Paul Green gives lecture at Schaumburg campus

On Thursday, Professor Paul Green gave a lecture in the Alumni Hall at the Schaumburg Campus. The lecture involved ideas on the structure of the presidential race, as well as important points and opinions in regard to the election.

Green is a renowned political expert. He is the chair of the university’s Political Science Department, director of Roosevelt’s Institute for Politics, a contributing political analyst who frequents WGN radio, the author of many books, and a guest columnist for Crain’s Chicago Business. With such knowledge and prestige in the field, he easily filled the seats at his lecture.

The crowd was mainly older, with hardly any students to be seen.

Green’s lecture consisted of many points, but the most significant seemed to be the importance of the Electoral College.

“The Electoral College chooses the president...You gotta get to 270. If each candidate gets 269, it would be a controversial crisis,” said Green of the necessity of obtaining half the electoral votes. “Democrats want to win the ‘H,’ while Republicans want to win the ‘L,’” said Green, referring to each party winning designated states on the map.

Green had a lot of criticism for the system, especially in the recent debates.

“It’s about zingers and which moderator is more dumb…it’s a content debate,” said Green.

He also stressed the unsure nature of many voters. “A lot of people are just disconnected,” said Green, “People who are undecided are uninformed.”

While many ideas were presented in the lecture, Green ended with a declaration of admiration for the candidates.

“I have tremendous respect for people who run for office,” said Green. “People need to stop calling them crooked, or evil. They’re both great guys. We have to get away from this.”

The crowd laughed and agreed throughout the lecture, and even had a chance to ask questions at the end. Student Gerardo Ramirez said, “It was great. He is really entertaining, and his ideas are great.”

“He’s always great. I’ve seen him before and would again,” said community member Laraye Rodriguez.

Stephen Cohen, associate dean of Arts and Sciences, said he appreciates Green’s participation at the campus.

“Paul has done programs in Schaumburg with the community,” said Cohen. “He always teaches out here and has been a great friend to the campus.”

Cohen continued, “It was great, though I would like to have seen more students.”

Next time take an opportunity to see Green’s lecture, or perhaps hear him on WGN radio. His humor, knowledge, and charisma certainly kept the audience’s attention.