(10/07/15 4:43pm)
Thirteen months before the 2016 presidential election, we’re already hearing about the candidates in the news every day. Personally, I am tired of listening to the same batch of politicians debating virtually the same issues from the last election cycle. In large part, this stems from the fact that I have a feeling of inevitability and a feeling that no matter how much we as young students participate in politics, come November next fall our voices won’t really matter because big money and massive campaign donations will ultimately determine the outcome of the election. Many candidates – perhaps most notably Bernie Sanders – include campaign finance in part of their platform, but there is only one candidate who I believe could actually accomplish it.
Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and he is running exclusively on campaign finance reform. He is running as what he calls a “referendum president,” a president who would go to the White House with one goal to accomplish, and once he achieved that goal he would resign and the vice president would resume the normal responsibilities as president. Now, this is clearly unprecedented, but he is running because despite years of discussion and talk about campaign finance by politicians on both sides of the aisle, basically nothing has been accomplished.
Lessig started his run for president in August with a Kickstarter campaign. He said that he would only run if the public showed enough support, and in less that 6 weeks he raised over a million dollars in individual, online donations. As part of his referendum presidency, he is running on a single mandate, what he calls the Citizen Equality Act of 2017. This act includes three specific pieces and the fact that he is running on just these issues will give him the authority and commitment he needs to get them passed in Congress.
He states it best himself, and here I quote from his website: “The Citizens Equality Act of 2017 is a package of reforms designed to restore citizen equality. It guarantees the freedom to vote, ends partisan gerrymandering, and funds campaigns in a way that would give us a Congress free to lead. Each part is drawn from existing proposals for fundamental reform. We are not reinventing the wheel. And taken together, they would give us — finally — what we were promised: a government of, by, and for the people.”
(The specifics of this are laid out in much more detail on his website if you’re interested.)
To me, money in politics is the absolute biggest problem with our government, and judging from my conversations with those around me, it is for you too. There is so much work to be done in this country, but right now we’re not in control of what’s happening in our government, and I don’t believe any other issue can be properly resolved until we take political influence out of the hands of corporations, lobbyists and billionaires and put it back into our hands.
Nearly every time I’ve brought up Lessig, the reaction is the same – “Wow, I completely agree we need to get money out of politics, but there is no way he could actually be elected.” Imagine if we all supported the candidate we actually agreed with! Furthermore, I believe he actually has a chance. I think one of the appealing parts of this campaign is that it steers clear of specific, divisive political issues, focusing exclusively on these few issues. Now, I’m not suggesting that this chance is anything more than slim at best, but I believe that more than a year before election day is the time for talking and discussing candidates, not deciding on them. Right now I think we need to do a lot more talking about Lessig – such as letting him participate in the Democratic debates – and less deciding on Hillary or Bernie.
(12/03/14 10:22pm)
If you ask a student what they are doing at 8 p.m. on a Friday night, you’d probably expect to hear about parties and relaxing after a tough week of classes. However, if there is ever a reason to mix up your weekend festivities, this is it.
On the weekend before exams, take a few hours for the opportunity to see world-renowned cellist Sophie Shao debut a piece written specifically for our own Paul Nelson in honor of his 30th and final season as Performing Arts Series Director, in addition to pieces by Haydn and Brahms. Come to the Kevin P. Mahaney ’84 Center for the Arts (MCA) Concert Hall this Friday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. to witness Sophie Shao and Friends.
This event is so much more than classical music. The genre is delightful by itself, but this event is a celebration of much more. It is the world premiere of the commissioned work “Revelations” by acclaimed composer, flutist and Professor of Music Su Lian Tan to commemorate the man who not only dedicated his life to both our school and to the musical world but kindled her own passion.
This concert reaches beyond classical music aficionados and has significance to every student here. Yes, there will be baroque and classical pieces, but there will also be the contemporary expression of one student’s admirations for her teacher.
“In Paul Nelson, I have not only found a very good friend, but a mentor whom I hold in the highest regard,” Tan said. “Much of the structure of the first movement is shaped to express life as scholar, teacher and role model. The effort of seeking while feeling the pressures to achieve, alongside devotion to a community of peers and students, are described in the layering of Baroque counterpoint and contemporary rhythms and note palette. These elements progress in their individual manner and are held together by form. The challenge of pursuing higher ground in the face of relentless distractions becomes the ethos. The instruments race urgently to an apex, a density of experience, only to give way to more thought and contemplation.”
Director of the MCA Liza Sacheli added that Tan’s new piece will be a departure from the rest of the concert program’s classical music.
“It will be contemporary music—not just safe, pleasant melodies—but edgy, challenging, totally modern sounds,” she said.
According to Tan, the piece ends in chaos—no one will leave the Concert Hall “humming the melody.” This is going to be very fresh, surprising work with so much meaning behind it. This is not just “older music,” it is a modern melody with a history and intimacy that is rarely so relatable. The rest of Shao’s repertoire on Saturday is also relatively accessible and should provide depth and interest for everyone. The Haydn piece, which many consider to be a masterpiece for a string quartet, should be exceptional, given that Ms. Shao has extensive experience performing baroque and classical pieces.
Ms. Shao has a celebrated history performing at the College and around the world. She attended the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at thirteen and continued her studies at Yale, receiving a B.A. in Religious Studies and an M.M. from the Yale School of Music. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including an Avery Fisher Career Grant and top prizes at the Rostropovich and Tchaikovsky international music competitions.
Her career takes her all around the world. Highlights of last season include her Washington recital debut at the Phillips Collection, an appearance on “What Makes it Great” at Lincoln Center, performances of Howard Shore’s Mythic Gardens (a concerto written for her) with the BBC Concert Orchestra in London and the 21st Century Symphony in Switzerland. This weekend, she is joined by a full piano quintet for her annual Sophie Shao and Friends tour.
The College’s incredibly personal concert hall, a phenomenal venue for any performance, will thrust you into the forefront of the action. Not only will you be in a hall rivaled by no other college, these world-class performances are provided to us as a discount you will never see outside the bubble. Artists such as Shao and her companions cost dozens of times more expensive in the real world than the $6 tickets subsidized for us here.
A liberal arts education should include exposure to the arts as much as any other discipline. Classical music is a tradition that has spanned centuries with pieces being performed 300 years after their composition. How much can be said for the music being produced today? This concert in particular will display a breadth of music rarely found at a classical performance with pieces imbued with significance for the college community.
Give yourself a break before starting in on next week’s work and come to the MCA Concert Hall on Friday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. to broaden your cultural horizons, enjoy a phenomenal performance by world-renowned performance artists and make this weekend a little different than all the rest. Tickets are $6 for students, $15 for faculty, staff, alumni and other ID card holders and $20 for the general public. Visit go/boxoffice or stop by our office in McCullough or the MCA!