Notables

Faculty and students from the Department of Political Science attended the 25th annual Midwest Political Science Undergraduate Research Conference at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, March 11-12. The MWPSURC features undergraduate student presentations from liberal arts universities across the Midwest, including Coe College, St. Olaf College, Drury University, Drake, Creighton, lllinois Wesleyan and others. Brandon Bolte presented his paper “Pro-Government Militias and the Institutionalized Enemy.” He received the Best Paper Award and a cash prize of $100. Jared Heern presented his paper entitled “Red, White, Blue and Green: Public Policy Model Testing through Title IV of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.” He won the Second Best Paper Award and received a cash prize of $50. Henrio Thelemaque presented his paper “Perceptions of Traffic Stops by Race, Age and Gender.” Faculty members John Quinn and Randy Hagerty also served as the faulty chair/discussant of the panels “Political and Economic Development” and “American Politics,” respectively.

The wrestling team ranked 12th best GPA in Division II Athletics with a 3.21 average GPA. In addition, four Truman wrestlers were selected to the Division II All-Academic Wrestling Team by the NCAA. J.J. Dorrell was a second-team selection, while Rafael Lopez, Drew Rentschler and Chase Wrisinger were on the honorable mention list. The Division II All-Academic Wrestling team consisted of 192 student-athletes from 42 universities. To qualify for the squad, a wrestler must carry a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average, have completed one full year in school and have a minimum of two letters of recommendation.