Adam Fein

Student

“My high school record was dismal. But I’ve done well enough at SMC to apply to some of the finest universities in the country.”

Adam Fein is a worldly philosopher. “In studying philosophy I’m able to get bits of political sciences, history, English, Math—all of it under one umbrella,” he says. “It also fosters the critical and analytical side of myself.” As a Dale Ride intern, Adam will soon be expanding his “philosophical frame of reference” to include the inner workings of Washington, D.C.

“I hope to be working in Joseph Biden’s office for the Senate Judiciary Committee,” says Adam who plans a career in law. “We certainly have problems in this country with campaign finance and special interest groups,” he continues. “This makes it very difficult for the government to be responsive to the people.” But, ever the philosopher, Adam sees no easy solutions to the country’s problems.

“I’ve volunteered time with the ACLU and the Gay and Lesbian Community Center,” says Adam. “And at the Center, I was constantly meeting people of my age who were dying.” This experience led him to conclude that “direct democracy, without checks and balances, could all too quickly lead to a tyranny of the majority.”

Adam, who lists “reading Tolstoy and being a complete news junkie” as his favorite forms of recreation, will transfer soon after his whirlwind in D.C. “I’ve applied to Columbia, Berkeley, Brandeis and Dartmouth. But, of course, if my GPA doesn’t stay where it is,” he adds with a laugh, “some of these will go off the wish list!”

“I’m a big fan of Clarence Darrow, human rights and the Bill of Rights,” says Adam. “But amidst all those big ideas, if I can somehow touch and empower individual people along the way, that’s good enough for me.”

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