Hi All,
Joel presented so many nuggets of information and I found myself thinking about his assertions throughout his talk. One question I have: If the country is so much less engaged, what does that say about the dramatic increase in college student involvement in service, in activism, in advocacy work, in justice work? Are Schwartz and Putman ignoring that trend? Will we see a resurgance of community engagement in the next 20 years? Even though PTA membership is down otehr membership is up - and it's up in some really important organizations that rely on consistent commitment to a cause and not an annual check.
Comments, disagreements, etc....
Drew
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I think the increased involvement on college campuses could be a reaction to the decreased civic engagement across the country over these past fifty years. We've seen how our society is flagging because of it and so we're increasing our own engagement efforts as a response. It's probably not that simple, but I think it would make sense.
What do you think about the notion that the post 9/11 student is more engaged, more committed than before? What impact, if any, do you think it has had on engagement in community generally?
I think that the increased involvement comes from the idea that, at least in today's society in America, not being involved and engaged could have a serious effect on your future and the future of America as a whole.
During parts of Joel's talk, I thought about how college-aged students after Vietnam were so involved because they had just witnessed an event that had the potential to change their entire way of life and they couldn't be complacent and it made me think of how Americans reacted to 9/11 and about how college students are getting involved now in the 2008 election. 9/11 shook students out of the idea that they could be complacent and that as a country that we were entirely secure and didn't have to do anything because it would just be taken care of and this election has forced students to be more engaged because there really is no way to not see how this election could have an effect on the futures.
Jazmine brings up the impact of 9/11 on civic engagement. It is a facinating question worth more research.
What impact, if any, did the events of 9/11 aqnd the aftermath have on this generation of college students' attitudes and activities?
She also brings to bear the elephant in the room: What will the results of the upcoming presidential election have on young people's engagement patterns?
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/saguaro/index.htm
Check it out
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