Political professionals convene to discuss elections, impart insight to young Texans

AUSTIN, Texas — Nov. 2, 2006 — Scholars, journalists, students, candidates and political strategists will convene in San Antonio on Nov. 18 to discuss the results of the 2006 elections as part of the Annette Strauss Institute’s New Politics Forum.

“Campaign 2006 Election Debriefing” will feature Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics; Ken Rudin, National Public Radio political editor; Paul Burka, Texas Monthly writer; Roberto Calderon, associate professor of history at the University of North Texas; Jaime Castillo, political columnist at the San Antonio Express-News; Gabriel Escobar, associate director for publications at the Pew Hispanic Center; Laura Stromberg, communications director for the Kinky Friedman campaign; and James Werner, Libertarian candidate for Texas governor; among others.

The New Politics Forum, a key outreach initiative of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation, helps prepare young people to work on political campaigns by connecting them with nationally recognized political professionals, members of the press and university researchers via symposia throughout Texas.

“In order to attract talented and vivacious individuals into the political process, we must provide young people with a practical, non-partisan and well-rounded education − grounded in ethics − that teaches them the rules of the profession and helps make those connections that can lead them to their first job,” said Dr. Roderick P. Hart, director of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation and dean of the College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin.

The “Campaign 2006 Election Debriefing” will feature discussions such as “Election Results Overview and Implications for 2008,” “Walking Out/Walking In: The Immigration Debate and the Latino Vote,” “Interpreting the Election: Statewide Perspective from the Texas Press” and “Campaigning Outside the Two-Party System.”

While the event is not limited to students, the majority of attendees are from colleges and universities across the state, including: Howard Payne University, Schreiner College, Southern Methodist University, Texas State University, The University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at Brownsville and the University of Texas San Antonio, among others.

Registration for the New Politics Forum, open to young adults throughout Texas, is $45 and is open until Nov. 10. Detailed information is available at www.newpoliticsforum.org or by contacting project manager Emily Balanoff (embal@mail.utexas.edu or (512) 471-7214).

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Note to editors: Reporters interested in speaking with attendees from their market can contact Emily Balanoff.

Contacts: Emily Balanoff

embal@mail.utexas.edu

(512) 471-7214

(512) 413-7193 - mobile

or

Erin Geisler

(512) 475-8071

erin.geisler@austin.utexas.edu