December 07, 2010
Students to tackle campus, community, state issues
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Students in Charles Leonard’s Public Policy Analysis class at Southern Illinois University Carbondale don’t use scenarios. They take on real world problems, with real data, real interviews with real policy makers -- and real live presentations of their findings.
Media Advisory
Reporters, photographers and camera crews are welcome to attend the Public Policy Analysis class research and public policy report, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 9 in the lobby of the Paul Simon Public Institute. Media presence will benefit the students directly by exposing them to the sorts of questions media might ask of public policy panels, so we hope you’ll consider including this in your news day. Contact Charles Leonard at 618/453-5364 or cleonard@siu.edu for more information.
Leonard, a visiting professor in both the Department of Political Science and the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, said his class provides an opportunity for students interested in shaping public policy to try their hands at creating a “white paper” and presentation of a real issue present in their communities. The reports set for Dec. 9 are meant to mirror professional public presentations. Students will answer questions at the end of their presentations, much as they would be expected to do in a professional, civic setting.
Here are the student group presentation topics:
Campus topic -- SIUC’s freshman-to-sophomore retention rate
Community topic -- Extending Carbondale liquor licenses to Carbondale grocery stores
State topic -- High-speed rail improvements between St. Louis and Chicago.