A major topic of debate today is the fairness of redistricting and congressional representation. At the moment, states’ populations are not proportional to the number of congressional representatives they have in the house, and thus, electoral votes are not equal among the states by population. For example, states with a single representative, such as Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont, only receive one electoral college vote for their entire population although it is not representative of their population size. This problem is way presidential candidates, such as Donald Trump, may win the electoral vote but lose the population vote and still become the presidential elect. Congressional representation is therefore NOT representative. States with fewer people per representative hold more voting power than states with more people per representative. One solution to this problem would be to set a standard number of people per representative among every state. This way, voting power is equal to each electorate as they represent the same number of votes. Also, more frequent censuses should be conducted in the United States to ensure that the congressional representation is proportional to the constantly changing population of each state.

My peer mentor is Clara Hatch, who is a very vibrant individual. She coincidentally lived in the same dorm room that I live in this year, as all PSLers are Smith-Steeb residence their first year. I had a great time exploring German Village with her the first Sunday we were on campus, but I got to learn a lot more about her this time together. Clara is studying Public Affairs and is a diehard John Glenn fan. Clara is enjoying her classes this semester as well as spending time with other students in the college of John. She is also a very outdoorsy person, having spent her summer in Yellowstone National Park and also being a member of the Parks and Rec Club here at OSU. Her favorite dining location on campus is Kcomm (Kennedy Commons) because she thinks it’s more intimate than Traditions at Scott. Clara works as a Page at the Ohio Statehouse and loves the bow tie she gets to wear on the job. She has tried several times to convince me to join her for the 24 hour Groundhogs Day movie marathon, but I think it will take more convincing for me to sit through that movie 12 times in a row (although she does say it’s very fun). Overall, I am very grateful for all of the honest and helpful advice Clara has been able to give me during these first few weeks. I am very excited to get to know her better throughout the year.