On Wednesday, November 5th, Professor Robert Lipkin and Professor Richard Cooper, a Sociology Professor at Widener’s Chester Campus, spoke about the results of the election at Election Aftermath 2008, an event sponsored by the Widener Journal of Law, Economics, and Race.Robert Hawkins, Jr. ‘08, one of the founders of the Widener Journal of Law, Economics, and Race, opened the program with a brief introduction before turning the podium over to Professor Nathaniel Nichols, who introduced the two panelists. Each panelist offered his perspective on the election victory of Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Professor Lipkin spoke first, calling Obama a ‘radical’, before further explaining, “Obama’s radicalism is strictly American. It resides in his commitment to civic virtue and to fashioning an inclusive deliberative dialogue or conversation between and among the citizenry of the United States and between and among the citizens and their governmental representatives.”Professor Cooper emphasized that as a President, Obama would not be able to give each and every constituency what they wanted. “We must engage in a dialogue with each other, and we must be prepared to lose,” he added, suggesting that the change would come from even being able to have that dialogue. After Professor Cooper spoke, the discussion was opened to audience participation, sparking an interesting back and forth dialogue that touched on race relations, the idea of post-partisan politics, and how the Jeremiah Wright controversy reflected differences in how whites and blacks worship, with Professor Cooper calling Sunday mornings “the most divided time in America.”The Widener Journal of Law, Economics, and Race also took the opportunity to announce its Midyear Membership Competition, open to 2RD and 3ED students. All competition papers must be submitted by 7:00 pm on January 5th, 2009. For more information, visit the journal’s website.