Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

In The Wake Of A Report, Rebecca L. Holden

SURGE

**TW: Sexual Assault

Earlier in the semester, many students and professors gathered in the Junction from 10 am until well into the evening to watch as Christine Blasey Ford and now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh were each questioned at length. In all that has happened in the past two years, the looming feeling that spread through campus on this day was the closest rival to that which invaded campus on the morning of November 9th, 2016. [excerpt]

"Integrated Science 3002a: Big Bike Giveaway: Changing London's Environment, Health, And Economy One Bike At A Time", Jermiah Joseph, Katelyn Melo, Devanshi Shukla, Tony Nguyen, Katherine Teeter

Community Engaged Learning Final Projects

There are significant benefits that manifest when an individual chooses to ride a bicycle as their primary mode of transportation. To investigate these benefits, the environmental, health, economic, and social impacts of biking were evaluated through research and data analyses. This revealed that numerous advantages can be obtained at an individual and local scale through citizens choosing to adopt a biking lifestyle. However, it was found that many Londoners are deterred from biking due to poor biking infrastructure. This paper calls into question the current cycling framework in London and it’s limitations on achieving the numerous benefits that biking offers. …

La Safe – Louisiana’S Strategic Adaptations For Future Environments: The Collective Search For Common Ground, The University Of New Orleans Center For Hazards Assessment, Response & Technology

CHART Publications

In coastal Louisiana, subsidence and sea level rise, plus the threat of hurricanes and flooding, combine to create one of the highest rates of relative sea level rise in the world (Penland & Ramsey, 1990). To help address these issues, the National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Rockefeller Foundation, awarded funding for LA SAFE – Louisiana’s Strategic Adaptations for Future Environments. The LA SAFE program, a partnership between the Office of Community Development (OCD) and the Foundation for Louisiana (FFL), supported an inclusive public process to identify adaptation …

Commons: Can This Be The Name Of ‘Thirdness’? (Revised), Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In 1995, a journal article asked if 'commons' might be the name of 'thirdness'. In this revision of that article the question is renewed and reintroduced. The concept of the commons and common goods still offer satisfactory ways to label and characterize voluntary action outside markets, states and households. Theory is said to be a problem of language. Language creativity, including the coining of various new terms is a characteristic part of the commons theory of voluntary action. The remaining challenge is how the concept of the commons can relate to the other side of the third sector - the …

A County In Idaho Offered Spanish-Language Ballots For The First Time And Here’S What Happened, Gabe Osterhout

University Author Recognition Bibliography: 2018

On the morning of Election Day, the top trending search on Google was “donde votar,” which means “where to vote” in Spanish.

Slacktivism: Social Media Activism And Its Effectiveness, Abby M. Foreman

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Engagement is costly in terms of time and often money."

Posting about the pros and cons of slacktivism from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/slacktivism-social-media-activism-and-its-effectiveness/

The Anti-Fracking Movement And The Politics Of Rural Marginalization In Lithuania: Intersectionality In Environmental Justice, Diana Mincyte, Aiste Bartkiene

Publications and Research

While the environmental justice perspective focuses on the unequal distribution of environmental risks and benefits across different groups based on race, class, or gender, intersectionality approaches avoid the use of a priori categories to examine marginalization. We argue that intersectionality can broaden the scope of environmental justice studies by examining interactive, historically grounded processes through which categories of difference are produced. To support this argument, we present an illustrative case of the movement in Lithuania that challenged Chevron’s plans to prospect shale resources for potential fracking. We conduct a narrative analysis of public discourses surrounding the formation of the movement …

Fearless Friday: Hannah Lebovitz, Hannah M. Labovitz

SURGE

This week, we recognize the work of Hannah Labovitz ’21. Hannah is currently pursuing a history major, a Spanish and Public History double minor, and a teaching certification. She is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has been very involved in the Jewish community here at Gettysburg. She is the secretary and communications chair of Hillel, works as an assistant to Stephen Stern in the Judaic Studies Department, serves on the Judaic Studies committee, acts as co-President of Democracy Matters. She also participates in Alpha Phi Omega, College Democrats, and Dance Ensemble. [excerpt]

Fearless Friday: Melanie Pangol, Melanie Pangol

SURGE

Today, we celebrate the work of Melanie Pangol ’21. Originally from Ecuador, Melanie was raised in Philly, and has been living in New York in the last few years. On campus, Melanie is part of the Brown Nipple Collective, works for the Center for Career Engagement, and acts as program coordinator for the Painted Turtle Farm through the Center for Public Service among many other activities. [excerpt]

Are Leaders Born Or Made?, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Even if there is a particular gene that turns us into leaders, it can be a mixed blessing with complicated effects

Place Of Joyful Gathering: The Story Of Cleveland's Karamu House, Jacey Kepich

Researchers, Instructors, & Staff Scholarship

Recognized as the oldest active African American theater in the United States, Karamu House is truly a ‘Cleveland collection’. Portions of its history are housed in several institutions: the Cleveland Public Library, Western Reserve Historical Society, and Cleveland State University. In 2021 Karamu donated its administrative and programmatic archives to Case Western Reserve University’s Kelvin Smith Library. CWRU is home to one of the first academic theater programs in the country, and given that the Karamu materials will live alongside KSL’s archives of Playhouse Square – a venerable institution that dominates the cultural spotlight – KSL will help make Karamu’s …

Fearless Friday: Raegan Gawronski, Raegan Gawronski

SURGE

This week, we are honoring Raegan Gawronski ’19. Raegan is a Women and Gender Sexuality Studies and Philosophy double major from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On campus, she works as a senior intern for the Office of Multicultural Engagement, and is currently in the process of starting a First-Generation Student Organization on campus. [excerpt]

Crumbling The ''Oreo'' Cookie, Lillian Cadet

SURGE

They will treat you as if you have come from an outer space planet. They will be amazed by how much you are different from others. People will make jokes about how much of an “oreo” you are. How your chocolate cookie layers are thinner than your cream filling. [excerpt]

Fearless Friday: Candice Montenegro, Candice Montenegro

SURGE

This Friday, we’re honoring Candice Montenegro ’20, for her incredible work in the Gettysburg College Community. Candice is a junior from Los Angeles, and a double major in Psychology and Spanish/Latin American Caribbean Studies. In her first year at Gettysburg College, she became a member of Latin American Students’ Association (LASA), and is now president of the group. Along with her involvement in LASA, she is an employee for the Center for Career Engagement, a psychology research assistant for Professor Sahana Mukherjee, a program coordinator of Sunday Swim with Casa de la Culture through the Center for Public Service, and …

Attention Seeker, Anonymous

SURGE

“Why are you such an attention seeker?

What pain?

Where’s the sorrow?

You’re just an attention seeker!”

I just sat there, in the bathroom on the ground alone.'' [excerpt]

More Than A Hot Neighborhood, Gisselle Flores

SURGE

Maybe you don’t have to care about what goes on outside of your little bubble, whether that’s Gettysburg or your hometown. After all, ignorance is bliss. But while you find comfort in your home, I find my comfort slipping away more and more each time I go back to what is supposed to be my haven. Where I once saw the small, familiar-looking apartment buildings, I now see daunting, tall buildings with impenetrable glass windows. Where I once saw local businesses thrive, I now only see the old rusty overhead doors with a bright red sign that says, “FOR RENT”. …

Looking Beyond Primary: A Study Of Barriers To Secondary Education In Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Uganda, Chloe Schalit

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The increase in protracted refugee situations around the world complicates the provision of public services such as education. Accessing secondary school is key to individual and community empowerment for vulnerable refugees through providing higher education and employment opportunities. However, secondary school attainment is often severely lacking in refugee settlements. In Uganda, 58.2% of refugees are enrolled in primary school, while only 11.3% attend secondary school. This study sought to understand the experiences of Ugandan refugees related to barriers to secondary education and its relation to social and economic empowerment, as well as solutions that refugee communities, Implementing Partners (IPs), and …

Hijos De La Dictadura: Posmemoria, Trauma Y Resistencia En Chile Actual / Children Of The Dictatorship: Postmemory, Trauma And Resistance In Chile Current, Dana Williams

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Today Chile prides itself on the success of its neoliberal economy and democracy. Yet, instances like the assassination of the Mapuche activist, Camilo Catrillanca, and the impassioned protests that have ensued, serve as constant reminders (to those who look for them) that the legacy of seventeen years of military dictatorship is hiding right beneath the surface of the modern ‘Miracle of Chile.’ This project seeks to unravel the loosely woven protective layer of Chilean democracy by investigating how the violence, trauma, and resistance that defined Pinochet’s dictatorship is alive in well amongst the children of victims and survivors of Chilean …

Challenges To Democratic Inclusion And Contestation Of Space: Contemporary Student Activists In Transforming South Africa, Momo Wilms-Crowe

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Twenty-four years into democracy, in a time marked by stark inequality and rising levels of political disillusionment, student activists are key players in the pursuit of a more just, more equitable, and more democratic South Africa. Using universities as spaces to contest, disrupt, and challenge the status quo, student activists challenge narratives of youth political apathy and act as agents of change, encouraging society to meet the goals established in the 1996 Constitution, the document enshrining the very promises they were born into believing would be their reality. Through mobilization and organizing, student actors boldly engage in questions of substantive …

The Impact Of Foreign Involvement On Political Reform Organizations In Jordan, Sravya Tadepalli

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper assesses the impact of foreign involvement on the effectiveness of political reform organizations in Jordan. Through the qualitative analysis of the democratization work of completely foreign-funded international organizations, partially foreign-funded Jordanian organizations, and Jordanian organizations that do not receive foreign funding, derived from several interviews conducted with democracy practitioners in international and local NGOs, political activists, scholars, and others, this paper examines the effect of foreign involvement on organizational strategies, credibility, and effectiveness, ultimately arguing that foreign involvement (and conversely, the lack thereof) has several effects on the way political reform organizations have carried out their activities. This …

Missing Youth: The Absence Of The Young Moroccan Voice In The Nation, Reid Leiter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Morocco has long maintained stability in a region historically known for fluctuating sociopolitical climates, considerably in part to a robust constitutional monarchy. However, the 20 February movement that coincided with the 2011 Arab Spring showed that the government is vulnerable to an energetic, organized, and a vocal youth population. Now, seven years after a constitutional referendum aimed at installing more democratic processes was passed, the growing youth populous feel more detached from their nation than ever, ignored by the government and monarchy, and ultimately lacking a voice in Moroccan politics. By excluding their voice and ignoring their opinions, the government …

Inclusive Place-Making In Spartanburg, Sc: Amplifying Latinx Voices Through Community-Based Research, Marianna Gonzalez, Kathleen Hughes, Mayra Lomeli-Garcia, Sandra Lopez, Laura H. Barbas-Rhoden, Christine S. Dinkins

Community Based Research

In response to a growing local interest in “place-making” work, our team developed and carried out a research project centered on the ideas of inclusive place, community, and health, with a focus on the inclusion of the growing Latinx community in the Spartanburg area. The project is a first step in what we imagine to be a long arc of community-based research and is in response to the desire of community collaborators for better information to inform their decision-making, particularly with regard to inclusion of Latinx residents. The long-term arc of the research will be shaped by ideas from community …

The Rush To Fit In, Kate M. Delaney

SURGE

A week ago, I had been dead set on not rushing. I had heard the rumors and beliefs of my peers, that Greek life encouraged excessive drinking and partying, that hazing was still incredibly prevalent and demeaning, that Greek life worked only to discriminate and exclude members of the campus who refused to take part, promoted unfair gender roles, and encouraged pageantry and forced conversations between strangers. Still, the call of philanthropy, having a group of sisters, and finding a home on campus appealed to me. In the end, it felt like I was choosing between rushing with my friends …

Neighborhood And Social Environmental Influences On Child Chronic Disease Prevalence, Ashley Wendell Kranjac, Justin T. Denney, Rachel T. Kimbro, Brady S. Moffett, Keila N. Lopez

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

We investigate how distinct residential environments uniquely influence chronic child disease. Aggregating over 200,000 pediatric geocoded medical records to the census tract of residence and linking them to neighborhood-level measures, we use multiple data analysis techniques to assess how heterogeneous exposures of social and environmental neighborhood conditions influence an index of child chronic disease (CCD) prevalence for the neighborhood. We find there is a graded relationship between degree of overall neighborhood disadvantage and children’s chronic disease such that the highest neighborhood CCD scores reside in communities with the highest concentrated disadvantage. Finally, results show that higher levels of neighborhood concentrated …

The Politics Of Race And The Florida Gubernatorial Election Of November 2018, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report studies the voter registration rates in face of the new Florida Gubernatorial elections in November 2018.

Methods:Using the latest voter registration data by race and party in Florida of July 30, 2018, this report provides an accurate statistical profile of the actual registered electorate. It also utilizes the U.S. Census Bureau’s data on the presidential election of 2016 and the November 2014 mid-term election, to indicate voter participation and voting rates by race and age.

Results: While nearly 64% of eligible non-Hispanic white voters went to the polls and supported the Republican candidate for president in 2016 …

Trailblazing Inclusion In The Higher Education Landscape, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Inclusion takes a village and everyone has a part to play

Lower-Secondary Students’ Civic Engagement At School: Results From Iccs 2016, Wolfram Schulz

Civics and Citizenship Assessment

Based on survey data from the latest implementation of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS 2016), this paper explores the extent of students’ civic engagement at school, their beliefs about their own ability to engage and their perceptions of the value of student participation, as well as their willingness to engage in future civic activities at school. Where possible, it compares results with those from the previous ICCS survey in 2009, and it also analyses which factors related to home background, school context and students’ beliefs about engagement explain variation in their willingness to participate at school in …

The Political Participation Of First Year Social Work Students: Does Practice Specialization Matter?, Jason Ostrander, Janelle K. Bryan, Addie Sandler, Paula Nieman, Maureen Clark, Emily Loveland, Tanya Rhodes Smith

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

This study identifies the types of political participation engaged in by MSW students (n=214). A self-report survey administered to MSW students at a Northeastern university indicates limited political involvement. MSW students participate in political activities not requiring significant time, energy, or resources. Furthermore, on the scale and its two subscales, micro-oriented students had less political participation than macro-oriented students. This study suggests firstyear social work students may lack the tools to engage in the political process effectively. Schools of social work should include political participation education in both micro and macro foundation courses and field placements

The Politics Of Apolitical Culture. The Cia And The Congress Of Cultural Freedom, Despina Lalaki

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

What Difference Can It Make? Assessing The Impact Of Gender Equality And Empowerment In Matters Of Inheritance In Egypt, Yasmin Khodary

Political Science

Denying women their right to inheritance is a problem that has been ongoing in some parts of Egypt for too long. The chances of disallowing women their inheritance increase when this includes agricultural land, which rural areas in Egypt perceive as the “domain of men.” Using mixed methods, this research analyzes the impact of obtaining inheritances on the lives of women and their families and explores the activities that are most influential in increasing women’s chances of attaining their inheritances. The research finds that gender equality and empowerment in matters of inheritance lead to measurable improvements in women’s lives, as …