NYU DC

Are there low cost, politically viable energy policies using current technology that adequately reduce imported oil and carbon dioxide emissions? Please join Jim Messina, National Chair, Organizing for Action; Hill Huntington, Executive Director of the Energy Modeling Forum at Stanford University; Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change; And, Tony Knowles, President of NEPI and Former Governor of Alaska for a presentation and discussion focusing on Building America's Energy Future: A Portfolio of Promising Policies. Kalee Kreider, Former Communications Director and Environmental Advisor at the Office of Al Gore will serve as moderator.

Are there low cost, politically viable energy policies using current technology that adequately reduce imported oil and carbon dioxide emissions? Please join Jim Messina, National Chair, Organizing for Action; Hill Huntington, Executive Director of the Energy Modeling Forum at Stanford University; Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change; And, Tony Knowles, President of NEPI and Former Governor of Alaska for a presentation and discussion focusing on Building America’s Energy Future: A Portfolio of Promising Policies. Kalee Kreider, Former Communications Director and Environmental Advisor at the Office of Al Gore will serve as moderator.

The right to vote is the foundation of any democracy, yet the Supreme Court has just struck down a central provision of the Voting Rights Act. Unlike the citizens of all but 11 nations, Americans do not have an explicit right to vote in their constitution. Congressman Mark Pocan is a lead sponsor of HJ Res. 44 in the U.S. House of Representatives to strengthen the claims of all citizens to exercise their suffrage rights. American cities have also begun to consider resolutions to support a constitutional right to vote and changes designed to promote, protect and expand voting. What would a right to vote in the Constitution mean for particular voting rights struggles? How would it affect the future of the Voting Rights Act and voting rights for the people of Washington, D.C.? Congressman Pocan will make the case for an explicit right to vote in the Constitution. Discussing what the amendment may mean for enhancing a voting rights movement are Washington Correspondent for The Nation John Nichols, Advancement Project co-director Judith Browne Dianis and Color of Change executive director Rashad Robinson. Takoma Park city councilor Tim Male and FairVote's PromoteOurVote.com director Patricia Hart will outline one strategy launched at a local level that holds promise for a realistic roadmap for reform. Mark Schmitt, Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute moderated the discussion. Held at NYU DC

The right to vote is the foundation of any democracy, yet the Supreme Court has just struck down a central provision of the Voting Rights Act. Unlike the citizens of all but 11 nations, Americans do not have an explicit right to vote in their constitution. Congressman Mark Pocan is a lead sponsor of HJ Res. 44 in the U.S. House of Representatives to strengthen the claims of all citizens to exercise their suffrage rights. American cities have also begun to consider resolutions to support a constitutional right to vote and changes designed to promote, protect and expand voting. What would a right to vote in the Constitution mean for particular voting rights struggles? How would it affect the future of the Voting Rights Act and voting rights for the people of Washington, D.C.? Congressman Pocan will make the case for an explicit right to vote in the Constitution. Discussing what the amendment may mean for enhancing a voting rights movement are Washington Correspondent for The Nation John Nichols, Advancement Project co-director Judith Browne Dianis and Color of Change executive director Rashad Robinson. Takoma Park city councilor Tim Male and FairVote's PromoteOurVote.com director Patricia Hart will outline one strategy launched at a local level that holds promise for a realistic roadmap for reform. Mark Schmitt, Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute moderated the discussion. Held at NYU DC

For years, political insiders have known how powerful redistricting can be for elected officials to protect friends and undermine opponents. Both parties have exploited the ability to redistrict, minimizing the role of voters in the political process. This gerrymandering leads to most incumbents facing only token opposition and partisan distortions within states and the nation overall. But the problem may be less redistricting than the very fact of districting itself. This program, in partnership with FairVote, looks beyond gerrymandering and heightened political polarization to statutory solutions grounded in our nation's history. Panelists explored how to replace gerrymandered winner-take-all elections with nonpartisan commissions tasked to create district plans designed for fair representation voting methods that hold the promise to improve politics, provide fairer representation for women and racial minorities, allow both major parties and independents to compete in one-party strongholds, and ultimately put voters in control of their own representation.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work for a US intelligence agency? How do the “Big 5” work together to advance national security? Join NYU alumnus Robert McDonald (WSC ’64, Steinhardt ’72), Director of the Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance, as he discusses the origins of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and its early photoreconnaissance satellite projects during the Cold War.