Daily Resource Highlight - 4/05/2021

Posted by on April 29, 2021 at 3:22 PM

Below are the highlights and featured resources of this past week’s Daily* Resource.

3/30/2021 - Kids Don’t Want to Have to Pick Sides 

Last month, we highlighted an article by Nick Troiano of Unite America. In the article, Nick notes that, according to a recent Gallup poll, half of Americans self-identify as “independent.” However, less than a third of Americans are registered as independent. Presumably, part of the reason for that difference is that independents in 14 states (including heavily populated states like Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida) can’t vote in the primaries.

Open Primaries has been trying to change that for years now, and in June of 2020 they were joined by Dariel Cruz Rodriguez and Elena Ashburn of Generation Z. Together, Dariel and Elena formed Students for Open Primaries as a collaborative project of Open Primaries and Civics Unplugged.

Though Dariel and Elena are Gen Z’ers, they are making it very clear that they want to form an alliance with Millennials (which is now the largest generation in the country). As a Millennial myself, I appreciate the outreach. The two generations can be a powerful collaborative force in politics.

Bridge Alliance applauds Dariel and Elena’s efforts and commends Open Primaries and Civics Unplugged for supporting their work. 



4/02/201 - Davenport Talks City Bankruptcies, the Epidemic of Loneliness, Race in Education, and More

Up until recently, geography placed a strict limitation on who could access the opportunities presented by universities and colleges. Even when classes / lectures were open to the public, most people could only attend events that were in their area. And even then, the audience was limited by the physical size of the room

The Internet all but eliminated these obstacles, and soon online learning became a viable alternative to brick-and-mortar classrooms -- complete with video, sound, and interaction. It was a luxury that most schools took advantage of to some extent.

Because of COVID-19, though, higher education has leaned into technology to a degree that would have been unthinkable just over a year ago. The result is that any American with an internet connection has a wide array of educational opportunities available to them.

The Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University has taken advantage of this new dynamic to greatly expand its audience. Just this month, the Institute is offering six(!) different webinars on a variety of fascinating topics, including:

 

The Bridge Alliance is proud to have the Davenport Institute as a member and ally in the pursuit of healthy self-governance. We are also grateful for our other higher education members, including the American Democracy Project, American Public Square at Jewell College, the McCourtney Institute at Penn State, the National Institute for Civil Discourse at University of Arizona, and the University of Virginia Center for Politics. 

 

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