Maxwell School News and Commentary

“When you are looking at the Gulf countries, you see that a lot of these sustainability projects are very large, and they’re very loud about them, but they hide the fact that, in fact, the rest of society is not at all sustainable,” says Natalie Koch, professor of geography and the environment.

“In recent decades the country has gotten incredibly polarized politically. Both candidates have 43% in the bank no matter what. I think what the last week is about—it's not about persuasion, we're done with that—it's about mobilization, it's about turnout. The election is going to turn on turnout,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

“We know that Catholics are probably as divided as the rest of the electorate right now,” says Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science. “The election is extremely close by almost any standard and Catholics seem to be in many ways mirroring the American population in that regard,” she says.

Using the military for domestic law enforcement would be a fundamental shift, one which too few Americans have considered or grappled with, says William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs. “It would turn our whole society upside down…all these arguments about him [Trump] being an autocrat or dictator, it is not a stretch.”

Proposition One “would add sex and gender to the non-discrimination provisions of New York's constitution” and would expand protections beyond a person’s biological sex, “to include orientation, gender identity and gender expression,” says Thomas Keck, Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics.

“Young people are actually excited about this election. They're excited to vote, but they are very confused. They don't know exactly what to do because they feel so strongly about particular issues...so although they are excited, they're not sure what that means for them in the future,” says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science.

“In some ways, you almost have two generic candidates running, one more conservative and one sort of more mainstream. And you’ve got a district that just seems more built for people who are closer to the center, in either party,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

“It's really interesting that the Catholic Church is probably one of the few places where you find people with different perspectives sitting together at Sunday Mass,” says Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science. She adds that if past election results are any indication, Catholic turnout and the choices they make at the polls will depend on a variety of factors.

“Folks that are in the U.S. military are some of the most highly trained, capable people in the world,” explains Steven Lux, director of Executive Education. “The amount of money that we invest—appropriately, I would argue—in our military, you just don’t want it to go to waste in a way,” Lux says.

“North Korean troops in Ukraine would be another confirmation that the Russian war in Ukraine is not a local or regional conflict,” says Tetiana Hranchak, visiting assistant teaching professor in the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.