Beyond Voting PDF

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BEYOND VOTING:
COLLEGE STUDENTS AND
POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT
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N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
elective politics careers in public service civic education

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Beyond Voting: College Students and Political Engagement 1
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Introductio n / 2 Pa rt i c i p a n t s
Young Voices and the Role of Opening Remarks and Moderator

Government David King, Lecturer in Public Policy and Associate
Director of the Institute of Politics, John F. Kennedy
Discussio n / 2 School of Government, Harvard University
The Youth of Our Democracy

Question a n d An s w er / 2 0 Carmen Sirianni, Professor of Sociology and Public
Policy, Brandeis University
Presentat io n S lid es / 24
Civic Skills and Civic Participation
Leadership and Class in Political Mary Kirlin, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and
Engagement Administration, California State University,
Sacramento
Beyond Voting: A New Generation of
Political Idealism Leadership and Class in Political
Engagement
Kim Williams, Associate Professor of Public Policy, John
Background F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Following the record voter turnout among young
The Role of Youths and Universities in
voters, the National Campaign for Political and Civic
Mobilizing Social Movements
Engagement decided to look beyond the polling place.
How do young people view political engagement? Do James Riker, Associate Director of the Democracy
they consider themselves politically engaged and how Collaborative, University of Maryland
do they demonstrate their political views? Has political
engagement changed for this generation? How can Beyond Voting: A New Generation of
that political engagement be harnessed and directed Political Idealism
in future elections? Paul Andrew, Senior Communications Strategist,
18to35.org
The Institute of Politics answered some of those questions
in their fall 2005 national survey of college students Jonathan Zaff, President and Co-founder, 18to35.org
(http://www.iop.harvard.edu). But the survey provided
a snapshot — we wanted to look at the question over
history and into the future.
In November of 2005, the National Campaign for
Political and Civic Engagement brought together a
panel of academics and researchers to examine the
diverse political activity of college students, outside
of the voting booths. The following people and topics
were involved in the discussion:

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Introduct io n Discussion
DAVID KING: We will be audio taping today’s sessions,
Young Voices and the Role of Government
and there will be transcripts made of it for our record
Each panelist presented research, thoughts and opin- and for your records. So for those of you who were
ions to our audience of politically active students and here for a conference last spring, we now have an
administrators — from our National Campaign for edited transcript of that conference that we are making
Political and Civic Engagement partner schools — in available for you very shortly if we haven’t done it so
their area of expertise. Following the presentations, the far today. I don’t think we have. But we have the
audience was welcomed to participate in a question material available for you.
and answer session based on the presenter’s materials.
I want to introduce our panel. So I’ll do all of the
During the discussion, a few key themes emerged. introductions first, and then begin with Professor
Professors Sirianni and Riker return to the idea that Sirianni. Professor Sirianni is a Professor of Sociology
young people are “thinking big,” meaning they are and Public Policy at the Heller School at Brandeis.
passionate about and active in wide-scale national and He’s written extensively on civic engagement and civic
global issues, such as Darfur and free trade, compared innovation. He has a forthcoming book called, The
to the students of the sixties, who were concerned Youth of Our Democracy, which is one of those titles
with national concerns such as civil rights and the war that as soon as you hear it, you say, “Gosh, I wish I
in Vietnam. had a book titled that. It’s perfect.”
In her presentation, Professor Williams stresses the He’s one of those wonderful professors who’s engaged
importance of social movements and observed that in the community, engaged in public service and activity
young people do not feel they fit into or connect with and also does the research to back it up. And as many
existing social organizations that were not created of you on the scholarly side know, it’s hard to be both
by them. Her historical comparison to the civil rights practitioner and academic. Professor Sirianni pulls it
movement — from sit-ins to established politics com- off brilliantly.
pares — like Professor Sirianni — the youth of today
To our left is Professor Kim Williams. We are so delighted
with those of the sixties, and the difference between
to have her with us. She’s Associate Professor of Public
social movements then and now. She examines the idea
Policy at the Kennedy School. She has a forthcoming
that in order to remedy this problem, the leaders of
book, Mark One or More: The Civil Rights in Multi-Racial
these organizations must adjust to these circumstances;
America.
and young people must create social organizations that
they can feel invested in and a part of. Professor Williams received her Ph.D. from Cornell and
has been on the Kennedy School faculty for five, six
Conversely, Professor Kirlin points out that her research
years now. I remember when she came, and she’s a
shows that it is important to “think small” by way of
very talented and much loved professor at the Kennedy
creating opportunities to teach civic skills to children
School. And we’re looking forward to her presentation.
well before they reach college age; and on a smaller
scale that is manageable, understandable, and most of And you see now before you [on the screen via telecon-
all, interactive. Creating opportunities for children to ference], Mary Kirlin, an Assistant Professor of Public
decide, plan, and participate in their own learning of Policy and Administration at Cal-State Sacramento.
“civic skills” is an approach that challenges the tradi- She’s taught at Indiana University. She has 15 years of
tional methods of teaching civic skills. experience in government and politics, and she has a
Doctorate in Public Administration from the University
I hope that you enjoy reading these perspectives on
of Southern California.
non-voting political engagement. If you have any
questions or comments, please feel free to email me Please help me welcome our entire panel and now we’ll
at [email protected] hear from Carmen Sirianni.
[Applause]

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CARMEN SIRIANNI: Well, thank you, David and Jennifer, And one could go on and look at youth organizing,
and everyone else. Because time is short, I’m going to the work of the civic mission of schools, K-12 schools.
make just three big points. We can unpack them as we And that work is in some sense flourishing. It’s got its
go along, ask questions, and explore them in the discus- problems, of course. But the key point here I think is
sion session. that there may be some problems with youth in the
sense that certain cultural things are eroding; the sense
The first point, you probably all know that there is
of attachment to a public sphere is different. But when
scholarly literature that points to some very worrisome
we as a society and the institutions in a society provide
signs in terms of youth, civic, and political engagement,
real opportunities for engagement, young people step
decline of trust, social capital among youth and less
forward and do all kinds of ambitious, creative, and very
political engagement, even though community service
effective things. They don’t need to be just tutored until
may be blossoming in many ways. And I don’t contest
they’re full-grown adults to really play an important role.
that at all, but the research that I’ve done which was
part of the youth and democracy project that came In the meetings that we had with these civic engage-
out in a book a couple of weeks ago, Civic Renewal ment organizations and youth organizations, Liz
Movement, [The Civic Renewal Movement: Community Hollander, who’s the President of Campus Compact,
Building and Democracy in the U.S (Kettering Foundation said very clearly at one of the meetings, “Challenge the
Press 2005)] has some of those chapters on youth and young people there but also the adults who are working
democracy, and was able to convene leaders around the with them to ‘think big’. Don’t think small. The future of
country in different areas of youth civic engagement our democracy is at stake.”
with money from a few charitable trusts and do hun-
In other words, whatever little piece or not so little
dreds of interviews with people in higher ed, in cities
piece that you are working on and others are working
around the country, in YMCA-type organizations, etc.
on, it’s very important to understand that the revitaliza-
And it became very clear to me that there is a good deal tion of democracy really depends on this kind of work.
of really creative work going on, civic innovation from
A second point which is made in more detail in the
cities like Hampton, Virginia, kind of an unexpected
article that I gave Jennifer during the week, and I won’t
place, which won one of the Innovations in Government
go into it here is that we look at higher education.
awards (http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/award_
Often students of today compare themselves unfavor-
landing.html) because it had developed such a system-
ably, if you will, to the students of the sixties, when
atic citywide system of civic youth, civic engagement
participatory democracies, Civil Rights Movement, the
through high schools, and principals, advisory groups,
student movement, the emerging new women’s move-
the superintendent of school, to some extent in the
ment, all around participatory demographic themes,
police department, a Youth Commission that oversaw
was such a big thing and really shook the society.
youth planners that not only worked in the Planning
Department but engaged hundreds and hundreds of And the point in this piece is that the sixties, the
people in planning in the city of Hampton. participatory movements in the sixties, were certainly
very formative movements. But when we look at today
In the YMCA civic engagement, broad civic engagement
and compare ourselves to 40 years ago, today we have
initiative emerged after the 150th Anniversary at the Y
considerably greater institutional capacity within higher
in the US. 4-H at its Centennial in 2002 was preceded
education to do sustained democratic work than ever
by about eight months or so of conversation at local,
existed back in those days. And we could measure that
state, and national levels, which involved I think around
in many ways.
50,000 people in all of those levels and came out with a
document about 4-H being renovated around the issues There are your projects, the centers on your campuses,
of youth as citizens and empowering youth to be equal Campus Compact with 900-plus members, a very profes-
partners in our democracy. sional national office, state chapters, local member
institutions, etc. The American Association for State
Colleges and Universities has its own network that works

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with Campus Compact in the democracy project. And one And one of the things particularly in this book, in
could go on that many of the major Higher Ed associa- The Civic Renewal Movement, (and this is a book written
tions have, in fact, been over the past ten years or so, for practitioners and activists and leaders, not for
been taking on this question and building capacity, academics), that became clear is that there are so many
building the capacity to train students to refine the arenas where people are groping for a politics that is
work of service learning on campuses, to build incredibly not just rubbing the sores and making them raw and
ambitious institutional mechanisms for doing that. polarizing, but trying to find collaborative ways that
people with real differences, interest-based differences,
I spent a week at Portland State University in Oregon
identity differences, etc., can figure out some way of
in June, and I was amazed at the extent to which this
working together whether it’s restoring an eco-system
[building capacity for democracy] had not only been
or rebuilding parts of an inner city.
integrated within the University and the different units
and how many people had really bought in. The rela- And it’s very important, I think, as we do the traditional
tional networks to community-based organizations and political work that is so necessary, the voting, the cam-
city agencies, planning the airport - you name it. People paigning, etc., that we keep in mind that we must find
have thought about just basically every connection you ways of linking that to other kinds of small “p” politics
could imagine of how to take institutions and make and institutions and communities that really try to
them more democratic, effective in terms of sustainable bring folks together.
development, and all kinds of things.
And the University is a place where a lot of this can
And if a state institution can do that and many other happen. But we shouldn’t think that we’re in the
institutions are doing it, it’s a very hopeful sign. Very university and then we choose politics out here. We
little of [that work] existed in the sixties. If I described can’t forget that the university is a place where we
my “service learning,” it was pathetic. It was like a little create the professionals, the knowledge, and the
reading group that we barely could get some faculty to practice that will empower citizens or not.
sponsor. There was nothing on the campus to do that.
We shouldn’t just be thinking - and I’m not saying
And if you weren’t an SDS, sort of out in the front kind
anybody is - but we shouldn’t just be thinking of
of radical, and I was at least to some extent, you really
creating public servants who then go out and be
didn’t know where to go to make a difference.
traditional public servants who don’t know how to
And the very last point, the third point. You know, work with citizens.
almost all of you or all of you are engaged in connect-
The university is a place that produces scientists,
ing to politics as traditionally defined. And I don’t mean
planners, business people, etc. And what we want the
that in a way to denigrate that. That is an extremely
university to do is to produce everybody in effect to
important central piece of what revitalizing our democ-
have a kind of public service career, in a sense that
racy is all about.
whatever they do that’s professional and technical and
Our politics is very governed by some pretty sharp expert that they really can see the civic dimensions of
differences that get articulated and sores rubbed raw, if the careers that they have. So it’s not just this relatively
you will, in that kind of work. That’s very necessary. We small minority that will be in public service, but it’s all
might be going through a kind of transition stage in US of the professionals coming out that have a broader
politics where certain fundamental ideological things civic sense of what it means to act and be in the world
just have to get resolved one way or the other. in terms of the profession that they choose.
And I think the lesson some of these groups like the [PowerPoint presentation: Beyond Voting: A New
Hampton, Virginia people and many others is that in Generation of Political Idealism]
everyday politics what Harry Boyte calls, “a public work
KIM WILLIAMS: My students have me trained to do Power
politics,” is probably the only place where we can hope
Point all the time, and so that’s what I’m doing today.
that the majority, or very large numbers, of people get
involved, [without] the shouting matches.

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I have just a sort of slight title change just to complicate he organized the March on Washington. He actually
things for people in the IOP. “Leaders, Organizations, and helped to train Martin Luther King in non-violent
Political Engagements,” is what I’m going to talk about. techniques. He was one of the sort of major strategic
factors in the civil rights struggle.
I worry that some of the alienation and sort of discon-
nect and all of that that the young people feel about So in my course on Civil Rights Innovations, Bayard
politics these days is that they don’t fit into existing Rustin keeps coming up and up and up because he’s
organizations, into organizations that were not created one of these people that’s always there in terms of
by them. thinking about new and creative ideas for thinking
about how to engage in civil rights issues.
I teach a course on Civic Rights Innovations. I spend a
lot of time thinking about organizational infrastructures I just have to give you the kind of little rundown. You
and how young people actually feel connected to have the first reconstruction, right? So the 13th, 14th,
organizations that we have now and what they think 15th Amendments, slavery, citizenship, and voting, and
about either creating new organizations or somehow so things are looking up for Blacks at this point, right?
changing these pre-existing organizations. My gut tells
But then, quickly, you have this collapse, and you get
me that that is where a lot of our problems are.
the end of reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow. And so
So what I want to talk about today is how leaders in by about 1900, what we’re asking ourselves is, “Blacks
organizations adjust to new circumstances. And I want seem to be back in a kind of almost situation of semi-
to talk about how, in fact, often times they do that by slavery by 1900, 1905, 1910.” And so you get this period
creating new organizations. I’m going to talk about of what we call “the nadir,” which is really the worst
this in a civil rights context. But I think that the logic spell for Black Americans in the country.
applies beyond that, and I hope we can talk about that
Then you’ve got the Second Reconstruction eventually
in the Question and Answer.
where Plessy v Ferguson 1896 is overturned by Brown
My general point is that, you know, we’ve got to ask in 1954. And we get the march on Washington, the
ourselves if the organizations that we’ve created are Civil Rights Act. And this article by Bayard Rustin
actually up to the task of dealing effectively with these written in 1965 in February is before the Voting Rights
circumstances, the kind of issues that we have right now. Act is signed, a few months before the Voting Rights
Act is signed, and it’s just a month or so before the
Professor Sirianni said a bunch of stuff that relates closely
Selma Campaign.
when he talked about thinking big. He talked about the
relationship between the students of the sixties. We sort But the thing is he’s writing at this point where it’s
of look back on that and the sort of golden era, and we clear that the protest campaigns at the height of the
compare ourselves to them and think about the greatest Civil Rights Movement, the sit-ins, the boycotts, the
institutional capacity that we have now. freedom rides, all that, is giving away to a kind of a new
situation. And so that’s why he calls this article, From
But then our other question is why do we not see the
Protest to Politics. That’s the story. He’s saying, “We’re
kind of activity that we would expect given all of this
moving from a situation of direct action into a context
capacity in the internet and what not. Right, I mean,
of where we’re going to have to deal with institutional-
what did they have really? [In the sixties] they had their
ized politics, pluralism, voting blocks, etc. And so how
bodies. They went to these sit-ins. There was no inter-
do we reorganize our institutions to actually deal with
net, and you had to do snail mail back then, all those
these new circumstances?”
sorts of things. So there was kind of a dilemma there.
Well, let me say this. Even before you have the boycotts,
I assigned this article by Bayard Rustin, and it’s an
and the sit-ins, and the freedom rides and everything,
article that was written 40 years ago. I feel that one
you had the NAACP started in 1909 as the sort of tower-
must justify to a group this young why I’m assigning
ing organization in Black political life, right? And so one
an article that’s 40 years old. And the reason is because
could ask, given all of the legal victories, the NAACP
he’s talking about organizational change. Bayard Rustin,

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racked up from the 1940’s up to the Brown decision, why circumstances?” So he talks about how “what we did,”
do you even need to have any new organizations? Can’t he says, “is that we hit Jim Crow right where it was the
they do it? I mean, isn’t that enough? most anachronistic, dispensable, and vulnerable in hotels,
and lunch counters, and libraries, and swimming pools,
But what you end up with is the Southern Christian
and most other areas of American public life.”
Leadership Conference started in 1957 and also SNCC,
the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee But then the question is what’s the value of winning
started in 1960. And so, we have to ask ourselves, given access to public accommodations for people who lack
that the NAACP at this time— It’s 50 years old already the money to use them? Right? That’s the big question.
by the 1950’s almost, right? And we have to ask, you He has a famous quote, “I can sit at the lunch counter
know, it saw itself as the proper vehicle to achieve now, but I can’t buy a sandwich.” So, you know, how
racial equality, and the NAACP people felt threatened by good is it? What’s the good of sitting at the lunch
this sort of incursion by these new organizations. There counter at some level, right?
were obviously conflicts, but the question is how did
And then he says, okay, so now here’s the shift, “Well,
they actually resolve this?
under the circumstances, what we’ve got to do now is
And what they did is a kind of division of labor. So the Civil Rights Movement has got to expand its vision
that’s how they ended up resolving this. What Martin beyond race relations to economic relations.” That’s the
Luther King told the NAACP was, “If you continue answer, right? So on the one hand he’s saying, “We
winning the legal victories for us, then we will work need to think about new organizational forms.” And
passionately to implement these victories on the local he’s also talking that these old forms of direct action
level through non-violent means.” are not really going to work in the way that they used
to, and that we also have to talk about a shift in terms
So you get this division of labor that Professor Sirianni
of priorities, right, and goals. And now we’re talking
referred to as well. So SCLC and SNCC both are con-
about economic relations, not just about race relations.
ducting the sit-ins. That’s where the direct action is
coming from, and still you have the NAACP working in So that’s what the title is, right, From Protest to Politics,
this legal capacity. So you get really these two different from direct action to mass-based participation and
strategic models that could have clashed, but they institutionalized politics. And so the reason why I assign
managed to avoid that. this article is because it’s about how we have to rein-
vent ourselves again to create new organizations in
Now, let me just say in a nutshell, this article, this From
response to new circumstances. And that’s what I want
Protest to Politics, I think that everyone ought to read it.
you to think about towards the end of my talk.
It is 40 years old, but it’s a famous article. It’s only ten
pages long. If there’s any one thing that you’re willing Now, throughout Bayard Rustin’s article, you get this
to read about the Civil Rights Movement in the coming also just in the whole kind of tone of civil rights discus-
sort of months, I really think that you ought to read sions in the late sixties, there’s a kind of logic that we
that. There’s a lot to it. get that I think is in many ways hard to believe in so
much any more. And the logic was first, we are going
So, let’s fast forward now. We were talking about the
to remove the legal barriers. We did that, okay. It took
NAACP and its role. And then we talked about the rise
a lot of time, but that happened.
of the SCLS in 1957 and SNCC in 1960. And so now,
let’s fast forward sort of to the kind of end of this And then by removing those barriers, we’re going to
picture. And what we get is, well, now we’re in 1965 by exercise political power through voting, right. And
which time, direct action has been a tremendously then, as a result of this power that we’ve got, this
successful tactic. new political power, we’re going to be able to create a
sort of foundation of influence through the electoral
And so, Bayard Rustin in this article is looking back and
process, which then will allow us to address issues of
he’s looking forward, and he’s saying, “Well, where have
economic inequality through institutionalized channels.
we been? And how did we manage to get all this accom-
plished? And what do we now have to do given our new

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And so you get this throughout the Civil Rights discus- I think that we can sort of talk about the American
sions. “If we get the vote, then all else will follow,” Bob racial order in terms of how people view it and perceive
Moses says. King talks about the tremendous political it and think about it even if they don’t want to articu-
leverage that Blacks can exert through their voting late it. Superior to inferior, insider to a foreigner. (See
strength. Bayard Rustin seems to believe it as well. slide.) Two important questions about this slide that
And of course, it helps at the time we have a President you should think about.
actually talking about poverty.
One is how do we understand where groups fit on this
But what we’re left with here is this idea that economic map? And then, how do we understand groups and
inequality can be lessened through electoral politics. individual’s ability to move from one point to another
But it’s been 40 years, and we have to question that. on this map? I think it’s worth trying to parse out and
As we know now, you know, the vote has not been as understand how racial hierarchy actually works in
effective a weapon as the Civil Rights Movement had our country.
hoped. And in our country today, whether you are
Now, again, if I had more time, I would talk about this
talking about infant mortality, educational attainment,
big story that’s going on in conjunction with this issue
occupational status, wealth, income, poverty, inheri-
of the American racial order. I’m a political scientist and
tance, however you think about money, any way you
I do racial and ethnic politics. I teach immigration as
slice it or dice it, life expectancy, basically from birth to
well. And so the big story now in my field is what’s
death. We have documented gaping disparities along
happening to the American racial order given rapidly
racial lines in well-being in our country.
changing demographics?
So I’m not saying that there hasn’t been any improve-
We see that whites are in the pink there, and then it’s
ment or anything. I’m standing here today. You know,
Blacks going upward, and then Latinos and Asians.
there’s a lot of improvement. I mean, we can all look
(These are census projections, and it’s good to take this
around. There’s a Condi Rice. I suppose that’s some-
with a grain of salt. Racial definitions change over time.
thing. [Laughter] But all I’m saying is that, you know,
There are a lot of complications.)
for millions and millions of Americans, things are still
not good. Things are better than they were, but they’re But if you wanted to just look at the big broad picture,
still not good. what we see is that the percentage of whites over time
is in decline. So we talk about the coming eclipse of the
And the worst outcomes we know are concentrated
white majority. And the questions here have to do with
among the nation’s minority groups. This is not just a
what does that mean for the American racial order? Do
problem that Black people ought to be thinking about.
we still have this Black/White dynamic? Are we locked
This is not just a problem that Latinos or Asians ought
into that? Is this changing that somehow? If so, how is
to be thinking about. All Americans, really, we’re all in
it changing it? Does it mean that the people that were
this together. We need to keep that in mind.
on the bottom before are still going to be the same
And so, this next slide gets a little bit controversial and people on the bottom?
deep, but unfortunately, I don’t have time to go into it
Okay, the real question is here we’ve got this story about
all the way. But if you think about this picture right
life chances, right? I think that we do have an American
here, about life chances, what does t his really tell us?
racial order. We have a sort of racial hierarchy, implicit,
I spend a lot of time in my classes thinking about how
explicit. We talk about it. We don’t talk about it. I think
racial hierarchies are set up. And I think that if you
that slide actually resonates with a lot of people.
want to look at life chances across the board in the
slide I just showed you, that this is kind of ugly. And And then we’ve got these changing racial demograph-
people get uncomfortable thinking about racial struc- ics, and so I spend a lot of time thinking to myself,
ture in this way. But I really think that this captures what would it mean to have a de-racialized society?
some important dynamics. If race did not matter anymore, how would we under-
stand that? It’s hard to even contemplate. I mean, we’ve
lived with it for so long.

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I have come to the conclusion that a de-racialized DAVID KING: Thank you very much. [Applause] Thank
society would look like a randomization of life chances. you, Kim. And we turn now to Mary Kirlin’s piece, Civil
These are my slides. This is my story. And that’s what I Skills and Civic Participation. Thank you, Professor Kirlin.
believe. I think that that’s the best thing that I can
MARY KIRLIN: The challenges going last here is that I
come up is that we would know that race had sort of
want to respond to all kinds of wonderful things that
lost its grip on us in some ways when the life chances
people have said, which totally messes up what I’m
of any child in America can be predicted by knowing
supposed to say. But I’m hoping that I can find a way
the child’s race. To me, that’s a sort of goal to aspire to.
to try to bring it together.
So in conclusion, we need to ask ourselves, what role do
My interest is really in how individuals learn to partici-
civil rights organizations play in this effort of randomiz-
pate in political systems, and I think it winds in relating
ing life chances? And I just want to suggest to you that
actually in just either Kim’s conversation, which I was
if we look back over time, we see that the answer to that
taking a ton of notes about, as well as to Carmen’s. Kim
question has changed. We talk about From Protest to
sort of left us with this question of this evolution from
Politics, and now we’re actually talking about almost
protest to more formalized political institutions and
“and back to protest.” We see this kind of cycle going on.
essentially back to protest again, and then sort of okay,
The legal victories of the forties and fifties, while what are the organizations that come next?
monumental, didn’t really do it all. So you get these
I guess where my interest enters this conversation is
organizational adjustments to deal with that. And then,
how is it that the young people or the middle-age
you get mass involvement and direct action and a very
people who are participating learn to become partici-
successful situation. But then that precipitates another
pants in a democratic society? And I like the division
adjustment. That didn’t do it all. And then we moved on
that both of the previous speakers have made about
to this context of participation in electoral politics, but
those who participate and then those who become the
clearly we see that the vote is not enough.
experts, if you will, those who really decide to engage…
And so what we hear increasingly now is that we need in electoral politics.
some sort of new blend of protest in politics and that we
And I really am interested in how do people find a way
can’t hope to gain leverage without both. And so, in con-
to engage in just sort of the first level of ... political
clusion, I think that civil rights is really at a turning point.
involvement, which has really been the more collective.
It’s nice to be able to talk to young people about these
And I guess I spent long enough working in politics that
issues. And I worry that young people don’t want to get
I don’t think it’s all collaborative. I think it actually is
involved in civil rights activism because they just don’t
collective. And it’s an important difference to me.
feel that the organizations resonate with them again.
And so what I wound up focusing on is a line of research
And so this is a huge problem in civil rights right now.
that looks at what educators think about civic educa-
For instance, if you look at the existing civil rights
tion and how they approach it especially the K-12 and
organizations, take just for an instance, the NAACP.
Higher Ed and then how does the local scientist think
Something like 75% of all of the members of the
about it. And where I wound up focusing my energies
NAACP are over 65 years old. NAACP, just to take this
is around this topic of civic skills.
one example, has a sort of a bifurcated or bimodal
structure where they have all these old people, and And I think there are lots of people who have talked
then they have some young people. There’s youth about civic skills, and it’s been defined in lots of differ-
leagues in the NAACP, but there’s nobody in their ent ways. And so I sort of made it my task to say all
thirties or forties. So you get this kind of real fall off. right, what are those skills and how do you define
them? And then, why do we care?
And so my point is that, what students often do when
they don’t find organizations that work for them is they Well, the end of this, I think the importance of civic
create new organizations. And so I would encourage skills is really the intentionality that we can bring in
you to think creatively about civil rights issues and to higher education either through curricula or co-curric-
consider creating new organizations. Thanks. ula activities to the way we deliver programs and

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material. What are those skills, why do we care, and debate. Now we see where everybody else is. Now, what
then specifically how do we teach them? And this is are we going to do about it? Where are we going to
geared for people teaching in a public administration go?” Because to me, that’s really the heart of the
program. But I think it’s also helpful for people who are democratic systems; that we make decisions together.
working with co-curricula groups or in classrooms that
Why does that matter? Because at the end of the day,
are not necessarily public administration. So, cut to the
the decisions that you make for the collective good or
chase, what are civic skills?
the common good often, not always, but often mean
There is clear agreement about the concept of communi- somebody has to give something up. I make a decision.
cation skills. If you want to participate in political sys- When I teach my students, I talk about the “going out
tems, whether they be the more collective, community- to dinner” problem. And I would say, “Okay, everybody
based, or the more traditional political system, you have in this room. We all want to go to dinner together.” And
to know how to communicate your position both orally then I actually assign them — I give them how much
and in writing. We do a pretty good job - not great - money they have. I give them peanut allergies. I give
but a pretty good job of that in our education systems. them food preferences. I tell them who got pizza the
last 12 nights in a row. And then I say, “Okay, here are
Another skill that there’s some consensus about is the
your restaurant choices. Here’s how much it’s going to
idea of organizing. How is that people understand how
cost.” And it’s pretty clear that it’s not going to work
to organize—people get money, make things happen?
for everybody.
How do you make the car wash happen? The simple
sorts of things that you need to learn how to do to So how are you going to work it out? And you all have
begin to organize, to take action. to go together. At the end of that, you’re probably
going to make some sort of decision and frankly about,
The third set of skills that we have some agreement
“Well, so and so had pizza five nights in a row. But I’m
about it, and this is a little bit out of order from the
not as concerned about them as I am about the person
way I put it in the article, is critical thinking. I talk a lot
who has peanut allergies. So we’re going to make a
about how do we teach young people to analyze things,
choice to first accommodate the person who, you know,
to understand things, to make good choices, and the
would die if they ate these sort of foods. And we will
really cognitive skills, if you will.
allow people to share money.
The fourth category that I choose to define this way
My students come up with very creative ways to share
is what I call collective decision making. I’ve come to
the money that they don’t really have. [Laughter] To
define it as a skill because I think it actually turns out
share the money so that they can go to dinner together.
that we’re not born with this like we’re born with rights
And then the person who had pizza five nights in a row
and an innate right to participate, right to vote, that
and really doesn’t want to get a pizza, eventually gets
sort of stuff.
that you know what, it’s better off for everybody else
Collective decision-making means understanding that if if they just sort of suck it up and have pizza again.
we’re going to make progress as a society that you and
So what do you learn in this? Well, part of what you
I and the three other people, or the ten other people or
learn is that collective decision-making isn’t a win-lose
the 3,000, other people who care about this particular
situation, which is what we teach when we think about
issue, need to first recognize that we have very differ-
electoral politics. You know, my students say, “Well, I
ent positions that we come from, which is more than
voted, and my candidate lost, and so I’m not going to
simply saying, “I respect the fact that you’re different,”
vote again because it was so frustrating.” A lot of our
or “I tolerate the differences.”
politics gets reduced in sort of partisan electoral politics
You have to understand that there are those differ- to winning and losing when actually the conversation
ences. But then you also have to come to decision that goes before that is much more sophisticated. It’s
at some point. So it’s more than simply a dialog in a much more involved.
conversation or the debate. It is, “Okay, we had that

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So what I try to move students away from is win-lost what has to be done. And again, I’ll say I understand
to yeah, collective decision-making, living together in that varies from program to program, but I see enough
a democratic society means you give something up of it that it’s a little bit disconcerting to me.
sometimes for the common good. So that brings me
I guess, the end of this is a question about then where
back full circle to where do our students learn that?
do people learn how to behave in these collective
How is it that they’ve learned to trade things off in
fashions? When you look at the research from political
order for everybody else to be better off? And I wind
scientists, they’ll tell you that the biggest predictors of
up coming back to a couple of things that are sort of
involvement in political life are income and education
unusual. First, I think when I look at today’s students,
of you and your parents and anybody know what the
I think we have infrastructure, everything for them.
third one is?
And actually, service learning is a good example of that
often. You can take a service learning course and the Okay, it’s income and education of you and your par-
issue has already been decided— ents, and then the current biggest predictor is actually
whether or not you participated in extra-curricula
The hours you’re going to go has already been decided.
activities during high school. And it turns out that all
The project you’re going to do has already been decided.
kinds of extra-curricula activities except sports, which
You go in. You check around, you do your service
I actually had to say out loud in Indiana. [Laughter] It
learning. You think about it. You reflect, and then you
almost got me thrown out of the school. All sorts of
take your next course, and you’re done.
extra-curricular activities will be predictors of later
A whole bunch of the civic skills that could be trans- involvement in political engagement.
lated in that experience; things like organizing, like
Part of the reason that I theorize that’s the case is
communicating your preferences, like identifying the
because you learn literally specific skills. You learn the
location that needs help and contacting them and
collective decision making. You learn working together
figuring out how you can help them—all those sorts of
as a group is more powerful, more effective even
things are often - not always - but often stripped away
though it’s often times frankly more painful than just
so that the students’ experience of it is very narrow.
going it alone. That’s brought me full circle to saying,
And it’s frankly done for them. So I think we tend to
“Okay, if we know that membership in groups is declin-
over-structure the learning experience of our students.
ing, if we know that membership in groups is looking
I should say, I’m probably not a Progressive Democrat. more like you, fill out a piece of paper and you send it
I’m a pretty middle-of-the-road Democrat as I get older, in, and that’s what your group membership is, then
which is I guess what I’m supposed to be. [Laughter] where else do young people learn this?”
But I think we have a very liberal bias in the way we
And I wound up spending some time looking at the
teach about politics right now. And a lot of our com-
developmental psychology literature and have stumbled
munity services, and service learning sorts of programs
on an interesting little piece that I will probably leave
are focused on things that liberals think are good. And
you with so we can have some conversation, that
so sometimes I think the room for people who are on
essentially argues that some place around the age of
that part of the global spectrum, they may feel a little
seven, eight, nine, young people start playing formal-
bit closed out by the way we structure things.
ized games. So they play board games. They play sports,
So I think we need to look at structure. We need to look and they learn that the rules actually make sure that
at the political messages that we send— Are we telling everybody gets a fair shot at stuff. If you’re going to go
people that it’s good to be involved because you have play baseball, you know, not everybody gets to be the
to take care of the environment and take care of poor pitcher. Not everybody gets to be at bat. You know,
people, and blah, blah, blah. I agree with that. But if make sure everybody does not just one person. So
that’s the message then, where is there room for people everybody takes a turn, and when you say, “All right, I’ll
who say, “Well, you know, maybe we’re regulating too go out and stand in the outfield for a while, then I get
much.” How do we solve the problem and teach people my turn at bat,” you begin to figure out that actually
the processes rather than having a particular bias about taking turns, there’s some benefit to this.

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And the same thing with board games, where a little bit DAVID KING: Thank you very much. That was a fascinat-
later in maybe as they’re 10, 11, 12, they begin to figure ing presentation. [Applause] We’ve heard then from
out that those rules can be changed. And so you think three terrific presenters. And we’ll turn to your audi-
about the games the kids structure, or they used to ence. I want to just give you one bit of data about
structure where they— Oh, gosh, the Monopoly rules. collaborative play and willingness to compromise. I’m
And I remember playing Monopoly where there was the father of five children so I’ve paid particular atten-
some rule about if you went to jail, you put your money tion to this. The more children there are in a family, the
in the middle of the board instead of paying the bank. more likely the person is when they get older to actu-
And then if you landed on some spot, you got whatever ally be able to collaborate and compromise with others.
was in the middle of the board. The players agreed
But the interesting thing empirically is what happens
upon what those rules were going to be.
with one or two children. With only one child in a
Well, what the young people are learning then is that family, are they more likely or less likely to compromise
first of all, the rules are socially imposed. Secondly, that and cooperate than children coming out of families
the rules could be changed if everybody agrees to it. with two children. And the answer is that most likely
At some point later in adolescents, they become more the place to find individuals who have lots of conflict
sophisticated, and they learn that lots of social rules and are unlikely to compromise if there were only two
like democratic society and systems are also socially children in the family because they fought a lot. So
imposed and can also be changed. there’s all kinds of things that when you think small
that have very large ramifications. And Professor
So where am I going with all this? Well, think about
Hibbing has shown how these post-birth-order effects
what young people do today. I’ve got a seven-year-old
and family-size effects relate to trust and confidence in
who plays exceedingly organized sports games.
government in adult life. So these things can matter
So when I look around and this is not empirical yet, quite a bit.
what I see is very organized school systems, very
Turning to our audience, please, for questions with
organized sports, very few opportunities for young
great respect and understanding that we will be done
people to actually have opportunities especially during
with this section at 11:00. Yes, in the back, sir.
early adolescents to effectively learn how to work
together, just figure out what it means to be part of a STUDENT: A theme I seem to see running all three of
group that has to make trade-offs on a very small scale. your presentations was the idea that there stands to be
a difference dynamic almost, more cooperation or new
And while I concur with the end point of “think big,” I
organizations for new circumstances, or less structure,
actually wind up being the radical. I actually think we
and that sort of idea. And I think that that sort of
need to think really small, and we need to think about
resonated with me. And I was wondering how we’d
all of our individual interactions and classroom experi-
actually take that and implement it because it seemed
ences and club experiences and go back to sort of that
very difficult in society when we talk about conserva-
“don’t do for other people what they can for them-
tives or Republicans often feel very shut out from what
selves” motto so that the learning happens in the places
generally seems more liberal colleges and universities.
that are important to them, which is their community,
their school, and sometimes their circle of friends and And in Civil Rights Movement and things like that, it
their clubs, that’s developmentally appropriate so that seems to be very hard to introduce new ideas and
when they get to be adults, they’re more comfortable again, it seems often to be conservative ideas generally.
with the sorts of interactions that we’re asking them to But you also see on different issues, liberal ideas aren’t
have either in formalized groups or with the political really able to have any impact. I was wondering how
system, which seems, you know, frankly sort of pretty you’d actually do that and change that because it
far away and distant right now. And I think I’m going to seems like a great idea, but I don’t know how you’d
leave it there. actually implement that both on a university level and
on a more national governmental level, so, any
[Applause]
thoughts on that.

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KIM WILLIAMS: I’m not entirely sure that I know, but I there could be some answers in terms of organizational
do think that probably my students have the answers. structure in terms of bringing young kids into a process
And so, what I’m trying to do right now is I’m just to give them a sense of ownership in organizations and
trying to create an environment for students to actually also just trying to create the circumstances for people
feel that they can experiment in thinking about how to think creatively and not feel that they’re going to be
one would reorganize if one had the ability to do so. shut down in that process.
But what I’m doing in my own class is I’m just organiz- DAVID KING: May I try just one answer. Years ago I
ing my students around these projects of Civil Rights came across a very interesting book called, Organizing
Innovations. And I’m trying to get them to think about for Political Victories, written by an Evangelical political
what are the pre-existing problems that we have and activist named Belkin. You can still find copies of it around.
what is it that we actually need? Is it about the rela-
It was published in the early 1980’s, and it said, “This
tionship between leaders and followers in which case,
is a handbook for Christians to takeover the political
we would be thinking more about kind of structural
sphere of America. Right now, we’re not paid attention
changes to organizations? Or is it about the message
to. What you’ll do is you’ll get involved at the local
that organizations are sending out in the first place, in
political level. You’ll go to a Planning Commission
which case, do we need sort of new vision type of story
Meeting and just take notes, be there, participate, listen,
or framing or what have you?
and ultimately, somebody’s going to need you. And
And so I think that there are different ways to skin the you’re the only one in the audience, and you’ll be asked
cat. And I don’t have a precise answer right now, but I to join. You’ll be doing things. You’ll be taking notes at
do think that part of it is that maybe it’s somewhat of the School Boards. You’ll become part of School Boards.
a failure of imagination. So I feel that the answers are And in this way, within a generation,” he said,
out there, but it’s unclear exactly where they are. “Christians will be in a position of political power.”
And it worries me more so truthfully that students feel A certain element of the Christian Movement was very
the sense of it seems to be just kind of lack of efficacy, effective at the grassroots level in 1994. It came as a
and that they’ve got to throw their hands up in the air huge surprise to Democrats. “Where in the world did
and say, “Well, the NAACP and the Urban League,” or this come from? We didn’t see it coming.” It was laid
whatever the case may be, it doesn’t have to be Black out step by step by step in that book.
organizations. We could talk about other types of
You all need to think creatively not only about new
civil rights organizations or other organizations more
organizations, which is very important, but also about
broadly speaking that they don’t feel that they’ve got
very local levels. Think small about making a political
the sort of pull or any kind of voice.
difference. I had mentioned last time when we gath-
And so, one example also is this organization called, ered, and I’ll mention again that we have over 511,000
“Southern Echo.” (LINK: http://www.southernecho.org) elected officials in the United States. And in a two-year
Have you heard of them? They’re in Mississippi. Now, period, over 2-1/2 million people will run for public
when you think about redistricting, what you have is office in the United States. It’s phenomenal. And there
a very complicated story and a really technical set of is a hollowing out of these local organizations that
tools that we use to accomplish it. But now that you’ve need young people. And you can make a remarkable
got all these computers and all these sorts, you’re difference at those Planning Commission Meetings by
actually able to kind of democratize the understanding taking notes and moving forward from there. Yes, m’am.
of how redistricting works in a way.
STUDENT: I’d like to follow up on your comments,
And so this organization has included students, young because while we need to encourage young people to
people - I guess eight or nine years old - on their get involved, what we also need to do is encourage
advisory board. And so they actually have these kids older people to let young people get involved. In speak-
creating these maps and so helping them to actually ing personally as someone — as a 30-year old that
understand how does redistricting work. So I think that works on civic engagement, who tries to get involved

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in the work is told to wait your turn or told that you’re And I’m now doing a book called, Investing in Democracy,
young, and that’s working against you. I’m really inter- which is looking at the government’s role in this. And
ested in hearing practical solutions more about the I’ll just point out one example in Seattle which has a
organization in Hampton and hearing what people very ambitious neighborhood involvement system in
have actually done to get young people involved. Neighborhood Planning.
Secondly, at the university level— Because at our I interviewed mostly planners and neighborhood staff,
university I’d like to learn ways to institutionalize civic city staff, this summer. And the term that kept coming
engagement on college campuses. And while we have a up over and over again was “We build relationships. The
good program, it’s not supported by the administration. only thing we can really do, our staff teach people how
So how are other universities getting the administra- to build relationships with the neighborhood groups
tions involved? and with the business associations, etc.”
CARMEN SIRIANNI: Let me give it a stab. And it does And so, what I would add to this thinking small piece is
relate to a piece I wanted to add in the case, which is I that in whatever setting you’re looking at in this inno-
agree with the thinking small and the note taking and vation, you’ve got to figure out that relational politics,
the kinds of things that Mary said. But I go back to which some people call an “ethical democracy.” How
something Ernie Cortez, who is one of the foremost do you treat the other and come into a relationship of
community organizing leaders, gurus, if you will, with trust for the longer term even when you have some
the Industrial Areas Foundation says many, many times. very big differences in interest and in perspectives?
And he says, “When we go to communities to do
Now where I would dissent from the book that David
training, we tell them we can only teach you one thing,
was citing, not that it wasn’t profound and very effec-
and that one thing is how to build relationships with
tive, is that if you want to build a truly democratic
people that become the core of political relationships
society is you can’t just do that in a manipulative way.
again in a broader sense of that.”
You take the notes. You take over power. You get your
And Hampton and many other places are taking that views. You get your people. It may be very grassroots,
lesson not that they got it directly from Ernie. In but that doesn’t mean it’s democratic ultimately. Okay,
Hampton, the adults, including the adults not only who so you need to make some distinctions there.
were running the city but who were running a Youth
DAVID KING: We have Professor Kirlin back. Are there
Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Center, a non-profit,
things that you would like to add or comments you’d
which was very, very successful and recognized in
like to reflect on?
national circles with awards and everything.
MARY KIRLIN: I guess the observation that I have about
First of all, they let some young people into a visioning
this is I still come back to you need to find a way to
conversation about the rule of what’s going on with
institutionalize the teaching of democratic skills. And I
young people. And what they realized is the key thing
actually think that that happens some from adults but
was not just to open the doors, but to develop the adult
part of the power of having young people do it in their
capacity to help them learn how to build relationships,
own communities and the way that they want to do it,
to do genuine hands-on training, mentoring. Not just
practice with themselves on a smaller scale that they
going to a class and learning these skills. A young
can manage and understand is that at some point, the
woman who spoke here, Alicia, in the presentation to
adults don’t have to do it over and over and over again.
the Innovations in Government Award had been doing
this since middle school. And that meant that the adults If you think about groups that are effective in high
in Hampton had worked with her in many different school, there’s a faculty mentor, but then frankly if
settings. They watched her leadership develop. It was you’re a freshman, you come in, you join a club. And by
really right out of the IAF training and mentoring but the time you’re a senior, you’ve learned how to run it,
in a totally different way. and you’re running it. And so the students are really
passing on the information about how to participate
to each other at this point.

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Frankly, I think what we do is we cherry-pick. We, you foreigner and insider. And my question is about how to
know, skim some kids off the top, and we bring them move, or if the goal really is, because it wasn’t that well
in to sort of the adult conversation. We invest a lot of defined. It was a little bit confusing. If we want to move
time and energy in them, and then, you know, I watch from foreigner to insider, and my question is, is the only
this with our State Board of Education members here in way for that shift to happen, is it through the insider’s
California. We have a voting high school student who is structure, institutional structure, the pre-existing
a member of the State Board of Education. And having institutional structure.
spent a long time in that organization, I think, “Oh, my
An example I can draw from the article you provided,
gosh. Why would those poor people want to come
when the Mississippi Freedom party decided to go
spend six hours talking about the minutia of educa-
to Atlantic City, and they had this course of action
tion?” But they’re a voting member, and that’s great.
planned. But their first stop was to a white attorney to
Then they go away. They go to college. They have no provide the political guidance of the organization. He
responsibility for then training the next young person was on the fringe, but he was still kind of an establish-
behind them. And so, part of the power I think of this ment leader in a sense just by nature of him being
national(?) collective is the younger you start it, the White in a lot of ways.
more effective you can be at getting older kids to teach
So my question is: is the only way to move from
younger kids by getting college students to work with
foreigner to insider to work within the insider’s struc-
the incoming freshmen. And at some point, this sort of
ture, the pre-existing structure? Or is there another
goes back to Dooley and the idea that democracy has to
way? Can we change the structure [from the outside]
be learned by generations.
and start our own or start a new organization?
Because I think we’re trying to step in and again pro-
KIM WILLIAMS: Well, that’s a lot of answers to a com-
vide consistent structure for kids and for adolescence
plicated question. I guess in the interest of time, I
when really what they’re asking is to be heard. But they
would just say that certainly the insiders play a critical
want to be heard in ways that allow them to have a
role. They have played a critical role in social change.
voice about things that matter to them. And sometimes
And so, again, if I had had more times, I would have
that’s stuff on their high school campus, and we some-
actually spent a fair bit of time talking about the role
how say that that’s not appropriate, or it’s not as big,
of White allies in the Civil Rights Movement and in our
or they ought to be doing more important or relevant
current contemporary landscape.
things. For some that’s true; but for a lot, that’s where
they’re going to learn to be empowered. And so I think that I’m not so sure that it’s the only
way, but I don’t see how without White allies, without
And we also know that you pick things up later, that you
college students, without people with means, we’re
learn the skills when you’re younger. And then at some
going to actually better the situation of the people at
point, in a future, frankly, when you have your job, and
the bottom. So I think there’s an absolutely critical role
your house, and you’re settled, then you get back into
to be played by people who have the means to do so.
the cycle. You’re more likely to get back into the cycle of
being involved in political affairs. And what we hope is DAVID KING: Please join me in thanking Carmen
that then some of those skills have carried over. Sirianni, and Kim Williams, and Mary Kirlin. [Applause]
Thank you very much for coming. Thank you.
So again, I think we need to stop thinking about how
do we do it, and rather think how do we facilitate it to DAVID KING: Let me introduce Paul Andrew first. He’s a
happen for young people? Senior Communications Strategist and Structuralist. He
has been around the New England area for quite a while,
DAVID KING: Thank you. This will be the final question
is well know. You’ll see him on television here. But he’s
in back.
an advisor and works for a fabulous group 18to35.
MALE: I have a question for Professor Williams. It’s
Jonathan Zaff, who runs 18to35, has a Ph.D. in
about what you define as your most controversial slide
Developmental Psychology from the University of
about the relationship or the spectrometry between
Georgia. And so he brings an interesting perspective

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and a real understanding of the importance of under- endeavor. So we really, really believe in that and are
standing and learning about politics at an early age. happy that we have a whole day devoted to that.
18to35 conducts policy-relevant research on children
So today, we’re going to be talking about not a genera-
and families. And Jonathan Zaff has become a promi-
tion of apathy, not a generation of slackers, but a
nent person in the news media, and his website is a
generation of idealism. As you can tell and as you all
very important source along with CIRCLE for informa-
know, there’s sometimes a disconnect in what your
tion on youth politics.
abilities are, what your knowledge is and what you
Paul Andrew and Jonathan Zaff will be helping to guide us want to do and the opportunities that are presented to
through our sessions this afternoon in talking about how you. So there’s that idealism that needs to be engaged
to do these kinds of small group information sessions. and engaged on your own terms. And so we recognize
that and are excited about that.
James Riker is the Associate Director of the Democracy
Collaborative. He has a Ph.D. in Government from So who we are, again, non-partisan, not a wink, wink,
Cornell. So Kim and Professor Riker are both Ph.D.’s nudge, nudge non-partisan. We are the policy and
from Cornell. He’s from the University of Maryland, a research arm of America’s youth movement. We try to
political scientist. And he’s the co-founder and Chair bring a credible voice to this. We don’t rock something.
of the Global Development section of the International We don’t dot com something. We are very seriously
Studies Association. And we will be hearing from him about the issues that we are doing.
in just a moment.
We are very much dedicated to engaging young people
He will be talking about an interesting title, “The Role of in a political process and policymaking, the way policies
Youths and Universities in Mobilizing Social Movements.” are created, to engage everybody in those decisions. And
And he’s going to talk about contemporary movements Dr. Sirianni had mentioned, it’s not just about issues that
on college campuses. We begin now with Jonathan Zaff are youth issues or young adult issues, since we are, in
and Paul Andrews. fact, adults. It is about issues that you know about and
want to change.
[PowerPoint presentation: Beyond Voting: A New
Generation of Political Idealism] So, we do research. And we also promote, and we also
provide opportunities to look at the values, issues, and
JONATHAN ZAFF: As David mentioned, I apologize for
aspirations of young people. We encourage and equip
having to leave very abruptly so in about five hours I’ll
young people to actually engage in substantive ways
be in a blue pinstripe suit sitting in a church in Virginia
in the political process. And we also challenge elected
watching friends get married. So we’ll see if that
officials to listen and to engage with us.
actually happens. [Laughter]
Paul, who is more of a master of communications, will
But I was really excited when Jennifer asked Paul and
be much more concise and much more provocative.
me to come here. We’ve been involved with IOP now
To provide framework though for what we’re talking
for a while mostly because of Smack Down Your Vote
about, then Paul’s going to talk about some research
Campaign. And I’m not sure if a lot of you are familiar
that we’re actually conducting around values of both
with that, but it was a fun time that’s still an ongoing
young people and about government. And so that’s
process engaging wrestlers and the general public
really where the focus is, but I want to provide a
around issues that are relevant to young people.
context for what this is all talking about.
But I was most excited about this particular topic of
A lot of this is based on actually some research that I’ve
non-voting participation because we were founded on
done funded by CIRCLE (LINK: www.civicyouth.org) on
that basis. We weren’t founded as a “get out to vote”
a civic context. This is not a one-shot deal. It’s not a
organization. We were really founded as a “get out the
silver bullet approach, but there are multiple contexts
voice” organization, meaning that decisions are being
that we live in. And so, yes, we need opportunities to be
made every day in your life. You need to be a part of
involved. But also, there are a lot of disincentives in the
that. It’s not a once every two year, once every four year
system right now.

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But again, if you look at the implication of us being the ties that are federal agencies. They’re not very friendly.
center here, everything’s a “get out the vote” campaign. They don’t say, “Come on in and talk to us.” [Laughter]
Everything’s about saying we’re going to provide you “Here’s the office to go to if you have an opinion.” It’s
with an opportunity. If you don’t take that opportunity, really not set up that way, somewhat intentionally, but it
we’ll it’s your fault. It’s your responsibility to take it. doesn’t really jive with this generation of open network-
And you hear that a lot. That’s true. We do have respon- ing of peer-to-peer networking of voicing our opinion
sibility, but there’s more at work here. through blogs, through IM-ing, through all these mecha-
nisms. So there’s a disconnect again.
As you can tell, the next circle is all about structure; a
lot of structural barriers here that I’m not going to get Then we have our political parties and campaigns, par-
into because you know them, voter registration, voting tisanship runs rapid. We know that. There’s too much
time. Our parents might not be engaged so why would partisanship in this world. We go on the basis of, “It’s
we be? Our friends are actually apathetic so why would policy not politics that will drive us to get involved.”
we be involved in something our friends aren’t involved That there’s no comity; there’s a lot of comedy. There’s
with. That’s what I’ll talk a little more about is GOTV no comity in the hallways of Congress anymore. And
perspective. That is a pragmatism of politics. we need to get that back. It’s all about crossfire and it’s
not about discussion. We need to bring that back in
I actually wrote about this in an article that Jennifer
because, again, it seems like everbody’s butting heads
and I wrote together for The Politic, (LINK: www.thep-
but getting nowhere.
olitic.org) which is a publication put out by Yale, looking
at a lot of the barriers that existed during 2004. There’s We’re a generation of solutions. We’re a generation of
pragmatism in politics. It means that if you look at action, and it seems like there’s a lot of inaction going
political parties mostly on the partisan side, every four on. There’s a lot of the main systems that we’re working
years, we come out, and we say, “We want your vote. in. It feels kind of negative. But if you look at the top
You’re so important to this process.” On the day after here, you get one way. We have values of society and
the election, they forget because they actually don’t values of government.
want you to be involved. They want you to vote for
Again, if you look at what these values might mean, a
them. So that’s again, a huge generalization, but I think
lot of it is disconnection. It’s making top-down deci-
we all felt that at least from a perception.
sions. It’s not going from that grassroots’ perspective
The next level though, that’s not it. That’s affected by a that my colleagues talked about earlier. On the bottom,
lot of other things. Elected officials are not speaking to we have the values of the individual. And it’s what all
us. They’re speaking by us. They’re not speaking to the the values you hold are. And Paul will be talking more
issues that we actually care about even though we about that in a moment.
voice our opinions on things. They don’t seem to hold
But as you can tell, they’re going in different directions.
the same values we do, and Paul will speak more about
Instead, we need them to finally intersect so that the
that in a few minutes.
values of our government, the values of our country,
We have appointed officials so that’s even one step intersect with our own personal values. And that’s an
away. We didn’t even vote for these people. They were important step we need to take.
appointed. God forbid, now what do they do when
So what are some of the things we’re doing? I’m going to
they’re making decisions for us? It seems like there’s
make a couple of plugs because I’m leaving. I won’t have
a disconnect in what’s supposed to be a democracy. If
a chance to hopefully schmooze most of you. But I hope
you look at the government’s structure, I would say that
you do stay in touch with us. A couple of things, Paul will
the ivory tower of academia is much more welcoming
be talking about this first topic, “A New Generation of
than the hallways of Congress sometimes. It’s less
Political Idealism,” which is a project we’re undertaking
impenetrable than that.
in communities around the country including hopefully
If you look at the federal office buildings, I don’t know in your neck of the woods, here at Harvard.
how many of you go to DC and have seen the monstrosi-

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We also have an Innovator’s Program. Paul is an inno- And I hope that the project I’m going to explain to you
vator. He’s one of our innovators. He was our first and lay out is focused primarily on taking action
innovator. It’s really to engage the new innovative implementation. This is not about the discussion. While
voices that are out there and to bring them together the discussion is very important, it’s about taking it to
and to really get their voice out there and challenge the next level. And Jon has set a very high bar for me.
people to listen to those ideas, challenge the norm. I just want to say I do have a three-week-old son so I’m
sleeping about three hours a night at the moment. So
We’re also holding dialogs for different places around the
any incoherence on my part can be blamed on him.
country. Not just focus groups, but dialogs. I saw there
[Laughter] He’s not here to defend himself.
were representatives from USC and Ohio State. I defi-
nitely want to stay in touch because we’ve actually talked So the context for this project is one that you’ll all be
with your Congressional representatives, have gotten very familiar with, mistaken perceptions and a kind of a
buy-in from their offices to be involved in dialogs in your laziness on both sides that lead both sides to ask, “Why
communities. And so I was excited to see you’d be here bother?” And this is really where this project stemmed
because I was thinking we need to make connections from, the disconnects that we see. I think we can all give
with the people at the universities. So please, if I don’t credit to the political parties and the political candidates;
get to touch base with you, please touch base with Paul for example, in the 2004 Presidential Election, where
at some point throughout the day. And also, hopefully, turnout among 18to35-year olds was substantially
you’ll be excited by this whole project. higher, particularly in those battleground states.
Finally, this idea of changing the system, before it But again, I think you see that connecting that one
was talked about as grassroots-level change that needs disconnect, getting people to turn out, simply leads us
to start. We talked about it as taking ideas from the to the next step, the next disconnect, which is the effort
kitchen tables of America and bringing them to the to understand young voters’ values, aspirations, and
hallways of Congress. And we’re actually engaging in what’s important to them.
a project now. We have a meeting in December, with
And the other context of this that really kind of made
numerous national-level organizations that have feet
us think this was an important project to take forward
in communities around the country, the idea that we’ll
is that responsibility and selfish reasons on both sides
be building their policy capacity and leveraging their
to bridge this divide, to bridge this gap, and connect
combined voice to make systemic change in this coun-
that disconnect. On the politician side, a kind of growing
try, not necessarily about making opportunities for civic
importance of young voters, as we move to become 18
engagement more possible but making the changes on
to 65 and become the donors of the next couple of Pres-
the issues that they encounter every day in their com-
idential Elections and the high vote turnout generation.
munities; for us, a big idea.
Then also, on our side, this kind of strong idealism
But enough of me; I’ve gone over my ten-minute time.
among young Americans, which we find in our research
I want to turn this over to Paul Andrew. He’ll be talking
that too rarely those in political office and professional
about this idea of sort of idealism.
campaign consultants understand. And we all know
PAUL ANDREW: Well, David King was right in that I been about the increase in volunteerism, but it’s not neces-
in England for a while, but you’ll quickly realize I’m not sarily leading to the long-term systemic change that
from here [Laughter] originally. And in fact, prior to we’d like to see.
moving over here, I was a Special Advisor to a guy called
As we quickly zip through this, the process we’ve gone
Gordon Brown, who will be the next Prime Minister of
through to date is six focus groups in Seattle. And we
Great Britain, I hope. [Laughter] And so I come from the
didn’t just do those on university campuses. We deliber-
perspective of having worked in a government where it’s
ately went to people who were not necessarily politi-
more about activity and action and policy and implemen-
cally engaged or were active in their communities. We
tation than simply communication.
went to “Joe Six Pack”, I guess is the term that you hear
a lot among political researchers, and asked them why

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aren’t they involved? How would they get involved? At the very same time, 61% of young people said they
And specifically what we asked them was how did they would prefer individual accounts over the current social
intersect with government? security system. Now there was a disconnect there.
They’re voting for a Democratic candidate. The candi-
And the reason we wanted to do that is because that’s
date has diametrically opposed the position of the
clearly where we see the disconnect here and the values
Republicans on social security. You see there that while
of the political leaders of the government of the estab-
we’re turning out to vote for a Democratic President,
lished institutions and this generation. Even though
this isn’t a partisan issue. But we’re turning out to vote
they’re involved in volunteerism, they’re not necessarily
for that candidate.
working together.
So there’s another breakdown here, and that’s really
Our next stage of this is to take it nationally and as Jon
where we want to focus our efforts is addressing this
said, we have a number of states that we’re looking to
breakdown between values, visions, and aspirations of
do further qualitative research on. This is where we saw
our demographic group and political leaders. We both
the challenge [of the disconnected values]. And again,
have our different vehicles, but what we have to do is
this question on either side of why [we’re not connect-
bring them together because ultimately we’re all trying
ing]. I’ve worked in lots of political campaigns. And it’s
to achieve the same thing, some sort of lasting impact.
really not the candidates’ fault. It’s more the campaign
infrastructure, with a very limited number of resources, So I’m going to quickly run through three slides, six
and you’ve got to use them most cost-effectively. findings. There’s clearly deep frustration with the effec-
tiveness in politics and government. It goes beyond this
Well, anyone can tell you that seniors vote in great
initial cynicism, this knee-jerk with corruption. They’re
numbers than people in 18 to 24 demographic. I mean,
not on our side, that sort of thing. It goes beyond that.
you’re spending that very, very important dollar. Who
It goes to red tape. It goes too out-dated. It goes too
are you going to spend it on? Are you going to spend it
slow to respond to us. Actual, process things. It’s much
on the person who consistently votes? And that’s led to
more systemic but actually more easier to solve.
institutionally and safe campaigns. Young people don’t
give money in great numbers. They don’t vote. Why When you listen to their main concerns, young people
even bother going after them? never go to the things you hear about at the federal
level. They never talk about gay marriage. They never
Now, that’s one breakdown. I think we have addressed
talk about abortion. They talk about their neighborhood.
it slightly, and some of the political parties have. They
Transport was a big issue in Seattle. They talk about
take some credit for raising the turnout. In those ten
things that are very concrete in their day-to-day lives.
most battleground states in the 2004 Presidential
And there is a huge disconnect between our demo-
Election by 13 percentage points, 64%. That’s pretty
graphic group and the federal government. People really
high turnout increase. I think that we must give the
feel very strongly, very idealistic about their neighbor-
political infrastructure some credit for that.
hood and their community, and really don’t see federal
But even when politicians try to address that gap, we governments having any impact there whatsoever. And
then see the next disconnect. They might know how to they’re really turned off.
turn us out, but they don’t know what motivates us.
And it’s not necessarily a partisan breakdown. Here’s the
They don’t know what’s important to us, the issues,
good news. Young people are very idealistic, particularly
the values we share, the aspirations we have. And we
in international issues. In our groups, they talk exten-
use one example to describe this. Senator Kerry beat
sively about the importance of the response to tsunami,
President Bush by 10 percentage points among our
for example. They talk about economic competition
demographic. That’s up from around 1 percentage point
with the emerging economies in Asia. They’re obviously
with Vice President Gore in the 2000 Election. It’s just
going far more quick and more effectively than our
a massive increase in support for a Democratic ticket
owns and those in the West. So they see things very
among our demographic.
much at a local and international level. They talk about

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the collective interest to people in their neighborhood. But, and Jon mentioned this, we have responsibility as
They talk about if they’re parked down the street as well. Young people must be willing to help that same
opposed to the environment at large. It’s something standard, to be active participants. And I think that
very concrete in their own lives and very local to them. we’re seeing massive increases in the levels of volun-
teerism, and we know that young people are idealistic.
The other good news is they’ve not written off govern-
And we know they’re willing to take action and be
ment at all. They really want government to work well.
active participants. And what we have to do is create
They talk about government as being a very important
a mechanism that brings them together.
part of their lives. They want it to be different, and this
is how it speaks to what Professor Williams was talking We have two initial recommendations that we’re not
about earlier about institution having to change to going to go into any great detail because our research
address the challenges or to address their needs and is just starting, and we really want to play it through a
their aspirations. And it’s not a government that gives lot more before we ever get to try to implement any of
them things. And this, I think, gets to a kind of, I this. This idea of the community innovation fund really
guess, a conventional wisdom. What has happened in is a way to bridge argument and divide. It brings together
Washington between the parties? The Democrats are for government and communities at a very local level.
government of involved interventionist and Republicans
It will be government funding. It would go directly to
are for a government that’s out of the way and get out
communities and to young people in their communities
of your light.
to address of any specific problem effectively devolving
Well, it’s not that. Young people in this demographic what the resources and the responsibility to young
think very differently about this. They want a govern- people in their neighborhoods where they are most
ment that’s involved but empowering, not over involved interested and most involved, at demand level, innova-
but not out of the way entirely, somewhere in the tive creativity, which we know young people have
middle as I think previous speakers were saying. volumes. And it would be very results oriented. It would
require measurable reports on what was achieved or
They know what kind of government they want. They
wasn’t achieved.
talk about they want a government to protect them.
They want a government that’s strong, an interesting And I think that way what we’re doing is using govern-
blend of the typical progress of what we would think ment as a way to empower young people trying to
young people might say. They see that compassion is bridge that divide. This is one mechanism where we
an important value. But they also see strong security. want to introduce. And the second is just products.
We want government to protect this important value. We recognize that this divide exists within the existing
An interesting blend of what would typically be the political structures but also among young people. And
progressive and conservative strengths. what we have to do is to educate both sides here.
And then, young people are very results oriented. They And that means seas of products, a strategist for
quickly see through the rhetoric. They’ve been marketed candidates to help him better understand not just how
to too much. And they can quickly see through spin and to get these people to turnout. Might just tell to run a
rhetoric. So this really gets to our final couple of slides fuel campaign, not just how to use their feet and the
here. The government’s got to change what it does resources, how to use their minds as well and how to
to address some of the most typical problems in the tap their values and their aspirations. By doing that,
communities. And it’s got to change how it does things. we think that both sides can really benefit from this.
It’s got to be more open. It’s got to be a bit more
Now we’ll hand it over to David.
selfless. It’s got to be willing to admit mistakes. And
this is really eye opening. If I were advising a political DAVID KING: Thank you very much. [Applause] We’ll
candidate who’s going to speak to get the young people hear from Professor Riker in just a moment. Jennifer
out, the first thing I tell him is, “Admit some mistake and our staff at the Institute of Politics a couple of
you made. Even if you’ve not made one, admit it.” years ago put together a booklet called, Are You Talking
[Laughter] Because that’s one way to break through. to Me? The older folks among us understood the movie

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reference that was lost on other students. But the Question and Answer
target audience was not students. It was politicians,
DAVID KING: Carmen, you spoke about college cam-
and every delegate at the Democrat and Republican
puses as places for dialog and discussion. It reminded
Conventions received a copy of this book. Now we’re
me of three ways of viewing politics, one which is quite
working on the next phase of that, which is “Are you
cynical, is politics as a market. And if we view politics as
Listening to Me?” essentially.
a market where things are bought and sold and if we
I’d like to move now to Professor Jim Riker, “The Role of don’t have money, then we’ve locked ourselves out off
Youths and Universities in Mobilizing Social Movements.” that vision of politics. Many people though view politics
as an arena where there are two teams doing battle,
PROFESSOR JIM RIKER: What I wanted to do today was
often hurting each other. And we’re in the stands
to give you a sense of a project that is near and dear to
rooting for one side or each other.
my heart and also tell you a little about how I got there
and why I’m standing here today. Because to be honest, And then finally, you talked about politics as a forum, a
that wasn’t where I thought I would be when I started politics where we have a dialog, a debate, a discussion
this project. First of all, I need to say thanks to Jennifer that involves civility. And it’s when politics switches from
for inviting me here today and particularly to the a forum to an arena, when is it time to actually fight,
Institute because they really should be commended for when is it time to really take a side and fight hard?
thinking outside the box and pushing our analysis on
I think it’s hard for us to understand in a political setting.
youths and local engagement beyond the electoral arena.
Certainly in the civil rights era when Martin Luther King
This project is looking at the role of youths and universi- wrote his letter from the Birmingham Jail and he said to
ties in mobilizing social movements. It’s supported by the Northern ministers, “This is a time for extremism. You
CIRCLE so to be honest, they all support this marriage. can’t sit this one out,” he was calling for battle. He was
And it came out of discussions that we were having not calling for a forum. So it’s an interesting issue on
at The Democracy Collaborative at the University of college campuses. When do we try and provide a com-
Maryland about the big question. And the big question fortable forum for debate and discussion? And when do
for us, behind this project, which is, “Well, if we’re really we say, “These issues are important enough that we’re
serious about democracy in all aspects of our lives, what going to suit up and take battle?”
leads to durable, long-term systemic democratic change?
CARMEN SIRIANNI: We’ll open it up. But, I definitely will
Is it going to the ballot box, or is it taking to the streets?”
address this. Let’s get some other kinds of things going.
And for many of us who were sitting in the room at that
JENNIFER PHILLIPS: Just simply, why isn’t this story
point, we said, “You know, the Civil Rights Movement
getting out? The story didn’t get out about young
happened largely because people took to the streets.
people voting. There’s a sense still I think by older adults
They organized, as Professor Kim Williams has shown
that young people are apathetic. Those of us who work
us, from legal activities, then direct action, and then
against that have to fight that all the time.
politics. And they had all of those elements in it.
CARMEN SIRIANNI: I think one of the things, and this is
Then, we started to look at other issues as well, the
only one piece, is that the media has a very hard time
Women’s Movement, the Divestment Movement of the
seeing politics as anything but, you know, either the
1980’s because of the attempts to stop investment of
battle or a fairly narrow view of what young people can
universities, pension funds, even public funds going to
do. I’ll give you an example. In the 2004 election, CNN
corporations that were doing business with the
had a Rock the Vote Forum and assembled a team.
Apartheid regime in South Africa.
Various people, I as well, have worked with people like
Many of those cases were started and initiated by
Rock the Vote. We were at a strategy conference, and
students saying, “There’s an issue that concerns me.
one of the things that we were trying to explain is that
There’s an injustice that needs to be addressed. Of
when you get in front of the cameras, give a sense that
priorities that we all need to come around and mobilize
young people are not just coming to the political forum
around and engage in.

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to say to candidates, “What will you do for our issue?” The same way the woman in Utah said, “I’m doing all
But show that young people are out there as agents this advocacy work, but really what appeals to me is
who are doing a lot of things, like the community that there’s this opportunity for ecosystem restoration
service movement. and hands-on work.” And she said, “I took a year off
from college and from my Sierra Club work because
And that was extremely difficult. The CNN producers
I felt that that kind of politics, the sort of working
wanted the kind of jazzed-up thing where people come
relationally with people from different sides and doing
to the microphone and challenge the candidates to
the hands-on restoration work was so important to
address the youth issue. Now that’s very important.
what I saw myself in the long term as a citizen.”
Okay, you can say, “Why don’t you address youth
issues? Well, social security is getting all this attention. Now, not everybody makes that shift, and some people
But young people are”— But it was very difficult. shift backward, you know, shift the other way. And so I
think when we look at it, it’s a very complex world.
There was a whole network of people trying to broaden
People will fill different roles, different niches in the
that discussion. Yet when it got down to that forum, it
organizational sort of landscape. And in some cases, you
was unbelievably narrow. And that’s only a little bit of
need the all-out fight because so much is at stake, and it
it. I understand that.
hinges on a voting Congress or something like that.
And David’s point is a really good point, and I think
But we really should not forget that over the long term,
there’s no one answer to when you shift. I think that
unless we really enrich the kind of relational, produc-
that answer will be made differently by different
tive, collaborative politics, it’s going to be very hard to
individuals and by different types of organizations.
govern this country.
So if they are in the Young Democrats or in a Move-On
group or something like that, they’re going to be on STUDENT: I absolutely agree that politics should be a
ready to do that switch. In fact, they don’t know too dialog and not a screaming match. But those of us who
much else. And we need that. We don’t want them to are in Virginia, (and I know there are some folks from
just do the other stuff and wait around to do that. In Rutgers here) who are watching the campaign unfold.
other words, there needs to be a division of labor. It’s Election Day’s on Tuesday. It’s so dirty. And people are
an inevitable that there’s a division of labor. rewarded for being so brutal and so dirty. The same
folks who did the Swift Boat ads are in Virginia. I know
But here’s an example. When we did our interviews, I
there are the same media guys in New Jersey. And the
personally interviewed people from the Sierra Student
same goes for the Democrats. It’s not a clean campaign,
Coalition and the Student PIRG’s. And some of them
and there’s not a lot of dialog.
came to the meetings we had. And I remember talking
to two people from Harvard, who were leaders of the Nationally, there’s very few proposals for bi-partisan
Sierra Student Coalition on campus here and one action and collaboration. We don’t see it in the cam-
woman from Utah, who was heading one of their paigns. 2006 is likely to be really brutal.
projects out there.
So when the nation is so polarized, and there’s so little
These three were women. And they each said to me in bipartisanship, so little collaboration, why do you think
different ways, “I’m a senior now. And you know what, the university will be somewhere where this will be
I’m getting tired of doing this kind of politics of just successful?
this strident advocacy.” She said something like, “Maybe
CARMEN SIRIANNI: Okay, let me take that into a couple
because I’m a woman, but I like the idea of having these
of pieces. One is that the nation is polarized. To some
opportunities to collaborate. The world is very complex.
extent, the parties are very polarized. The political elites
I’m finding out in my life that I’m working at Harvard,
are very polarized. But if you look at at least some
but I have to be able to talk to people who really have
research. Morris Fiorina used to be at Harvard and is
disagreements.”
now at Stanford, wrote a book [Culture War: The Myth
of a Polarized America with Samuel J. Abrams and

www.iop.harvard.edu
2 0 0 5
Jeremy C. Pope (Pearson Longman, 2004)] that goes

through incredible amount of public opinion research
to show that, in fact, the American people are not that
deeply polarized on many things. Yes, we know that
there are certain cultural things that are fairly divisive.
At least ask the question, “Are the people as polarized
as the political elites that mobilize?” Because there are a
lot of other institutional factors that might explain that.
[Such as non-competitive congressional districts.]
But if I can step out of role here as a scholar for a
second and speak as a Progressive Democrat, if you
look at today, do people believe that the Democrats are
capable of governing over the longer term? No. So, you
can have your victories. You can fight your campaigns.
And I’m not saying you shouldn’t, right?
But unless the Democrats can step forward and say,
“We stand for more than critique, more than the sort
of knee-jerk regulatory and distributive policies of the
past.” And again, I know that’s tricky—“And that we can
figure out. We can project a vision of governance that
is a form of governance that brings people together as
problem-solving communities and institutions at every
level of the federal system. And part of that is, in other
words, that progressivism without a very enriched civic
democratic collaboration core will be very vulnerable to
a conservative Republican market-based sort of view of
everything because markets are much easier. It’s so easy
to just say, “Well, if it’s not working, turn it into another
market-based solution.”
DAVID KING: Thank you, Carmen.
END

www.iop.harvard.edu
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© Kim Williams
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© Johathan Zaff and Paul Andrews

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f o r u m

COLLEGE STUDENTS AND

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

Young Voices and the Role of Opening Remarks and Moderator

The Youth of Our Democracy

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

Jeremy C. Pope (Pearson Longman, 2004)] that goes

N AT I O N A L C A M PA I G N FOR POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

elective politics careers in public service civic education

© Johathan Zaff and Paul Andrews

© Johathan Zaff and Paul Andrews

© Johathan Zaff and Paul Andrews

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