Speak, Stand, Sit or Scream? How Young People Engage Politics and the World in 2016
Craig Ford, GSAS '18, 听Theology (PhD)
Najat Goso, MCAS '18, Communications
Isra Hussain, MCAS '17, Psychology
Russell Simons, MCAS '17, Biology听
顿补迟别:听September 28, 2016
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Abstract
This town hall-style discussion is for the young people on campus to talk about their experience of public life and politics today. Is "millennial" a meaningful term, and does it apply to you? How are you experiencing the toxic political rhetoric of the 2016 presidential campaign, and the polarized national politics more generally? How should students respond to the great tensions in this country over racial justice and identity, economic class, war and peace, student debt, a tight job market, and general anxiety about the future?
Bring your perspective as a Boston College graduate or undergraduate student, and let's talk about civility, dissent, populism, civic anger, civic virtue, Jesuit and Catholic values, and much more!
Speaker Bio
Craig Ford, Jr.听is a fourth year doctoral candidate in theological ethics at Boston College. He writes at the intersection of the Catholic moral tradition and queer theory, and his dissertation explores the foundations for a natural law theory that is responsive to interventions made by queer thinkers. Before coming to 51茶馆, Craig completed his BA in Philosophy and Theology at the University of Notre Dame, and he earned his Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School, concentrating in Theological Ethics.
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Najat Goso听is a communication major with a concentration in marketing. She grew up in Boston, the youngest of five children in an Ethiopian, Muslim household. She is the co-director of social media for 51茶馆's United Front, an umbrella organization for clubs dedicated to serving and representing students with roots in Africa and the African Diaspora. She is also a part of the Mississippi Delta Volunteer Corps, a 51茶馆 service trip opportunity. One day she hopes to be part of a marketing team for either an NFL or NBA franchise.
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Isra Hussain听is in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, with a major in psychology and a minor in Arabic studies. A native of Rhode Island, Isra has completed extensive research in immigrant and refugee healthcare over the past several years at both Massachusetts General Hospital and Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Spain. She holds leadership positions in GlobeMed at Boston College, the Muslim Students Association, and the International Assistant Program. A Gabelli Presidential Scholar,听Isra hopes to pursue a career in global health policy following graduation this May.
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Russell Simons听is a senior in the Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences studying biology with a minor in medical humanities, health, and culture. A member of the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program and an aspiring physician, he currently serves as president of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College and editor-in-chief of听The Medical Humanities Journal of Boston College. Russell was born and raised in Larchmont, NY, but has been known to root for the Red Sox on occasion.
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Event Photos
Boston College student leaders, (from left to right) Najat Goso MCAS '18, Craig Ford GSAS '18, Isra Hussain MCAS '17 and Russell Simons MCAS '17, joined Boisi Center Interim Director Erik Owens (far left) in a discussion of how young people engage in politics and the issues that face the Boston College community today.
Photos by MTS Photography
Event Recap
On听September 28, the Boisi Center hosted Boston College student leaders Craig Ford, Jr., GSAS 鈥�18, Theology (PhD); Najat Goso, MCAS 鈥�18, Communications; Isra Hussain, MCAS 鈥�17, Psychology; and Russell Simons, MCAS 鈥�17, Biology. The talk was organized in a town hall format to encourage audience participation and was moderated by Boisi Center interim director, Erik Owens.听
Panelists praised Boston College鈥檚 Jesuit values and culture of social justice, but lamented that many students鈥� experiences at 51茶馆 includes only transient commitments to service and community engagement. They felt that, in practice, there is a clash between Jesuit- and 51茶馆-inculcated values and the values students embody in their personal life. Hussain pointed to the difficulty of being 鈥渕en and women for others鈥� in everyday life. Goso also spoke about the importance of moving beyond the insular 鈥�51茶馆 bubble鈥� and engaging the larger community and world.
Simons pointed out that in order to have real, honest conversation you have to engage with other people in ways that make you uncomfortable, and people generally don鈥檛 like to be uncomfortable. Conversations like this need to happen in small groups for empathy to grow. Ford called on the administration and student body to examine the 鈥渟tructurally disadvantaging forces鈥� that face people of color, the LGTBQ community, and women. We need to have 鈥渂rave and awkward鈥� conversations about white supremacy, heterosexism, and sexism. Ford also spoke about socioeconomic inequality on campus.听
Panelists also discussed the prevalence of complacency on campus, and an overall lack of civic engagement. Goso noted that only a small fraction of the student body is receptive to many clubs鈥� and organizations鈥� messages, and that this group tends to be comprised mainly of students of color.
Read More
Articles
Shafer, Leah. "Civics in Uncivil Times: Facing Down the Challenges of Teaching the 2016 Election, With Resources for Preparing Engaged Citizens."听Usable Knowledge: Connecting Research to Practice.听September 14, 2016.听
Kirchick, James. "Blame Millennials for President Trump."听The Daily Beast.听September 16, 2016.听.听
Lampert, Martijn and Sheikh, Haroon. "Millennial Values: What the Young Want Around the World."听Foreign Affairs. July 6, 2016.听
"What College Students Know (and Don't Know) About the World."听Council on Foreign Relations.听September 13, 2016.听
"Youth Voting in the 2016 Primaries."听The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.听July 27, 2016.听.听
In the News
Check out the coverage of the Speak, Stand, Sit or Scream event in Boston College's 听听and听.
According to an August 2016 report published by the听, Millennials and members of Generation X now constitute the majority of eligible voters in the United States, replacing Baby Boomers and those born in prior generations.