Political Science

Harrison Feinman, a College of Arts and Sciences senior and director of Penn Leads the Vote, said he was encouraged by the rise in voting among college students. “People are finally starting to understand about the importance of voting and how that is a form of activism,” he said.

Michael Jones-Correa of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the increased influence among Latinx populations in Pennsylvania, particularly in and near Philadelphia. “The real growth among Latinos in the U.S. is in our youth. Every year, there are about 800,000 and 900,000 young Latinos who turn 18. They’re becoming voters, but it takes a long time for them to engage in politics,” he said.

Dan Hopkins of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about local elections in the post-Trump era. “The energy and the concern that was generated in some quarters by the Trump administration catalyzed a wave of activism that, in part, then accelerated trends that were already afoot,” he said.

Yphtach Lelkes, Matthew Levendusky, and Samantha Moore-Berg were cited in an opinion piece about polarization in the U.S. “Affective polarization is the canary in the coal mine,” said Lelkes. “That is, it tells us things are dysfunctional without causing the dysfunction.”