when it comes to seeking volunteers for
covering stories the Fourth Estate has
firmly established winners and losers.
Should we be seeking to cover somesuch talk from oh, wherever, on oh, let’s
say whether paperclips are responsible
Well I have to say I first approach it
with doubts. Never a good start. Is there
really a place for gourmet food in Harvard Square? Is there space amongst the
gawping camera laden , tourists, drunk
students and multitude of assorted Harvard branded tat. “Oh you visited ‘Harvard’? Perhaps you should announce
that to everyone you ever meet.”
In any student dominated town surely
it makes no financial sense to pander to
anything other than the lowest common
denominator. Sorry but it’s true. Spend
jazz/funk/lounge/fusion/insert-randomgenre music is played to accompany
your dining. Just in case the food and
company aren’t sufficient they’re offering
up distractions. I can’t say on a trip to
the theatre I’ve ever wished there to be
an accompanying water-skiing display
for sharp reductions in the nocturnal
activities of the lesser spotted ant then
it’s a veritable ghost town for available
reporters,
However barely whisper the slightest rumour that we need a restaurant
reviewed and it’s suddenly that scene
from Spartacus at Citizen HQ. People
who claimed they simply had no time to
write even a 200 word article (and how
dare we ask )now can apparently find
space in their diary to be pampered with
culinary delights for an entire evening.
What are the odds?
Oh and their qualifications can be
sketchily vague: “I’ve been to lots of restaurants before.” Astounding. Be off.
Fly, fly away to Michelin headquarters at
once. Your skills are clearly wasted here.
Well it’s not on mate. For complicated
administrative reasons I’m doing it now
and I’m doing it bloody brilliantly.
Oh right.... yes... the restaurant.
all day with your head in books or trying
to stay awake in lectures with a reduced
personal budget and a seven course tasting menu is unlikely to be first on your
list when it comes to seeking relief.
The Beat Hotel has only been open
for 2 weeks and is a new venue from
the people who brought us the “Beehive” which I am informed is very well
regarded (presumably as a restaurant
and not an actual home for bees).
Entering its underground Cavernous interior (I’m not entirely what the
place was selling more than 2 weeks
ago - I’m guessing carpets) the scale of
the endeavour seems excessive even for
someone unused to American surplus.
This is a Monday night and a new venue
but I could easily have twenty tables just
to myself.
But why all open plan? Oh the clue’s
in the title. This is not somewhere you
go to just eat food. Heaven forbid. Live
team or for there to be
lion tamers at an art
gallery.
Oh right.... yes... the
food.
Pleasant but not too
much to write home
about (but then who
writes nowadays).
Go with spare ribs or
salmon tartare to start.
Avoid the fritto misto.
Choose the duck for
main course. You
might like the cheesecake ( I didn’t try
it). Wash down with
either 2012 Albarino
or the Liberty School
Cabernet Sauvignon.
Oh and no student discount. I did try for
you. Pay attention to me. Don’t look at
the musicians.
Service 4/5
Food & Drink 3/5
Ambeeeaaance 2/5
Would you like to win a $20 Amazon
Gift voucher?
Inspired by the amazing amout of
quant (zzzzzzzzzz) we have to do
at HKS we’re going to be running
various surveys for HKS students
across the following year and
publishing the combined results in
each issue. As an extra incentive we’ll
also be randomly selecting a winner
from the results submitted and
awarding a $20 Amazon gift voucher!
Not bad for 2 minutes work....
To enter our first survey and chance
to win, simply visit
TheHKScitizen.com/survey
NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
Citizen Gain!
(Write For The Citizen)
Would you like to join the ranks of the many distinguished alumni who have written for the paper
through the decades? Do you think you can create a better headline than the one above? We are looking
for writers for our three sections: news, opinion and culture.
In addition If you submit at least one story every two issues you get listed as a “staff writer” on the
paper’s masthead. Think how good THAT will look on your resume/CV and all for just writing a few
hundred words...
We can hear you all now asking “This all sounds quite amazing, what can I do to get the ball rolling?”
Well luckily it’s a very simple three-step process:
1. Fill in your details at
thehkscitizen.com/writeforus
2. Sign-up for Citizen updates at
thehkscitizen.com/mailinglist
3. Throughout the year If you have any
stories, ideas or viagara offers please
forward them to us at
hkscitizen@gmail.com
"If more politicians knew
poetry, and more poets knew
politics, I am convinced the
world would be a little better
place in which to live."
Please hurry or we have to start
introducing politically themed sudoku
puzzles. No, we don’t know how that’s
going to work either.
NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
13
14
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
CITIZENCULTURE
Student Spotlight
Shashank Shekhar Shukla
(that’s a lot of ‘s’s)
Why did you apply to the Kennedy
School?
Researching, teaching, advocating and
implementing issues regarding education and poverty through Teach For
India, my own social enterprise called
"Gurukul" (A chain of low cost schools
and colleges in rural India), as an advisor to the Supreme Court of India
and the National Advisory Council
of India, got me the opportunity to
work closely with the government as
well as the civil society. This experience made me realize that while civil
society and social enterprise could
be thought partners and catalysts in
envisaging and accelerating change
but wide spread social change can only
be brought about by partnering with
the government. The missing links in
my mind are the capacity gaps in most
politicians and bureaucrats, to evaluate
issues in a socio-economic framework and
develop relevant, equitable, cost-effective and
scalable policies.
These realizations
made me recalibrate
my future plans, as I
realized that the most
effective way of public
service could not be
“Gurukul” alone but
working within the government and “Gurukul”
was an ideal platform
for my entry into government through
electoral politics. This gave birth to my
goal of serving in the Parliament of
India within the next 8 years. As a first
step towards my goal, post completing
my responsibilities with the Supreme
Court commissioner’s office in 2013, I
intend to enhance my academic skills
around public administration and
policy through the Mason program at
the Harvard Kennedy School.
utes we were just jumping around. This was in
2012. Then I did not get
any scholarship and I
had to differ as my goal
is to go back to my social
enterprise and later grassroots politics where I will
not be earning enough
to pay back a student
loan. I worked throughout the next year with
Harvard with Professor
James Quane to develop
a "National Policy for the
Urban Homeless" as well as
the Supreme Court of India
guidelines for tackling
Urban Poverty. This earned me a full
merit scholarship this year along with
a stipend and here I am!
Who did you first tell when you got
accepted?
What’s the worst thing about Cambridge?
My wife who is also my best friend and
partner for 15+ years now. I saw the
mail and immediately went numb. I
did not have the courage to open my
mail hence I called my wife and asked
her to login to check the results. She
did and then for the next ten min-
Its fluctuating weather. I can't seem
to figure when to wear a sweater or a
short and my body can't seem to figure
when to sneeze
or sweat.
Cats or dogs?
Both. Have always loved animals. I
have a cream colored Labrador in
India who is called "Tubby."
You've just
been given a
million dollars
what do you do
with it?
Use it to provide additional
facilities at the
Early childhood
centers in India
in my district to
provide nutrition and educa-
NE W S 1– 4 | OPINIONS 5– 7 | PH O T OS 8– 9 | CU LTU RE 10 –15
tion to young children as well as lactating mothers. I believe that just like
science there are certain interventions
which pay huge dividends to a society in the long run. The best among
them according to me is to invest in
the health of women and children in
the form of proper nutrition as well as
education of both mother and child.
What are your 3 proudest achievements (other than being interviewed
here of course)?
Sorry, I have four which I cannot
reduce further. The four in chronologi-
THECITIZEN | Monday, September 30, 2013
CITIZENCULTURE
Have you ever internet dated?
No, but I did date a girl when I was 17
and almost 16 years later she is now my
wife, the mother of my child and above
all my partner in my crazy journey. She
is my strength, conviction and dream.
Her name is Pooja.
What have you done in your life that
we would be most surprised by?
cal order are:
• When I got selected in the Indian
Air Force as a fighter pilot and got
the opportunity to play a role in
serving my country in the Kargil
War in a support role to frontline
troops
• When I opened my first school
in rural India in my native village
and started providing scholarships
for girls and outcast children in
the villages much to the surprise,
anguish, resentment and later
backlash of the higher caste and
class of the village
• When I taught 29 street and juvenile children with zero education
and within 2 years they managed to secure admissions in
good public and private schools
by clearing independent entrance
exams. They are appearing for
their high schools exams in April
2014 and for me those exams are
more critical to me than our end
terms
• When I finally at the gates of the
Kennedy school on the 1st of June
2013
My hands have smelled of gunpowder
as well as chalk, I have drunk tea with
Cabinet ministers as well as Homeless
Mothers, I have won 40 million dollar
contracts as well as help start 40+ residential schools for street children while
working for Government of India. I
have been a teenage student madly
in love at 18, a warrior at 20, a corporate consultant at 24,a husband at 25, a
social entrepreneur at 26, a teacher at
29, a bureaucrat at 31 and now at nearly
34 years, back to being a student and
still madly in love with the girl I loved
at 18. Life does come a full circle!
trition, women and family
welfare, adult education etc.
This is with a short term goal
of winning the local government elections in 2015, performing at the local level for a
full term and then to contest
and win parliamentary elections post 2020. As a precursor I also established the
Uttar Pradesh unit of the Lok
Satta party (a grass root political party) and campaigned
in the recently concluded
2012 Uttar Pradesh elections, in order to establish my
political credentials in the area of my
work. I believe that with my entry into
the ballot fray, another ride in my roller
coaster life may have already begun!
Red wine or white?
White. It is smoother
One item that is essential to your everyday life?
Phone. In 3 weeks I will become a
father and I spend a couple of hours
everyday talking to my back in India as
well as my elder son who is 7 years old
and his mid year exams are going on.
What was the first word you ever
said?
Don't remember but I guess would
have "Mummy". She is my hero and
my inspiration. She has been a career
teacher in India for over 30 years and
is now retired. She brought me up as
a single parent as my father
died when I was 3 and since
then she has made me into
whatever I am today!
What are you hoping to do
once you graduate?
Post graduation in 2014, I
intend to return to "Gurukul"
and use that as a platform
to work in the public space
across a broad range of issue
like education, child malnu-
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