October 5-9, 2020 Events
Justice for All: Filling the Seat on the Supreme Court
October 6, 2020
The passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has prompted controversy on when and how to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court and the ramifications for decisions on the Affordable Care Act, Roe v. Wade, Voting Rights, and even the 2020 election. Holy Cross political science majors Natalie DeCoste '21 and Grace Burke '21 moderate a discussion with Professors Alex Hindman and Greg Burnep on recent Senate confirmation hearings, what could be ahead for Trump's nominee Amy Coney Barrett, and what a shift in balance could mean for pending and future cases.
Watch the video below»
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS SEMINAR
The Role of Running Mates in Presidential Campaigns
October 6, 2020
How do presidential nominees select their running mates? What does a vice presidential candidate do in a campaign? What impact does the vice presidential debate have on the campaign? Former vice presidential candidate and U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan joins us on the eve of the V.P. debate.
THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT PRESENTS
Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?
October 7, 2020
Twice in the past 20 years, presidential candidates who lost the popular vote (Bush in 2000 and Trump in 2016) have won the presidency via the Electoral College tally. Is the Electoral College, as critics assert, an outdated relic of the late 18th century that was designed to limit the will of the people? Or does it, as its defenders argue, ensure representation of people in all regions of the nation? Historian Alexander Keyssar, Stirling Professor of History and Social Policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and one of the nation’s foremost experts on the history of voting and the Electoral College, weighs in.Sponsored by the Department of History with funds provided by the Alexander F. Carson Fund.
ALUMNI EVENT
The Supreme Court and LGBTQIA+ Rights: What's the Story?
October 8, 2020
This summer, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex. A historic decision. Now what? The Holy Cross LGBTQ Alumni Network hosts a panel discussion featuring alumni: Jamie Hoag '98, Director of Government & Community Relations at Holy Cross; Francine Rosado-Cruz '94, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; and Michael Xavier '96, Partner & Family Law Attorney at Prince Lobel LLP; and moderated by Tom Landy, McFarland Center Director.
Watch the panel discussion»
HC Elections Forum Perspectives
Members of our team recommend resources each week to inform the conversations we are having in our HC Election Forums and in our social circles.
Marisa George '21 recommends this opinion piece on The Hill: "Will Democrats Attempt to Pack the Supreme Court Again?"
Professor Daniel Klinghard shares "The Task of Liberal Arts in Troubled Times," by Lorraine Pangle, Professor of Government and Co-Director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas at the University of Texas at Austin.
McFarland Center Director Tom Landy offers "The Case for Accepting Defeat on Roe," an opinion piece in the New York Times by Professor Joan C. Williams at the University of California Hastings College of the Law.
Professor Maria Rodrigues recommends: “Trump’s Populism and the Future of Democracy: Lessons from Latin America,” by Carlos De la Torre in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.
Ben Tayag '21 shares "Which Past is Prologue? Heeding the Right Warnings from History" from Margaret MacMillan, Professor of History at the University of Toronto and Visiting Distinguished Historian at the Council on Foreign Relations.