By Ali Dusinberre, news correspondent
Sept. 25 marked this semester’s first installment of Lives in Law and Public Policy, a speaker series that hosts experts and leading figures in law and policy, during which two panelists discussed their opinions regarding the midterm elections, the current presidential administration, and the controversy surrounding Brett Kavanaugh.
Professor Dan Urman, director of the law and public policy minor in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, created and directs the series as an opportunity for students, alumni and members of the Northeastern community to better understand American current events.
Tuesday’s event featured political analyst Michael Goldman and political consultant and attorney Jennifer Nassour.
“I thought that they were both excellent panelists,” said Joey Kramer, a third-year international affairs major, “and I thought that they represented two very specific opinions and two very specific personalities which I thought was awesome because you don’t often hear from both sides.”
Goldman described himself as a “yellow dog Democrat,” meaning he would “prefer voting for a cowardly dog to a Republican.” Nassour described herself as an “old-school Republican,” but one whose political affiliation is based solely upon fiscal issues.
Bethany Basile, a graduate student earning her degree in media advocacy, said she appreciated opposing perspectives in the discussion.
“There are other opinions out there,” Basile said, “and you have to hear them all to really be aware of where the voters are going, and what is in politicians’ heads when they make some of the policy choices they make or some of the public appearance choices that they choose.”
Despite being a Republican, Nassour expressed her disapproval of President Donald J. Trump.
“My biggest problem with what’s going on today is the fact that the President of the United States who claims he’s a Republican… is single-handedly decimating the Republican party and not making us stronger,” Nassour said.
As for the midterm elections, Nassour believes that the results will depend heavily upon the upcoming Kavanaugh hearing.
“I just think that there’s not going to be a big seismic shift,” Nassour said in regard to the elections. “Unless… The ‘unless’ to me is if Kavanaugh gets confirmed. I’ve been saying, ‘We may lose, we may not.’ But I think if he’s confirmed, we definitely lose the House.”
Goldman expressed his opposing perspective on the midterm elections.
“I have a totally different view,” Goldman said. “I think that the minimum the Democrats are going to pick up is 35 seats [in the Senate]. They could go as high as 50 to 60 seats in the House. Two weeks ago if we’d have been here, I would’ve said that Democrats had an 85 percent chance of winning the United States Senate. As of today, I think we have a 35 percent chance.”
Basile stressed the importance having difficult conversations at universities.
“We’re in a very politically charged time, and I think expressing your opinions and hearing the opinions of others is going to become more and more important as we become more and more divided,” Basile said. “It’s just a good practice to be in a room and talk about things that people just have vastly different views on.”
Kramer frequently attends panels and events similar to Lives in Law and Public Policy and believes it’s important for students to be aware of current events and to take advantage of events like these.
“I honestly think that no matter what you’re studying or no matter what you’re interested in, everything that gets talked about is incredibly relevant to everyone here on campus and in Boston and in the United States,” Kramer said.
