Mack Mariani, visiting assistant professor of government, presented a paper he co-authored with government professor Philip Klinkner last week at the American Political Science Association Teaching and Learning Conference. Titled "The Effect of a Campaign Internship on Political Efficacy, Trust and Responsiveness," the paper examined how student participation in campaign internships affected their attitudes about political efficacy, trust in government and government responsiveness.
The variable that stood out in Mariani and Klinkner's analysis was trust in government. They found a statistically significant relationship between participation in their campaign internship course and trust in government. Students in their class appeared to gain increased respect for candidates and government in general.
