May 2004 Stories

Buehler Wins Homeland Security Internship and Scholarship

Matthew Buehler, a sophomore majoring in sociology and political science, has been selected as a paid public policy intern in the Department of Homeland Security’s first-ever summer internship program. Buehler has also just been awarded a $2,500 renewable Ronald Reagan Future Leaders Scholarship. The national scholarships are awarded to undergraduates who demonstrate exceptional achievements “as leaders on behalf of freedom, American values and constitutional principles.”

Last summer, Buehler worked as a federal grant and public policy researcher, which gave him the needed experience to qualify for the Homeland Security position. “Working with the Regional Alliances for Infrastructure and Network Security (RAINS), which is a public-private partnership of first-responder agencies, research universities and more than 60 high-tech businesses in Oregon like Intel, gave me the skills and experience necessary to gain this internship,” Buehler says. “It also helped that I worked last semester at Willamette’s Public Policy Research Center with Professor Laura Leete. I studied homeland security public policy and strategies to empower first responders to mitigate the effects of terrorism more effectively.”

Working with special assistant to the Secretary Al Martinez-Fonts and other policy analysts, Buehler will study how partnerships can be established between the government and the private sector for emergency preparedness and response and the protection of critical infrastructure. The Homeland Security-Private Sector Office works directly with businesses, trade associations and other professional and non-governmental organizations. Buehler will help the department develop a better understanding of the private sector’s interests and challenges in a post 9/11 world.

“I’ll be working on bridging the divide between terrorism preparedness, emergency response and disaster mitigation between the government and the private sector,” says Buehler. “I hope to help promote better public policy techniques to empower American first responders to mitigate the human and economic consequences of a terrorist attack.”

In addition to being named a recipient of a Ronald Reagan Scholarship, which Buehler will use to defray his undergraduate educational costs, Buehler was recently selected as one of four Willamette University nominees for the 2004-2005 Truman Public Service Scholarship. His public policy proposal for that scholarship will be directly related to the work he’ll be doing this summer as an intern.

Stice Selected for Prestigious Boren Scholarship

Nathanael Stice, a sophomore majoring in Russian and politics from Umatilla, Ore., is one of 181 students from across the nation selected from nearly 900 applicants to receive a prestigious National Security Education Program David L. Boren Scholarship. The $10,000 NSEP Boren award is designed to provide outstanding U.S. students with the resources to be able to study and acquire language skills and experience in countries critical to national security. Recipients agree to seek work in the federal government in the future. Previous Boren scholars are working in federal jobs with the departments of Commerce, Defense, Justice, State Treasury and Homeland Security as well as NASA and the U.S. Congress.

Stice, the son of Nancy and Barry Stice of Umatilla, plans to study next year at Tavrida National University in Simferopol, Ukraine. He says the application process for this award was long and arduous. “The application took a large chunk of my time and I even fell behind in my classes trying to complete it,” he confides. “But it was worth it. I’m really excited to be studying abroad in my junior year.”

He says he plans to use the money to study Russian language and culture in the Ukraine. “I want to improve my cross-cultural communication skills,” he says. “I’m really stoked about visiting some of the cultural and historical sites like the site of the famous Yalta Conference. I’m also interested in learning more about the political climate in the developing Ukraine.”

Stice says he plans to spend his second semester in Moscow studying the democratization in Russian and Eastern Europe. After graduation, he hopes to take a year off and work in the Peace Corps and then work in foreign service or pursue a graduate degree in Russian studies or law.

Willamette Students Present Hot Topics at Conference

Five Willamette University students were recently selected to present research papers at the Northwest Communication Association’s spring conference in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Seniors Steve Duman from Coeur d’Alene, Colin Gold from Olympia, Wash., Sarah Kassel from Beaverton, Ore., Charlotte “Charli” Hancock from Indianola, Wash., and Becca Legg from Twin Falls, Idaho, presented their papers to more than 200 faculty and students from Oregon, Washington, Montana, Utah and South Dakota. Kassel’s paper on breast cancer marketing was named overall top paper at the conference. Duman’s paper, which discussed Michael Moore’s film, “Bowling for Columbine,” was recognized as one of the three top papers at the conference and the top paper in his division.

Many of the student papers reflected contemporary issues. Sarah Kassel, a rhetoric and media studies and Spanish major, discussed how breast cancer has become a mass media spectacle that’s being taken advantage of by corporations anxious to sell their products. “Corporations tap into the publicity/brand awareness and philanthropy associated with breast cancer to sell their product,” says Kassel, whose grandmother is undergoing breast cancer treatment. She points to Yoplait selling special breast cancer cure yogurt and clothing companies making breast cancer cure supporting shoes, jeans, etc. “The ethical considerations of corporations utilizing the emotions attached to the cure of a fatal disease to sell their products is huge.”

Indianola’s Charli Hancock, a politics and rhetoric major, took on the topic of presidential candidate Howard Dean and how he revolutionized the use of the internet to reach young voters. “Governor Howard Dean’s campaign website was specifically geared towards a younger generation of voters called “Generation Dean,” she explains. “I looked at how Dean created constituency based on unifying factors like conflict with the older generation.”

Colin Gold, a politics major and rhetoric and media studies minor, examined the differences in the media’s coverage of Iran and Israel’s nuclear capabilities. “Events since September 11, notably the war on terror and the Iraq war, have fueled domestic and international security concerns,” he says. “I thought it would be interesting to examine how Western papers like the New York Times and the Washington Post differentiate between Judeo-Christian (Israel) and Islamic (Iran) value systems in their news coverage.”

Idaho’s Becca Legg, took a slightly different tact when she examined the 1999 cult film “The Boondock Saints.” “Director Troy Duffy’s method’s of storytelling such as manipulations of time (slow motion and accelerated speed), manipulations of order (flash forwards), and the use of the character FBI Agent Smecker all combine to best reach the audience and make this a cult classic,” explains Legg, who says she’d like to work as a writer/editor. “For many people, this film changed their lives. I examine why it’s effective, how it sends its message and the message it sends.”

Selection of papers for inclusion in the Northwest Association’s annual conference is competitive. The Northwest Communication Association, a regional chapter of the National Communication Association, promotes the study, criticism, research, teaching and practice of communication. They serve more than 150 member organizations and their annual conference is a way to bring together student and faculty scholars to share ideas about communication.

Willamette Senior Receives 2004 Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship

Barrett Ebright, a senior sociology major from Vashon, Wash., has been awarded a 2004 Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship. The National Hunger Fellowship, a project of the Congressional Hunger Center, is a unique leadership opportunity for motivated individuals who wish to make a difference in the struggle to eliminate hunger and poverty. The 12-month program provides fellows with a living allowance of $10,000, plus an additional $2,000 housing stipend and cash award of $3,500. Ebright was one of 24 National Hunger Fellows from a field of 250 nominees nationwide.

Fellows are initially placed for six months with urban and rural community-based organizations involved in fighting hunger at the local level. These organizations include food banks, community kitchens and local advocacy agencies. They end the fellowship in Washington, D.C., with six months of work at national organizations involved in the anti-hunger and poverty movement.

The Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program develops hunger-fighting leaders with a deep understanding of hunger and poverty at both the local and national level. In nearly a decade of fighting hunger, fellows have developed and enhanced programs that directly serve those in need of nutritious, sustaining food, while also working with national advocates to keep the needs of individuals and families at the heart of important policy developments.

At Willamette, Ebright works as a program assistant for the Community Outreach Program and is a member of the Bearcat track and cross country teams.

For additional info on the Congressional Hunger Center and/or the hunger Fellowship: www.hungercenter.org/national/national.htm