A Blog on McConnell Center Life

By Laura Hinkle If you had asked me about this expression a year ago, I would have laughed and told you that I might go to Rome for some ritzy weekend in my 20’s, but that’d definitely be it. However, through an incredibly unexpected (and now that it’s behind me, sad but also so crazy it strikes me as funny) turn of events, I needed to leave the Italian family I was au pairing for this summer in Milan. What was supposed to have been a three-month gig ended with me booking a train ticket to Rome after a mere nine days, frantically packing up my belongings in the middle of the night, and running through crowded streets with my pink and purple suitcase, muttering desperate prayers under my breath that the parents wouldn’t catch me or come after me. I barely caught my train out of the city in time, and almost missed my layover because I had to switch platforms last minute. Honestly, it’s a miracle that I, lacking street smarts and having little experience with public transportat...

By Malcomb Haming On September 17th, Constitution Day, I had the great privilege of organizing an event for the Student Government Association called Fancy Ville. It’s a play on words from the iconic Fancy Farm picnic that’s held every year in Graves County, Kentucky (you’d be shocked to hear almost no one put two and two together). This event aimed to get students closer to the leaders that represent them at every level of government. We had a really interesting and balanced lineup that I was very excited about. The speaker I was most anticipating had to be Congressman John Yarmuth.  As someone who is fascinated with the news media, you could imagine I was absolutely giddy about the opportunity to interview the Chairman of the Budget Committee. As a McConnell Scholar, I’ve had the opportunity to ask questions to very important people. It’s something I put a lot of thought into, and while I’ve asked questions that I later wished I’d asked differently, I do always stri...

By Dennis Mashindi Reggae music has always been around my upbringing. The speaking of pseudo-patwah  and the shaking of imaginary dreadlocks whilst Bob Marley’s 'Could you be loved' was playing  was a common Saturday morning activity with my family. The reggae beat with a relaxed swing  has always found a way to move my body but also my spirit as well. As a kid, my mother played cassettes of old African artist including Lucky Dube. Lucky  Dube, born in 1964, was South African reggae artist that wrote music on various topics including  alcoholism, abuse, poverty, and black unity. As a child, the catchy tunes always masked the true  meaning of the songs. Listening to songs of meaning helped my mother and many others  understand the meaning of life from other lens they hadn’t lived. My travels in the last couple months have taken me to see the dark corners of the world  where people are faced with trials and tribulations unseen in th...

By Eli Graft Over my three years at UofL, I’ve transitioned through several different living arrangements. When I was a freshman, I lived in on-campus housing at Kurz Hall with a roommate. While it was extremely convenient being on campus, I decided for my sophomore year that I was going to give off campus living a chance just to be able to say I’ve had the experience.  I had my own room in a house on 4th St. about 15 minutes walking-distance from campus.  At the house, dubbed Firehouse by me and my roommates,  I had my own place to park out back, my own room, a full kitchen, and awesome roommates. But the 15 minute walk to campus back and forth each day was monotonous and whenever I wanted to drive, I never had a place to park on campus without paying ridiculous rates. This year, I decided that I needed to live on campus again. The convenience of walking three minutes to my classes every morning just made sense to me. A spot inside the Beta Theta Pi house was ope...

By Ben Barberie Future economic prospects for those in the middle class and lower are quite clouded. Artificial intelligence and other technological developments could create millions of new jobs that don’t presently exist. These same developments could also spawn mass job displacement. In such a world, the value of postsecondary education and highly specialized skills could increase, but how many people will be able to overcome the ever-increasing financial burden of acquiring an education or skill set? After pondering issues like these, I believe many Americans will need economic assistance to mitigate the perils of massive societal shifts that could be on the horizon. It’s become clear to me that America needs to have a serious discussion about the merits of Universal Basic Income. Before examining the benefits of the idea, it is important to understand the terms of a policy like Universal Basic Income (UBI). In order to avoid confusion, it may be most essential that I c...

By Jasmyne Post “Richified” (adj. to be above the means of poor folk) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs tells us that we will first fill our physiological needs; then  safety needs; belongingness and love needs following that; then esteem needs; and finally, we  will reach self-actualization. Anyone can understand models and theories, such as Maslow’s, that  researchers have formulated through years of studying the mentality of those living in poverty.  However, I have discovered that the best way to understand the mentality of poverty is to have  been born into poverty and then be suddenly thrust out of it. I was born to a fifteen-year-old who was living in government subsidized housing. I was  raised by my grandparents in a trailer on a farm in Western Kentucky. Our income was reliant  solely on my grandpa’s random side jobs until my grandmother began a job as a lunch lady my  freshman year of high school. We received food stamps,...

By George Nalbandian DISCLAIMER: THOUGH THIS POST DESCRIBES REAL PEOPLE AND PLACES, IT IS FICTIONAL AND FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.  This past weekend, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing George Nalbandian’s newest play. King Jasper had a short off-Broadway run at the Daryl Roth Theatre in New York City, where it received rave reviews and eventually made its way to the Gerald Schoenfeld. However, it was not until recently that it came across the pond to the West End in our great city of London that I was able to see it. The buzz surrounding this play was so immense that it actually pushed Phantom of the Opera out of Her Majesty’s Theatre! I was beyond surprised and I knew I had to see it immediately.  Unfortunately, the tickets were sold out within hours of presales opening, so I had to wait a week before I could finally see it. After a wonderful meal at the Brasserie Zedel in Piccadilly, I made my way to the theatre in a taxi. “On your way to see Ki...

By Jake Jones Newspapers have become a relic of a bygone time.  An example of an archaic practice that was both costly, as well as bad for the environment.  The commonly held belief now is that technology has carried us into a new age where our news is at our fingertips and within our pockets at all times.  The shift is easily seen in the world around us, one can no longer walk down their street and pick up a morning paper from a newsstand or a corner store, we are instead surrounded by people checking twitter and listening to podcasts over their morning coffee instead of perusing their local paper.  It is clear to see that the growth of technology has made it easier to access our news, but what is not so clear is what we have given up in the process.   The death of the newspaper is a critical error that I feel our generation will regret but never fully understand. The local newspaper is an institution that provides a service to all who live with...

By Garrett Kasey One of the first orders of business as a McConnell scholar is the completion of certain reading materials before freshman retreat. The reading list includes several essays, a book related to the location of the retreat, and most importantly (in my opinion), Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L’Amour. Education of a Wandering Man is the memoir of Louis L’Amour, one of the most popular writers of the western genre in American history. While Education of a Wandering Man is drastically different from the books that gained fame for L’Amour, it offers life lessons that I have not forgotten. This summer, I have had the opportunity to travel to China for a month-long educational experience. I have been lucky enough to spend time in the cities of Shanghai, Xi’an, and Beijing. Our program has included lectures from Chinese professors and tours of major cultural and historical sites. While all of these occasions have been great, I have learned the most in this country v...

{Bookshelf Recommendation}  By  Jasmine Farrier, PhD , UofL Political Science Neal Devins and Louis Fisher,  The Democratic Constitution, 2 nd  ed.   (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015). Dr. Jasmine Farrier Many think that the Supreme Court is the "final word" on major constitutional questions in the US. Although there is no such language in the Constitution, the media, politicians – and even judges themselves – use misleading words along these lines to describe the role of the federal judiciary. In reality, constitutional development is broader, deeper, and far more interesting. This book shows the many ways that regular voters, participants in social movements, policy advocates, and members of all three branches in the US government and every state shape our current conceptions of what is "constitutional" across many subjects. Whether you are comforted or horrified by the idea of 9 unelected robed superheroes in the Supreme Court deciding ou...