Top Story Faculty Authors Expertise Bonus Clip
AU Newsmakers 4.20-4.27, 2018
Top Story
American University Becomes First in Country to Become Carbon Neutral
WRC-TV/NBC-4 featured the announcement that American University had become the first university in the nation to become carbon neutral, two years ahead of schedule. WUSA-9, Facility Executive, Solar Industry and Prism magazine also covered the announcement. (4/25)

Faculty Authors
The Hidden Constitutional Threat in Trump's Travel-Ban Lawsuit
Washington College of Law Professor Amanda Frost wrote an opinion article for The Washington Post about attempts to block President Trump's travel ban. Frost wrote, “Trump's travel ban illustrates why courts must have the power to issue nationwide injunctions.” (4/24)
Cyber Warfare May Be Less Dangerous Than We Think
School of International Service Scholar-in-Residence Benjamin Jensen and Professorial Lecturer David Banks co-authored an opinion article for The Washington Post about cybersecurity and war games. Jensen and Banks wrote, “We found that cyber operations may in fact produce a moderating influence on international crises… Thus, cyber operations are more akin to the Cold War-era political warfare than a military revolution.” (4/26)
How to Leave MS-13 Alive
Steven Dudley, senior fellow at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies, wrote an opinion article for The New York Times about MS-13 and how some of its members are trying to leave the gang. Dudley wrote, “Becoming an active member of a religious community remains virtually the only way someone can leave the notorious gang… MS-13, alive.” (4/26)
Democrats Must Embrace Shale Gas Boom to Win Elections and Climate Battle
Paul Bledsoe, adjunct professorial lecturer at the School of Public Affairs, wrote an opinion article for USA Today about the energy battle in Congress. Bledsoe wrote, “When voters are presented with an agenda that emphasizes a transitional role for domestic gas and oil along with renewable energy as part of climate protection, they will support Democrats over Trump's climate denial and coal-dust memories.” The article ran in more than 20 media outlets including The Des Moines Register and The Indianapolis Star. (4/21)
The Rise of Fascist Fashion: Clothing Helps the Far Right Sell Their Violent Message
Cynthia Miller-Idriss, professor of education and sociology, wrote an opinion article for Salon about the use of fashion by far-right groups. Miller-Idriss wrote, “Fashion has increasingly become part and parcel of the far right's outreach.” (4/21)

Expertise
A Tough Re-election Climate Tests the Chumminess in Senate
Distinguished Professor of Public Affairs James Thurber spoke to The Associated Press about tensions in the U.S. Senate. Thurber said, “Where you have a more competitive situation, you have more incentive to get along.” The story ran in over 300 outlets, including The New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. (4/24)
Kim Jong Un Wants You to Know That He's a Totally Reasonable Global Leader
Ji-Young Lee, assistant professor in the School of International Service, spoke to The Washington Post about Kim Jong-Un's willingness to cooperate with other world leaders. Lee said, “My sense is that it is still at the level of tactics.” Lee and SIS Scholar-in-Residence Johanna Mendelson-Forman also spoke to the BBC about the North and South Korean summit. (4/26)
Macron Calls for New Iran Talks to Build On Deal Trump Loathes
School of International Service Professorial Lecturer Garrett Martin spoke to CQ Roll Call about French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the United States. Martin said, “On Iran, they've been trying to assuage President Trump's concerns for some time. President Macron has been trying to come up with a way to fix some of the deal's flaws.” Martin also wrote an opinion article for The Conversation about the visit, and spoke to The Voice of America, WNHN-FM, Love Sport Radio and Wisconsin Public Radio. School of International Service Professor Jordan Tama also discussed the visit with Newsy. (4/24)
Why Are Richard Spencer and David Duke Still on Twitter? The Answer Is Confusing, Rights Groups Say
Communication Professor Laura DeNardis was quoted in Newsweek about hate speech on Twitter. “Twitter was dealing with a breathtaking volume of complaints each day about hate speech,” prior to the December 2017 hate-speech ‘purge' that took place, DeNardis said. (4/21)
Why a Jack Johnson Pardon Would Be Easier for Trump Than Obama
Critical Race, Gender and Culture Department Chair Theresa Runstedtler's book about boxer Jack Johnson was quoted in The Undefeated. Johnson's lifestyle was like “the hip-hop culture of its day, widely associated with black criminality and black masculine pathology,” wrote Runstedtler in her book on Johnson. (4/23)
If a Parent's Day Job Is Running for Congress, Can the Campaign Pay for Child Care?
Jennifer Lawless, professor in the School of Public Affairs, spoke to NPR about women running for office and child care. Lawless said, "It's one additional thing that they don't have to think about or reconcile when they're meeting voters and preparing for debates and raising money and doing all the other things that a candidate needs to do." (4/22)
Want to Build a Dragon? Science Is Here for You
Associate Professor of Chemistry Matthew Hartings spoke to Science News magazine about the science behind bringing mythical dragons to reality. Hartings said, “[Assuming] that dragons like caves, if you're living amongst a bunch of rocks, you'll have access to a high amount of iron.” (4/26)

Bonus Clip
Dogs on Campus for Stress Relief
As classes wind down for the semester, and students hunker down in preparation for finals, the Counseling Center brought dogs to campus for students to relax and relieve some stress. WRC-TV/NBC-4 featured the Office of Campus Life initiative in a segment for the nightly news. (4/24)



''Online, consumer'' news refers to online news outlets and blogs such as Huffington Post, NY Times
"Online, consumer" news refers to online news outlets and blogs such as Huffington Post, NY Times
Both charts are based on the week's Newsmakers highlights only, not total AU mentions for the week
Both charts are based on the week's Newsmakers highlights only, not total AU mentions for the week

Prepared by University Communications

American University's faculty, staff, students and programs appear in regional, national and international print, online and broadcast media regularly. Each week, AU Newsmakers provides highlights of AU in the news. For prior weeks, go to: http://www.american.edu/media/inthemedia.cfm

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