The Institute of Political Citizenship (IOPC) may have lost three of its senior creators after graduation last year, but the program is continuing to grow.
Last semester, two students interned on Beacon Hill through the IOPC. This fall, six Jumbos are working for members of the Massachusetts state legislature and one is doing research for Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, an organization which encourages students to pursue active citizenship initiatives.
Leaders of the IOPC, which is run through the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, also hope to send 15 undergrads to the state house in the spring.
According to Tisch College Director and Associate Dean Nancy Wilson, these internships are all policy-based. Legislators, for example, will have students write policy research papers looking at different data and evaluating pros and cons of proposals.
According to sophomore Jarrod Niebloom, who has been with the program since its inception, students work for four hours per week in their offices and do research on their own time. The internship culminates in a 20-to-25 page policy report.
The students get a political science credit, but they may also gain more than that.
"Depending on how things go, that policy research could generate some kind ... of legislation," Wilson said.
Students work for both Republicans and Democrats in the state legislature.
"It's very much a bipartisan effort," Wilson said.
Through Tisch College, 2007 graduates Mitch Robinson, Kayt Norris and Dan Grant developed the IOPC in spring of their senior year, with the aid of Niebloom and then-sophomore Adam Weldai. After Commencement last spring, five upperclassmen, including junior Matt Shapanka, have stepped up to take over the reins.
"The goal is to engage students in state and local government who would not otherwise be engaged," Shapanka said "The idea was to add something to [the] Tisch College that would focus on political involvement - not just citizenship, but policy."
The Tisch College provides the IOPC with institutional and financial support. Niebloom hopes that this connection will eventually expand.
"One of the underlying goals is to bridge politics and active citizenship," he said. "In the long run, we aim to not only get students politically involved, but we're acting as a way for more students to get involved in the Tisch College."
The IOPC has other initiatives underway as well. Group members, for example, are working closely with Tufts Votes, a student organization that encourages voter registration.
"We're working with them and Community Relations to register non-college students to vote," Shapanka said.
According to Niebloom, this initiative will start in Medford and Somerville on Nov. 17. The IOPC is also working with Bunker Hill Community College to register students there to vote, Shapanka said.
Jamie Bologna contributed reporting to this article.
