In the News: Professors Quoted in Articles about Zipper Merging, Brexit

On March 29, Laurie Buonanno, professor of public administration and nonprofit management, was quoted in an article by Washington, D.C.-based television station WJLA titled “6 questions about the latest failed Brexit vote and why it matters.”

In the piece, Buonanno, an expert on the European Union, is quoted extensively on how Brexit will eventually end, and why it’s been so difficult for the United Kingdom to move forward with the 2016 referendum.

“Ever since that happened in June 2016, the country has been paying for that referendum,” Buonanno said in the piece.

Buonanno also discusses why Brexit matters to the United States, and the differences between President Donald Trump and his predecessors.

“Every U.S. president prior to President Trump has favored UK membership in the EU,” Buonanno said, going on to explain there are also national security concerns to consider.

“I don’t think enough attention has been paid to the impact on our own foreign relations,” she said.

On March 30, Dwight Hennessy, professor and chair of the Psychology Department, was quoted in an article in the Minnesota Star Tribune titled “Why can’t Minnesotans figure out how to zipper merge?”

The concept of zipper merging, according to the Star Tribune, is as follows: “Drivers remain in their respective lanes until they reach the designated merge point. Then, like we learned in kindergarten, drivers are supposed to take turns falling orderly in line.”

Hennessy points out that while it’s a good idea, there are shortcomings.

“It’s a great idea in theory, but theory is not how people always drive,” he said in the piece. “Zipper works when everyone follows the rules—the system can handle the odd rule breaker—but typically when one person breaks those rules others often follow.”