Civic Engagement:
ADP At Lander University
By Dr. Robert Stevenson,
Chair, Lander University American Democracy Project
Since the birth of this country, U.S. leaders have stressed the need for its citizens to become active participants in its democracy – “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
In 1787, when asked to describe our new government, Benjamin Franklin alluded to its fragility when he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
In 1820, Thomas Jefferson articulated the power invested in each citizen. He said, “I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion.”< /font>
In his1961 inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy motivated a generation of Americans to take responsibility for the health of their country when he issued his famous challenge, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
In 2004, the pleas of past leaders for civic action now echo and intertwine with new warnings about apathy and its potentially dire consequences.
As the future of our democracy is once again called into question, Lander University is responding.
A state university of 3,000 students in Greenwood, SC, Lander has joined nearly 150 colleges in a nationwide dialogue called the American Democracy Project (ADP). The project is a cooperative endeavor of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), The New York Times, and AASCU member institutions. ADP focuses on preparing graduates for lives of civic involvement. The project emerges out of a concern about decreasing rates of participation in voting, in advocacy, in local grassroots associations, and in other forms of civic engagement that are necessary for the vitality of our democracy.
America is in the midst of a convergence of powerful forces. On one hand, immigration is responsible for a rapid growth in the number of people living in the United States who are of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds; on the other hand, cell phones, TV and other technology are in effect isolating individuals and separating neighborhoods. The town hall meeting has given way to electronic chat rooms, and the result is disconnectedness. Democratic values and ideals cannot flourish in isolation. According to The American Democracy Project abstract, “…current levels of political knowledge, political engagement, and political enthusiasm are so low as to threaten the vitality and stability of democratic politics in the United States.”
Civic engagement is the solution. The ADP abstract defines civic engagement as, “working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes.”< /font>
“Lander has had a long-term commitment to the development of a sense of community in all our students,” said Lander University President Dr. Daniel Ball. “ Certainly civic duty and responsibility are integral parts of that sense of community.”
A portion of the civic engagement activities at Lander are undertaken to satisfy academic requirements. For example, The Lander President’s Leadership Program annually teaches up to 30 freshmen to become leaders in their respective communities. That program also contains a civic engagement/volunteer action component. Nursing students partake in clinical rotations in hospitals and other medical settings, music and theater students perform for the community, and education students serve in schools as student teachers.
In addition, a large percentage of civic engagement opportunities at Lander University are driven by co-curricular life as fraternities and sororities require their members to participate in philanthropies. Civic engagement is integral to many student organizations, such as Rotoract, the Student Government Association, Minorities on the Move, Blue Key Honor Society, Baptist College Ministries, and The Forum student newspaper.
Lander students seeking to better their communities also volunteer on a purely individual level. As many as 87 local agencies have been served by Lander students. Among others, those agencies include Habitat for Humanity, Red Cross, United Way, Meg’s House, and Meals on Wheels.
As the call for civic engagement continues to reverberate across this country, and as echoes of our nation’s leaders continue to caution about the fragility of democracy, Lander University is empowering its students to respond to the call with a unified voice: “A republic -- yes, we can keep it. We are enlightened and informed. Now, what can we do for our country?”
