St. John’s Staten Island Campus to Host Lee Brenner of Myspace in First Event of Three College Lecture Series

September 03, 2008

St. John’s University’s Staten Island Campus will host Lee Brenner, Executive Producer of Political Programming & Director of Impact for MySpace.com, in the first in a series of three lectures hosted collaboratively by St. John’s, the College of Staten Island and Wagner College. Brenner’s lecture, “The MySpace Election 2008” will take place on Tuesday, September 23 at 7 p.m. in the Kelleher Center at St. John’s University’s Staten Island Campus.

The Three College Lecture Series, which is supported by a grant from the Staten Island Foundation, will address key issues that are unique to the 2008 Presidential Election. Time Warner Cable has produced commercials promoting the series, which can be seen locally and on CNN and MSNBC leading up to each event.

Brenner will discuss internet campaigning and the impact it has had and continues to have on the election process. His Impact Channel on MySpace.com has served as a hub for campaign information and includes blogs, polls, voter registration, links to candidates’ websites and updated news on key issues involving the politicians and the 2008 Presidential election. Brenner also spearheaded the partnership between MySpace.com and MTV which resulted in the ground-breaking series of MySpace/MTV Presidential Dialogues. 

Brenner’s lecture is also part of St. John’s University’s new “Participate in ’08” initiative, a collaborative effort between student organizations, Student Government, faculty, staff and University administrators designed to encourage non-partisan voter registration and increase civic education and engagement in anticipation of the 2008 Presidential Election in November. The St. John’s University College Democrats and St. John’s University College Republicans will sponsor and post events including academic lectures, guest speakers and University-sponsored programs on the “Participate in ‘08” web page to give young voters everywhere a sounding board in hopes that more and more old and new voters will “Participate in ’08” during the general election process.

The College of Staten Island will host Michael Waldman, Executive Director of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and former Speechwriter for President Bill Clinton; and William Kristol, Editor of The Weekly Standard and political analyst and commentator for the FOX News Channel, in a debate about the leadership differences between the Presidential candidates. This second event in the Three College Lecture Series, titled: “The 2008 Presidential Election and the Future of the Nation,” will be held at the Center for the Arts, Concert Hall on Tuesday, October 28 at 7 p.m.

The final lecture: “The Meaning of the 2008 Presidential Election” will take place at Wagner College’s Spiro Center on Monday, November 17 at 7 p.m.  Political Scientists from Wagner, St. John’s and College of Staten Island will analyze the results of the Presidential Election and discuss the agenda of the President-Elect.   

Visit Participate in ’08 for additional details and a listing of all events. 

Note: The views expressed on the pages of the Participate in ‘08 web site DO NOT reflect, in any way, the opinions of St. John’s University, its administrators, faculty and staff. The University is non-partisan and does not support any political party affiliation.