In PoliSci sometimes ya gotta take the bitter with the sweet…

Most of the time it’s a joy to have notable people associated with our PoliSci Department, from politicians of all stripes to judges, attorneys, scholars, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, social activists, and clergy.  And then… there are other times when we just want to run screaming from the room and hide when we see some of our grads showing up on the news (in a bad way), Dr. Phil, Girls Gone Wild, or Jerry Springer.

We’re currently experiencing both the bitter and the sweet when it comes to people who have ties to our little ol’ PoliSci shop.  First the sweet.  Our emeritus colleague Tom Bass, who already has a park and community center named after him, was recently honored when the Greater Harris County’s 9-1-1 Board named the 9-1-1 Center after him.  Professor Bass is the “Father of 9-1-1″ in Houston and we congratulate him on this well-deserved honor.

And now the bitter.  In the interest of full disclosure we have to note that embattled Harris County Department of Education Trustee Michael Wolfe was one of our undergraduate PoliSci majors a few years ago…

Sigh. Enough said on the that one — It’s Beer 30 time!

Rocking Rooskies

Enjoy…

Top 10 cities for recent college graduates …

The good news is that Houston made the list.  The bad news is that our students only thought that they were done with roommates… heh.

From the CBCampus blog (part of Careerbuilder.com):

Graduation means a lot of different things to college seniors, but the chance to start your “real life” is usually the most attractive option. Find a job, answer to absolutely no one, become a full-fledged adult (not boring like your parents). One of the biggest factors in starting this new life is picking the right city.

Do you want a big city? To be near the water? To walk everywhere? CBCampus.com and Apartments.com crunched some numbers and compiled a list of the best cities for recent college grads. They factored in entry-level job openings, rental prices for a 1 bedroom apartment, and a plenty of fellow young 20somethings.

Here’s the top 10 list of the best cities accompanied by the monthly rent for a 1-bedroom apartment.

1. Philadelphia $962

2. Boston $1,343

3. New York $1,520

4. Phoenix $741

5. Chicago $1,029

6. Dallas-Fort Worth $755

7. Los Angeles $1,435

8. Houston $778

9. Detroit $699

10. Atlanta $773

Houston Cool: Richmond Avenue

Houstoned’s John Lomax has a fun piece on Richmond Avenue (the southern border of the University and a block or so from the PoliSci House) in the Houston Press this week.

Entitled “Sole of Houston: Richmond Avenue, Houston’s Street of Dreamz,” Lomax walks along Richmond from Mission Bend to Wheeler Avenue.  He did a similar walkabout on Westheimer back in 2006.

We’re just sorry that as he approached lower Richmond that he didn’t stop by to see us.  Consider this an open invitation, John!  We look forward to your next walkabout.  May we suggest Montrose/Studemont?

For our Democratic colleagues in PoliSci, part deux…

Can’t decide between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama?

We suggest combining the two… heh.