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“Bryce prepared for his work with extensive readings and discussions with me last term,” says Prof. Jim Lennertz about Murray, a junior from Washington, N.J. A double-major in geology and government & law, he is a graduate of Hackettstown High School. “This term he has begun to assemble and assess the experiences of jurisdictions in each state with respect to political processes and legal challenges to congressional, state, and local districting.”
Bryce Murray is investigating how lawmakers can draw U.S. Congressional, state and local district lines to take power from one voting group and give it to another.
Murray is participating in Lafayette’s EXCEL Scholars program, in which students collaborate closely with faculty members on research projects. He is working with James E. Lennertz, associate professor of government and law. Their project, called “‘In Dixieland, We’ll Take Our Stand:’ Judicial Review of Racial Gerrymandering, North and South,” examines court cases filed over redistricting.
“Gerrymandering” refers to the rearrangement of lines and boundaries of voting districts to favor the party in power or the creation of voting districts to favor the election of a candidate from a specific racial or ethnic group. The term originated when Elbridge Gerry was governor of Massachusetts in the early 1800s.
“Gerrymandering infringes on people’s rights. It’s something a lot of people don’t realize is going on,” Murray says. “Most people don’t realize where their Congressional district line is. This project has made me a lot more aware.”
“Bryce demonstrates a superior capacity to understand and apply sophisticated legal, philosophical, social-scientific, and technological ideas,” says Lennertz, whose teaching areas and research interests include constitutional law, civil rights and liberties, U.S. politics, and environmental law and politics. “His written and oral work is always clear and effective. Moreover, his contributions to class discussions are thoughtful, articulate, and concise. Bryce is unusually mature, conscientious and industrious. He is also very sensitive to ethical and social issues.”
Murray is researching U.S. Supreme Court and lower court cases involving allegations of gerrymandering.
“He prepared for his work with extensive readings and discussions with me last term,” Lennertz says. “This term he has begun to assemble and assess the experiences of jurisdictions in each state with respect to political processes and legal challenges to congressional, state, and local districting. His assistance has been conscientious and insightful. It will be quite valuable to me.”
Murray says he is reviewing cases in each state. He says the research is interesting because he doesn’t know what he’ll find.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Murray says. “It’s a giant puzzle how to find all the information. I’m a big Supreme Court buff too.”
Murray is also doing an independent study on Justice William Rehnquist, and has applied for an internship with the Supreme Court this summer. He plans to do a senior thesis on the Supreme Court to earn departmental honors in government and law.
Another Side of Bryce
He is a member of the McKelvy House Scholars Program, in which about 20 students of high academic achievement and promise reside together in a historic off-campus house and participate in shared intellectual and social activities. The president of the Kirby Government and Law Society, he’s trying to launch a Lafayette journal of political studies, in which students from around the country can publish their papers.