Is Obama the next FDR?

One of the wonderful aspects of Vassar is its location—and not just because it's only 1.5 hours away from New York City. The Hudson Valley, designated a National Heritage Area by Congress in 1966, is full of historic and cultural attractions.

One of my favorites in the the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, on the same grounds as the FDR Museum and the president's former home. The Roosevelt estate is only 20 minutes from Vassar, and well worth the trip. Students will love the immaculately kept gardens and the spacious picnic grounds; history buffs will love just about everything else. You can read my full review of the estate on The Miscellany News Guide to Poughkeepsie.

Recently, the Museum opened its exhibit entitled, "Action and Action Now: FDR’s First 100 Days." The exhibit is fantastic, and details the foundations of the New Deal. Many analogies have been made between the nation inherited by FDR in the throes of the Great Depression and the nation that Barack Obama is about to inherit, struggling with a global financial crisis. Though this exhibit in Hyde Park doesn't draw the comparison directly, it certainly poses the question implicitly: is our situation today so different from the one faced 80 years ago? This question has recently been posed by many scholars and political pundits.

The exhibit has been generating rave reviews, and rightfully so. Go check it out the FDR estate when you visit Vassar!

Huffington Post

I was so excited to have been offered the opportunity to write for the Huffington Post. The Post is one of the most widely viewed online newspapers in the country, and its blogs deal with political and cultural news of all sorts.

Check out my article, "Higher Education Will Struggle Through the Recession," here.

I wrote about the effects of the economic downturn on higher education. Like all businesses, institutions and individuals, colleges across the country are being hit by the recession. But with lots of discussion, creativity and ingenuity, I'm confident that Vassar—and maybe even a couple of its peer institutions—will make it through the crisis.

My Twenty-First!

Sunday was my 21st birthday! I know what you're thinking—Sunday is a pretty awful day to have a 21st birthday party. I had classes the next morning, and two papers due that week. Fortunately, my friends made it a day to remember... About two years ago when we were freshmen, my closest group of friends promised that they would take me out for my first legal drink, since I would be the first among us to turn 21. But in return, they made me promise to choose a special drink - something festive.

Sure enough, I ended up getting a delicious piña colada from UNOs Chicago Grill, a great restaurant within walking distance of Vassar. We got some festive appetizers and some more delicious drinks, and had a grand old time. It might have been more fun if my birthday had been on a Friday or Saturday night, but I'll take what I can get!

Final Exam Season

Remember how stressed I was about midterms? Multiply that by five. Vassar is a wonderful place, but the academic work is not for the faint of heart. I have more research papers than I can count due within the next few weeks. At the moment, it's about 6:30 in the morning and I'm getting all my books together to head over to the library, which opens at 8:30.

Today, my project is a research paper on an American businessman in Japan... I figure if I get there at 8:30, I could get a ton of writing and reading done, then leave the library in time to see my friends for dinner and hang out with them in the evening. Maybe even watch a movie? The last few weeks of a semester always bring a tornado of work. Let's hope I make it...