Today: Mar 29, 2024

Political science department should be expanded

Josa VegaContributor

Policymakers, lawyers and now even a Rhodes scholar have been produced by the staff and professors in the political science department. I feel as though that should warrant for some more recognition.

The political science department homepage states, “you don’t have to be in politics to be affected by politics. Health care, the environment, free speech, human rights—all of these are political issues that can be deeply and profoundly personal.”

The department excels at providing an excellent education for its students and allow students to practice civil discourse in the classroom. While many courses at Southern try to incorporate some elements of social justice into its courses, none match what you can learn in a political science course.

For the first time in our institution’s history, an outstanding peer, an SCSU political science student has won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.

There are fellow peers of mine with soaring GPAs who will become great lawyers and defend both the law and our constitutional freedoms, while some with gifts for public administrations will become a part of the next leading generation of politics.

Others will become public health officials, go on to start work within government, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, non-profits and so much more within this field.

A few have even been able to garner international experience, whether that is studying global governance abroad or working within other continents to uplift disproportionately affected communities.

The department harbors experts in every realm you can think of, from international policy to local and state governance. While social justice remains the theme of the campus and the department, the professors truly provide a transformative experience when it comes to how we can incorporate social justice with our work.

Specifically, preparing us to handle emerging issues in the world and the country. I and my peers would not have gotten as far as we have without the backing and support we have received from the professors.

After transferring, it was these same faculty members that aided in guiding me in the current direction I am heading.

Hopefully, as I graduate this semester, I am able to share and be an example of the fruits of their labor. As well as encourage those who are worried about receiving a “state university education” in political science.

While politics is heavy, emotional, and tiresome, there is nothing more rewarding and no greater department at the university. Who knows, maybe a coalition of students from the past will build a research center one day—to be continued.

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