Maxwell School News and Commentary

"The United States has a long tradition of enlisting immigrants. Immigrants make up an important part of the U.S. military, and have since the formation of the United States. Our country should not make it difficult for them to serve," writes Amy Lutz, associate professor of sociology.

Don Dutkowsky, professor of economics, says cities such as Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse—with clusters of universities nearby and relatively low housing costs—may prove to be more attractive than places with a higher cost of living, such as New York City and Boston.

"Because the Democratic Party has been moving steadily to the left in recent decades, it will be hard for them to simultaneously appeal to the ideologically liberal base that has been created along with this shift and to white middle Americans who view their interests to be in direct conflict with some of those who make up the liberal bloc of the Democratic coalition," says Danielle Thomsen, assistant professor of political science.

"Voting ‘yes’ on this particular ballot initiative does not mean there’s going to be a new Constitution," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. "It means you’re setting the process in motion to rewrite the Constitution."

Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, and her co-author found through survey research that sports fans tend to harbor more right-leaning attitudes on economic and foreign policy issues, even as Republicans are no more likely than Democrats to follow most sports.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science, says Trump’s words were "pushing that frontier of just what is acceptable on the part of a president. I think that’s why it is getting the attention that it’s getting. Any time you start talking fast and loose about…families that have lost members in the line of duty, that is political dynamite."

Mark Monmonier, Distinguished Professor of Geography, discusses his approach to maps and how to avoid data distortions with geographic data.

According to Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, "voting has become much more rigid" along party lines.

"One problem is the [flood] maps are based on historical data, they're static maps," says Sarah Pralle, associate professor of political science. "They don't take into account future development scenarios and future weather-related scenarios having to do with climate change."