Civic Reflection

The focal point of current educational trend in the United States is on preparing the leaders of tomorrow (National Task Force, 2012). Student success has been expanded to include civic responsibility which is a dimension of the college experience largely ignored until recently (Upcraft, Gardner, & Barefoot, 2005). The Department of Education has taken this charge and developed the National Task Force for Democratic and Civic Engagement. This initiative places developing civic responsibility as a national priority based on the tendency of young people who are often too caught up in ‘narrow collegiate worlds’ of their own existence to understand the larger role of being a contributing member of society (Upcraft, Barefoot & Gardner, 2005). Thus, engagement as a participating citizen living in community is frequently beyond the scope of young student leaders in college. Due to this, the government has renewed its interest in creating civic-minded young people prepared to advocate for change. This has led the charge for a civic engagement initiative nationwide.

The message emerging from a recent research series on youth civic and political participation is clear: today's youth are not disjoined from associational and small political life, but they are increasingly disenchanted with formal political institutions and practices. Children and youth under 18 have made sententious strides in recent years toward fuller involvement in democratic processes. These strides,

Paul Loeb is the author of Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in Challenging Times. In 2008 Loeb founded the Campus Election Engagement Project, a national nonpartisan student engagement effort that helped 500 colleges and universities engage their students in the election. Paul Rogat Loeb has spent thirty-five years researching and writing about citizen responsibility and empowerment. This book, more so a handbook, enables anyone who desires to make a change in the environment around them, leading them to get involved in larger communities. The book acknowledges that “it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and to become

Politicians should be engaging youth in upcoming elections through face-to-face interaction and the use of technology. Young voters don’t have enough awareness and knowledge about politics. By conducting outreach programs or visiting high schools and college/university campuses, would help young voters understand political platforms and will give the political leaders an opportunity to hear the concerns of young voters. For example, as post secondary students it would be encouraging to have the chance to engage with political leaders, and have a better understanding of what they represent and who we feel best represents us as Canadian citizens.

Although I was not old enough to vote in this past election, I still have found ways to be active in ways other than voting. Over the summer, I represented the Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperation, my electricity provider, in Washington D.C. In order to qualify for the trip I wrote a letter regarding a current issue in electricity, the federal regulation of our electricity. On this tour I met other students from within the cooperation district and from other districts from across the United States. More importantly, I met the officials, who we elected to represent us in the House of Representatives. In this meeting with our representative, Glenn Thompson, we covered issues such as creating jobs, the upcoming election, the Supreme Court justice vacancy and other controversial topics that dominate every news channel. While we toured other major points within the District of Columbia, the national mall, the capital building, the House of Representative and the Senate House, and many others, our district’s representatives showed true citizenship for our area. We learned of many political policies and stories of our great nation, a necessity for an exemplary citizen.

Civic Engagement Fair: Reflection Essay Socrates once said, “Perfection is constant change”. We live in a world that is constantly changing from the economy to the technology to even our everyday lives. This constant change can be seen particularly through the political process. The Civic Engagement project reflected these changes immensely with differing parties and their platforms, the various ways individuals could participate in the political process and how people discover their own ideals.

For most teenagers turning 16 means an opportunity to drive without supervision and starting college. A new campaign is hoping to give these teenagers the ability to vote in local elections. The Vote16USA aims to reduce the age of voting from the current age of 18 to 16. The objective of this campaign is to promote the participation of youth in politics. The campaign has ignited debate over issues such as the competency of their decision making and whether allowing people as young as 16 is the best way to engage the youth.

Though youth voter numbers have fallen over the years, it is no indication that youths are becoming less politically agile. Youths are not voting but increasingly getting involved in non-voting political activities. They are boycotting products, attending demonstrations and signing petitions. This indicates that political thought and concern continues to flare within Canadians who do not queue up at polling booths on election days. General apathy towards political parties and leaders and growing perception that politics does not address their needs is keeping voters away. It is therefore for the government, politicians and parties to take steps to rectify the situation. They need to demonstrate greater understanding of youth issues and concerns to win their confidence.

At the beginning of this summer, I embarked on a journey through history by going to the Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The museum is one of my favorites because of its variety of exhibits of history in both science and art. With every trip, the museum always has something new to offer. Going to the museum felt like a completely new experience with the new perspective I have coming from this class. There were many parts of history to look at, but the ones that stood out to me the most was their exhibit on Ancient Egypt. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit’s information on the artifacts and the funerary practices of this ancient

2015 was an exciting year for Canada. Andrew Wiggins was named the 2015 NBA Rookie of the Year, oil prices plunged and Alberta elected an NDP government, the country hosted the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and for the first time in Canadian history, a father and his son have both been elected as Prime Minister. My paper will touch on the results of the 2015 Federal Election and how it compared to the 2011 Federal Election. It will focus mainly on how the Liberal party was able to encourage more youth to get out and vote in this past election as well as how Canada can continue to support this trend. It will include information about why it is perceived that youth don’t care about politics, how we can increase youth voter turnout, and the implications

Civic Engagement is a necessary focus that many young adults overlook. It is about learning and knowing how to fight for one’s belief or a noble cause, and trying to bring about change to a social or political condition (Parisella, 2013). The Washington Center’s Civic Engagement Framework required some components such as attending two modules that addressed issues of public concern and strategies for citizen participation, a public policy dialogue, and direct service. The first two served as an educational purpose to teach students how to get involved and finally the direct service allowed the opportunity for students to take action and volunteer. Therefore, I wanted my civic engagement to relate to the hazardous things that humans are exposed

After attending the debates my PAC held for the Mayor Group candidates in November 2015, a local business owner asked me to start a business association for the seven businesses in her complex. It was an interesting dynamic to lobby a commissioner on the minimum wage at seventeen. To speak about wage compression for businesses that make less than $300,000 in revenue per year is an exhilarating experience that taught me age is truly only a number. Additionally, I was able to create a Youth Commission with enforcement powers in the city. When Mayor Levine appointed me as chair, it gave me a body of my peers to implement youth policy in my city. This experience transitioned me from a child benefiting from policy decisions to an adult helping others with my legislative choices. The bang of my gavel can make a difference for every student in my city, a responsibility that made me a de facto caretaker of my

In October of 2015, Calvin Christian High School’s Advanced Placement (AP) Government class conducted a poll in Walker, Michigan to better understand the citizens’ political views. The government class’s twelve students collaborated over the course approximately two weeks to create an unbiased poll with concise demographic questions and current political issues. The twelve students broke down into groups of four to formulate questions. After researching current topics and forming the questions, the class carefully critiqued each question to prevent bias, incoherency, or redundancy. After going through the long list of questions, the class voted, and nine questions were selected, and thus transferred to the official poll. The last step in

The group that has caused concern in their voting outcome is the young population group that live in rural areas or areas where there is a lack of civil institutions and a low rate of political participation. Stereotypically, the young population tends to vote more liberal than the older, more conservative age groups, but recently the young voters who live in rural areas have defied this trend. The past election saw more than half of the rural youth voting for Donald Trump’s more conservative ideas, while 55% of their urban and suburban counterparts voted for Clinton’s liberal platform (Kawashima-Ginsberg 2017, 1). The term “Civic Desert” has been coined to describe areas of the country where young adults do not have the available resources for education about government, and where there is little exposure to current political issues. These areas see numerous differences in political opinions and usually see more hostile views towards our nation’s government (Kawashima-Ginsberg 2017, 1). These “Civic Deserts” do not have to be in rural areas but about 60% of them are. There is a serious problem that needs to be addressed when young adults are having hostile opinions about our government due to the fact that they simply are not educated or informed enough on various political topics and issues. Their opinions seem more to be based on their feelings of alienation from the government and their environment, instead of their own personal opinions developed by

When the founding fathers drafted the Constitution their main focus was creating a nation where everyone would be free from the restraints of a controlling government and treated equal. America has always been a nation of freedom, and needs to remain that way. The youth in this country is charged with the task of ensuring that America remains the “land of the free”. Without involvement in politics this is not possible. If youth are to maintain the American ideals of freedom and equality it is imperative that they be involved in politics. Voting every four years for the president, who is more of a figure head than anything else, is simply not enough. Young people need to take a more active role in politics such as running for a political office, local or national. This is the only way they will be able to put their beliefs into action and ensure that America upholds it’s long standing values of freedom and equality. The youth need to start taking action as soon as they are old enough. However, young people need to be educated on politics and be firm in their beliefs before delving into the world of politics. In recent years the youth have shown a trend of disengagement and apathy toward political involvement. According to “The Good Citizen”, a book written by Russell J. Dalton, political analysts and politicians agree that the youth are losing interest in politics and