The last Conversation on Community Engaged Scholarship of the year was an informative one!
Zoom Recording of this event available on the Nashman Center's YouTube channel.
This Conversation was in partnership with GW Votes, a nonpartisan coalition hosted in the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service that promotes voter registration, education, and participation on GW’s campus and beyond. You are most welcome to join their effort - link here for the interest form.
Panelists
Dr. Nancy Thomas, Founder of the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE) and Senior Advisor to the President for Democracy Initiatives and Executive Director of IDHE at AAC&U
Prof. Peter Loge, Director and Associate Professor, School of Media and Public Affairs, and the Director of the Project on Ethics in Political Communication
Vidya Muthupillai, GW Student and Program Assistant of GW Votes.
Highlights:
- Nancy Thomas provided an overview of voter rate patterns, with a reminder that American voter rates in general are low. A 50% rate on campus is close to the national average. In 2020 between Trump and Biden the national and college average increased to 60-67%
- According to her research, most students ARE registered. It is important to focus on what motivates students to follow-through and vote, rather than only focusing on registration drives.
- Her research also indicates that college campuses with high voter rates aren't doing more "get out the vote" campaigns than other schools, instead they are engaging students in conversations about politics, governance, and social change issues in every space on campus. They are creating a campus-wide ethos where students are paying attention to politics and weighing in on their own beliefs.
- Peter Loge often reminds students that voting isn't the point, it's part of a larger conversation. We need to continue to follow what elected officials are saying and doing, engaging in robust political debates, AND also voting.
- Vidya Muthupillai, who had a wealth of knowledge about student voting trends, emphasized important role faculty have in setting the norms about engaging in conversations about political issues. Students in every major should be reminded in the classroom about debates being held on campus, and engaged in classroom discussions about the role of politics in addressing public issues.
Other issues discussed:
- Sense of belonging matters. Thomas mentioned other influences on high campus voter rates, including students having a sense of belonging, and being taught to generally have a shared responsibility for each others' well-being. Loge agreed that faculty have a role the help create community so that students can engage in ways that, "may make them uncomfortable, but never unsafe."
- Avoiding partisanship? This can be a real fear for many faculty, but it shouldn't convince them to avoid discussing politics. All the panelists agreed that faculty should take care to represent multiple points of view in their readings and guest speakers. It is unrealistic to believe that students won't know their professor's leanings, but we can model nuanced belief-systems over rigid partisan alliances.
- Teaching critical thinking. Loge provided examples of the use of lies and propaganda in U.S. presidential campaigns dating back to the 1700's, so the need to learn to think critical about information is not new because of the internet or social media.
- Your sphere of influence matters more than you may think. Responding to a question about Russian or Chinese influence on American social media messages, Loge confirmed that there will be a "wall of noise" in the upcoming election year. This creates a greater emphasis on one-on-one and knowing who the messenger is. The big influencers are going to be local community members who people trust. This creates an opportunity for everyone to see themselves as having influence - our students and ourselves.
In conclusion, Vidya announced a recently updated Faculty Toolkit created by GW Votes.
The GW Votes' Faculty Toolkit will guide you through the process of encouraging and supporting your students in participating in the upcoming elections. It includes a section on incorporating this work into your syllabi this Fall. Now is a great time to check it out.
