Zach Marks is a junior at Yale University where he is majoring in Ethics, Politics, and Economics with an Urban Studies concentration. This summer, he interned at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Zach writes a food column for the Yale Daily News which has been covered in The New York Times and on National Public Radio's Here & Now.

He serves as education policy director at The Roosevelt Institution, the nation’s first student think-tank, coordinating the efforts of students at about 50 colleges and universities to conduct policy research and draft policy proposals focusing on college accessibility. He also works in Yale's Office of Undergraduate Admissions where he administers the Student Ambassador program which reaches out to low-income high school students to help them navigate the admissions process.

This past year, Zach served as secretary of the Yale College Council, Yale’s student government, where he worked on issues ranging from University financial aid reform to economic development in New Haven.

Zach enjoys competing in triathlons, cooking and sampling ethnic cuisines and exploring cities by foot.

Blog Entries by Zach Marks

What I Saw in New Hampshire 37 Days Before the Primary

Posted December 3, 2007 | 10:17 PM (EST)


If you were a college student, what would you be doing at 6:30 a.m. on a cold Saturday morning after a night of responsible rowdiness? Exactly. Driving to New Hampshire to spend the day going door-to-door for Barack Obama in 15-degree weather.

About 15 students and I trekked from...

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Hey Science, Don't Mess with Texas

Posted December 1, 2007 | 02:51 PM (EST)


It can't be a good thing when a state fires its head of science education for promoting science education. But that's what happened when the Texas Education Agency put its science curriculum director Chris Comer on administrative leave in late October, leading to what she calls a forced resignation.

...
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Better Late Than Never: Congress Addresses the College Affordability Crisis

Posted November 17, 2007 | 06:47 PM (EST)


These are exciting times for America's students. After years of neglecting the college (un)affordability crisis, Congress is making the issue a priority.

The House Education and Labor Committee unanimously backed a five-year reauthorization of the Higher Education Act Thursday when it approved the College Opportunity and Affordability Act (

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Reform FAFSA: Getting Money to the Students Who Need It

Posted October 29, 2007 | 07:37 PM (EST)


Congress took a step in the right direction towards making college more affordable for low- and middle-income students last month when it passed legislation boosting financial aid and reducing debt burden. But despite this effort, the federal system of student financial aid remains largely broken. Students are often...

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No Child Left Behind: Hands-On Where It Should Be Hands-Off and Vice Versa

Posted October 13, 2007 | 08:46 PM (EST)


As Bush prods Congress to reauthorize No Child Left Behind he has rightfully taken a tremendous amount of heat for his seemingly well-intentioned but poorly-executed education law. As NCLB has given the federal government a larger role in education than it has ever had before, stakeholders including state and...

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Do Republicans Care About Students? Nope, and Students Don't Care About Them

Posted September 21, 2007 | 01:29 PM (EST)


On the front of today's Yale Daily News was an article announcing the formation of a group of students supporting Rudy Giuliani's presidential bid. As a member of Yale for Obama, I was a bit pissed at first about what I saw as unfair publicity. Then I remembered...

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Tasering Students: A Shocking Disgrace

Posted September 19, 2007 | 11:27 AM (EST)


At work in the Yale Admissions Office today, I spoke with a prospective student about some of my favorite parts of college life. "Every week it seems there's another prominent figure or great mind speaking on campus," I said, recalling one week last year when I had a chance to...

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Liberals Want Military Rule of U.S. and Conservatives Hate Democracy

Posted August 30, 2007 | 03:47 PM (EST)


I can't believe you, Arianna Huffington. How dare you con me into blogging for your crazy militaristic propaganda-producing website?

Wait, what? The Huffington Post isn't a crazy militaristic propaganda-producing website? Well, you could've fooled Mark Steyn, everyone's favorite right-wing Canadian columnist. In a recent post over at The National...

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The MTV/MySpace Debates: A New Participatory Democracy or Just More Sound Bites?

Posted August 23, 2007 | 06:02 PM (EST)


Today MySpace and MTV announced the details of the presidential candidate forums they will hold this fall. Hosted on college campuses across the country, broadcast on MTV and streamed live on MySpace, the forums seek to foster "candid, unfiltered" discussions between young voters and the major Republican...

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Give Them Uzis and Watch the Crime Drop

Posted August 22, 2007 | 06:00 PM (EST)


I like to approach the blogosphere the way I do a dinner party. I start off by sampling the daily offerings from lighter sites like Deadspin and Gawker as if they were hors d'oeuvres. Once I've whet my appetite with bits of sports news and yuppie gossip, I...

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Rise Up Against the Rankings

Posted August 17, 2007 | 04:47 PM (EST)


Helicopter parents and overanxious high schoolers around the country are rushing to pick up U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges" issue, which hit newsstands today. This is great news for the magazine's publishers, who reap ridiculous profits from the admissions frenzy they help fuel every year....

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For Your Own Sake, Think of the Children!

Posted August 15, 2007 | 12:35 PM (EST)


Students like me have been crying for years that they don't have a voice in politics. I tried changing that this summer by blogging at Campus Progress, but most of my readers were other students who, like me, had been crying for years that they don't have a...

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