Citizen and Democracy Week
From Sept. 14-18, Miami University Hamilton and Middletown will present themed discussions and events that address the topic: “What does it mean to be a good citizen?” Here’s what’s happening on both campuses:
Monday:
10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Voter registration — Schwarm Commons (Sponsored by the MUH Center for Civic Engagement and the MUH Student Association for Law and Politics)
7-8:30 p.m.: Keynote address and book signing with social and political activist and author Paul Loeb at the Wilks Conference Center. His speech is "Soul of a Citizen: How Can We Make Our Voices Heard and Our Actions Count?"
Tuesday:
10 a.m.-noon: An on-campus public session of the Ohio Court of Appeals for the 12th District at the Wilks Conference Center. The public can observe the Ohio appeals court hear oral arguments in a special on-campus session.
10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Voter registration — Schwarm Commons
7 p.m.: An on-campus public meeting of the Hamilton City Schools Board of Education at the Wilks Conference Center.
Wednesday:
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Voter registration — Schwarm Commons
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: A faculty-led discussion on the "The Importance of Free Speech" at the Mosler Hall patio. It's presented by Miami Professor Daniel Hall with the Department of Justice & Community Studies
12:30-2 p.m.: "Write for Rights," a civic engagement opportunity at the Mosler Hall patio. It's presented by Miami Professor Kelli Johnson with the Department of English
5:30-7 p.m.: Social Justice Theater at Studio 307 in Phelps Hall (3rd floor). It's presented by Miami Professor Bekka Reardon of the Department of
Theatre. In this interactive performance, students at Miami Hamilton will present a short piece of theatre designed to engender the sharing of ideas about social justice and/or injustice in communities.
Thursday:
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Voter registration — Schwarm Commons
11:30-1 p.m.: "Read a Line, Get a Slice!" is a public reading of the U.S. Constitution at the Schwarm Patio. You read a line and you get a free slice of pizza.
11:30-1 p.m.: Free copies of the U.S. Constitution will be distributed on the Schwarm Patio. (Sponsored by the MUH Center for Civic Engagement and the Department of Justice & Community Studies)
2 p.m.: The U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Ohio will hold a naturalization ceremony at the Miami Hamilton Main Quad. Approximately 75 people will take their oath of citizenship before friends and family. (In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be relocated to the Parrish Auditorium)
Friday:
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Voter registration — Schwarm Commons
Miami Hamilton Downtown Center
Wednesday:
7:30-8:30 p.m.: There will be a free showing of "Citizen U.S.A.: A 50-State Road Trip" followed by a discussion presented by Miami Professor John Forren with the Department of Justice & Community Studies
Miami Univeristy Middletown Campus
Monday:
10 a.m.-noon: Voter registration — Johnston Hall (Sponsored by the MUM Office of Community Engagement & Service)
1-2 p.m.: The Office of Community Engagement & Service presents a Coffee Hour: "Moving Forward: What We Can Do Together!"
Tuesday:
10 a.m.-noon: Voter registration — Johnston Hall (Sponsored by the MUM Office of Community Engagement & Service)
2-3 p.m.: There will be a panel discussion on "Becoming a Receiving Community" at Johnston Hall in Room 136/137
Wednesday:
4-6:30 p.m.: There will be a free showing of "Citizen U.S.A.: A 50-State Road Trip" followed by a discussion in Johnston Hall in Room 142.
Friday:
11 a.m.-noon: There will be a panel discussion on "The Faces of Immigration" and will be held at Verity Lodge.
An upcoming week of events hosted by Miami University hopes to make residents more civically aware.
“We live in a society where our system of government relies on citizens taking part,” said John Forren, political science professor at Miami University Hamilton. “But there’s a lot of evidence that has shown that Americans aren’t as active as they once were.”
There are any number of surveys with data that shows Americans don’t vote, don’t volunteer and don’t know their neighbors. Only 40.65 percent of registered Ohioan voters cast a ballot in 2014’s statewide general election that featured a race for governor and four other statewide races. In Butler County, voter turnout was at 37.42 percent. It was more anemic in Butler County during the last local election in 2013 when voter turnout was 27.2 percent.
This is compared to presidential election years in 2008 and 2012 when voter turnout in Ohio exceeded 85 percent.
But civic health is not limited to voting, Forren said.
“Low levels of participation in elections are a symptom of a larger problem, or bigger problem,” he said. “A lot of Americans are just disconnected from their communities, and low rates of participation are just part of that bigger picture.”
According to the 2013 Ohio Civic Health Index, the most recent index, only 14.7 percent of Ohioans socialize with neighbors and less than a third volunteer their time for some type of cause. And Forren said if we are going to have a healthy democracy, “We need to have people more engaged in participating.”
This year is the first time Miami University has dedicated a week for citizenship and democracy, which is the week of Sept. 14. The two anchor programs includes author and social and political activist Paul Loeb on Monday night and the naturalization of 75 soon-to-be new American citizens Thursday afternoon, which is also Constitution Day.
Miami Hamilton junior Quinton Couch believes citizenship awareness shouldn’t be regulated to just one week because it’s “something we almost take for granted.”
“Across the ocean, hundreds or even thousands of people fleeing their own country from war and renouncing their own citizenship,” he said. “Moving forward, we should learn to appreciate more our own citizenship.”
Don Vermillion, director of Public Projects at the University of Dayton’s Fitz Center, said though there are many surveys that point to lower civic engagement within many communities, he remains hopeful. He sees a revival happening with civic involvement on college campuses around the Miami Valley area, and believes it’s not limited to that region.
“I’m seeing that on their own that students have a feeling of engagement in the community,” said of students at the University of Dayton, as well as Wright State University and Sinclair Community College. “They want to find ways to be involved within the community — whether it’s through the classroom or whether it’s through some of our extracurricular types of programs.”
His confidence that the next generation of leaders and activists will be engaged in the future is demonstrated by their engagement as college students.
“I’m just optimistic when I see some of the college campus engagement and interest in being involved, and not just on-campus activities but activities that are actually based in the community,” Vermillion said.
He compared the “activism and interest” by students to when he was in college in the 1960s at Miami University.
“I’m sensing that in the involvement that the students want to have in the community,” he said. “They are concerned about what’s happening in the community that surrounds the campus, and what kind of positive impact what they can have working with the citizens who live in the community where they go to college. And I don’t think it’s unique to the Dayton area. I’d be surprised if you find anything different.”
Couch agrees there is a revival of citizenship and civic engagement on college campuses. He said students are in the library reading national newspapers like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal “developing themselves to have an intelligent opinion, be more involved and engaged, and be able to make a change in the world.”
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