St. Lawrence in the News-August 15, 2022
This regular roundup features a selection of recent mentions of St. Lawrence University and its students, faculty, and staff in regional, national, and international media outlets.
Michael Wairungu
Insights into presidential elections in Kenya provided by Assistant Director of Student Life and Academic Instruction for the Kenya Semester Program Michael Wairungu during a recent Brookings Institution webinar were featured in an article published by OliviumResearch.com on August 8.
"Much of what we are experiencing in these elections have that colonial baggage. We are using terms which are problematic, like tribe [and] ethnicity. All those are creations by the westerners and missionaries that came before independence."
Wairungu holds a Ph.D. in Linguistic Anthropology from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the KSP, he was an Assistant Professor of Swahili at Northwestern University, Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of the South, and a Fulbright FLTA at Stanford University. Michael has worked as a curriculum designer and specialist in Swahili at the Diplomatic Language Services in the United States.
Jordan Steinmetz '23
Saints men’s ice hockey forward Jordan Steinmetz '23 took to the baseball field this summer as an outfielder for the Chippewa River Baseball League. Following a stellar performance, he earned the league's Most Valuable Player award and was featured in an article published by Chippewa.com on August 8.
Steinmetz is a member of St. Lawrence’s Class of 2023 and is majoring in economics.
Chris Downs ’26 and Daniel Mahoney ’27
As the newest additions to the growing roster of siblings playing varsity athletics at St. Lawrence, and with their fathers at the helm as coaches, Chris Downs ’26 and Daniel Mahoney ’27 shared how it feels to join the respective Saints men’s basketball and lacrosse teams in an article published by NNY360.com on August 8.
“Growing up watching all the games I remember the years SLU had a lot of success and I’ve always wanted to be a part of,” said Downs. “I remember riding the bus with the team when I was younger, taking trips to road games. I always liked how close the guys on the team were and always thought how fun it’d be to play on a team like that.”
“I’ve seen first-hand the sacrifice that so many people have put into this program, and I think that just adds to the motivation to do everything I can to help the team win,” said Mahoney.
Downs is a member of St. Lawrence’s Class of 2026.
Mahoney will return to Choate Rosemary Hall for a second year of preparatory school before attending St. Lawrence next year.
Howard Eissenstat
Associate Professor of History Howard Eissenstat shared insights into Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s meeting in Sochi, Russia in an article published by ForeignPolicy.com on August 5.
“Erdogan really wants to get his ducks in a row so he can launch a further operation in northern Syria, and he really needs to make sure that there’s no risk of Russia intervening in direct opposition to Turkish forces.”
Eissenstat's recent work has focused increasingly on contemporary Turkish domestic and foreign policy, especially on issues of rule-of-law, minority rights, and the reshaping of political culture under the Justice and Development Party (AKP). At St. Lawrence, he teaches courses on Middle Eastern history and politics and in the First-Year Seminar (FYS). In addition to traditional academic work, Eissenstat served for over a decade as a Turkey Country Specialist for Amnesty International-USA. He has lectured at the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. military, and the Canadian Foreign Service Institute, as well as given testimony to the Canadian Senate and offered briefings to Congressional Committees.
Abby Hustler ’25
Abby Hustler ’25, a member of Saints women’s ice hockey, shared how St. Lawrence coaches prepared her to compete in Canada’s national women’s program selection camp in an article published by SaltWire.com on August 5.
“The coaches gave me lots of opportunities to succeed, and throughout the year I made big growths. I think also helped me be selected for this camp. I saw lots of improvement and lots of learning curves.”
Hustler is a member of St. Lawrence’s Class of 2025 from St. Louis, Prince Edward Island.
Tahonwentsiawakon Pyke ’22
Tahonwentsiawakon Pyke ’22 shared his experience as a Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Compliance and Food Distribution summer intern in an article published by CornwallSeawayNews.com on August 4.
Tahonwentsiawakon Pyke is a member of St. Lawrence’s Class of 2022 and is double majoring in government and history.
Joseph Jockel
Insights provided by Professor of Canadian Studies Joseph Jockel ’74 about the U.S. ballistic missile defense system were featured in an op-ed published by SaltWire.com on August 2.
Jockel is the author and co-author of several books and several articles on Canadian defense policy and Canada-U.S. relations. He has served on exchange at the Canada desk of the U.S. Department of State as acting secretary of the Canada-U.S. Permanent Joint Board on Defense and as a fellow at several academic and research organizations. Jockel is the former president of the Association of Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS) and former director of the Canada Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
Tina Luchetta ’22
On the cusp of the Kenyan presidential election, Tina Luchetta ’22 explored the political history of Africa in a co-authored opinion piece with Michael O'Hanlon, a fellow Africa Security Initiative scholar, published by NationalInterest.org on August 2.
“With luck, this important event in one of Africa’s half dozen most pivotal countries could give a boost to the overall democratic trajectory of the continent—and provide the world what would be a rare dose of good news these days.”
Tina Luchetta '22 is a scholar at the Africa Security Initiative, a program administered by St. Lawrence University and the Brookings Institution. She majored in history at St. Lawrence.
Jeff Frank
Associate Professor of Education Jeff Frank used his expertise to offer steps colleges can take, in addition to hiring more counselors, to create a holistic response to the mental health crisis in an op-ed published by the HechingerReport.org on August 1.
Frank has taught a First-Year Seminar (FYS) titled What Does it Mean to be Educated and courses such as Contemporary Educational Policy, Teaching and Teachers, and American Philosophies of Education. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and education from Columbia University and a B.A. in philosophy from Middlebury College.
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St. Lawrence in the News is a roundup that features a selection of recent mentions of St. Lawrence University and its students, faculty, and staff in regional, national, and international media outlets. Submit media mentions for potential inclusion in an upcoming edition of St. Lawrence in the News.
