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Happy Thursday, DMC friends and supporters! We are grateful for another week of progress and persistence at our center. Today's newsletter spotlights our ongoing blog series and aspirations for the year ahead at the DMC.
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The Capitol Building Riots and Political Discourse
A message from Dr. Samuel R. Staley, Director, DeVoe L. Moore Center
Like most Americans and the world, we are still struggling to process the unprecedented violence in the nation’s capital on January 6th. Like FSU President John Thrasher, we believe violence, or even the threat of violence, has no place in our civic culture. What happened at the Capitol building does not represent what our nation is about, or aspires to be, regardless of partisan affiliation or political leaning.
Indeed, the DeVoe L. Moore Center was founded in 1998 on the opposite principle: policy change comes peacefully through compelling research and civil discourse. Our programs are designed to provide policymakers and citizens with the research and insight necessary to strengthen our economy and build up the legitimacy of our political processes.
For those of us at the center, the lessons from the storming of the Capitol building simply means we need to double down on our mission. We need to provide convincing, evidence-based research and analysis that gives our elected representatives the courage and insight they need to peacefully and sustainably adopt policies that improve the lives of all our residents.
Helping policymakers support a healthy, robust, and entrepreneurial economy is a pillar to achieving that goal.
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Staff Profile: Jimmy Mendez
The DMC is inspired by the work ethic, versatility, and intellect of intern Jimmy Mendez. Jimmy is an Economics Major and Math Minor at FSU who joined the DMC this academic school year. He sought out an assistantship with the goal to explore the correlation between government policy, free trade, and overall income distributions. Since joining the DMC, he has explored these passions and more!
Jimmy is a part of our Data Analytics Group (DAG) where he contributes to the ongoing FloridaOpenGov transparency project—but his data skills don’t end there! Jimmy is actively producing monthly data reports for our Social Impact team. These reports include metrics such as engagement rates with our audiences, follower growth, and additional metrics about our media presence and impact. With five different social media platforms, acquiring and analyzing the data is no easy feat. Jimmy’s contribution directly increased our Social Impact team's capacity for success. Our Social Impact team is able to translate Jimmy’s report into actionable media practices, which is a testament to the universality of the DMC’s commitment to evidence-based research.
Inspired by the DMC’s mission, Jimmy is also writing a blog on Florida's K-12 teaching budget and its implications for the youth and vitality of the state. His blog will likely be published at the start of the next academic year. Between writing blogs, collecting data, and constructing reports, Jimmy enjoys playing guitar, painting, & reading. He is also an active member in FSU’s Economics Club, FSU’s Hispanic Honor Society, and the Fellowship of Computational Scientists.
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The Lionfish Epidemic Blog Series (part 3 of 3)
We conclude Joshua Durham’s blog series about the threat that lionfish overpopulation poses to the endemic coastal flora and fauna in Florida. This invasive species has wreaked havoc on the waters and reefs of Florida and in this final blog Joshua makes the case for a mixed approach with both public and private resources being used to curtail their growth.
In Living with the Lionfish Problem: Awareness and Joint Operations, Joshua points to the fact that we likely will never fully rid our waters of this invasive species because it would simply not be possible to eradicate them all. Instead he argues for increased awareness and for the government and the private sector to work in unison to manage the lionfish problem. In his last blog, he detailed the ways that the private sector was using bounties and developing new trapping techniques to show how market based approaches can help address this ecological problem. He also highlights how the government’s deregulation of lionfish hunting licenses has helped to bolster the chances of getting the locals involved. He then further explains that cooperation between the local governments, researchers, hunters, and dedicated citizenry of conservationists will best serve to raise awareness and curtail the growth of this invasive species.
The DMC is proud to showcase the talents and interests of our student researchers. We are so excited to continue providing opportunities like these for our student interns as they use our resources to pursue research that interests them and gain valuable experience doing so. Check out part one of his blog here and part two here.
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Support Our Student Internship Program!
The DMC has made a name for itself through a robust and innovative internship program that now includes 30 undergraduate and graduate students in any given academic year. Our hands-on mentoring, immersive student education, applied policy research give them the tools to be successful when they graduate, whether they enter the professional workforce or go onto graduate school.
Please consider supporting this program, which is funded through private donations, by giving to the DeVoe L. Moore Center (Fund code F04824S in the drop-down memo).
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Upcoming DMC Events
All DMC affiliates are welcome to attend any and all of our upcoming events.
- Filmmaking and Public Policy Symposium: Tuesday, February 9, 2021 (Miss Virginia)
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Miss Virginia is a 2019 film that sheds light on the perspective of an impoverished single mother who launches a grassroots campaign to secure a private school voucher program in Washington.
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