Evan Lieber (senior) was elected to the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council (ERNC) Sep. 2. According to Lieber, the ERNC is an advisory group meant to advocate Eagle Rock interests at LA City Hall. He said the group has been looking for a student from Occidental to represent the college community, which makes up a significant part of the neighborhood. Lieber said that on the ERNC, he joined the newly formed outreach committee, which aims to improve communication with constituents and increase community engagement.
According to Lieber, growing up in a politically involved family sparked his interest in politics.
“We always watched the news,” Lieber said. “It was always really something that interested me, especially because I’m an optimist and I really hope that politics is the way that we can have change in this country.”
Lieber said that this familial influence followed him to Occidental, where he met his mentor, Professor Isaac Hale of the politics department.
“He comes in with an incredible amount of enthusiasm and already existing wealth of knowledge about the world,” Hale said. “[It’s] wonderful to see him take the concepts that we go over in class, apply them to his own research and really use those tools that he’s learning in class to go out there and engage with the world of politics in a really systematic and informed manner.”
Hale said Lieber has made full use of the opportunities that Occidental’s politics department provides, from research to internships. According to Lieber, during the Fall 2024 Campaign Semester, he worked on a congressional campaign for the New York State Democratic Party as a deputy field organizer in the 17th Congressional District. Lieber said that despite his candidate losing the race to an extremely well-funded opponent, the experience taught him about the reality of the world of politics.
“[I’m] trying to be an optimist, but money is so important in these big campaigns,” Lieber said. “In the small campaigns, it’s a lot about time and really showing your face and going to things.”
Lieber said that he wants to see change and believes it can happen, starting with showing up for the communities that he is part of.
“I believe that local politics really has such a huge impact on our lives and probably more so than national politics, which kind of gets all the glory,” said Lieber.
According to Lieber, his introduction to local politics came through managing a campaign for his father, who ran for Village Board in his hometown of Wilmette, Illinois, in April 2025. According to Lieber, he contributed to the campaign by applying lessons learned from his time at Occidental to conduct voter mobilization, but credits the win to his father’s clear dedication to the community. After watching his father show up consistently to meet with village leadership and get involved with the community, Lieber said he knows his father deserved the role.
Lieber said the emphasis on building a community through outreach inspired him to apply for his current position on the ERNC.
“I’d like to make a difference,” said Lieber. “That means talking with people on campus and off campus in the surrounding area.”
According to Samuel Berger (senior), he and Lieber have co-authored a research paper together after sharing many classes, mainly in the politics department. Berger said he can confidently attest to Lieber’s desire to make change.
“He’s trying to do good,” said Berger. “Whatever his ideas are will be malleable to the community.”
To represent Eagle Rock’s diverse community, Lieber said he needs to keep an open mind. According to Berger, Lieber intends to learn what constituents need and do his best to advocate for them.
“At Oxy, you can be in a bubble where it’s kind of difficult to understand what is going on in Eagle Rock,” said Berger. “So I think it is very good that he understands that he needs to leave our bubble and go out into the community to understand how he can be helpful there.”
Lieber said while he offers a valuable perspective as a student and experienced politics major, he recognizes that he must listen if he truly wants to bridge that gap and make a difference.
“I don’t have any issues in mind that I specifically want to focus on,” said Lieber. “But I think that that’s one of the reasons why I want to go to surrounding businesses and hear from community members to see what issues are really important to them.”
Lieber said he is embracing the uncertainty of fighting for a better America with belief in the possibility of that nation’s existence, starting with the place he has called home for the last four years.
“I think we have a lot more in common with our fellow men than we have against them,” said Lieber. “Although I am not technically a resident of this community, I do live here and I do want the best for this community that I’ve chosen to live in for my four years of college.”
Contact Naisha John at njohn@oxy.edu
