MARCH 2014
Vanderbilt
The
Political Review
Staff
PRESIDENT AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Sid Sapru
PRINT DIRECTOR
Sufei Wu
ONLINE DIRECTOR
Michael Zoorob
Letter from the Editor
As we turn the page from an old year to a new one, many of the essays
in this issue of VPR look back on the events of 2013. In “Reasons for
Optimism,” for example, Gregory Bernstein ‘17 analyzes some of the
biggest developments in Pakistan’s nuclear program. Katie Fuselier ’17
looks at controversies surrounding the increasingly-popular Common
Core curriculum in “Paper v. Practice.” Christian Talley ’16, in “Ninety
Miles from Armageddon,” reflects on the 2013 semicentennial of John
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Austin Brown
F. Kennedy’s death and the tendency of the “Kennedy death fetish” to
LAYOUT DIRECTOR
Allia Calkins
For a look back at how Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – “drones” – have
LAYOUT TEAM
Brooks Cain ǁ Caylyn Perry ǁ Christopher Jerrolds
Emmett McKinney ǁ Kate Harsh ǁ Katie Fuselier
Poulumi Banerjee
SENIOR EDITORS
Alison Shanahan ǁ Christopher Jerrolds
Emily Stewart ǁ Gregory Bernstein
EDITORIAL BOARD
Alak Mehta ǁ Brooks Cain
Cade Baxter ǁ Caylyn Perry ǁ Christian Talley
Emmett McKinney
Harry Garrett ǁ Julie Babbage ǁ Kate Harsh
Kathleen Schaaf ǁ Katie Fuselier
Kevin Schoelzel ǁ Kristin Vargas ǁ Lauren Pak
Max Staloff ǁ Nathan Chan
Peter Liu ǁ Poulumi Banerjee
Sameer Fraser ǁ Vivek Shah ǁ Wade Boich
Will Stewart ǁ Zachary Greene
FACULTY ADVISOR
Dr. Joshua Clinton
obscure objective understanding and judgment of Kennedy’s presidency.
affected the War on Terror, take a look at our Winter 2014 cover story,
“The Warrior’s Dilemma,” by Emmett McKinney ’16. Many have ap-
plauded the use of U.A.V.’s given their ability to target Taliban and
Al-Qaeda leadership with diminished risk to American lives. Through
a nuanced exploration of citizen accounts, Afghan tribal culture, and
U.S. policy statements, however, McKinney demonstrates how drone
warfare may very well be “prolonging the bloodshed” in Afghanistan.
Of course, looking forward is just as important. Poulumi Banerjee ’17
discusses the ongoing struggle between purists and pragmatists in the
GOP and its implications for the 2016 presidential race in “A Break in
the Cycle.” In “Will Freedom Endure?” Vivek Shah ’17 examines some
of the biggest problems war-torn Afghanistan must address as it seeks to
rebuild, and explains the steps the U.S. must take to help it do so. Fi-
nally, Julie Babbage ’14 takes on income inequality in “Do You Hear
the People Sing?” and suggests that in order to find long-term solutions,
the tone of contemporary income inequality debates needs to change.
As we reflect on the past and gaze into the future, we hope you enjoy this
issue of the Vanderbilt Political Review.
Best,
Sid Sapru
President & Editor-in-Chief
2