ADP at Fort Hays State University: A Year in Review

By Kelly Nuckolls, Global Leadership Project Student Coordinator, Fort Hays State University
Poster by Matt Niehues, senior graphic design major at FHSU

FHSU ADP_2012 poster

Year-round programs: The following programs occur multiple times throughout our academic school year.

• Readership: The Readership Program is a sponsorship between the American Democracy Project, the Hays Daily News, and The New York Times. Through this sponsorship, students and faculty were able to receive free copies of these newspapers every business day.
• Talking Democracy: Hosted by Dr. Chapman Rackaway and Dr. Mark Bannister, this weekly thirty minute Talk Show interviews a member of the community focusing on a current issue in today’s political arena. Co-Sponsored with KFHS.
• Times Talks: Times Talks are presentations and small group discussions on current national and international issues based on articles from the New York Times.
• Finding Common Ground: A roundtable discussion where students and faculty can come and discuss a specific current topic in a setting that promotes being open-minded. Some of the roundtables will feature expert panels who will answer questions and give a brief introductory talk on the topic.

eCitizenship

• Tiger Talk Back:  A different question is posted on a white board on campus and on twitter each week addressing a current global or local issue. Students are able to post their comments to the question on Twitter using the hashtag #tigertalkback.
• Eye of the Tiger:  A civic journalism site where FHSU students can tell the institution’s day-to-day story in real- time. Eye of the Tiger(http://eyeofthetigerfhsu.wordpress.com) will put a portable video camera into student hands and let them tell the FHSU and Hays story first-hand using Web 2.0 technologies.

Annual Events: The following programs occur each academic school year.

• Model United Nations:  Students participated in the 52^nd Midwest Model United Nations Conference in St. Louis, MO. Students represented delegations from the Russian Federation, Iraq, and Haiti.
• Public Forums: Open to the public events that feature expertise on a particular topic and then open up to a question & answer session with the featured speaker. Both public forums this year focused on our Student Government Association. The first forum “SGA: What you know ‘bout Fort Hays?,” gave students the opportunity to get to know their student senators, and the second forum was for students to hear the platforms of the two presidential/vice presidential candidates running for the 2012-2013 elections.
• Poster Competition: Graphic design students created posters displaying their views on current issues and Democracy. The posters were displayed in the Memorial Union and voted on by the student body.
• Film Screenings:  One screening this year included the documentaryLittle Town of Bethlehem,which is a film created by men of three different faiths that walks the audience through the life of one who has been discriminated against because of cultural difference.
• Mock Election: FHSU students were able to vote in a mock presidential election. There were able to register to vote and receive educational materials. Students who vote received a free T-shirt. 232 students voted in the Mock Election. President Obama won our Mock Election with 110 votes, or 47 % of the votes. Former Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican Party candidate, followed with 100 votes, 43% of the total. Students had the option to write in a candidate and 14 students, 6% of the total, voted for Ron Paul. The other 8 write-in votes, 4% of the total, were for various candidates.
• Letter Writing campaigns:  Red Hand Day raised awareness on the issue of child soldiers. Students were able to dip their hands in red paint and stamp a paper. Everyone was asked to sign a petition or write a letter to a senator, representative, president, or UN representatives.
• Ben Franklin Papers  Using educational activities, put together by a Social Studies Methods class, students were able to learn about Ben Franklin, his inventions, and his contributions to our nation. The event featured a presentation and conversation with Ben Franklin impersonator, Fred Krebs as well as a Boston Tea Party with the Daughters of the American Revolution. This event was held in Forsyth library and the front room of McMindes Hall.
• Speakers: One of the speakers we brought to our campus this year included  General Vic Braden, who gave the presentation “ An Age of Trial”, giving insight into the military’s role in a chaotic environment in which economic, cultural, political, religious, and social issues are entwined.

For more information on ADP at FHSU, go here.