​Back in May, speakers at the IOP Director’s Internship sendoff dinner gave us advice before we left for our postings. Many of them advised us to ask our supervisors out to coffee, to get to know them and learn more about their careers. It can’t hurt to ask, they assured us. Most of them will probably say yes. As it turns out, I didn’t have the chance.

This summer alone, protests have rocked Sy­ntagma Square, the heart of the city, located across the street from the Hellenic Parliament, on an almost daily basis. As negotiations continue over the fate of the Greek debt crisis and whether the Grexit will come to fruition (if Greece should leave the Eurozone or the EU), it has been incredible to watch the resilience of Greeks as they shoulder the tensions of the world watching their government’s every move.

Matt Mahan '05 attended Harvard College where he served as UC President and participated in Harvard Institute of Politics programming, graduating magna cum laude in Social Studies. Mahan, a native of Watsonville, Calif., is now CEO of Brigade, a San Francisco tech startup tackling the problem of declining citizen power and engagement in our democracy.

Today's momentous Supreme Court opinion culminates an astonishing transformation in social, political, and judicial responses to same-sex marriage. It was fifteen years ago almost to the day (July 1, 2000) when Vermont's "civil union" law went into effect.

This has turned out to be a critical time to be at the NAACP and I feel so fortunate to be here. If I could point to one moment that sums it up so far, it was the office-wide meeting I just came back from. President Cornell Brooks was in the middle of commending the staff for remaining focused throughout the Rachel Dolezal controversy.

 <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files_new/photo4.jpg" style="width: 300px; float: right; height: 200px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" /> I began my internship with the Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee for the Democratic National Convention three weeks ago. The Host Committee’s job is to prepare the City of Philadelphia for the Convention, which will take place in July of next year. So far, I have loved my experience.

This summer the IOP Internships and Career Services Program is supporting hundreds of undergraduate interns around the world, working in politics and public service, through its Director’s Internship, Summer Stipend, and Summer in Washington (SIW) programs.

At PRE’s final discussion of the year, our members had a unique opportunity to reflect on the group’s purpose and place at the Institute of Politics with IOP Director Maggie Williams. Her extensive experience in the political arena, from her time in the White House to her tenure as Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager (for the good part of the campaign, mind you), informed the perspective from which she spoke to us about PRE’s importance to the IOP. For so many reasons, PRE was an invaluable addition to the IOP’s roster of programs, and will continue to enrich the IOP’s understanding of race and politics as more students have the opportunity to participate in its discussions.

By Ignacio Arbona

Journalist, trailblazer, leader. These are just some of the words I could use to define Jorge Ramos, a man who I had the tremendous opportunity to interview at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard University. For those of you who may not have heard of him, where have you been? Ramos is Univision’s Noticiero news anchor, host of the Sunday-morning political show, Al Punto, and host of America, a new, millennial-focused, news show on Fusion. He began his career as a journalist in Mexico but, after facing censorship in 1983, he decided to immigrate to the United States and has stayed here ever since. He is known for his tough interviews, unique style, and strong advocacy for Latino and immigrant rights in the United States.

This past Saturday, Team Hagan endeavored on a mission. Team Hagan (Senator Hagan, her husband and her liaisons) set out to volunteer for the Food Project, an organization committed to building sustainable food systems and supporting their local community. Senator Hagan is passionate about increasing accessibility to nutritious foods and educating youth to live and eat healthy, so we were really excited to find the Food Project and learn about all of their awesome youth programs. Our Saturday was spent at their Lincoln Farm by Walden Pond, where we helped their "Dirt Crew" plant potatoes. So, without further adieu, Team Hagan presents how to (help) grow potatoes.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the first IOP Presidential March Madness event. Our winner is Lyndon B. Johnson by 11 votes!

"If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac, the headline that afternoon would read: 'President Can't Swim." - Lyndon B. Johnson 

By Alex Wirth and Jonathan Marks

In Washington D.C. there are over 30,000 people who every day run, staff, and influence the legislative process without being able to take advantage of modern technology. These individuals rely on experience, intuition, and guesswork to make strategic decisions. They look for information about the legislative process across hundreds of different websites, often manually tabulating votes and bills to find trends. They compare different versions of bills with a highlighter and use Excel to track their outreach.

The future of politics is one where all the information necessary to plan and implement a legislative strategy is in one easy to use website with easily understood quantitative insights and 21st century productivity tools. This is why we built Quorum, Washington’s next generation legislative strategy platform.