Emmy M. Cho

Five undergraduates reflect on how they understand their education to be political.

"With cities, leadership is real. It’s right on the ground; It’s literally and figuratively in your face. There’s no hiding. When you have fifteen inches of snow on the ground, you can’t make a speech and hope it goes away. If you’re at the supermarket, the barbershop, or walking down the street, people have things on their mind, and they want to talk to you. You have to listen. That’s a part of the job."

Data has long been remembered as the bastion of objectivity in a particularly political era. Staring closer at the numbers, however, it is clear that there is arguably nothing more subjective than the cold, hard facts.