The Citizen

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 […]

By Richard Domingo Tan, Correspondent, LKY Fellow 2012 Twenty students from Asia arrive in Cambridge each fall to attend a semester of classes at the Harvard Kennedy School. In a program that began in 2001, these students are Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) Fellows who are under the supervision of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance […]

By Peter Harrington and David Garfunkel, Correspondents When the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals expires on Jan. 1 2015, the world will look back on the most concerted global effort to improve human wellbeing ever attempted and see mixed success. Global citizens will ask: “What next?” The answer is no one knows. Incredible progress […]

By Neil Gundavda, MPP ’14, Assistant Opinions Editor Last month, I was reading Stephanie Mencimer’s “What’s It Like to Wake Up From a Tea Party Binge?—Just Ask Florida!” in Mother Jones Magazine. Mencimer highlights the preposterous machinations of Governor Rick Scott and his tea party cronies such as cutting $3 billion from the state’s education […]