by Tom Parisi
NIU Communication Professor David Gunkel and his wife, Columbia College Chicago Professor Ann Hetzel Gunkel, easily could be described as an academic power couple.
They both hold Ph.D.s in philosophy and are award-winning scholars who have lectured and studied in places across the globe. Both are experts in computer technology and communication. And both have been sought out for their expertise by the news media.
As of late, though, they’ve found their star power eclipsed by that of their 7-year-old son.
Just days before the Nov. 4 election, Stanislaw “Stas” Gunkel, a budding political blogger and second-grader at Beaubien Elementary School in Chicago, received a thank-you letter from now President-elect Barack Obama.
“Dear Stas,” Obama writes. “Thank you for your kind words and for your support. I am impressed with your interest in politics, especially at your young age ... Seeing young people like you who care about making things better inspires me and gives me great hope about the future of our country and our world.”
Last week, Stas was busy doing interviews with the likes of the Chicago Sun-Times, ABC7 and NBC5.
“When Stas started blogging, we never anticipated that it would lead to this kind of attention. We simply thought it was a good way to encourage his writing,” David Gunkel says. “But now his blog has more hits and national attention than anything either my wife or I have published.”