News Hartwick Contingent Hits Political Science Conference in DC

A Hawks in Flight Feature

Thanks to FlightPath funding, last weekend four students and Professor of Political Science Laurel Elder attended and presented at The National Political Science Honor Society’s Undergraduate Research Conference held at George Washington University from February 17-19.

Dr. Laurel Elder noted some of the amazing highlights from the trip, including:

• Addy Colligan ’23 presenting her research, Post Dobbs Decision: The Role of Women Legislators and Governors in Abortion Policy. She finds that the states that passed complete or near-complete bans on abortion in the wake of the 2022 Dobbs decision have the lowest levels of women’s representation, in particular the lowest levels of Republican women. In other words, these bans are being enacted with very little input from women.
• Jack Mahn ’23 presenting his research, which examines whether Russia’s invasion of Ukraine represents a new type of challenge to the liberal world order.
• A career networking evening event, a luncheon featuring the founding director of the DC Policy Center, and a graduate school fair.
• Alice Johnson ’23, Awino Musyoka ’23, Mahn, Colligan, and Elder visiting the White House Saturday night.
• Connecting with Hartwick alumni Trevaughn Smith ’21 and Ed Holman ’21, who came to see Mahn present as part of his Russian Politics panel.

“It was an absolutely amazing experience and these students did an outstanding job representing Hartwick!” Elder said. She further expressed her thanks to the committee overseeing the FlightPath Funds for Student Conference travel—Aaron Tolbert, Malissa Kano-White, Tessa Yang, David Griffing, and Michael Branch—for making this trip possible.