Catching Up With Our Alumni – Tori Newman Campbell

Colleges and Universities across the country, Daemen included, are in the midst of recruitment season.  Students are exploring what schools have to offer and considering what they want to study when they enroll.  One of the most frequent questions asked of faculty during recruitment events is, “what can I do with this degree?”  While there is no clear, singular career path our graduates follow, the versatility of this degree is one of its strengths.  A degree in History and/or Political Science prepares students for a variety of careers upon graduation.  We have graduates that have gone on to have successful careers in law, business, education, public service, community development, nonprofit organization, and government, just to name a few.  These graduates have taken their course content knowledge along with the transferable skills they developed in the major and had incredibly successful careers. 

That’s the great thing about these disciplines: they provide a wealth of knowledge of history and/or political science content, but they also equip students with critical thinking skills, the ability to develop and carry out a research project, clear verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to synthesize and meaningfully analyze information.  Our alumni regularly put these skills to use in their chosen career paths.  So, to help answer the questions of “what can I do with a degree in History?” or “what can I do with a degree in Political Science?” we want to highlight some of the interesting and important work our alumni have been up to since graduating. 

Tori Newman Campbell '19, Legislative Coordinator for New York 1199SEIU, a healthcare union

Our inaugural alumna is Tori Newman Campbell, class of 2019.  Tori was a Political Science major who minored in Political Communication and Literature and Composition.  She currently works as the Legislative Coordinator for New York 1199SEIU, a healthcare union.  Below is a discussion I recently had with Tori, highlighting what she has been up to since graduating. 

How have you put your degree to use since graduating?

Every job I have held since graduation was related to my degree. My first job was in an Assembly office in Brooklyn. Although I was there a short time, my background in political science was integral in understanding how the Assembly worked, how laws were written and passed and how the Assemblymember participated in the political process. My next job was at a lobby firm, Bolton St. John’s, and although I was no longer working in an elected office, lobbyists have an enormous effect on the political process as well. Minoring in political communication really helped me at the firm. We often pushed out stories and interacted with the media on behalf of clients and their political goals. Currently, I am at 1199SEIU and as the legislative coordinator, I help the union push for our legislative goals such as increasing the Medicaid reimbursement rate. Much like my first two jobs, my degree has aided me in understanding how we can push for these goals and participate in the political process. Also, my coursework that covered the differences between the local, state, and federal levels of governments has been very helpful since starting at 1199SEIU, because unlike my past two positions, we work with legislators at every level of government. That understanding of how each level works and what each level can do has been very useful when we are setting priorities by office.

What do you like most about your job?

My job allows me the ability to do what I love, while making a difference. Working as 1199SEIU’s legislative coordinator, I get to work with elected officials who believe in our goals of pushing for more resources for our hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities and getting better pay for our members who are healthcare heroes. I love politics and getting to go to Albany to be a part of the political process. Getting to do this while also changing the lives of the healthcare workers we represent is amazing and I don’t know if I would ever be able to get that balance somewhere else.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time at Daemen that you'd like to share?

I have so many great memories from Daemen, from making lifelong friends to having professors who helped push me to be the best I could be both academically and professionally. I think some of my favorite memories were being on student government. I was always a part of student government before I got to Daemen, but being in college was a bit different and I never thought I would join again. My senior year I took a leap and ran for Secretary, and I won! That year, as a student government body, we brought the stories and concerns of students of color on campus to administration. We made sure our voices were heard and that will always be one of my core memories at Daemen.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our current students and fellow alumni?

I’ll close by just saying that Daemen is a great school and I don’t know if I would be where I am without the experiences and push from my professors I got during my time there.

Our department is incredibly thankful to Tori for taking the time to share her experiences with us and we hope you enjoyed learning a bit about what she has been up to, since graduating just four years ago!  If you would like to share your post-graduation experiences with the department, please reach out to the Department Chair, Dr. Jay Wendland at jwendlan@daemen.edu or drop your contact information in the comment section below.  

Women's History Month at Daemen!

March is Women’s History Month! Please join the Women's Studies Program at Daemen to celebrate and explore issues in women's history.

 

 

Suffragetto!  

Tuesday, March 21

11:30 am to 1:00 pm, Alumni Lounge

This recently rediscovered historic board game (from 1909) is based upon British suffragettes’ battle for women’s right to vote. Suffragetto is a strategy game played by two players; suffragettes try to break into Parliament’s House of Commons and confront police who are trying to disrupt a suffrage meeting in Albert Hall while protecting the House of Commons from the invading women. Learn about movements to secure the right to vote while playing this historic game. Co-sponsored by Daemen’s Women’s Studies Program and the Center for Diversity & Inclusion. Refreshments are included. 

  

 

“Hidden Figures”  

Thursday, March 23 

4:00 to 7:00 pm, RIC120

The 2016 film, headlined by Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson, and Janelle Monae, traces the stories of three Black female mathematicians, human “computers” whose work for NASA was integral to the success of the US space program. After the film, Dr. Intisar Hibschweiller (Professor of Mathematics) and Dr. Diane Ramos (Chair of Natural Science Department) will discuss women’s role in STEM fields, including challenges and opportunities for women today. Co-sponsored by Daemen’s Women’s Studies Program and the Center for Diversity & Inclusion. Refreshments are included. 

 

“Gendered Norms and Women's Access to the Law in Rural Bangladesh” 

Wednesday, March 29

1:25-2:20pm, DS336 

Lecture by Dr. Nayma Qayum, the author of Village Ties: Women, NGOs, and Informal Institutions in Rural Bangladesh. Qayum will explain how rural Bangladeshi women seek to end practices such as child marriage, dowry abuse, and intimate partner violence, which persist although they have been outlawed. Qayum is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Global and International Studies at Manhattanville College. This event, part of the History & Politics Event Series, is also co-sponsored by Daemen’s Global Studies program, Women’s Studies program, and the Center for Diversity & Inclusion. 

 

 

“Gaslight” 

Friday, March 31

5:00-7:30 pm, RIC120

Are you curious about “gaslighting,” Merriam-Webster’s 2022 Word of the Year? In this classic 1944 thriller, Ingrid Bergman plays a newlywed whose husband manipulates her into distrusting her own experiences, perceptions, and memories (“gaslighting” her). Come for the film and stay for the discussion, with commentary and discussion led by Dr. Shirley Peterson, emeritus Professor of English. Co-sponsored by Daemen’s Women’s Studies Program and the Center for Diversity & Inclusion. Refreshments are included. 

 

 

 

**All events are free and open to the public. Please contact Dr. Penny Messinger, director of the Women's Studies Program, for more information** 

 

India and Pakistan: How treaties prevent the rivalry from devolving into war

As tensions between India and Pakistan peaked during Pulwama crisis in February, the two nuclear-armed power managed to retreat from the brink of war. Aakriti Tandon (Daemen College) and Michael O. Slobodchikoff (Troy University) explain how the emergence of a cooperative rivalry through the use of treaties could function as a way to help the two countries deescalate conflicts and avoid war.

India and Pakistan have been a hot topic in the media as well as in policy circles since the February 14, 2019 terror attack in Pulwama, Kashmir that led to the death of 44 Indian paramilitary soldiers. India blamed Pakistan for providing funding, training, arms, resources and a safe haven to Jaish-e-Mohammed, the terrorist group that claimed responsibility for the attack. India launched airstrikes on a militant training camp in Balakot, located in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on February 29. Pakistan retaliated with airstrikes against Indian military installments in Kashmir, downing an Indian fighter jet and capturing the pilot. This is the first time that either side has aerially crossed into the territory of the other since the 1971 war that resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh. While both sides continue to be involved in numerous militarised disputes near the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed territory of Kashmir, the launch of airstrikes constituted major escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors. While the airstrikes were a major escalation, the conflict did not escalate into war between the states as has often happened in the past. In fact, in an unexpected move, Pakistan decided to return the captured Indian pilot to India, leading to rapid de-escalation of tensions between the rivals. Pakistan’s actions provided an avenue for the two states to de-escalate the crisis and return to the status quo.

Why nuclear weapons don’t explain de-escalation

Pakistan’s active pursuit of de-escalation vis-à-vis India can be attributed to several factors including the deterrence effects of nuclear weapons possessed by both states, a weak Pakistani economy that could collapse under the strain of war with India, pressure from external actors such as the United States, the UN and others as well as the timing of domestic electoral politics in India. While these arguments are crucial in understanding the Indo-Pakistan rivalry, they do not discuss the impact of institutions on the onset as well as recurrence of conflict. The existing network of bilateral treaties may be a means for the two states to manage their conflict. This argument explains the current de-escalation pursued by India and Pakistan at different points in the rivalry, which has prevented the breakout of war since the 1999 Kargil conflict.

Treaty network analysis

Treaty network analysis allows scholars the opportunity to not only identify how the treaties interact to create a regional order, but also to identify specific lodestone treaties, which serve as the foundation for all of the other treaties within the relationship. Treaty networks can also help illuminate the strength of a bilateral relationship and the likelihood that the relationship between two states would devolve into violent conflict – states with a high levels of treaty nesting are less likely to fight wars against each other.

Treaty nesting is a diplomatic technique that states use to tie treaties to previous treaties, thus strengthening cooperation between states. Since violating a treaty that is tied to other treaties is paramount to violating all treaties that are tied together, using treaty nesting as a diplomatic tool is an effective way in which to build cooperation even among traditional rivals. 

India and Pakistan have signed a total of 44 bilateral treaties between 1947 and 2017.. Treaty A is considered to be nested under Treaty B (or have a tie with it) if it explicitly makes a reference to the earlier treaty within its text. A relationship is considered to have institutionalised cooperation when the total number of ties in the relationship is equal to or greater than the total number of bilateral treaties between the two states. It is considered to have ad-hoc cooperation when the total number of ties is less than the total number of bilateral treaties between the two states. Thus, by dividing the number of treaty ties by the number of treaties, one can determine the level of institutionalised cooperation within the dyads.   

Beginning in the 1980s, India and Pakistan have been attempting to link new treaties to existing bilateral or multilateral arrangements thereby creating a dense network of ties. States that violate a nested treaty are not only violating a single treaty, but all other treaties that are linked to it. By nesting treaties, states increase the costs of violating a single treaty, thereby reducing the probability of treaty violation. By enhancing the probability of cooperation, treaty nestedness is likely to build trust in a bilateral relationship. While India and Pakistan are enduring rivals, they also continue to abide by many of the treaties they have signed.  In the figure below, we show how these treaties are tied together.  Each treaty is a square in the figure, and the size of the square indicates the importance of the treaty to the relationship.

Figure 1: Indo-Pak Treaty Network Map 1960-2017

           

Using cooperation scores below  Table 1, we can see that the India-Pakistan cooperation score is 0.4 in 1970 and jumps to 0.96 in 1980. The score hovers at the 0.88 level for a few years before climbing again in 2010 and crossing the threshold of 1 in 2011. Thus, we see a significant shift in the overall levels of treaty making and nesting between India and Pakistan in the 1970s. In 1971, India’s support for the East Pakistan’s quest for independence led to India and Pakistan fighting a war. India’s support for the successful Bangladeshi liberation movement soured diplomatic ties between the two neighbors. After the end of the war, the two countries created a series of treaties to address bilateral relations, including the landmark Simla Agreement of 1972. The two countries also signed treaties for the resumption of trade, reset visa requirements, as well as resume telegraph and postal exchanges. As India and Pakistan attempted to restore diplomatic and functional ties in the aftermath of the second war between them, they created a number of nested treaties. While the network of treaties has not reduced or eliminated cross border violence between India and Pakistan, it does demonstrate the ability of states to find pockets of cooperation that can eventually spill over into other issue areas, thereby enhancing mutual cooperation. For instance, even as the cross-border conflict unfolded, India and Pakistani diplomats were holding joint discussions to provide Indian pilgrims access to the Kartarpur Sikh shrine located inside Pakistan.

Table 1: Cooperation Scores in the Indo-Pakistan dyad*

Year	India-Pakistan Cooperation Score
1950	0
1960	0.4
1970	0.4
1980	0.96
1990	0.87
2000	0.88
2010	0.94
2011	1.02
2017	1.02

India and Pakistan are currently in a transitory phase between ad-hoc (weak) cooperation and institutionalised (strong) cooperation. They barely cross the threshold of 1 in 2011, suggesting they are on the cusp of becoming ‘cooperating rivals’ i.e they are enduring rivals who have institutionalised cooperation to the point of developing conflict management capabilities that prevent the recurrence of violent conflict.

Cooperative rivalry

 While the number of ceasefire violations (CFVs) between India and Pakistan has risen dramatically over the past few years, these heightened tensions have not escalated to a full-blown war between the nuclear-armed neighbors. The increased levels of cooperation through treaties and the use of treaty nesting in the Indo-Pakistani relationship may be serving a conflict management function by preventing CFV’s from escalating into violent militarised conflict.

An analysis of India- Pakistan treaties suggests that the two states are on the cusp of strengthened cooperation and are transitioning from a more traditional rivalry in which the states have often fought several wars to more of a “cooperative rivalry” in which the rival states create a high enough level of cooperation that enables them to resolve disputes before they escalate into war. Given that both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers, it is extremely important that India and Pakistan continue to tie future cooperation efforts to prior successful treaties to avoid potential disputes escalating into militarised conflict.

Should India and Pakistan continue to cooperate through treaties in areas that mutually benefit both states and tie those treaties to prior treaties, then it is likely that India and Pakistan will be able to effectively manage their rivalry and prevent the rivalry from devolving into war.  However a failure to do so may result in the return of traditional rivalry in which war is a distinct possibility.

This article originally appeared on the London School of Economics' South Asia blog://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2019/06/10/india-and-pakistan-how-treaties-prevent-the-rivalry-from-devolving-into-war/

History & Political Science Banquet Honors Student Achievements

On Saturday, May 5, the History & Political Science Department held its annual banquet to celebrate graduating departmental seniors.  We honored student leadership in our departmental clubs, the Ruth Stratton Award recipient, as well as the thesis work of our graduating seniors. 

Five of our recent alumni at the annual banquet

Students & Faculty at departmental banquet

Public History students with Lenora Henson (adjunct professor & curator at the Teddy Roosevelt Inaugural Site)

At the banquet we also honored Jessica Zimpfer, the recipient of our annual Distinguished Alumni award.  Zimpfer, class of 2006, spoke eloquently about how the department shaped her career trajectory, stating, “I honestly would not be where I am in my life if I had not been a part of this program.”  Zimpfer went on to earn a Master’s degree in Social Work and currently works as a Therapist for Crisis Services in Buffalo, where she provides “free supportive counseling to survivors of sexual violence and elder abuse, bearing witness to their trauma, validating their experiences, teaching coping skills and how to use them, reminding them of their own self-worth and their progress, and moving with them as they go through the healing process.”  This is incredibly important work and we, as a department, could not be more proud of Zimpfer’s success.

Jessica Zimpfer (class of '06) speaks to department students, alumni, and faculty about how her degree impacted her career.

This year’s Ruth Stratton Award winner was Megan Racinowski .  Megan is a Political Science major—with planned minors in History, Pre-Law, and Literature—who just completed her second year at Daemen.   The Ruth Stratton Award honors the legacy of Ruth Stratton, a long-time professor in the History & Political Science department.  Stratton exhibited excellence as a teacher, advisor, and visionary for the department and College as a whole.  The Scholarship seeks to recognize a student whom we believe can someday exhibit that level of professional excellence in his or her chosen career.  We, as a department, are confident that Megan exhibits this potential for excellence.  As a Sophomore, Megan has completed the Washington Internship Institute program and has plans to attend law school when she graduates (you can read more about Megan's amazing Washington, D.C. internship here).  She will be completing a second internship this summer with Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26), exhibiting her passion for her education and taking full advantage of the high impact practices available at Daemen. 

Megan Racinowski outside of the Russell Senate office building for her internship in Washington, D.C.

Our Best Senior Thesis Award this year went to Brianna Zichettella for her thesis entitled, “American Confederates and Deep State Subversives: Comparing Echo Chamber Formation on Hannity and The Rachel Maddow Show.” Brianna watched Rachel Maddow’s and Sean Hannity’s punditry for one month and compared their framing of news items, tone of coverage, and quality of the guests brought on to analyze newsworthy items.  Her senior thesis demonstrated the capability of both of these political pundits to create an echo chamber and further the polarization of our political dialogue.

Brianna Zichettella, winner of the Best Senior Thesis Award

In addition to Brianna, Dr. Andrew Wise and I—as the thesis instructors this year—decided to award distinction to several other senior thesis projects.  Several of our students wrote high quality theses and truly embraced the process of researching an area of interest.  Each of these students also focused on topics that exhibit the importance of civic knowledge and research related to social justice.  Taqiyah Gibbons wrote about the commodification of slavery and the importance of historical context on former slave plantations.  Shaquilla Reid researched the opioid crisis and how it compared with the 1980's war on drugs.  Her research lends credence to the idea that the racial groups affected by the crisis impact the government’s response.  Casey Young’s thesis focused on the human rights violations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba—a topic which has continued to be apart of the national conversation about the treatment of prisoners and military detainees.  Shamella Jeffers focused on the portrayal of African Americans in popular culture, specifically focusing on the satirical take on race relations in The Boondocks.  Finally, Ryan Langer researched the role of Nestor Makhno, a Ukrainian anarchist, in the Russian Revolution.  Dr. Wise and I were both impressed with the quality of work of each of these students and were happy to grant each of them a distinction in research award. 

Senior Thesis Distinction Award recipients (from left to right): Taqiyah Gibbons, Shaquilla Reid, Brianna Zichettella, and Shamella Jeffers.  Not pictured: Ryan Langer and Casey Young

We are incredibly proud of all of our graduating seniors and wish them the best of luck with their chosen career paths! We have several students pursuing graduate school and law school as well as several who have already found jobs in their field.  We wish them all the success in the world and cannot wait to invite them back to the banquet as alumni (and maybe as distinguished speakers)!  

Gabrielle Sinnott receives Gilman scholarship to study abroad in summer 2018

Gabrielle Sinnott, H&P major (class of 2019)

History & Political Science major Gabrielle Sinnott has been awarded a prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to underwrite the cost of her internship in Thailand this summer. Gabby is one of 300 students in the United States selected to receive a Gilman scholarship, which underwrites study-abroad opportunities for American college and university students.  Read more about Gabby's award here.

If you want to study abroad, visit our Global Programs office to learn about study-abroad opportunities and scholarships to help pay your way.