Creating a Campus Climate Supporting Political Learning and Engagement

Posted by Campus Election Engagement Project on July 10, 2017

Over the 2017-2018 school year, the Campus Election Engagement Project and Wisconsin Campus Compact will work with campuses to consider how to bolster political learning and engagement on campuses during the off-election year. Political engagement can include a broad range of “politics as usual” and “politics not as usual” activities including engaging in the electoral process (voting, campaigning, running for office, serving as a public official, collective activism (community organizing, mobilizing others to address a public problem), advocating (writing and publishing commentary, speaking publicly), and convening (organizing dialogues facilitate change, hosting issue forums). Political engagement can happen with or without government involvement. We explicitly define political learning and engagement to include understanding and addressing the dynamics and effects of systems, structures, and power, specifically political (political parties, groups), economic (socio-economic status, democracy and capitalism), and social (the role of identity in public decision making, etc.).

http://www.campuselect.org/uploads/1/1/6/8/11680869/finalexternalinfotocampuses.pdf

Campuses will compile teams and participate in monthly webinars and group feedback sessions to assess their institution’s campus climate regarding its friendliness toward political learning and engagement activities. Teams will conduct an abbreviated self-assessment about what on-campus factors matter most that support engagement. Each month, campus teams will have activities that move them toward creating a plan they can begin implementing the Spring of 2018 and into the 2018-2019 school year. To participate please fill out this interest form.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqxWBrrPPaiuVKqOx8aqiU9XktrAl5zWn1YuRYWt9lsnEyYw/viewform?c=0&w=1