November 20, 2008

KCRW-FM’s “Design & Architecture” interviewed Kevin Starr of history about how the New Deal shaped design and architecture in the Los Angeles area. “What you basically see is marvelous streamlined modern federal architecture from the late 1930s, but the purest and most ambitious of those efforts was Pasadena Community College,” Starr said. “These were all designed to put people to work but also give a sense of uplift,” he explained. “The response in terms of the arts and the architecture was the American moment, it was to seize upon American themes and cultural heritage… and all these projects all had this American theme, and by that I mean a recovery of American landscape, American purpose, and a forward looking dynamism in American life.” A similar renaissance appears likely under President-elect Obama, he added.

The Sacramento Bee quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass comments on the state budget crisis. Bass is trying to push Republicans from their no-new-taxes stand, Schnur said. “She’s saying that until you stop saying no to taxes, I’m going to simply say no to new spending cuts – and when you’re ready to negotiate, let me know,” he said.

November 19, 2008

The New York Times quoted Travis Longcore of geography, on whether the latest wildfires will change urban development policy in Southern California. “After every fire there is a big, blue-ribbon panel that has a bunch of recommendations, and then we go back and do the easiest thing and forget about it until it happens again,” Longcore said. Even after an outbreak of 30 brush fires that devoured some 2,000 homes across Southern California last October, forcing a record 500,000 evacuations in the state, the government showed no sign of tougher planning or willingness to tax developers and homebuyers in high-risk fire areas, he added. “We lack the political willpower to actually say ‘No,’ and until that changes we will continue to see things like this happen,” Longcore said. This Reuters story was carried widely.

Los Angeles Times quoted Selma Holo, Director of Fisher Gallery & professor of art history, about serious financial problems facing L.A. Museum of Contemporary Art. The museum’s troubles underscore how cultural philanthropy in Los Angeles continues to lag, Holo said. Philanthropists in Chicago, San Francisco and Boston have “a clear understanding” that the health of a city’s museums reflects on the state of the city as a whole, she explained. But L.A. still has a long way to go for a similar conviction to take hold among its economic elite, the story stated. What is needed is for art collectors to put “the sustainable success of their museums before the ongoing development of their personal collections,” Holo explained. The current financial crisis makes the situation more difficult, she added. Holo directs the USC Fisher Museum of Art and the USC International Museum Institute for Advanced Studies and Practice, the story noted.

November 18, 2008

Los Angeles Times noted that Carol Muske-Dukes of English has been named California’s poet laureate. Muske-Dukes has published seven books of poetry, four novels and two collections of essays, the story noted. Her latest novel, a best-seller called “Channeling Mark Twain,” is about an idealistic young woman poet who teaches writing to women behind bars. It’s something Muske-Dukes actually did and hopes perhaps to do again, the story noted. Muske-Dukes is a believer in the transformational power of poetry. “I’m looking forward to setting up a project — maybe something like ‘Poetry in the Prisons,’ or a project for kids in the tradition of the ancient troubadours,” she said.

The Washington Times quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, on how Barack Obama’s historic win might have inadvertently helped pass Proposition 8, the initiative that banned gay marriage in California. “You can make the argument that Barack Obama passed Proposition 8,” Schnur said. “Had turnout among African-American voters been along more traditional lines, Proposition 8 probably would have failed,” he said.

November 17, 2008

 The Washington Post quoted Abraham Lowenthal, Robert F. Erburu Chair in Ethics, Globalization and Development and Professor of International Relations, about Major League Baseball players visiting Nicaragua as part of a U.S. government “baseball diplomacy” initiative. “It is a way to show shared interests even when the politics are very complicated and very hostile,” Lowenthal said. “Can it help? To have a ballplayer come and throw a few balls with kids? It couldn’t hurt.” Lowenthal was in Managua on Saturday meeting with officials and talking about the elections, the story noted.

New York Daily News quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about Sarah Palin’s efforts to remake her image. Palin helped her future prospects by doing a series of recent interviews to confront complaints that she hurt John McCain’s campaign, Schnur said. “By going on offense, she gets to tell her side of the story in a way she wasn’t able to during the campaign,” he explained. Palin was initially seen as energizing the McCain campaign, and “she spent the last several days reminding people what it was they liked about her the first time they met her,” Schnur added.

Reuters quoted Julie Albright of sociology about an “American Idol” tryout contestant who committed suicide in front of show judge Paula Abdul’s home. Some psychologists said this week that the woman’s audition — in which judge Simon Cowell commented on her braces and asked how she could sing with “that much metal”— should never have been televised, the story stated. “For someone that may have an unstable personality or not a clear, solid sense of themselves or self-esteem, that can really destory them," Albright said.

November 14, 2008

Los Angeles Times reported that Carol Muske-Dukes of English has been appointed California’s next poet laureate by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Muske-Dukes has written seven books of poetry, including her most recent, “Sparrow,” which was nominated for a National Book Award. Muske-Dukes began teaching at USC more than 20 years ago and is a founder of USC’s Ph.D. program in creative writing, known as one of the country’s best, the story stated. “Carol Muske-Dukes is a distinguished writer who has greatly influenced the world of literary arts in California and throughout the world,” said Muriel Johnson, director of the California Arts Council, in a widely carried Associated Press article. “Her commitment to the literary arts and passionate belief that poetry can transform lives will serve as an inspiration for all Californians,” Schwarzenegger said in a story in The Sacramento Bee. A second article in The Sacramento Bee, the Ventura County Star and The Californian also covered the honor.

November 12, 2008

Los Angeles Times quoted David St. John of English about Southern California poet Douglas Kearney, who recently won a Whiting Writers’ Award. “What Doug’s articulating is the fragmentation of the self and sensibility that you see prominently in T.S. Eliot and ‘The Waste Land,’” St. John said. “He’s at the other end of the century, using a multicultural voice inflected with the concerns of what it means to be a young black man at this time and at this place.”

Variety quoted Emily Anderson of English about the upcoming vampire film “Twilight,” based on the best-selling novel by Stephenie Meyer. “The challenge that Meyer has had throughout the series has been maintaining the sexual tension in the protagonists’ monogamous relationship,” Anderson said. “Where I think the movie will have an advantage is by visualizing these themes.”

Los Angeles Times quoted M.G. Lord, lecturer at USC College, about a life-size Barbie doll playhouse in Buenos Aires. “She’s an emblem of consumer capitalism and a global brand,” Lord said. “She both reflects the marketplace and has changed it,” Lord added. Lord is the author of “Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll,” the story noted.

The Mercury News quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about Barack Obama’s use of new media. New technology tools allow direct contact with voters and citizens, reducingreliance on traditional media, Schnur said. “But it’s a double-edged sword,” he added.

November 11, 2008

The Jewish Journal ran a column by Gina Nahai, a lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing program, in which she recalled her childhood home. “It’s been 30 years since I left Iran, and I still know I’m going back some day, because I have to see that house again, to stand before the yard door and discover if it’s indeed 12 feet high, or if I’ve imagined it so, to ring the doorbell and see if I can hear its chime echo up and down the street,” Nahai wrote. “Everything else I knew or thought I knew about Iran has changed with time; even my sense of belonging, my sense of familiarity with the people and the language and the customs of the place, has faded beyond recognition, but somehow, I know it will all come back the minute I see the house, that I will recapture all my lost memories, be able to tell truth from fiction, to put together the many pieces of myself that now lie across the landscape of time.”

The Press-Enterprise quoted Ange Marie-Hancock of political science about a gated community in which many women were unaware they were allowed to vote for city council. “Voter misinformation is very common,” Hancock said. “When it happens though and it is affecting one group’s vote disproportionately, I think that is a huge problem.”

The Daily Breeze cited Robert Girandola of kinesiology about the Range of Motion (ROM) exercise machine. In 1995, Girandola reviewed the ROM machine and called it “an excellent mode of training.” However, the manufacturer’s claims that four minutes on the machine are enough to increase fitness are misleading, Girandola said. “You can’t do four minutes of high-intensity exercise and compare it to 40 minutes of long, slow exercise,” he explained.

November 10, 2008

Los Angeles Times remembered James Warf, professor emeritus of USC College. Warf was a chemistry professor at USC for 40 years. He headed the analytical chemistry section of the Manhattan Project, but later became a peace activist after studying nuclear energy and the effects of radiation, the story reported. Warf traveled widely to lecture on nuclear disarmament, testified before congressional hearings, and served on independent review panels that surveyed safety and storage methods at nuclear power plants, the article noted. He also continued to advocate for nuclear technology applied to peacetime uses, such as energy and medicine. A memorial service is planned for December 13 at USC’s Davidson Conference Center.

Los Angeles Times quoted Lanita Jacobs-Huey of anthropology and of American Studies and ethnicity, about African American comedian Tommy Davidson and his recent joke about President-elect Barack Obama. Davidson said he wanted to perform Obama’s inaugural address and then faked being shot. “People were crying out, ‘Oh, no, don’t do that,’” Jacobs-Huey said. “Tommy then sprung up and said with this smile, ‘OK, I just wanted to try that out.’ It was pretty amazing.”

PC World quoted Mark Bernstein of the practice in political science about the energy consumed by idle electronics. In industry parlance, this phenomenon is called “vampire energy loss,” meaning that the devices are sucking down power while users sleep. “Anything that’s plugged in pretty much these days is drawing some current,” Bernstein said. Bernstein is managing director of the USC Energy Institute, the story noted.

Congressional Quarterly quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about a possible role for John McCain in Barack Obama’s administration. “He could be a very valuable ally to President Obama in building bipartisan support for at least some of the administration’s priorities, starting with national security and political reform,” Schnur said. “He spent a lot of years building a reputation as someone who works across the party aisle. He has a strong incentive to spend his last years in the Senate reinforcing that image.”

The San Diego Union-Tribune quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about the passage of California’s redistricting proposition, which was backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. “It has the potential to be the centerpiece of Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor,” Schnur said. Redistricting reform “doesn’t fix the mess in Sacramento all by itself, but it creates the opportunity for some of these problems to be addressed,” he added.

The Mercury News quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics,  about whether Barack Obama will lead a realignment of voting coalitions. “Candidates don’t cause realignments, presidents do,” Schnur said. “Candidate Obama has certainly created the conditions for potential realignment, but it’s going to be up to President Obama to govern in a way that can make that happen,” he added.

November 7, 2008

The New York Times ran a column by Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about Barack Obama selecting Rahm Emmanuel as chief of staff. “[Obama] understands that the anti-Bush sentiments that drove hordes of moderate voters to support his candidacy will provide him little protection if he moves too far from the political center,” Schnur wrote. “Mr. Obama is smart enough to know that the last two Democratic presidents were both dragged in that direction by their putative Congressional allies, which is why he is also smart enough to have reached out to one of the few people in Washington with the experience, savvy and toughness to help him avoid those sirens: Representative Rahm Emanuel.”

The Wall Street Journal quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about John McCain’s failed presidential bid. McCain’s campaign, in a partially effective effort to rise in the polls, eliminated McCain’s once free-wheeling sessions with the press and focused on issues that appealed to core Republicans, like offshore drilling, the story stated. “He delights in being an unconventional politician but he wanted to win,” Schnur said.

 Los Angeles Times ran a column by Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about how the GOP can move forward after Tuesday’s electoral defeat. “[T]here’s no question that Republicans have some serious work ahead of them to break out of the geographic and ideological corner into which the party found itself on Tuesday night,” Schnur wrote. “While most of the post-election analysis has focused on the inevitable debates between moderates and conservatives, the more important discussions over the next few years will be over the definition of conservatism and how it relates to this new political landscape.”

ABC News quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about the significance of Barack Obama’s win for the future of the Republican Party. “The biggest question for Republicans is what this means,” Schnur said. “Are we going to get over this quickly, or will it take years to make fundamental changes and come to terms about where we stand as a party?” He added: “More important than the ongoing debate between social conservatives and moderates is the debate over what consists of economic conservatism going forward.” Schnur’s short list of future party leaders included Sarah Palin, as well as Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Taipei Times (Taiwan) also quoted Schnur on the subject.

The Sacramento Bee quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will be able to get much done during the state legislature’s lame duck session this month. The governor is unlikely to see changes enacted this month, Schnur said. “If anything, the governor’s best bet might be laying down a marker right now and then working with the new Legislature to move something forward,” Schnur added.

November 6, 2008

San Francisco Chronicle ran an op-ed by Manuel Pastor of geography and of American studies and ethnicity about Barack Obama’s next steps following his victory Tuesday. “The good news for Barack Obama is also the bad news: He won,” Pastor wrote. “With victory comes the responsibility of addressing an economic mess of historic proportion,” he continued. “A President Obama will need to think big. It’s not the audacity of hope we need but the audacity of action... Obama, who spent months trying to prove he could do policy as well as poetry, is going to have to return to a presidential role neglected in the last eight years: communicator in chief. He is going to have to weave new policies, new coalitions and new rhetoric to bring about what we want and what the times demand. This was no ordinary election, this is no ordinary moment, and we require no ordinary presidency.”

Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed by Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, reflecting upon the historic significance of Barack Obama’s win. “When the networks called Ohio for Barack Obama and it became apparent that the Illinois senator was going to be our nation’s next president, the television cameras showed tears streaming down [Rev. Jesse] Jackson’s face,” Schnur wrote. “I’m not old enough to remember Jackson’s relationship with Martin Luther King Jr. But recalling the irritation he provided to Democratic Party leaders throughout the 1980s and his slide into irrelevance over the last decade or so, it was jarring to me to watch as Jackson witnessed something he had probably assumed to be an impossibility. I don’t agree with Jackson on very much, but for the first time since Obama declared his candidacy for president 21 months ago, I finally realized the enormity of this accomplishment.”

The New Republic ran an op-ed by Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about Barack Obama’s staffing picks. “For President Obama, personnel is destiny, so the most important early indicators as to whether he will govern from the center or veer leftward will be the men and women with whom he surrounds himself,” Schnur wrote. “Not that I get any say in the matter, but naming Illinois congressman Rahm Emmanuel as his chief of staff would be a critical signal as to his intentions to resist the pull of the enlarged, empowered, and impatient Democratic majorities in Congress. Emmanuel, who served on Bill Clinton’s White House staff when Clinton ran into similar difficulties during his first two years in office, is the one member of the Democratic congressional leadership who understands the perils of over-reaching. Just as important, he is tough as nails and capable of pushing back hard at his former colleagues who would try to yank the new president further away from the center.”

San Francisco Chronicle quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about whom Barack Obama might choose as a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Obama’s first choice for justice would likely be a woman or a Latino, Schnur said. That said, Christopher Edley Jr., dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law and a former professor of Obama at Harvard, would be an ideal fit in the Obama administration, Schnur said. “Of the names (of Californians) mentioned, Edley is the most likely,” he noted.

Congressional Quarterly quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about leadership fights in the Republican Party. “Leadership fights are almost inevitable,” Schnur said. The fight is not just over blame, but also over ideology between true-blue free-market Republicans and those who supported a broader government role such as the Bush-proposed intervention aimed at propping up the nation’s banking and mortgage lending industries, Schnur said. “You saw the party’s fault lines re-emerging in September’s debate over the $700 billion financial bailout. These fault lines will become even more apparent as the Congress prepares to come back in January.”

Evening Standard (U.K.) quoted Dan Schnur , director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about California’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. The high turnout for Obama may have helped pass Proposition 8, Schnur said.

November 5, 2008

The New York Times ran an op-ed by Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about the future of the GOP. “Regardless of today’s election results, the Republican Party’s biggest challenge is adjusting an economic message to a new group of necessary swing voters,” Schnur wrote. “The most important debate within the Republican Party over the next few years will not be along moderate versus conservative lines, or even social conservatives versus economic conservatives. Rather, the real contest will be between economic traditionalists, like Mitt Romney and Mitch McConnell, who point to the economic successes of the last three decades, and an emerging brand of economic populists, like Mr. Pawlenty, Bobby Jindal and Mike Huckabee, who argue that the economic message must be adjusted to account for the lower income voters on whom the party increasingly depends.

Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed by Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about voter turnout. “Call it the Politics of Hunger,” Schnur wrote. “In other words, when you (or your ideological leaders) haven’t been invited to dinner at the White House for eight long years, you tend to get motivated. So just as two Clinton-Gore terms energized Republican voters in the 2000 election, and 12 years of Reagan-Bush mobilized Democrats in 1992, there’s no question that the majority of grass-roots enthusiasm in this campaign has been on behalf of Obama.”

New York Daily News quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about how economic concerns swayed yesterday’s presidential election. “McCain was carrying a lot of baggage from the get-go — the war, the recession, an unpopular President,” Schnur said. “But when Wall Street collapsed, it collapsed on top of the McCain campaign.”

November 4, 2008

Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed by Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute for Politics, SC College about why John McCain’s poll numbers have trended down. “The most decisive event in this campaign wasn’t anything either of the candidates said at their respective conventions or in any of the debates,” Schnur wrote. “It wasn’t a sound bite from a speech or interview, or a memorable assertion in a television commercial or e-mail attachment. The turning point in this election didn’t happen on the campaign trail but rather on Wall Street. In the last week of September, the race was essentially tied. Then Wall Street collapsed — and it collapsed right on top of John McCain.

The Washington Post quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute for Politics, about the boost of energy John McCain seems to have gotten from being behind in the polls. In the 2000 campaign, McCain’s underdog status was “liberating,” Schnur said. Schnur, who was a senior adviser to McCain then, recalled when the Arizona senator made a last-minute change to his schedule, skipping a dinner in the Midwest in favor of an event in Seattle — prompting their driver to make a U-turn.

Diverse featured a national post-election survey of 4,500 registered voters from multiple ethnic groups being run by eight political scientists, including Ricardo Ramirez  and Janelle Wong of political science and American studies and ethnicity; and Ange-Marie Hancock of the political science. “More comparisons never hurt, so we thought it would be very unique: a multilingual, multiracial survey,” Ramirez said. “We all have our own expertise, but [decided to] pool our collective wisdom on voters to get something better,” he added. Wong and several colleagues recently conducted a national survey of Asian Americans which found that most said they would back Obama in the general election. “We don’t know the degree of support they have for Obama,” she noted. “[And] we don’t know how their support compares to these other groups,” she added. Hancock said she is especially interested in how youth of color are using technology with respect to the presidential campaign. The survey will be conducted through December 19, the story noted.

Philippine Daily Inquirer (Philippines) cited research on Asian American voters by Janelle Wong of political science and American studies and ethnicity and colleagues. Among the study’s findings was that Asian Americans who participate in their home country’s politics are also more likely to vote in the United States. “Indeed our results suggest that participation in one context may increase participation in the other,” Wong and colleagues reported.

The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about how Sarah Palin was duped by a Montreal comedian posing as French President Nicholas Sarkozy. The slip up by the Palin team wasn’t that remarkable, Schnur said. “Of all the things you want to do to get a vice-presidential campaign to operate efficiently in the 60 or 70 days that it exists, having a protocol for screening phone calls from foreign leaders is pretty far down the list,” he said. “Give the disc jockeys some credit for pulling a fast one. Give the campaign credit for taking it in good humor.”

CBS News Los Angeles affiliate KCBS-TV interviewed Karen Tongson of English and gender studies about the turnout of female voters. “Based on what I’m hearing, there’s going to be an enormous turnout,” Tongson said. “Women [are] interested in voting on very specific issues and ballot initiatives that are important to them,” she added.

November 3, 2008

The Washington Post quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about expectations of record-breaking voter turnout on Tuesday. Record television ratings for nominating conventions that offered no suspense are among the indications that turnout will be high, Schnur said. This Associated Press story was carried widely.

Toronto Star (Canada) highlighted the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. The institute has collected nearly 52,000 videotaped testimonies from Holocaust survivors and other witnesses, the story noted. It has placed the collection on online research networks, providing access to several universities and institutions around the world.

The San Diego Union-Tribune quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about how Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hopes that state lawmakers will be more amenable to working with him on budget issues in the days following the election. “Politicians are never less afraid of voters than immediately after an election,” Schnur said. “Every day closer they get to November 2010 makes it just a little bit harder to get them to make difficult decisions.”

Fox News Phoenix affiliate KSAZ-TV interviewed Julie Albright, lecturer of French, about how pornography can negatively affect married life. Some couples use it as a “virtual Viagra,” but “the more porn you watch, the less likely you are to have sex,” Albright said, referring to a survey she recently conducted of 15,000 people.

October 31, 2008

Time quoted Dan Schnur of the USC College about the campaign for California’s 11th congressional district. The inexperienced Democratic incumbent of this politically diverse district was thought to be vulnerable to Republican opponent Dean Andal, but this may not be the case, the story stated. “If this were the old district, Dean Andal would be very solidly positioned in this campaign,” Schnur said, referring to a 2000 redrawing of the district that brought in more East Bay Democrats. “But he’s fighting against these broader demographic shifts, which is making it an uphill battle for him.”

Contra Costa Times featured “Warhol’s Jews,” an exhibition curated by Richard Meyer of the USC College. The Contemporary Jewish Museum is presenting a series of silk-screened prints and the paintings by Andy Warhol which stirred controversy when they premiered in 1980. In today’s context, the paintings “pose complex questions about Jewish history, modern portraiture and the marking of identity,” Meyer said. San Francisco Chronicle also covered the story.

The Hill quoted Dan Schnur of the USC College about what John McCain should focus on in the final days of campaigning. “Every minute that he spends on Ayers or ACORN or Palestinian terrorists is a minute he’s not talking about jobs and taxes,” Schnur said. “It creates more difficulties for the campaign than it helps.”

Press-Telegram quoted Cheng Hsiao of the USC College about what small investors should do regarding the volatile stock market. “Stay calm and don’t panic,” Hsiao advised.

October 30, 2008

Los Angeles Times quoted Brian Rathbun of the USC College in a column on political psychology. Contrary to assumptions, people don’t vote their pocketbooks, but instead vote “socio-tropically,” for the collective good of the country, Rathbun has found. “We see that on steroids in this election — the feeling that the nation’s future is really at stake,” Rathbun said.

The Press-Enterprise quoted Karen Sternheimer of the USC College about child abductions that result from online encounters. Children are much more likely to be victimized by a family member, coach or neighbor than a stranger on the Internet, Sternheimer said. In addition, most children who engage in risky behavior online are already rebellious. “Someone who has been engaged in riskier behavior might need more monitoring than the honor student who seems to have a good head on her shoulders,” Sternheimer explained. Sternheimer is the author of “Kids These Days: Facts and Fictions About Today’s Youth,” the story noted.

McClatchy Newspapers quoted Dan Schnur of the USC College in a widely carried story on gains made by John McCain in the last few days. A recent poll found that likely voters prefer Obama to handle the economy by a margin of seven points, down from a 16-point margin the week before, the story stated. “He’s made up some ground the last several days by concentrating almost completely on economic issues,” Schnur said. “That’s probably the right thing to keep doing,” he added. Schnur is director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC, the story noted.

October 29, 2008

National Journal ran a column by Mark Bernstein of the practice in political science on the world’s future energy needs. “There is an opportunity that the current [economic] problems may provide,” Bernstein wrote. “As others have noted, electricity demand is likely to soften in the near term. This buys us time to develop technologies, polices and incentives to be more efficient, and create an electric power system with a much smaller carbon footprint. If we get a period of declining demand, we should put in place mechanisms to keep the demand off.” Bernstein is director of the USC Energy Institute, the story noted.

October 28, 2008

National Geographic highlighted Travis Longcore of geography in a story on light pollution. Light is a powerful biological force, and it acts like a magnet for many species; this process is being studied by researchers such as Longcore and Catherine Rich, co-founders of the Los Angeles-based Urban Wildlands Group, the article reported. According to the story, this effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being “captured” by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms, circling and circling in the thousands until they drop.

The New York Times ran an op-ed by Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about Sen. Joe Biden. “I wish Joe Biden was a Republican,” Schnur wrote. “Watching the Delaware senator on the campaign trail for the last several weeks has been a rare joy in an increasingly joyless campaign. Despite his deserved reputation for non-stop verbosity, Mr. Biden is engaging, interesting and enthusiastic. He talks to working-class voters without condescending, and he summarizes his ticket’s policy agenda in a more succinct and understandable manner than either of the presidential nominees.”

The Australian (Australia) ran an op-ed by James Kincaid of English about the enduring appeal and controversy of Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita.” The book “has engendered the most embarrassed, looking-sideways-for-the-exit, highfalutin and obscurantist talk of any book ever written,” Kincaid wrote. While polemics are varied, the book taps into “a dark central current in our culture that eroticizes children relentlessly, wishing it had done no such thing, and eagerly looking for others to blame it on,” he stated. “We have, for the past 200 or so years, progressively eroticized, put at the heart of our constructions of the desirable, the young body, the innocent, the unspoiled.” Kincaid is the author of “Erotic Innocence: The Culture of Child Molesting,” the story noted.

Variety featured the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education’s Ambassadors for Humanity benefit dinner. The October 22 event honored actor Kirk Douglas and featured entertainment by Billy Crystal and Bette Midler. “We needed that,” said Shoah Foundation founder Steven Spielberg of Midler’s performance. “We’ve never had that kind of sauce served with the main course,” he added.

AsianWeek cited Mark Bernstein of the practice in political science who spoke with the San Gabriel Valley Tribune about Proposition 7. The ballot initiative represents poorly crafted regulation that could prove to be a setback for cleaner energy, but for some it might be better than nothing, Bernstein said. “If you really believe you want to get renewables in there, then vote for it; if you want to hold out for better [legislation], then vote no,” he advised.

KCRW-FM’s “To the Point” interviewed Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about the future of the Republican Party. “The two parties have undergone a trade in terms of the large bases of their support,” Schnur said. “The Republican party sent a large group of swing voters — so-called soccer parents, who are economically upscale and socially and environmentally liberal, over to the Democratic Party, in exchange for the so-called NASCAR parents — the economically blue-collar working class and social and cultural conservatives. Some Republicans have began to talk about the need for an economic agenda that speaks more directly to the needs of the working class, and what you’re seeing, particularly in this economic crisis, is a Republican economic agenda designed for one group of voters coming out short in its efforts to reach out to a new group.”

The Ledger reported that the University of South Florida libraries will offer access to the archives of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education

October 27, 2008

Time highlighted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, as one of several experts offering advice to John McCain. “The best thing for him to do at this point is spend every moment of every day talking about the economy,” Schnur said. “No more talking about William Ayers, no more talking about al-Qaeda, no more talking about the ‘tests,’ that the next President will face. All economy, all the time. And if he talks about it while standing on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, so much the better.” Schnur is director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC and was the national director of communications for McCain in 2000, the story noted.

Los Angeles Times featured the USC Fisher Museum of Art show “Phantasmagoria: Specters of Absence.” The exhibition presents the work of a dozen international artists who explore fundamental mysteries using the substances so often associated with them: light, shadow and atmosphere. “The spectacles range in intensity from whispers to roars,” the story stated. This is the final stop for the show, curated by JosE Roca for the Museo de Arte del Banco de la Repblica in Bogot, Colombia, and Independent Curators International, based in New York. A second Los Angeles Times story also highlighted the exhibition.

Los Angeles Times featured a list of USC experts on subjects related to Halloween. “As we head into Halloween, it’s good to know USC has the subject covered,” the column stated. The list included Geoffrey Spedding of the USC Viterbi School, and Edwin McCann and Leo Braudy, University Professor and Leo S. Bing Chair in English and American Literature and Professor of English, the story noted. “Engineering professor Geoffrey Spedding has studied the aerodynamics of bats. Philosophy professor Edwin McCann is an expert in magic and occultism in the 17th century. Other faculty members can tell you about spook culture ranging from 19th century Gothic lifestyles to modern horror films.”

BBC News quoted Janelle Wong,  of political science and of American Studies and ethnicity, about efforts to target the Asian American vote. Candidates should pay more attention to this demographic, Wong said. “You have to do a multi-lingual campaign, you’re trying to reach out to a group that has a lot of ideological positions,” she said. “And it’s just not an easy group to mobilize [but] if it comes down to a few voters in Ohio or Nevada, then I think Asian Americans are the quintessential swing vote. They are ripe for mobilization.”

The Independent (U.K.) quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about infighting plaguing the McCain campaign. “This looks like it’s reached a point where the candidate has to step in himself and crack some heads to remind everyone why they came to work for him,” Schnur said. United Press International also quoted Schnur on the subject.

Philadelphia Daily News highlighted the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education’s Ambassadors for Humanity benefit dinner, which honored actor Kirk Douglas. “We’re here to show how closely attuned Kirk Douglas is as a representative of our work and our vision at the Shoah Foundation,” said Steven Spielberg, who established the foundation in 1994. The institute is making its 52,000 video testimonies and educational curricula available to people around the world, the story noted.

October 24, 2008

CNN"s Good Morning America interviewed Steven Ross of history about Barack Obama’s efforts to reach young voters. “He’s going out to Vibe, and he’s going out to Xbox,” Ross said. “He’s going to everything he can do to try to get that youth vote, because everyone is saying right now it’s the youth vote that might put him over the top.”

Politico quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about a climate of blame and despair that is reportedly invading the McCain camp. John McCain should step in to halt the defeatism on his own team, Schnur said. “It’s a natural and human reaction when you’re struggling to make up ground, but that doesn’t make it right,” he added. “As long as the campaign is still potentially winnable, these are an unnecessary distraction. This looks like it’s reached a point where the candidate has to step in himself and crack some heads to remind everyone why they came to work for him in the first place.” Schnur was a McCain communication adviser in 2008, the widely carried story noted.

Los Angeles Times cited the Asian American voter survey by Janelle Wong of political science and of American Studies and ethnicity and colleagues from Rutgers, UC Berkeley and UC Riverside. More than half of Vietnamese Americans surveyed said they support McCain, diverging from other Asian American groups that mostly supported Barack Obama, the story noted. Roughly 51 percent of Vietnamese Americans nationwide support McCain, compared to 24 percent who support Obama, according to the survey. Associated Press also cited the survey’s findings on Vietnamese support for McCain.

AsianWeek featured the Asian American voter survey by Janelle Wong of tpolitical science and of American Studies and ethnicity and colleagues from Rutgers, UC Berkeley and UC Riverside. The survey is the first broad-based Asian American political poll of its kind, drawing data from more than 4,000 participants nationwide through interviews conducted in eight Asian languages, the story stated. The researchers hoped to paint the most accurate portrayal to date of Asian American voters, their party preferences and the issues that are important to them as a voting bloc, the article reported.

October 23, 2008

The Washington Post featured the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education’s Ambassadors for Humanity benefit dinner, which last night honored actor Kirk Douglas. “Kirk Douglas, in a way, has saved many lives — not just through his art, but through his humanitarian contributions to the planet,” said Steven Spielberg, founder of the Shoah Foundation. “We’re here to show how closely attuned Kirk Douglas is as a representative of our work and our vision at the Shoah Foundation,” he added. The Shoah Foundation Institute is “one of the crown jewels of the university,” said Howard Gillman, dean of the USC College. Spielberg established the Shoah Foundation in 1994 to collect and preserve stories from Holocaust survivors, the story noted. The organization recently joined forces with an African group to record and preserve testimonies from survivors of the Rwandan genocide. This Associated Press story was carried widely.

The New York Times highlighted the USC College’s Master of Liberal Studies degree program. More and more older adults are returning to school to pursue such degrees, the story noted, including Lee Crystal, a 61-year-old Los Angeles lawyer. The degree is both a luxury and an investment, he said. “Maybe I’m doing this instead of buying a Corvette,” he said. “In a few years, the Corvette would just be a used car. But this will last.” The Times also featured a photo of Crystal and fellow USC graduate student Young Miller

October 22, 2008

Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed by Pamela Starr, senior lecturer in international relations & senior fellow in public diplomacy, about Mexico’s spreading drug violence. “Already this year, nearly 4,000 people have been killed in Mexico as warring drug cartels intensify their battle for control of drug markets and transportation routes,” Starr wrote. “Murder is now producing a death toll appropriate to a country in the throes of a civil war,” she added. “In the interest of national security, the United States must aggressively police its border with Mexico. But the cause of concern is not the northward flow of migrants and drugs. Rather, our focus should be on the southward flow of arms and ammunition that is fueling an explosion of drug-related violence in Mexico and that could soon threaten U.S. interests.”

The New Republic featured the Asian American voter survey by Janelle Wong of political science and of American studies and ethnicity  and colleagues from Rutgers, UC Berkeley and UC Riverside. The survey found that Asian Americans in California are a key swing vote when it comes to Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage, the story stated. By a margin of 57 to 32 percent, survey respondents opposed Prop 8. “Given that Asian Americans once faced barriers to marriage based on racial restrictions, these findings do not surprise me,” Wong said.

The Mercury News quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about the Democrats’ small advantage over the Republicans in registering new Californian voters. “Democrats may have a marginal advantage over Republicans at this point,” Schnur said. This might not make a different, however, if the state’s percentage of independent voters rises, the article stated. At this rate, Democrats and Republicans “might as well be the last two eight-track-tape salesmen down at the mall,” Schnur said.

October 21, 2008

Chicago Tribune quoted Karen Tongson of English and gender studies about the extraordinary narratives at play in this year’s presidential election. “Here you’ve got multiple players, four different, compelling story lines,” Tongson said. “It’s the ultimate reality competition for the ultimate prize.”

CNET News featured the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education’s efforts to digitize its video archive. Processing the 100,000 hours of interviews will cost more than $8 million, including a $2 million hardware donation from Sun Microsystems, the story noted. The goal is to save and disseminate testimonies of genocide survivors, including those from Rwanda, the article reported. “We’ll be helping to preserve interviews so people can refer to them as they build educational programs,” said Samuel Gustman, chief technology officer for the foundation. “Obviously, whatever people need to learn from the past hasn’t been learned yet, since we continue to have genocides like [in] the Sudan. Maybe first-person experiences can help in a way that textbooks haven’t been able to, to date.”

The Independent (U.K.) quoted Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics, about Barack Obama’s campaign getting Major League Baseball to delay the start of a World Series game so that the candidate could air an extended commercial. “This is unprecedented in American political and sports history,” Schnur said.

Glamour featured USC student Pauline Yang in its Top 10 College Women Competition, which focused on collegiate role models. Yang is an accomplished pianist who soloed at Carnegie Hall at 11, the story noted. Yang has interned for Sen. Hillary Clinton and is an ambassador for Music in Me, a nonprofit that brings music to kids in the Middle East — all while practicing piano up to six hours a day. This summer, she went to Taiwan, her parents’ homeland, to work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on using classical music to bridge cultural divides.

San Gabriel Valley Tribune highlighted the Asian American voter survey by Janelle Wong of political science and of American Studies and ethnicity and colleagues from Rutgers, UC Berkeley and UC Riverside. Wong and colleagues found that a third of California’s Asian Americans don’t opt for a party affiliation, compared with 20 percent of voters statewide. If Asians choose political parties, they could play a major role in politics for years to come, as researchers expect more than half of that population to be likely voters, the story stated. “At the very local levels having a large proportion does make a difference,” Wong said. The Press-Enterprise also featured the survey.

The Providence Journal reported that EMC, a provider of information infrastructure, has donated products and services to store a copy of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education’s archive of nearly 52,000 video testimonials from Holocaust survivors and witnesses, making it accessible through Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem. Through the EMC Information Heritage Initiative donation, the Shoah Foundation Institute was able to copy more than 135 terabytes of