Polls and Politics

Preparing Our Students for Meaningful Political Engagement

Dr. Tonya M. Williams, Visiting Professor of Political Science in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and co-project director, is responsible for developing and identifying unique and meaningful service learning and civic engagement opportunities for JCSU students. Ultimately, she wants to afford our Westside students the opportunity to expand their knowledge about the democratic process, particularly the presidential nomination process culminating in the general election, while preparing them for meaningful political engagement.

Polls, Policy Forums & Voter Registration for Westside Community
Over the course of the project, Dr. Williams and the students of the political science program will organize a series of interviews with policymakers, political scientists and prominent politicos, coordinate policy forums and policy advocacy trainings, maintain the “polling and politics” section of the RUN DNC 2012 Web page and coordinate voter registration and “get out the vote” mobilization.

Public Relations, Campaigns & Media Marketing
Mr. Guffey and his Public Relations & Media Marketing students will provide support for outreach efforts during the RUN-DNC project by promoting events, managing the site and creating promotional materials for our “networking links” for Westside youths and community members. They will also use the Democratic National Convention as a macro-application for understanding political campaigns and media management. Our interns at WBTV will be training on the business side of covering a national convention as well as working in front of the cameras to cover our community events and press conferences.