A Blog on McConnell Center Life

Sean Southard By Sean Southard , Class of 2015 Most will be familiar with the different theories of social contract proposed by Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau. I am only somewhat familiar with these definitions, but in my view it seems these thinkers believe a social contract is an agreement among people who choose to secure certain rights and liberties for themselves. One flaw resonates throughout these theories of social contract: the idea that rights and liberties are given up for themselves . In these social contracts, living people make decisions for the present . There is no consideration of the past and the future. Such a flaw does not appear in the contract theory of Edmund Burke. Burke’s contract theory stands paramount among the rest and provides a way to reconsider our view of the political climate. In Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) , Edmund Burke challenged the French Revolutionaries and the underpinnings of the French Revolution of 1...

Abeer Sikder By Abeer Sikder, Class of 2014 On Feb. 14, I had the honor of attending a lecture by Priscilla A. Clapp, a former US diplomat who served as the Chief of Mission in Burma from 1999-2002. She has also held many similar positions in the State Department related to foreign relations with Burma and other countries. Clapp primarily discussed the evolution of Burma since its independence in 1948. While Burma was initially governed as a parliamentary democracy, there was a military coup in 1962. Since then, the nation has been gradually returning to a Western-style democracy. When I picture the development of Burma – especially in the 21st century – I can’t help but envision my parents’ native land of Bangladesh (which happens to border Burma). I have been to Bangladesh a number of times since my childhood, and the most noticeable aspect of each trip is how vastly the country has transformed. Traffic is more organized, the air is cleaner, the streets are shinier, and techn...

oSha Shireman oSha Shireman, a junior McConnell Scholar from Meade County, Ky., delivered the following speech at the annual Children's Advocacy Day in Frankfort with the Kentucky Youth Advocates. Last year, I was nearly abducted by human traffickers. I was in San Jose, Costa Rica, at the time, studying—ironically—human rights issues at the International Center for Development. For the last 10 months, I have spent a great deal of time thinking about the individuals all over the world who, unlike me, do not escape from their abductors. These are children, teenagers, and young women whose lives will never been the same, and it’s our responsibility to have dialogue about human trafficking in Kentucky and fight the injustice taking place in our own backyard.  As a Kentuckian, I was raised such that an unwavering commitment to promoting the causes of freedom should be a part of my identity. As a student in the Commonwealth, my history classes h...

By Janna Imel , Class of 2014 Last Thursday, I spent an afternoon in Frankfort, KY talking with legislators about the importance of undergraduate research.  I met undergraduates from across the state of Kentucky and presented my research alongside their projects in the capitol building. This annual event called “Posters-at-the-Capitol” ensures that “members of Kentucky’s House and Senate, as well as the Governor, understand the importance of scholarly, research, and creative experiences to our students’ educations, to our academic programs, and to the Commonwealth of Kentucky.” This year, I presented my research entitled: “Comparing Resiliency in Early and Late-Life Bereavement.” I have been working on this current project since June of last year and I hope to have it completed by the end of next semester.  My abstract follows: Grieving is a highly personalized experience that differs from person to person. Typically, reactions to grief do not have a ce...

Less than 3 hours from now, 30 ambitious and talented high school seniors will be heading into their first of an entire weekend of interviews that will ultimately determine the McConnell Scholar Class of 2017. The interview process for the McConnell Scholars Program is a rigorous two-day schedule during which each applicant participates in approximately 13 interviews that emphasize critical thinking and communication skills. These are not your typical “get to know you” interviews, because all of the selected applicants have already demonstrated academic achievement and leadership throughout their high school careers. Instead, interviews generally cover a wide range of topics such as, current events, historical significance, and today’s top political issues. In each interview, regardless of topic, the key is for applicants to take a stance and defend it well, in response to questions from the interviewers. The interview process to become a McConnell Scholar is not easy. You have to b...