Fall at the IOP.
By MALCOLM REID
Starting off the year at a brisk sprint, the IOP has already gotten into the swing of activities and forums for students with unabashed rigor. For any unfamiliar with the IOP, just as the best writers flock to the Harvard Independent, so too do the future politicians of Harvard find their way to the Institute of Politics. In essence, if one is looking for a future Anthony Eden – or a future Colonel Gaddafi – it’s a good place to start.
However, a notable part of the charm of the IOP is that not only does one get to meet these future powerhouses, one is able to meet current ones too, from Betsy DeVos to Yo-Yo Ma and many others. Speaking of which, upcoming speakers include Secretary DeVos and Christine Lagarde of the IMF – and all who can make it to these events are highly encouraged to attend! As time goes forward, the reader can expect to find many of these events to be covered here in the Independent, giving readers a taste of what happened and also how the issues addressed affect the wider community. Many of these events are lotteried and therefore one might not have the opportunity to attend all that are interesting, but look out for our coverage to keep abreast of what’s happened and what the speakers are like.
These forums are excellent events to attend, but they certainly aren’t the only events open to the Harvard community that could prove enlightening. The IOP’s Fellows Program (often stylized as the FSG or Fellows Study Groups) is a lesser known venue for engaging with high-profile individuals. FSG essentially brings some of the most reputable and seasoned veterans of politics and world affairs together to interact intimately with our community and to have frank conversations or provide sagely advice. At some point, I do suggest going to each fellow’s study group, as they all are amazing and personable people. Unfortunately, in the case of FSG, one cannot find any media coverage here or elsewhere, as they are very much off-the-books affairs where the fellows can feel free to say whatever they feel inclined to. However, have no fear, as you can expect to find conversations and interviews with various fellows featured in our publication over the coming weeks!
Quite aside from these events, there are other IOP events one can attend, such as the Harvard Political Union’s debates (some of which may be covered here as well) if you want to become involved in Harvard’s political scene- or otherwise become engaged in the community. These are often on a variety of topics, the most provocative of which you can expect to find me participating in I’d imagine. There are also other special events that the entire Harvard community will have the chance to attend, so do look out for those, and we will keep you informed of any that are to be featured in the Independent.
For all those who were not familiar with the IOP or did not apply to it, this semester we look forward to showing you some of the fascinating political events around campus, and hope you enjoy their coverage! Secretary DeVos will be here on September 28th, so if you’re interested in her department or her experience, enter that lottery! Keep a look out for the coverage of that event in about two weeks’ time. This is just a brief glimpse at what is to come in the coming weeks, and a brief introductory article to start our relationship as writer and reader as the semester goes on. And as I go sprinting hither and thither covering these events around campus, I look forward to seeing many of you there!
Malcolm Reid (mjreid@college.harvard.edu) looks forward to taking advantage of the myriad events Harvard has to offer.