My mentor’s name is Matt Leder and he is a double major in Public Policy Analysis and Economics. After college, he plans on attending graduate school to obtain either a doctorate in economics or a degree from law school. He has not yet decided what sort of career he plans on taking but he has considered being a Sports Agent as a result of his time working with the OSU football team. Additionally, Matt expresses interest in environmental science and conservation, although he is not yet sure if he will pursue a minor or specialization in that field.

Coming in, Matt expressed an interest in law and politics, resulting in his joining PSL. While his interest in politics has diminished as a result of America’s extreme political climate, he still maintains a significant interest in law and legal proceedings. PSL has been a source of enjoyment for Matt, who has met most of his friends through the program. Specific aspects Matt appreciates regarding PSL are the myriad of speakers brought in and the information regarding law it has given to him.

The most rewarding activity Matt has done at OSU is act as the operations chair for Empower Mentoring, a club that teaches Columbus High School students about financial literacy and college readiness. He has helped students from a variety of backgrounds help determine their future paths, be it in the workforce or in college. Other incredible experiences have been Matt’s jobs with the football team and as a University Ambassador, due to their parts in letting him interact with a wide variety of students from different backgrounds and letting him meet new students.

Matt is a native of Columbus, and the experience growing up in a large metropolis impacted his decision to attend OSU.

Outside of academics, Matt’s favorite food is Mexican and he cites his father as his greatest inspiration.

During my time with my Mentor Group and in my interview with Matt, he is very clearly a kind and caring figure who hopes for the best of new students.

On Representation in the House

          Regarding representation in regards of one state to another, the most logical step would be to portion seats based on what percentage of the total United States population a particular state makes up, given the 435 cap on Representatives in the House. This would be rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent for ease of calculation, and from there the nearest whole number. Based on this system, California would go from 53 to 52 votes. Wyoming would maintain its 1 vote, but unfortunately for Montana they would also maintain their 1 vote (mathematically they should yield 1.39 votes). On the bright side (or dark side, depending on how one looks at it), Rhode Island would be reduced from 2 to a fairer 1, and the city of Washington D.C. would gain a singular vote. However, this brings up the problem of what political entities should or should not (if any) ought to get voting representation in the House of Representatives. Additionally, increasing the amount of entities with House representation would also call for changes to be made to the Reapportionment Act of 1929 – namely the aforementioned 435 cap.

      For this, I propose that only the minimum be added such that each state/worthy political entity gets at least 1 vote while still having directly proportional representation. In addition, revising this act would also allow for stricter regulations on Gerrymandering to be put in place; I would propose a system where people who are tested to have minimal knowledge of area demographics draw up the lines, based solely on given population density counts. Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands each make up .05% or less of the total U.S. population (for reference, Wyoming is .17%).

       Given that the Supreme Court has ruled on the existence of insular territories, it would not be necessary to grant representation to these territories, given how marginal their total populations are. On the other hand, both Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico have population percentages that exceed that of Wyoming (being used here as the minimum population), and thus would justify the gaining of representational privileges.