Undecided White Voters 'Flee' to White Candidates

Keith Reeves, political science professor at Swarthmore College, talks about the effects of race on politics in a recent issue of New Yorker. "The voting booth is tantamount to the confessional - it's the secrecy of the ballot that is the critical issue," says Reeves. "One thing we found that was surprising was when you have instances of a fairly large percentage of undecided white voters, they flee to the white candidate."

News Sources: Race, Gender and the Democrats

On a year when Democrats are buoyed by the prospect of retaking the White House, tensions are mounting in the white-hot race between the camp who want to elect the first woman president and the one that wants to elect the first black president. Can the wounds be healed or are the Democrats headed for a scorched-earth campaign between two constituencies that are core part of its base? Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including the following (click on names for contact information):

Alice Almond Shrock - Professor of History, Earlham College - Shrock has devoted years of research to the role and influences of women in America's political development. She has been resident scholar with the U.S. House and the British House of Commons. She is widely interviewed and has lent analysis to National Public Radio and Voice of America.

Marcus Pohlmann -Professor of Political Science, Rhodes College - Pohlmann is author of Racial Politics at the Crossroads and Black Politics in Conservative America.

Stephen Medvic - Assistant Professor of Government, Franklin & Marshall College -
Medvic has provided political analysis for numerous media outlets including CNN, The Washington Post and Fox News On-line. He is the co-editor of Shades of Gray: Perspectives on Campaign Ethics.

Point Guard Scores Political Coup

The the Sunnyside, Washington, City Council is about to dramatically change its composition, after a Whitman College student's research showed its at-large voting system kept Hispanic residents off the council. The studies by Ian Warner, a 2007 graduate who was a point guard on Whitman's basketball team, attracted the attention of the U.S. Justice Department.

Oprah and Obama

Oprah Winfrey's coming to town for Senator Barack Obama, scheduling a three-state tour beginning Dec. 8. Ms. Winfrey, who has been fiercely protective of her extraordinary brand, is dipping into presidential politics for the first time with a visit to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic, can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including the following (click on names for contact information):

Barbara Trish - Associate Professor of Political Science, Grinnell College - Since joining Grinnell, Trish has examined and researched the Iowa Caucus system as well as the "coordinated campaign" efforts in the Midwest. She has served as president of the Iowa Conference of Political Scientists (2000-2001) and is active in party and campaign politics.

Keith Reeves - Associate Professor, Swarthmore College - The Director of Swarthmore's Center for Social and Policy Studies, Reeves is an expert on the impact of racial politics on electoral behavior. He is the author of Voting Hopes or Fears?: White Voters, Black Candidates, and Racial Politics in America.

Ronald Lembo - Associate Professor of Sociology, Amherst College - Lembo teaches and writes about the sociology of mass media and mass culture, news and entertainment systems, media corporations. His newest book is Thinking Through Television: Viewing Practices and the Social Limits to Power.

News Sources: Disparities in Prison Sentences

What happens when lawmakers dictate that similar crimes should have differing penalties, or when sentences vary from courtroom to courtroom? The Supreme Court wrestled with these questions Tuesday in a pair of drug cases that included one dealing with a law that calls for tougher punishment for possession and distribution of crack cocaine than the powdered variety. The crack-powder disparity also has a strong racial dimension because the vast majority of crack offenders are black. Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including (click on names for contact information):

Robert McNamara - Assistant Professor of Sociology, Furman University - McNamara's research focuses on crime prevention, policing, drug use and prostitution. He is the author of Beating the Odds: Crime, Poverty, and Life in the Inner City, an autobiographical account of growing up in New Haven, CT.

James O'Kane - Professor of Sociology, Drew University - O'Kane focuses on issues of crime, ethnicity and urban studies. He is an expert on patterns of urban crime, especially murder. His book, The Crooked Ladder, deals with gangsters, ethnicity and the American Dream.

Lief Carter - McHugh Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Colorado College - Carter's areas of expertise include constitutional law, legal theory, courts and politics, administrative law and politics, contemporary Supreme Court, and religion and law. He is the author of five books, including Contemporary Constitutional Lawmaking: The Supreme Court and the Art of Politics and The Limits of Order.

News Sources: 'Jena 6' Conviction Overturned

A state appeals court in Louisiana tossed out the conviction against one of six African-American teenagers charged in an attack on a white student. The case brought widespread criticism that blacks were being treated more harshly than whites, after racial confrontations and fights at their school. Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including (click on names for contact information):

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum - President, Spelman College - Tatum is a nationally recognized race relations expert, and the author of Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race.

Sarah Willie - Associate Professor, Swarthmore College - Willie is the author of the 2003 book Acting Black and an expert on social inequality in the U.S. She is Associate Provost and past chair of Swarthmore’s Black Studies Program. She teaches courses on social theory, sociology through literature, and racial dynamics in the U.S.

Alan W. McEvoy - Professor of Sociology, Wittenberg University - An authority on violence and victimization, Wittenberg has authored several books, appeared on national television and lectured extensively to educators and human service workers. He is Senior Editor of the School Intervention Report and president of the Safe Schools Coalition. The National Gang Crime Research Center has presented its highest award to him.