Top Stories
| AU Announces Inclusive Excellence Plan |
| American University announced its Inclusive Excellence plan, which is aimed at making campus a more inclusive environment. President Sylvia Burwell spoke with WRC-NBC4 about the plan, including the implementation of core curriculum courses AUx1 and AUx2. These transition classes become mandatory for freshmen this fall and provide students with an opportunity to discuss issues of race and identity, as well as diversity and inclusion. Burwell said, “We've announced a plan today to work on these issues, because we know we have work to do.” Fanta Aw, vice president of campus life, also discussed the new plan with WJLA-ABC7, WTTG-Fox 5 and Washington Business Journal. WAMU-FM and WTOP Radio ran stories and DCW50 also featured coverage of the plan. (1/30, 1/31) |
Expertise
| Trump's Environmental Rollbacks Were Fast. It Could Get Messy in Court. |
| Washington College of Law Professor Jeffrey Lubbers spoke to The New York Times about the legal consequences of the Trump administration's environmental rollbacks. Lubbers said, “If the previous action by the Obama administration was made based on findings of fact [then reversing it] will have to be justified by saying ‘those facts are no longer true.' And that will be difficult to do.” (1/31) |
| Cities, States Work to Clear Marijuana Convictions, Calling It a States' Rights Issue |
| Jenny Roberts, professor in the Washington College of Law, spoke to the Washington Post about the decriminalization of marijuana, and the need to expunge people of prior convictions. Roberts said, “If you've made the legislative determination that this is no longer criminal, why would you want to continue to have people feeling the ramifications of something that people going forward will no longer have to suffer?” (2/1) |
| State of the Union: The Pressures and Pitfalls of Giving the Opposing Response |
| Capri Cafaro, executive-in-residence at the School of Public Affairs, spoke to ABC News for an online story about Rep. Joe Kennedy's opposing response to the State of the Union. Cafaro said, "That choice of a younger person could convey optimism in the future of the nation, which I personally think is a particular goal of this year's State of the Union response." Cafaro also talked with Fox Business Network and WUSA-9. Robert Lehrman, professor of communication, spoke to PBS, and Scott Talan, assistant professor in the School of Communication, spoke with New York Daily News. (1/30, 1/31) |
| 'I Want My Voice Heard': Women Plot Runs for Office in Record Numbers |
| Jennifer Lawless, director of the Women and Politics Institute, spoke to NBC News about the increasing number of women running for office. Lawless said, "There is this general call that women would be able to legislate in a way that was more honest and trustworthy because they are political outsiders, that there are these entrenched men who have generated a whole bunch of scandals and are behaving very badly.” (1/29) |
| 'America First' or 'America Alone?': Breaking Down Trump's Davos Speech |
| Stephen Silvia, professor in the School of International Service, spoke to Sinclair Broadcasting Group about President Trump's speech in Davos. Silvia said, "It was very much Donald Trump the salesman... And he did a good job. It was a positive, constructive speech." The story ran online in 35 outlets. (1/26) |
| A Matter of Sympathy? Pew Looks at Israel |
| Guy Ziv, assistant professor in the School of International Service, spoke to Washington Jewish Week about American's divided attitudes toward the Middle East. Ziv said, "Americans [today] rarely hear Israelis who are critical of Netanyahu... I think what they see is a nation that's becoming increasingly inward-looking and increasingly nationalistic.” (1/30) |
|
