Reporters intrigued by Lieberman race

Professor of Government Dorothy Buckton James speaks with journalists after her lecture on Connecticut politics.

CC caught some international attention when more than 20 journalists spent the day meeting with students, faculty, political organizations and politicians in a campus visit sponsored by the U.S. State Department's Foreign Press Center on Oct. 23.

The journalists, representing media outlets from 15 countries, were in New London to cover the U.S. Senate debate between Democratic nominee Ned Lamont, Republican candidate Alan Schlesinger, and incumbent Democrat Joe Lieberman, who ran as an Independent.

After meeting with the students, the foreign press heard a lecture on the history and current status of Connecticut politics by Professor of Government Dorothy Buckton James. She told them that Lieberman's independent run for Senate while serving as the Democratic incumbent has made for a "very, very curious and confused situation." Following her talk, the journalists had many questions for James.

"We found her so interesting," said Kirsten Buzzi, a reporter from Norway's Dagbladet newspaper. "We could have just kept asking her questions. She is so knowledgeable. We learned so much."

After eating lunch in Harris, the foreign journalists heard from a representative from the League of Women Voters, attended a panel discussion on internet blogging and met with the Green Party candidate for senate, Ralph Ferrucci, before heading off to the Garde Arts Center for the debate.

The journalists met with student representatives from Connecticut College Democrats, Connecticut College Republicans and CCLeft, asking questions about political activism on campus and about how the students felt about the candidates.

Senior Jennifer Dillon, president of Connecticut College Democrats, was surprised by how engaged the journalists were and by their interest in the views of students. She was also a bit overwhelmed by the fact that the journalists had come from countries as far away as Estonia, Japan and Spain to get her opinion on Connecticut politics.

Cornelius Hardenbergh '07, who represented CCLeft, found the international interest understandable. "If you look at world politics," he said, "the United States is the 3,000-pound gorilla in pretty much everything, so it is not at all surprising to me that people from around the world are interested in where the United States is going to be going politically."

View Professor of Government Dorothy James´s faculty profile. Political interest groups are among of the many active student clubs and organizations at Connecticut College.