On Tuesday, Oct. 24, students and faculty members gathered in the Pinnacle Room in Baldwin Hall for WUGA’s live recording of a conversation with Dr. Charles Bullock of the Department of Political Science and School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA).
Bullock is celebrating 50 years at the University of Georgia, where he has been an integral part of SPIA and has taught thousands of students.
WUGA host Martin Matheny interviewed Bullock for the event, and they covered many issues regarding the current state of affairs in national and local politics. Among these topics were the current gubernatorial race in Georgia and how the candidates’ campaign advertisements have potentially affected their campaigns.
When asked by Matheny whether or not Georgia was going to experience a "blue wave" in the upcoming election, Bullock suggested instead that the state would see a "blue ripple."
After the interview, several students got up to ask Bullock questions ranging from who he thinks will run for office in 2020 to what he thinks of recent claims that voter suppression is impacting minority voters.
When one student expressed her concern about recent allegations of voter suppression, Dr. Bullock stated that media attention around this issue will increase as people begin to speak out about having their right to vote restricted.
The event was part two of a special on WUGA with Bullock. Last week, part one featured Martin Matheny and Bullock discussing how Georgia politics has changed over the past 50 years and how Bullock’s studies led him to interpret these changes. The program recorded on Tuesday will be broadcast Friday at 1pm and again Sunday at 12noon on WUGA 91.7 and 94.5 FM.
On November 30, SPIA will be hosting a celebration of Bullock’s five decades at UGA and will be announcing the creation of an endowment fund in his honor.