Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Meeting

When Democracy Wasn’t Meant for You – Engaging Students in the Margins

Presenter(s)

David Blount, Purvi Patel, Lindsay Gassman, Theresa Kuou

In building for student CLDE, we must consider how our work ensures all people can fully actualize their role as citizens in our democracy. This is especially important given the historical legacy of oppression across different identities, resulting in persistent barriers to civic participation for minoritized and marginalized populations. Facilitated by students and staff from multiple institutions, participants will discuss how oppression continues to manifest, uplift change management cases, and develop strategies for more equitable CLDE on our campuses.

Shaping Dialogues to Generate Ideas and Support for Strengthening Campus Democratic Engagement

Presenter(s)

Lori Britt, Abe Goldberg, Steven Koether, Barb Pickering, Larissa Churchill, Jennifer Boehm

Participants will learn to plan, design, and facilitate dialogues that encourage their campuses to think about their “civic climate” and collaboratively identify ways to continue to prioritize and integrate the work of preparing students to be informed and engaged citizens. Workshop leaders have been conducting dialogues on civic climate at their own campuses over the past two years and will offer insights on the challenges and strategies to overcome them. A dialogue planning template and resources will be shared.

Student Perspectives on Civic Engagement Leadership at Salt Lake Community College

Presenter(s)

Samantha Collins, Samantha Paredas, Aimee Tanner, Josh Salas, Jazmin Meza de la Cruz, Talon Garner

Community college students leaders face unique challenges balancing work, family, health, and academic responsibilities with their important role in advancing civic engagement efforts on campus and in the community. In this session, students from the SLCC Student Leaders in Civic Engagement (SLiCE) program will share their experience in an intensive civic engagement student leadership program and provide recommendations for community colleges developing similar programming.

Sponsored Session

Laboratories of Democracy: Does Campus Involvement Foster Student Political Efficacy?

Presenter(s)

Adam Gismondi

Scholars have examined the learning outcomes of co-curricular involvement (Astin, 1993; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991), but much remains unexplored in terms of the civic and political outcomes of student co-curricular engagement. This session will discuss findings from our recently completed study that asks: To what extent, and in what ways, does college student involvement in student organizations contribute to students' sense of political efficacy, or their “perceptions of powerfulness (or powerlessness) in the political realm” (Morrell, 2003)?

Civic Engagement and Social Justice: A Pragmatic Application to the 21st Century Community College Classroom

Presenter(s)

Dawn Herd-Clark, Monique Mavour, Kristopher Merceron

Civic engagement and social justice are topics that maintain the ability to impact individuals' personally, professionally, and academically. This presentation outlines the importance of having discussions centered on equality, integrity and community involvement in two-year institutional classrooms, and examines strategies to incorporate these concepts across history, business, and communication courses. The goal of this presentation is to highlight the connections between course material and the students' civic responsibilities.

Democratic Deliberation: Free Speech and the Inclusive Campus

Presenter(s)

Kara Lindaman, John Dedrick, William Muse, Kara Dillard

In partnership with the National Constitutional Center and the Kettering Foundation, new materials for democratic deliberation are introduced to engage campus communities in Constitution Day. Building from the NASPA issue guide, "Free Speech and the Inclusive Campus" and the NIFI issue guide, "A House Divided," presenters share how these are built into the campus learning on the U.S. Constitution for an intentional educational effort with secondary teachers and in higher education.

Sponsored Session

Privilege Discrimination and the Student Experience: Day in the Life of Poverty

Presenter(s)

Jessica Perrone

The WSU Center for Civic Engagement has developed a model adapted from other poverty simulations to create a refined, yet highly impactful experience. By addressing issues of public concern, the poverty simulation encourages public dialogue, civil discourse, and is a creative method of sparking an interest in lifelong civic action and a thriving democracy. Participants will receive a Poverty Simulation Toolkit that can be modified and implemented to meet the needs of their groups, students, or communities.

EAT Initiative: Addressing Food Insecurity Among College Students

Presenter(s)

Bekah Selby, Rob Catlett

Food insecurity among college students is a growing concern for universities and colleges nationwide. In order to create an environment conducive to democratic engagement, Emporia State University created the Emporia at the Table (EAT) initiative to bring Student and Academic Affairs together to combat food insecurity through community action, research, and teaching. Merging art, econonomics, graphic-design, poetry, sociology, and others, the project features successes and lessons learned in the implementation of EAT on our campus.

Creating Opportunities for Civic Engagement at Three Community Colleges

Presenter(s)

Mary Tosch, Charlotte Quigley, Samantha Collins

In this session, three community colleges will provide an overview of each institution's opportunities offered for students to be civically engaged as connected to each college's mission, goals, pedagogy, and strategic plans. By discussing foundations including program origins, growth, partnerships, and outcomes, the presenters will outline highlights, lessons learned, opportunities for growth, and next steps.

Digital Tools as a Facilitator for Civic Dialogue

Presenter(s)

Lindsay Gassman, David Blount

This interactive workshop will explore how different digital tools can be utilized to facilitate civic dialogue. In order to maximize learning, we will focus primarily on using Poll Everywhere for this purpose, but we will also introduce social media tools as well as QR codes and other multimedia forms. By the end of the program, participants will be familiar with a variety of digital tools and how they can be applied to spark civic dialogue with both students and alumni.

Civic Life is Everywhere: Applying the CLDE Theory of Change

Presenter(s)

Romy Hubler, David Hoffman

The CLDE Theory of Change asserts that civic life is everywhere (not just in the voting booth or at a community service site), and calls for pedagogies in which learners are co-creators of knowledge and partners in envisioning and developing learning environments. This interactive session will explore what such pedagogies look like in practice, highlighting innovative approaches to service, voter engagement, and activism the facilitators have developed and implemented at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

Embracing the Gap: The Role of Faculty in Civic Learning & Community Engagement

Presnter(s)

Morgan Lewing, George Mehaffy

The concept of “bridging the gap” between academic and student efforts has become fairly ubiquitous in the field of civic learning and community engagement. However, while the roles of both parties are essential to effectively promoting CLDE, they are also quite different. The purpose of this presentation is to explore the nuances that are specific to faculty members (i.e., responsibilities, opportunities, expectations, prior experiences, and reward systems) in order to more effectively engage students, colleagues, and communities.

An Equity Lens on Voting: Espousing an Intersectional Perspective for Voter Parity

Presenter(s)

Kathryn Quintin, Carmen Linero-Lopez, Christina Sanders, Jessica Davis, Julie Wu

When planning a civic engagement plan, there are often blind spots that organizers face that can hurt the outreach of underrepresented communities and students of color. Campus leaders must approach civic engagement efforts addressing the nuances and unique experiences of their student body while prioritizing those who historically have been disenfranchised. In this workshop, attendees will participate in a scenario activity that will have them critically analyze how does their voter engagement plan strives for inclusion, equity, and justice.

A Break from the Code: Utilizing Civic Reflection in New Student Orientation

Presenter(s)

Michael Webber

This session highlights a collaboration at Salisbury University to promote civic ethos through a new student orientation program. Called civic reflection, the strategy engages nearly 1,400 incoming students in conversations facilitated by 150 matriculated students and faculty/staff. Participants will experience a civic reflection, in which groups of people think and talk together about the beliefs that underlie our civic engagement. Brainstorm implementation methods for your campus. Learn about the program's successes through two years of data.

Going beyond National Voter Registration Day towards Comprehensive Democratic Action Planning

Presenter(s)

Amy Koeckes, Kathryn Quintin, Connie Jorgensen

There is a growing community of colleges and universities participating in events like National Voter Registration Day (NVRD). However, planning for NVRD is not enough for comprehensive democratic engagement on campus. Our workshop will explore strategies that use NVRD as a springboard to expand civic engagement activities on campus to create sustainable, long-term, and year-round democratic action plans. This includes stories from campuses that have used NVRD to implement this vision.

Kings, Queens, & In-Betweens: Using film as a conversation-starter for community engagement

Presenter(s)

Gabrielle Burton, Jennifer Burton

In this Think Tank discussion, we will explore how we use the art of film to start community conversations and engagement on the complex subject of gender, performance, and identity. Using a documentary about drag performers in Ohio, we work with colleges and community organizations to create space for open discussions about gender stereotypes, how we might think beyond binary categorizing and assumptions, address practical applications (e.g. medical treatment), and build stronger community by embracing the real-world complexity around us.

Navigating state election codes: Overcoming legal barriers to foster democratically-engaged campuses

Presenter(s)

Marissa Corrente, Kassie Phebillo, Steven Adelson, Mike Burns

It can be challenging for campuses to navigate nuanced election laws as they develop and then implement a voter engagement plan for their institution. However, both at the individual level and at the larger coalition level, there are promising practices colleges and universities can institute to follow these laws while still fostering an ethos of voting across campus. Join facilitators for an engaging workshop and leave with actionable steps to take back to your campus community.

Campus Engagement at a Time of National Polarization

Presenter(s)

William Froehlich, Grande Lum, Robert Solomon

Student and university leaders have expressed concern about the ways in which the polarized political climate at the national level may be reflected in volatile conflict on campuses. The Divided Community Project (go.osu.edu/dcp) has collated ideas which convey that cumulative experience of campuses addressing community divisoin and its unerlying causes. This session will share lessons learned from campus communities accorss the country.

May I see your (student) ID?

Presenter(s)

Amanda Hanson

Over the past decade or so, voter ID laws have grown in popularity across the country as states have considered, voted on, or implemented them. The implementation voter ID laws creates a fascinating intersection of higher education law, social justice and inclusion, and organizational politics unlike any other, leading to a larger question for community & civic engagement professionals of “how can we continue to advocate on the behalf of students affected by a voter ID law while remaining non-partisan?

Higher Education Policy Update: Federal & State Priorities in 2020

Presenter(s)

Teri Hinds, Thomas Harnisch

Many of the issues occupying the minds of public policymakers around the country are directly related to the day to day work of higher education professionals. This session will provide a broad overview of the current federal and state policy landscape related to higher education. It is expected that the session will cover financial aid, costs, and student debt; sexual assault prevention and response; equity and inclusion for trans students, immigrants, and veterans; guns on campus; and campus free speech.

Creating a Political Engagement Coalition on Your Campus

Presenter(s)

Leah Murray, Teresa Martinez

Weber State University evolved its political engagement efforts from a faculty project to a fully institutionalized initiative on campus. The University has a five-student leadership team involved with the American Democracy Project. We also have a 30+ person Political Engagement Coalition, which includes faculty, staff, community members, and students, that reports to the Chief Diversity Officer. Join us to learn how Weber State University has used this coalition to make forward progress toward a campus culture that values political engagement.

Impacting the Campus Community with Equity Peer Leaders

Presenter(s)

Elizabeth Parmelee, Amber Mozet

What can we learn from students who have spent a year engaging their campus in conversations about equity, identity and inclusion? Come and find out! MSU Denver's Equity Peer Leaders will share their insights into leadership and courage, how they have learned to lead productive conversations across difference and create a more socially just campus for themselves and their peers.

Sponsored Session

Faculty Attitudes Toward Voter Engagement Efforts in Their Classrooms

Presenter(s)

Jacob Wilson, Rachael Houston, Michelle Black

Research finds a positive relationship between the extent to which students perceive climates that promote active citizenship and students' acquisition of civic skills and commitment. Findings show that students perceive faculty members as advocates for communicating the expectation of involved citizenship. However, it is unclear how active faculty are in talking to their students about opportunities to engage in elections. To fill this gap, we will share results from a nationally representative, multidisciplinary survey of faculty at 2- and 4-year campuses.

Shaping Long-Term Sustainability of Democratic Commitments on Campus: Lessons Learned and Opportunities Realized on IDHE-ADP Political Learning and Democratic Engagement Project Partner Campuses

2020 Vision: Teaching Students to See Clearly in the Post-Truth Fog

Sponsored Session