Politics
Cole Scholars Program
The Oberlin Initiative in Electoral Politics (OIEP) was founded in 1994 as a non-partisan program to encourage the study of American campaigns and elections. The centerpiece of the OIEP is the Cole Scholars program, which provides students with classroom instruction and field research opportunities. Selected Cole Scholars are supported financially and professionally in field placements for eight weeks during the summer.
Recent participants have conducted field work on the campaigns of Bill de Blasio for mayor of New York, Kate Brown for governor of Oregon, Michelle Nunn for U.S. Senate, and Kay Hagan for U.S. Senate, while others have spent time with major consulting firms.
Past Cole Scholars maintain an online alumni network that connects friends of the OIEP with job and volunteer opportunities. The OIEP also brings in guest speakers and provides grants for alumni to take workshops to develop their campaign skills.
What's Wrong With American Elections? A Conversation with Professor Richard Hasen.
Professor Richard L. Hasen is an internationally recognized author and expert in election law. Hasen served as a CNN Election Law Analyst and as an NBC News/MSNBC Election Law Analyst. He also directs UCLA Law's Safeguarding Democracy Project.
Professor Hasen addressed questions about the state of American electoral democracy from Associate Dean and Professor Michael Parkin. The full conversation can be found here.