ADP in the News │ March 20, 2014 Edition

By Caitlin Reilly, Program Associate, American Democracy Project

ADP in the News is a compilation of brief updates about American Democracy Project activities at ADP colleges and universities and is a semi-regular news feature on our blog. Below you will find the latest edition of this information.

 If you have an ADP event you’d like posted in this format, please email adp@aascu.org.

_______________________________________________

Are College Sports Helping or Hurting Us?

This was the focus of Weber State University’s (WSU) sixth annual Deliberative Democracy Day in March.  The day included a panel discussion, featuring Mike Caldwell, Ogden City’s mayor, Amy Crosby, WSU’s assistant athletic director, Molly Smith, a human performance and management professor, and Brad Mortenson, University Advancement vice president.  Read more here.

_______________________________________________

Former Congressman Visits ADP at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

Former U.S. Congressman David Obey spoke with students and faculty at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in March.  The talk was hosted by the university’s American Democracy Project chapter.  Obey’s talk focused on higher education funding with the presentation, “How Politics Has Changed over Time.” Read more here.

_______________________________________________

Pulitzer Prize Winner Gave a Talk on National Security at University of Central Oklahoma

The American Democracy Project at the University of Central Oklahoma hosted Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Mark Mazzetti to speak to the community about national security and privacy.  The talk will be accompanied by a screening of the documentary, “Terms and Conditions May Apply.”  Read more here and here.

_______________________________________________

Keene State College Hosts Red Balloon Project Talk

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ vice president of academic leadership and change, George Mehaffy, spoke at Keene State College last month.  Mehaffy addressed the current state of public higher education and his vision of its future.  Read more here.

_______________________________________________

The American Democracy Project’s National Screening of “Inequality for All”

The American Democracy Project organized a national screening of former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich’s documentary, “Inequality for All.”  Reich hosted a webcast discussion after the screening.  Continue reading to find out how some of ADP institutions participated in the event.

Read about the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s event here.

Read about Illinois State University’s event here.

Read about Dalton State College’s event here.

_______________________________________________

Forum on Animal Care and Control Ordinances at Indiana University South Bend 

The American Democracy Project and Political Science Club at Indiana University South Bend (IUSB) hosted forum to discuss proposed changes to South Bend’s animal care and control ordinances. Hosted by Elizabeth Bennion, a political science professor at IUSB, “Pets and Property: South Bend’s Changing Laws Regarding Pet Ownership” featured a panel discussion with local officials.  Read more here.

_______________________________________________

American Democracy Project State of the Union Address ‘Tweet-up’ #ADPTDCsotu

The American Democracy Project organized a ‘tweet-up’ for President Obama’s State of the Union Address in January.  Many ADP campuses participated in the event.  Continue reading to find out how some ADP campuses joined in the social media conversation.

Read about Clemson University’s ‘tweet-up’ here.

Read about Illinois State University’s ‘tweet-up’ here.

ADP Organizes National Screening of “Inequality for All”

By Caitlin Reilly, program associate, American Democracy Project

The American Democracy Project (ADP) has organized a national viewing of former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich’s documentary film “Inequality for All.” The viewing will be held today, Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. EST on member campuses across the country. More than 80 ADP campuses will participate.  Robert Reich will host a national webcast from ADP campus San Francisco State University following the screening. ADP has devised several ways via social media and video for students and campuses to submit their questions for Reich to address during the webcast.

The documentary tackles the subject of the widening income inequality in America. The film touches on topics closely tied to the mission of ADP, as it examines how the increasing gap between socio-economic classes affects not only the U.S. economy, but also American democracy. Of the documentary and its subject matter, Vice President of Academic Leadership and Change George Mehaffy said, “No issue, for me, is more important than the loss of the middle class, and the growing divide between rich and poor. This divide increases polarization and bitterness, makes reaching collaborative solutions more difficult and threatens our democracy.”

Here are some examples of how ADP schools are participating in the screening:

Dalton State College 

Illinois State University

University of Nebraska Kearney

Winona State University

Let us know how your institution is participating in the comments!

Inequality for All on Campus: Submit your Questions for Reich

Inequality for All on Campus

A live Q&A webcast with former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich

How to submit questions to the Forum to be held on
Thursday, February 20, 6:30-7:15pm EST
Broadcast from San Francisco State University

Prior to the event, we will be reviewing questions submitted by students at participating campuses and selecting which ones will be aired during the live Q&A session with Professor Reich hosted by San Francisco State University.

1)    Text-only questions may be sent to:  ifaqa@sfsu.edu.  Please include your Name, Campus, City & State, and Major
2)    Video questions may be submitted via Dropbox. (Instructions below.)

The deadline for all video submissions is Monday 02/17/2014 at 5:00pm EST.

Specifics for recording and submitting your question via video

Students should address themselves to the camera as follows:

“My name is [FIRST NAME and Last Name] from [Campus, City, State] and I am [Major], and I would like to know, [QUESTION]”.

I.          Record your video in a quiet location and speak clearly and distinctly.
II.        In total, questions should be no longer than 15-20 seconds.
IV.       Use your last name as the video filename
V.        Please do not wear shirts or hats with company, product, or professional sports logos.
VI.       By submitting video questions, you consent that your question/image may appear on the Inequality for All streaming/broadcast. You must be of age 18 or older for a video question submission.

Video formats:
Please submit your 720 or 1080p HD video files in QuickTime (preferred) or other file formats including, .MPEG-4, .WMV, .FLV, and .AVI.

How to upload and send the video questions*:
Submit your video question via www.Dropbox.com.  To do so, you are required to open an account (it is free of charge):

Step 1:             Go to www.dropbox.com
Step 2:             Sign in. If you do not have an account, you can create an account
Step 3:             Once logged in, on the upper right side click on new folder box.
Use your last name and a 3 digit number for the folder name.
Step 4:             Click on the upload icon.  Upload your video file to the folder you created.
Step 5:             Once the video has finished uploading click on “share a folder.”  Select  “I would like to share an existing folder” and click next. Find and select your video question folder and click next
Step 6:             In the invite box place: ifaqa@sfsu.edu

You also could visit https://www.dropbox.com/help/90/en for detailed file/folder upload instructions.

Questions will be reviewed periodically by a team of students at SF State who will select a wide range of questions for broadcast during the Forum.

We look forward to your participation in this exciting event.

*If you need assistance or have questions please write to: IFAQA@sfsu.edu

 

National Screening of Inequality for All

AASCU’s American Democracy Project has been working with former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich and his staff to organize a simultaneous screening of his Inequality for All film at college campuses across the country.

The event is going to take place on Thursday, February 20, 2014, when campuses all over the United States will simultaneously screen the film at 5 p.m. EST. Following the film, Robert Reich has agreed to do a national webcast from an AASCU institution—San Francisco State University—and this will take place at 6:30 p.m. EST.

We are very excited about the opportunity that this event presents to raise awareness about economic inequality in America and afford our students a chance to come together for dialogue and deliberation on the subject. As you can see from the poster included below, we are partnering with The Democracy Commitment in our advertising. Several other groups (Democracy Matters, Generation Alliance, Generation Progress, NASPA and U.S. Students Association so far) have also signed up.

The only cost for a campus to participate is to have the institution’s library purchase the Reich film at a special reduced rate ($250, as compared to $400), which then can be used anytime on campus later on for classes, special showings, etc. We’ll also be organizing a variety of means (e.g., through Facebook, Twitter and video) of collecting questions from participating campuses to be asked of Reich during the webcast. Participating campuses will be provided with further details as well as a screening toolkit which includes a discussion guide and promotional materials.

What:  National screening of Inequality for All, followed by live webcast conversation with Robert Reich
Where:  On your campus; live webcast from San Francisco State University (Calif.)
When:  Thursday, February 20, 2014 beginning at 5 p.m. EST with webcast at 6:30 p.m. EST

Please contact Wendy Cohen at Picture Motion to purchase the DVD of the film. Please also contact us at adp@aascu.org to let us know you’re interested in participating .