By The Citizen Staff Two explosions at the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday thrust the city into the international spotlight this week; as media outlets from around the world flooded in to report the story, dignitaries – including President Barack Obama – offered condolences, and a carjacking early Friday morning led to a day-long […]

By Nathan Finney and Billy Pope, MC/MPA’13 As my hands were burning from the hot dishwater and my eyes filled with tears listening to a nation’s leader console his people, I was also laughing out loud at a more base, yet more real form of healing. Over curt words of profanity and good-natured inter-service rivalry, […]

By The Citizen Staff Capping more than seven months of research, meetings and phone calls; the Kennedy School second year Masters of Public Policy (MPP) students turned in their culminating project last week. The Policy Analysis Exercise (more commonly known as the PAE) is an extensive research project for an organization or government agency that […]

Over the course of 10 days, hundreds of students sought out exotic locations on what is now aptly termed “student-led treks.” These trips ranged from politically charged regions to relaxing beachfront destinations. All places served to inspire, inform and integrate students with local culture, food, and of course, government perspectives. The following are stories shared […]

By Anthony Barrows, MC/MPA ’13, Staff Writer As a Gleitsman Fellow at the Center for Public Leadership, I had the privilege of spending spring break in New York City for our field experience. This four-day trip gave the Gleitsman and Zuckerman Fellows a snapshot of how America’s largest city grapples with some of today’s toughest […]

By Alexandra Raphel, MPP’14, Staff Writer When Halimatou Hima (MPP’14) received a phone call from the Gates Foundation one Sunday morning during winter break, her first thought was that they had the wrong number. In fact, they were calling to invite Halima to speak at TEDxChange, an event co-organized by TED and the Gates Foundation […]

By Khurram Ali, MPP’14, Correspondent Last week, I had the opportunity to sit down with ex-Harvard President and current Charles W. Eliot Professor of Harvard University, Lawrence Summers. Known as one of the most brilliant economists of his time, Larry Summers has also served as the U.S. Secretary of Treasury under Bill Clinton and as […]

By Margareta Matache, Chair, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights April 8 marks the International Roma Day, an occasion to reflect on the history and culture of Romani people, as well as to confront contemporary threats to Roma human rights and dignity. At Harvard, International Roma Day (April 8) is being […]

By Leila El-Khatib, MC/MPA’13, Correspondent It is that time of the year again when Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) students get to showcase their talents. While we know that these students have achieved greatness in the fields of public service, we see very little of their talents outside of the classroom. The HKS Talent Show is […]

By Josh Rudolph, MPP ’14, Correspondent After enduring two decades of falling wages and prices in the wake of the 1992 financial crisis, Japan’s leaders have finally decided to follow Ben Bernanke’s advice from back in 2000 and persuade the central bank to buy as many bonds as it takes to create inflation. Unfortunately, given […]

By Tarun Cherukuri, MPA/ID ’13, Correspondent I was taught a clear lesson growing up: Earn your stripes with conscientious hard work. Last week, I reached the breaking point in my continuing frustration with HKS’s culture of free riding. Free riding is a collective-action problem which societies have been trying to solve for years. Economists define […]

By Alexi White, MPP ’13, Correspondent As many of us prepare to graduate in a few short months, we are being asked to give back by donating to the HKS Fund. I, for one, refuse. I will not give to HKS until it proactively engages its students in a frank and open conversation about the […]