NMSU Govie Gazette
November 2014
Student Opportunities
If you are looking for a way to get involved in politics while also getting paid, boy do I have the job for you! The Democratic Party of New Mexico is looking for people to help us canvass in the community the last two days of the election. We need your help turning out voters. The job is 8 hours each day (4 in the morning, lunch break, and 4 in the evening). The pay is $75 per day.
Please contact Lydia Hammond at 575-649-3269
Know a Professor
Dr. Neil Harvey
What’s your favorite place to visit, why?
San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. I have so many friends and memories there, it’s like feeling at home each time I go back. I started my field work there back in 1984 so I have seen how it has changed over the years. It is a colonial town that was founded in 1528 and has many beautiful buildings and places to walk. It is surrounded by pine forests and it smells so fresh in the mornings when my wife, Wendy, and I would walk to the market and buy fresh fruit and vegetables and eat sweet bread with a cup of coffee brewed with cinnamon.
What’s your favorite non-academic book?
When I was a teenager, it had to be the Rothmans Football Yearbook. It had every statistic you could imagine about football (as soccer is called in the UK), with all the league tables, scores, fixtures and size of crowds at each game. Growing up in Liverpool, football was a great passion for almost everyone and I could rattle off dates, names and places of important goals, games won and lost, across the UK and Europe.
What’s something you do to get your job off your mind?
I like swimming. I was always a good swimmer and footballer as a kid, but got out of the habit. My office overlooks the campus swimming pool so I really have no excuses not to go.
Why did you decide to live in New Mexico (other than necessity)?
Proximity to Mexico is really important for me and my family. My wife was born and grew up in Mexico. We met and got married there. We have lots of family there, so it is easier to get back and for them to visit.
Tell us about any papers you’re working on?
I am working on a paper about the challenges facing the Zapatista movement in Chiapas as it seeks to implement new forms of local and regional governance by indigenous communities. This movement rose up against the Mexican government in 1994 and made many demands for social justice, access to land, and greater democracy in the country. One of the results is the effort to work independently, without ties to political parties or government institutions, but in solidarity with other groups in Mexico and internationally. Indigenous peoples have been very active in building new organizations and contributing to political change in several Latin American countries in the past 30 years or so, and I hope to contribute to that literature by examining what the Zapatistas have achieved and what challenges they face.
Your greatest concern in current issues of government/public administration?
The negative consequences of the “war on drugs”, including attacks or threats against social movements, journalists, human rights defenders, migrants and rural and indigenous communities. The militarization of the border and its impacts on communities on both sides.
Your greatest epiphany as a graduate student?
In the journals section of a small library in the basement of the Institute of Latin American Studies in London, around 1983. Finding a short article that described a land conflict in Chiapas in a publication called Latin American Newsletters. It sparked my interest in the similarities and differences, and led me to write an MA thesis proposal that led me to Chiapas for my first field work trip there.
Dr. Thaddieus Conner
What’s your favorite place to visit, why?
My favorite place to visit in New Mexico is Santa Fe. More specifically, the plaza. To be even more specific, the bar and restaurant in La Fonda. It’s kind of like Cheers in there for my wife and me.
What’s your favorite non-academic book?
I would have to go with Sherman Alexie’s book Reservation Blues. However, it is a close second to George Orwell’s 1984. This was one of the first politically oriented works of non-fiction I read at the tender age of 12 that got me thinking about government and civil liberties. It also scared the crap out of me. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz is also tops on my list.
What’s something you do to get your job off your mind?
Honestly, I watch sports. Football and basketball (college or professional) always helps me relax and do something non-academic.
Tell us about any papers you’re working on?
I’m working on a number of papers that are at different stages of completion. My favorite one is a paper that I am working on with colleagues at Indiana University, the University of Oklahoma, and the College of Charleston that explores how bureaucratic values influence the types of decisions public managers make in collaborative settings. We use cultural theory to see whether managers with a more hierarchical, egalitarian, or individualist worldview make different decisions when working with stakeholders in the outside community. I’m also working on a number of papers related to Indian gaming, public opinion, and criminal justice in Indian Country.
Your greatest concern in current issues of government/public administration?
I must say that I am a little concerned about the negative image surrounding public administrators (also known as “bureaucracy bashing”) in the U.S. Most of the time, the public is only aware of bureaucracy when something bad happens and is spread rapidly through social media.
Your greatest epiphany as a graduate student?
The art of skimming and reading with purpose.
If you hadn’t ended up a Professor what would have been your profession?
Other than a musketeer (j/k), I would have pursued a career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This was my original intention upon entering the MPA program, but I quickly learned how much of a difference can be made with research.
What was the last thing you learned from a student?
That planking is a thing now. Seriously.
Quick Hits
Joshua McDermott, MA Candidate, represented political organization Aggie Solidarity in the “Great Debate”. He took a second to share his experiences with us:
“I was in the “Great Debate” representing the far left student group Aggie Solidarity. I was disappointed in the debate’s format; it was more like a panel for the different student groups to state their positions (in one minute or less) on various political topics, rather than a debate.”
“Still, it was a good experience, and hopefully an educational one for the audience and the participants. Uzi Marte made aggressive gestures to me from the audience when I criticized the Democrat student group.”
Impressive…
The GGSO took part in Aggie “Keep State Great” event and together picked up 1,247 errant pinecones along Triviz Drive. You are welcome!
Rylee Stenberg was recently recognized as a promising women leaders in student government and featured on MSNBC at
Papers in Progress
Chris Kincaid’s (MPA) paper on police militarization is accepted to present at the 2015 Western Political Science Association Conference.
What is Dr. Medina doing?
Dr. Christina Medina, MPA Program Director, has been on sabbatical since the end of the Spring Semester. What has she been up to? (edited for brevity)
“I'm definitely working on research and on having some fun in between. I think it can give a new notion to R&R which is usually the acronym for revise and resubmit! Dr. Chand and I are working on a project to help with the racial profiling literature. The project analyzes local law enforcement agencies which find themselves playing increasingly larger roles in immigration enforcement in recent years. But no studies have attempted to empirically determine if empowering police officers with immigration enforcement powers can result in racial profiling. The study’s examination of a participating police department finds that officers are far more likely to approach Latinos and Asians (both of which represent rapidly growing immigration populations) for acting “suspiciously” than other ethnic groups.”
“For my sabbatical I have been doing research in partnership with the Buechner Institute for Governance at the University of Colorado in Denver School of Public Affairs. It is also my alma mater! I'm looking at performance based management: teacher evaluation systems in Colorado and New Mexico.”
“For fun, I have been attending lots of live performances and catching up on my music. I went to Juarez this past weekend to listen to SonidoCachimbo (Salsa, Merengue, and Cumbia) and this week I'll be in Santa Fe to watch Ziggy Marley perform some famous Reggae songs of his late father Bob Marley. As soon as it snows I am going to hit the ski slopes in Colorado and Utah!”
Did you know…?
A recent NMSU Government Department graduate is a current recipient of a Fulbright scholarship. Learn more about Sara Casson at
Put the book down
The First Annual Government Department Camping Outing was held last month at Rockhound State Park. Attendees included Chris Kincaid, MPA Candidate...... and his nephew Hunter. No thundereggs were discovered.
Quote of the Month
“When someone sticks a knife into my back nine inches and then pulls it out six inches they haven’t done me any favor. And if they pull that knife which they stuck in my back all the way out they still have not done me any favor. They should not have stabbed me in the back in the first place.” Malcolm X
Need help?
There is a NMSU Library Page designed just for Government Students that you might want to bookmark at
This page includes quick links to news, political science, and legal resources you might need for your next government exam or paper. Happy Hunting!
Special Events
Dia de los Muertos: If you’re looking for something fun and interesting outside the house, come to Dia de los Muertos this Friday and Saturday, November 1st and 2nd, from 12-8 PM!
Student Surveys!
Joshua McDermott
What’s your favorite place to visit and why?
The Tetons - they are beautiful and close to home
What’s something you do to get school off your mind?
Study radical politics. . .
What in government/public administration are you most interested in studying?
West Africa
True hometown?
A small town called Rigby, Idaho. Birthplace of television!
Your greatest concern in current issues of government/public administration?
Race for resources in Africa
If you hadn’t majored in government, what else did you want to study?
Poetry
Thea Quigley-Trejo
What’s your favorite place to visit and why?
The Rio Grande River. Because it has water... most days.
What’s your favorite non-academic book?
Would it be terrible to say that I don't have one? I'll just say it's Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Classic.
True hometown?
Albuquerque, NM.
Your greatest concern in current issues of government/public administration?
Austerity in the global economy.
If you hadn’t majored in government, what else did you want to study?
I would probably study paleontology, because why not?
And just in case you failed to notice it is Halloween…
This is the page we still can’t dispose of without
destroying our format, look for it next month….