Saturday, September 6th, 2008

Civic Engagement Week gets students involved

Several events provide education, opportunity to get active

Throughout the week, students will have the chance to get involved in the civic process. Civic Engagement week is hosted by the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.

By Erin Sommer

Monday, October 22nd, 2007

This week, the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics played to host the fourth annual Civic Engagement Week to encourage active participation in the community.

Barbara Ballard, associate director of the Dole Institute and state representative, said that the week would have several opportunities for students to be involved in the civic process. She said she was especially excited for this morning’s breakfast for future and current leaders at the Dole Institute.

“It can be a social thing as well as an opportunity to meet other student leaders,” Ballard said.

Ballard said that the main purpose of Civic Engagement Week was to focus on what it meant to be a United States citizen. On this campus, she said, it meant getting involved.

Ballard said that being engaged in the civic process included meeting other students, volunteering and voting.

“I enjoy working with students and making sure they’re involved in where they live,” Ballard said. “We look for ways that students could actively participate and not just sit and listen.”

Events occurring during the week include Sustainability Day on Wednesday, which features presentations in the morning and a town hall forum in the afternoon, a showing of the movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” on Thursday and volunteering at the Jubilee Café on Tuesday and Friday morning. Students will also be able to register to vote from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day this week at a table on Wescoe Beach.

Ballard said that she had worked with several student organizations to give several different groups at the University ownership of the week.

One such group is the Student Legislative Awareness Board, or SLAB. Alex Treaster, Shawnee senior, is director of the legislature.

“SLAB is going to be more focused on registering voters while the Dole Institute will be hosting a variety of political programs,” Treaster said. “Although we will both have our own events throughout the week, the SLAB-Dole Institute partnership has been the driving force behind the development of Civic Engagement Week.”

Ballard said that Civic Engagement Week was part of a national movement started by a relationship between the University, Harvard University and several other institutions throughout the country. Ballard said that other schools had similar weeks to try to promote civic engagement. She also said that once a year she took students to Harvard to meet with other universities to discuss ways to promote civic involvement on campus.

Beka Romm, Bennington senior and student outreach coordinator for the Dole Institute, said that Civic Engagement Week was part of the institute’s mission.

“The mission of the Dole Institute is to educate and engage students,” Romm said. “Civic Engagement Week is really about what you are going to do with what you’ve learned.”

— Edited by Kaitlyn Syring

Discussion

All comments are moderated by Kansan.com staff. For our full user policy, click here.

111 Stauffer-Flint Hall • 1435 Jayhawk Blvd. • Lawrence, Kansas 66045 • (785) 864-4810