Educating Students for Democracy
Preparing students for active citizenship is part of Bowdoin’s mission, and any staff or faculty member who works with students can make a difference. Here are some simple tactics:
- Ask students about their plan to vote (where/how/when, and deadlines). Invite ineligible students to mobilize voters through the love vote.
- Ask students how they are participating in democracy, beyond voting. Following up on the question,
- If they express ambivalence, remind them that their voice/vote/involvement can make a difference (eg close elections, local needs to make democracy work)
- If they are unsure how to proceed, we are happy to answer questions via email.
For faculty, here are some tactics specific to the classroom:
- Early in the semester:
- Put Election Day and/or other election info on your syllabus calendar (see syllabus samples)
- Discuss your attendance policy for election day – what if students need to vote in person? Or want to be a poll worker?
- Add our quick Fall 2021 voter info slides to one of your lectures.
- Show a tiny motivating video (1:23)
- Any time during the semester:
- Have students write about/discuss the public relevance of your discipline and the course topic – see link below for discipline-specific ideas.
- Talk about elections in class (guidance).
- This calendar of Electoral Engagement Moments, for your courses and advising, follows the arc of a fall election season.
- Of course there is more! Here are our favorite resources to help you promote civic learning and participation.