HPU Democracy USA Project answers national call for civic awareness
By Jessica Strickler
The American Dream is one of the defining characteristics of the United States, a symbol of equal opportunity and the chance to improve one’s life from generation to generation. Its associated images are the 2.5 kids, mini van, white picket fence and dog in the yard, but many argue that while the idea of an American Dream is still present, the reality of achieving the dream is slipping away.
Each year at High Point University, the $50,000 Think Big grant is awarded to faculty with innovative ideas. This year, it was awarded to Dr. Carol Davis, Dr. Martin Kifer and Dr. Joseph Blosser and more for their proposal of the HPU Democracy USA Project. As part of the HPU Democracy USA Project, the American Dream Project (ADP) and many other projects were born. Specifically, the ADP has plans to create a reality television show, while other components of the Democracy project include completing a national poll in conjunction with the HPU Survey Research Center, offering nine related courses for the fall 2012 semester, and sending students to both the Republican and Democratic national conventions over the summer.
One of the largest portions of the Democracy Project is the creation of the reality show, which was drummed up by Davis, professor of communication.
“Reality shows give people a chance to think about things and reflect about things, and comment about things, and what better positions for students to be in—they can bounce their ideas off one another,” said Davis.
According to information on their website, the American Dream project reality show “follows 33 HPU students and exposes them to the American Dream while asking them, ‘Is this dream attainable?’”
The purpose of the eight episodes within the reality show is to explore and understand how issues that people face everyday can affect everyone around us and even have the ability to alter a political election. Some episodes of the reality show are being filmed off campus; one recent filming took place at the a free health clinic in downtown High Point. During that episode, students interviewed a family who as had healthcare challenges.
“Unless you have someone close in your family who has financial trouble, you may have not have the opportunity to talk one-on-one with someone who is having this difficulty,” said Davis. “Students were able to have an open, honest and frank discussion with them about the healthcare system.”
HPU is the only college in America to be spearheading a project like this, and one of its main goals is to help students get involved in the civic life of their communities. This goal is a direct response to the national call to action by the US Department of Education’s publication titled, “A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future.”
“The call to action is to get more involved and to shift the focus [of college’s nationwide] from preparing students for a job to also making students civically minded and engaged in their learning,” said Blosser, professor of religion. “We don’t just want to focus on one of those two, because they are not mutually exclusive. We can prepare [students] for both.”
Another part of the project, which seeks to combine classroom learning with real world experience, are the nine courses being offered in the fall of 2012. They will delve into the issues of the American Dream, focusing on everything from the history of political elections to religious affiliations in America to election reporting. Three of the nine are service-learning courses, which will require a 15-hour minimum of community service. The service hours will connect directly into the idea of engaging in democracy and helping spread political awareness. Students will be working with advocacy groups, non-partisan election related groups and the World Relief Program, which helps refugees get settled in the United States by teaching citizenship classes.
“An integral part of the larger vision [of the ADP] is developing the interdisciplinary opportunities for students to learn outside of the classroom,” said Blosser.
The students enrolled in the nine courses will be participating and presenting at three different colloquiums on campus to share the knowledge they have gained thus far in the courses, expose fellow students to different points of view and to develop a broader understanding of the elections. Each colloquium will be about two and a half hours long, with student and faculty presentations, along with small group discussions at the end.
As part of the courses, students will be using the polling information and data gathered by the HPU Survey Research Center (SRC), directed by Kifer, political science professor, and Sadie Leder, psychology professor. Polling will be again in the fall and students who work at the center will focus on North Carolina residents, but they will also have their sights on completing their first national poll.
“The national poll will probably be after the November elections,” said Kifer. “But students will be able to draw on the findings that we already have and how people think about the American Dream and goals.”
In addition to their phone polling, the students working in the SRC now have the capacity to do face-to-face interviews, which can be used in conjunction with the service learning elements of some of the courses offered.
“It’s such an ambitious project, and this is really going to a whole new level,” said Kifer.
Dr. Davis notes the heavy involvement of professors saying, “This kind of project cannot happen without the help of many; the list of people who have given their time, ideas and support is endless.” Of the students involved she says, “In true High Point University fashion, these students have jumped in with both hands, working so hard, and it’s all volunteer; they are the ones making this come to life.”