Middlebury’s life-changing, world-shaping education is possible only when students from every background are able to participate in it. Providing the financial support necessary to attract exceptional scholars from around the country and the world and to keep them here is one of Middlebury’s top priorities.
“My sister, Kirstin, is also in college, so financial aid
has really been important to my family.”
— Dane Johnson ’09
Hometown:
La Grande, Oregon
Major: political science
Mentors: Chris McGrory-Klyza, Stafford Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Environmental Studies, and Quinn Mecham, assistant professor of political science
“One of the great things about Middlebury is that I’ve had a number of mentors. I’ve taken several classes with Professor Klyza, and he’s now my thesis advisor. Professor Mecham always makes time to meet with me, even with his schedule constraints, just because he’s a good guy.”
On Political Equality, by Robert Dahl. This short book lucidly defines political equality and describes the state of political equality in America. Dahl’s prescriptions for averting increased inequality are a challenge for any proponent of democracy.
War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, by Chris Hedges. Drawing on his wartime experiences as a foreign correspondent for the New York Times, Hedges looks at how wars begin and are fought at an individual level, a departure from the standard political science literature.
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Anyone who has read this book knows why it’s a must for a student of Russian; anyone who doesn’t should find out.
Dane Johnson ’09 knows snow—not just as a Nordic ski racer, but as a political science major researching the political and environmental consequences of diminishing snow pack.
Forecast for the Northwest: Hotter, Dryer
- Mountain snowpack is the key to understanding Pacific Northwest water resources. In most of the region’s river basins—especially in Washington and Oregon—snow is a kind of natural reservoir, storing water from the winter (when most precipitation falls) and releasing it in spring and early summer, when economic, environmental, and recreational demands for water are greatest.
- In a future, warmer world, more winter precipitation will fall as rain rather than snow throughout much of the Pacific Northwest. This means less winter snow accumulation, higher winter stream flows, earlier spring snowmelt, earlier peak spring stream flow, and lower summer stream flows. In rivers that depend on snowmelt (i.e., most rivers in the region) such trends have already been observed. Substantial reductions in summer stream flow will adversely affect many water users, including farmers who rely on irrigation, resident and anadromous fish, and summertime hydropower production. These changes are likely to increase existing conflicts among these competing interests.
- Urban water supply systems that rely at least partially on storage of water in mountain snowpack will see diminished inflow to their reservoirs in late spring/early summer. This will be combined with an increased demand for water caused by higher temperatures. For some systems, these impacts will be substantial. For Portland, Oregon, for example the increased need for water due to climate change will amount to 50 percent of the increase required to meet the needs of a growing population.
—Adapted from a report by the University of Washington’s Center for Science in the Earth System
Dane’s senior thesis examines disputes on water rights in California’s Bay-Delta Region and the Klamath Basin of his native Oregon, areas dependent on snow melt for agricultural irrigation and environmental stability.
“Water rights have long been a source of friction between farmers and environmentalists,” he says, recalling reports of that friction from his high school days. “Meanwhile climate change is diminishing snow pack, and the policies that determine rights to the water derived from it pre-date those climate effects.”
Working with his thesis advisor, Chris McGrory-Klyza, Stafford Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Environmental Studies, Dane is analyzing how policy change evolves during a crisis. “Professor Klyza is a natural choice, since he knows so much about public policy formation and about environmental policy, specifically,” he says.
Dane is examining this water issue from two perspectives. He looks at it within the framework of punctuated equilibrium theory—which “views how issues shift and are reframed after a period of inactivity,” he explains—and also within the context of American political development, which “seeks policy pathways in complex layering of laws.” He feels one thing is sure: “The policies will have to change. There’s only so much water.”
When he graduates in February of 2009, Dane plans to pursue a career with international scope, possibly in the legal profession.“I’ll have loans to pay off, so I do have to factor that in,” he says.
Financial aid has allowed Dane to pursue his interest in international
political issues, most notably through a summer at Middlebury’s
Russian School and a semester abroad at the C.V. Starr-Middlebury School
in Yaroslavl, Russia. He notes that Middlebury also offers many special
lectures and seminars that give students access to international experts
on a wide range of topics. “I’ve heard so many great speakers
here—Gideon Rose, for example, the managing editor of Foreign Affairs,
which I’ve read a lot. His depth of knowledge—of economic data,
political structures—was just astounding.”
Watch Gideon Rose’s talk at Middlebury...
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