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New York, 12866


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Collaborative Research (continued)

Skidmore students and their professors have worked together on numerous research projects. This kind of high-level scholarship does more than enhances a student's understanding in a given disipline; the practical, hands-on experience and "real-world" accomplishment also instill a sense of confidence that will benefit a graduate in any career. Projects from recent years appear below, arranged by academic area.

Government

Project: Elevating Associate Justices: The Recipe for Downplaying Ideology in the Appointment of the Chief Justice?
Participants: Assistant Professor Beau Breslin of Government and Jared Gottlieb '04
Plan: The history and politics surrounding the elevation of associate justices to the position of chief justice will be explored. Half of all chief justices selected in the twentieth century were either sitting associate justices at the time of the promotion or, in the case of Charles Evans Hughes, had served previously on the Supreme Court. It will be argued that these are unique appointments in that they effectively insulate the appointer (the president) from the political blacklash that often accompanies federal judicial selections. It will be contended that elevating an associate justice (who has already been confirmed by the Senate) allows the president to appoint ideologues with far less concern about the political costs that typically accompany appointments of this magnitude.

Project: Free Speech and Internet Violence: A Justification for Broad Constitutional Protection
Participants: Professor Beau Breslin and Jon Eick '02
Plan: The primary focus of this project will be to explore the relationship between First Amendment jurisprudence and the growing tendency to use the Internet as a source for the dissemination of violent information. In the piece, we will ask to what extent should the First Amendment protect speech that is so violent in nature as to warrant exclusion from the protective confines of the First Amendment's free speech doctrine. Our aim is to propose that this variety of speech—a variety that includes blueprints for the construction of pipe bombs and other forms of significant destruction—must be afforded constitutional protection despite its potentially devastating effects. The history of free speech jurisprudence in this country mandates that even our most harmful messages enjoy full and robust constitutional protection.

Project: Reforming the Electoral College: The Partisan and Policy Consequences of the District System
Participants: Assistant Professor Robert C. Turner and Greg Thall '02
Plan: The purpose of this project is to examine the advantages and consequences of reforming how America selects its president via the Electoral College by awarding Electoral College votes on the basis of the district plan. The project will also examine how the district system would have avoided many of the fiascoes of the 2000 presidential election that were created by the winner-take-all system.




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