Harvard IOP Fall Fellows Kick Off Student Programming with Inaugural Forum

The Harvard Institute of Politics kicked off its fall semester student programming with an inaugural John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on Tuesday — the first of three slated for this week.

Forum committee co-chairs Robert Fogel ’25 and Ryan P. Tierney ’24 — who are entering their second semester leading the IOP’s flagship program — also spoke at the event outlining their mission and teased what the committee has in store for the fall.

“This semester, we’re gonna have some forums ranging from international relations and national security to the economy, social justice and technological advantages,” Fogel said.

The inaugural event was moderated by IOP Director Setti D. Warren and headlined its seven fall 2023 resident fellows, who provided an elevator pitch for their weekly study groups and discussed the political polarization plaguing the nation as 2024 nears.

“A large chunk of the country cannot believe we’re gonna nominate the same people from the last election,” Politico journalist Jonathan L. Martin said. “If you’re asking why: First, come to my study group, and the second shorter answer is polarization.”

“We’re in a moment now where that is the order of the day, and tribalism rules our political world,” he added.

Despite living in a political climate that often turns into “a polarizing screaming match,” former Republican Congressman Rodney L. Davis urged students to seek to hear the other side.

“Enjoy different opinions; enjoy being able to find a principled compromise to get things done,” Davis said.

“It’s not just about your own tribe,” he added.

Later in the discussion audience member pressed incoming fellows — including Jeffrey A. Rosen, former acting attorney general under the Trump Administration — about the growing politicization of the Department of Justice. Rosen defended the process of his administration and instead critiqued the Senate confirmation process for nominees.

“One of the things that hasn’t worked as well as it should in recent years is actually the Senate confirmation process, and part of that is because the focus has turned dramatically towards the policy views of the nominees and less to the character integrity experience that historically were more of a focus,” he said.

“I gotta break it to you all, half of America right now thinks that the Department of Justice is already just as politicized as what you are worried about in a second Trump administration,” Davis added.

Other fellows who participated in the discussion included Cheri L. Beasley, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina; Andrea R. Flores ’10, former director of Border Management on the National Security Council; Betsy Fischer Martin, former executive producer of NBC’s “Meet the Press”; and Daniel Mulhall, former Irish ambassador to the United States.

Later this fall, the cohort of resident fellows will be joined by two visiting fellows: former National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice and former U.S. Senator Roy D. Blunt.

The seven resident fellows will hold their study groups — which are open to all Harvard affiliates — on a weekly basis beginning during the week of Sept. 25 and will run until mid-November.

During the forum, Davis and Martin engaged in a friendly competition over potential study group members.

“I think it is going to be one of the best ones ever in the history of Harvard,” Martin said of his study group.

“In my 10 years in Congress, I was able to get things done, and that is what I am going to do with my study group, and Jonathan Martin is full of crap,” Davis said jokingly.

“He’s already gone negative folks. Very nasty, very nasty,” Martin replied.

“Jonathan Martin is never the victim,” Davis added.

—Staff writer Thomas J. Mete can be reached at thomas.mete@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @thomasjmete.

—Staff writer Asher J. Montgomery can be reached at asher.montgomery@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @asherjmont or on Threads @asher_montgomery.