A Blog on McConnell Center Life

By Taryn Cantrell , Class of 2016 Using ptch, Taryn designed the following video on today's McConnell Scholar discussion on Ronald Reagan facilitated by George Nash, PhD. http://ptch.com/ptch/50b66b7b8d4f98523a5fae0f Taryn Cantrell, of Pikeville, Ky., is a freshman McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. She is studying civil engineering and political science.

By Meghan Waters , Class of 2014 If you tuned into the first presidential debate in Denver back in October, I’m sure you remember some of the famous one-liners uttered during those 90 minutes: Romney’s “Big Bird” comment, Lehrer’s “let’s not,” and Obama’s “I had five seconds” just to name a few. And like many Americans (including myself) you probably shared your thoughts via Twitter and/or Facebook. Not surprisingly, Twitter reported 10.3 million Tweets sent during the 90-minute debate. According to the data released by Twitter (graphic), viewers’ favorite moment was Jim Lehrer’s “let’s not” remark. That comment alone generated 158,690 Tweets per minute. Within minutes of Mitt Romney’s “Big Bird” comment, there were several Twitter parody accounts created, including @SadBigBird , @BigBirdRomney and @FiredBigBird , as well as Facebook pages and groups like my favorite, “Save Big Bird and Elmo from the Wicked Mitt.” The public’s onl...

dorky picture of me in 2006 & slightly less dorky picture of me in 2012 I would like to think that I have grown up a lot since my first day of high school in 2006 (reference the picture above), but even more so since my first day of school ever, in Ms. Mason's 1st grade classroom way back in 1998. Education has had a lot to do with that transition for me; but not only me, as I would bet the same is true for most people. Is it really a stretch to say that a child's education is one of the most formative continuous experiences of their life? Before I was a McConnell Scholar, before attending UofL, my education was hardly homogenous. I attended a small private Christian academy for elementary school, home-schooled through middle school and half of high school, and dual-enrolled in college classes for my junior and senior years, first at the Gatton Academy for Math and Science and then as a home-schooler once again.  In March of my senior year, I ended up interviewing...

Paige Brewer By Paige Brewer, Class of 2015 This fall, I have frequently reflected on what it means to me to be a sophomore. It applies to my role as a student, as a McConnell Scholar and as a youth at this point in my life. Sophomore literally means “wise fool”: in Greek, sophos means “wise,” moros means “stupid.” It’s an oxymoronic concept: how can you be wise but foolish at the same time? I recognize now that my personal self-awareness has grown exponentially since I entered college over a year ago. The impetus of much of this personal growth was the McConnell Program: the scholars, mentors and new ideas I encountered as a bright-eyed freshman changed my way of thinking, as one shifts the gears to increase the efficiency of a machine. Last year, the gears of my mind were shifted. I now think more deeply and critically about things than I used to, and in this sense, I am far wiser than I used to be. I’m so grateful to the people and the ideas that brought about that change ...

oSha Shireman By oSha Shireman, Class of 2014 During my time as a McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville I have experienced numerous opportunities that have helped me to define and redefine my priorities and think about what I really want to do with my future. By far, one of the most rewarding experiences I have taken part in is an internship and subsequent fellowship at the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association. This experience has helped me develop key skills that allow me to start identifying overlap in different fields of study and to identify possibilities for collaboration. Working under Ben Reno-Weber, the director of the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association, has taught me that you can connect with people with similar goals and form partnerships virtually anywhere. Today Chief Conrad, the chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department, led a local-leader seminar at the McConnell Center and spoke of the many challenges facing the LMPD and the Louisville community this ye...

One of my more interesting weekends as a McConnell Scholar was spent not long ago with our guest speaker, Amy Sturgis. Sturgis is an incredible intellectual with a wide range of expertise (I recently happily stumbled upon an article of hers in Reason magazine) and I have enjoyed the time I have gotten to spend in her seminars and lectures as far back as Freshman year. That weekend held a multitude of events -- we really ran the gauntlet of topics, from dystopian literature to the Indian removal to economic philosophy. What was interesting though, was the disparity between to of the events in particular. One of the best seminars I have taken part in during my entire tenure as a McConnell Scholar was our discussion on Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom." This was a very thought-provoking, intriguing, and (most importantly) challenging conversation, and I grew incredibly by being a part of it. It was substantive, full of specifics, and each of of the scholars challenged the ot...

By Janna Imel , Class of 2014 Last week, we had the privilege of meeting with Dr. Amy Sturgis and discussing The Road to Serfdom by Austrian-born economist and philosopher Friedrich von Hayek. He argues that if we “abandon individualism, classical liberalism, and freedom,” the consequence will be oppression and possibly tyranny. From my limited understanding of the book (not an Economics major), I believe Hayek is trying to say that Western democracies are abandoning “freedom in economic affairs” to guarantee ongoing prosperity. While socialism can lay the grounds for equality, this is often done through “restraint and servitude.”  Democracy, on the other hand, “seeks equality in liberty.” Common questions that piqued my interest in the seminar discussion included: Does the government have the right to regulate our economy? If the government does not regulate the economy, does it have the possibility to sustain itself? When is government regulation too much and does ...

By Cathrine Mountain , Class of 2015 Last week, the McConnell Center hosted Dr. Amy Sturgis, an author, editor, scholar, educator, speaker, and podcaster with specialties in the fields of Science Fiction/Fantasy and Native American Studies. While she was in Louisville, the McConnell Center certainly gave her a lot to do, including delivering a lecture on the Trail of Tears and hosting a variety of seminars ranging from discussions on F.A. Hayek’s book, The Road to Serfdom , to an engaging seminar on “Potter’s Politics.” My favorite seminar was our discussion on the Hunger Games trilogy. Since reading the books and watching the movie this summer, I had been looking forward to discussing the themes and deeper meaning of the books' events. Dr. Sturgis outlined the works that Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins claimed had influenced the trilogy. The basis of the story, especially the first book, was loosely based on the story of Theseus, the famous Athenian who slayed Minos’ min...

Sean Southard and CIA Director David Petraeus By Sean Southard , Class of 2015 As an avid political junkie, the election season has been entertaining and frustrating. In all the talk of the economy, the recent crisis in Libya, and in between mentions of binders of women and Big Bird, one large voice has been missing from the presidential debates (and I’m not talking about Gary Johnson or Jill Stein). I’m talking about Congress. Before I begin my rant, I should state I am a sophomore in college. I am no historian nor am I a political scientist. I am simply observing what I think to be a gross absence on both sides of the political spectrum in this presidential election. Congress was virtually invisible in the debates between President Obama and Governor Romney. In the first debate, Congress was mentioned seven times. In the town hall debate, five times. The foreign policy debate? The legislative branch of government was mentioned a mere two times. When one considers the deba...

Andrew Stewart and CIA Director David Petraeus By Andrew Stewart , Class of 2015 This marks the first year I will be able to vote in a presidential election. I am both excited and a little skeptical of the decision I am about to make. I understand that voting is a right that all Americans should exercise, but is my voice really being heard through this voting process? For one, as a voter in Kentucky, I already know our electoral votes will be given to Mitt Romney and the Republican ticket. So why would a vote for President Obama matter? Granted, I do know my vote will also be counted in the popular vote, but it's the electoral votes that matter. Also, what if I don't agree fully with the positions of either candidate on major issues? I know I won't agree completely with both sides, but what if I am beginning to get the vibe that I am an undecided voter? If I can't lean to either side because I disagree with major positions on both side, what am I to ...

By Samantha Roney , Class of 2015 Last week, I had the privilege to attend what I now consider one of my favorite seminars at the McConnell Center. Dr. Amy Sturgis –a renowned Native American historian, author, science fiction and fantasy enthusiast, podcaster, and editor–spent two days at the McConnell Center exploring the realms of  The Hunger Games , Harry Potter, the Trail of Tears, and Hayek's  The Road to Serfdom. Her seminar on “Potter’s Politics” was of particular interest to me as I had never read Harry Potter nor watched the movies. (Yes, I'm one of those rare people who have no idea what all the hooplah related to Harry Potter is all about.) I started the first book in preparation for the seminar and found it interesting, but not exactly earth shattering as many Potter fans do. However, after attending the seminar, my views on Harry, Ron, and Hermione have changed. I learned that the world of Harry Potter is much different than my preconceived noti...