Public Policy research students brief New Hampshire and Vermont
legislators
Dartmouth undergraduates are learning firsthand what's needed to make
decisions in state government. In a course called Introduction to Public Policy
Research, they take on real-world issues to inform representatives of state
government. The course, taught by Ron Shaiko, research associate professor of
government and associate director of curricular programs at the Rockefeller Center, is in the Policy Research Shop (PRS), an
initiative of the center. The PRS is a nonpartisan operation staffed by
undergraduate students who provide quality, objective research to the New
Hampshire and Vermont state legislatures.
Above, middle: Elise Braunschweig '08; Back (L-R): Sean Garren '07 and Jarrett
Cato '07, with Bill Stenger, Next Generation Commission Chair, and President
and COO of Jay Peak Resort.
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Right, standing: N.H. State Rep. Laurie Harding (D), N.H. Deputy State
Treasurer Brad Jacobson Seated (L-R): Kahlie Dufresne '09, Maia Fedyszyn '07,
and Peter Chau '08.
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"I think the students appreciate working on current, timely issues, and
they feel that their reports contribute to the legislative process," says
Shaiko.
On Friday, Dec. 1, Kahlie Dufresne '09, Maia Fedyszyn '07, and Peter Chau
'08—who had all taken Shaiko's course this past fall—testified in Concord,
N.H., before the New Hampshire House of Representatives Voluntary Retirement
Savings Working Group, chaired by Rep. Laurie Harding (D). The students will
continue to work on the project during the winter term in the PRS and will
return to Concord in January to present their final report.
On Tuesday, Dec. 5, three students from Shaiko's course testified in
Montpelier, Vt., before the Vermont Next Generation Commission, which was
formed by the state legislature to investigate ways of keeping young Vermonters
in the state following graduation from high school. Sean Garren '07, Jarrett
Cato '07, and Elise Braunstchweig '08, produced a preliminary report for the
commission on potential career education programs for elementary and middle
schools students in Vermont. The students will continue to work on their
project this winter and will return to Montpelier to present their final
report.
By SUSAN KNAPP
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