Sept. 16, 2003

ISU participates in American Democracy Project

Students get involved in local fund drives and clean up campaigns. Faculty and staff members regularly serve on local boards and commissions and are routinely elected to local offices. Some have served in state government and the U.S. House of Representatives. A student even won the Republican nomination for mayor in 1999.

But, in Terre Haute and elsewhere, young people don’t turn out to vote in the same numbers as older citizens. That’s why Indiana State and more than 160 other colleges and universities nationwide are taking part in the American Democracy Project.

Co-sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the New York Times, the project seeks to increase the number of undergraduate students who understand and are committed to engaging in meaningful civic actions. It grows out of a concern about decreasing rates of participation in the civic life of America in voting, advocacy, volunteering in local grassroots associations, and other forms of civic engagement that are necessary for the vitality of American democracy.

In a 1999 survey conducted by Hart & Teeter, 68 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds reported that they felt disconnected from government. Bowling leagues, bridge clubs and even neighborhood associations are losing members.

In 1972, the first presidential election in which 18-year-olds were allowed to vote, 49 percent of eligible voters 18 to 24 exercised that right. In 2000, the number dropped to 32 percent.

Young people need to understand that they have a stake in the electoral process, said James M. Scott, chair of the political science department at Indiana State.

“The challenge is to find ways to engage with people in that 18- to 24-year range and impress upon them the stakes that exist in community decisions. Once issues are presented and stakes are developed, then participation rates increase,” Scott said. “It’s not that youth are less interested. It’s perhaps that issues don’t touch them as directly.”

A campus visit by former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta will kick off Indiana State’s involvement in the American Democracy Project. Panetta, who served from 1993 to 1997 during the administration of President Bill Clinton, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at Hulman Center. The event is free and open to the public. Panetta will meet with students during the morning of Sept. 24. [video] [audio] [images] [download RealPlayer-Win]  [RealPlayer-Mac]

During the remainder of the academic year, Indiana State and other participating institutions will engage in national and campus conversations on democratic and community involvement issues and will design and develop civic engagement projects to be implemented over a two-year period starting in fall 2004.

“We want to model action by being active,” said Darlene Hantzis, associate dean of Indiana State’s College of Arts and Sciences and campus coordinator of the American Democracy Project. “I’m excited about involving the Student Government Association in taking on the role of helping to educate our students in the same way that the faculty will be educating our students.”

The project also involves reaching out to faculty, Hantzis added.

“We’ve seen a generation of faculty leave the profession,” she said. “This is a conversation we need to be having with newer faculty to help them understand the role of this kind of conversation and this commitment to students.”

A good place for students to begin would be in getting active in campus organizations and learning the rewards of a career in public service, said Megan McManama, Student Government Association president.

“If we introduce this program to them in college and initiate the importance of these types of professions, then once they graduate they’ll be more likely to realize the importance and go on to help the citizens,” said McManama, a junior from Indianapolis.

“John Kennedy once said the job of leaders is to hold the nation’s unfinished business before its face,” said Scott. “When programs like the American Democracy Project come along, when people like Leon Panetta can come and challenge us, then we can challenge ourselves by holding the unfinished business - the problems that we face together - in front of ourselves.

“It’s a matter of properly framing and identifying problems. People like to solve problems and they will become involved when the problems are clearly and carefully described.”

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Contact:
Darlene Hantzis, associate dean, College of Arts and Sciences,
(812) 237-2781 or dmhantzis@indstate.edu

Writer:
Dave Taylor, assistant director of public affairs, (812) 237-3743 or devtaylo@isugw.indstate.edu

ISU Public Affairs:
(812) 237-3773 or http://isunews.indstate.edu