Politics

Center for Politics issues national challenge for others institutions to engage in critical political dialogue – University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily

Published

3 years ago

February 27, 2022

Following the success of the Common Grounds documentary released last November, a group of Center for Politics interns are again aiming to demonstrate the power of individuals with diverse political views coming together and sharing their views. To do so, the interns have issued the Common Grounds challenge — tasking high schools and universities throughout the country with organizing roundtable conversations amongst students.

In the fall, Center for Politics interns created the documentary “Common Grounds” to display the heightened political climate between political parties that has plagued American politics and led to dangerous events in recent years, such as the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the “Unite the Right” rally in August 2017.

The project concluded with a showing of the 30-minute documentary when it first came out Nov. 11 in the Rotunda Dome Room. Around 1,000 people watched the documentary that night, with 250 in-person attendees and 750 virtual viewers.

Now, the project team has issued a challenge to schools within Virginia and beyond. Beginning this month, the challenge asks all high school or college students in teams of eight or less to watch the documentary, conduct a group discussion and create their own community art project based on what they learned. Each team can then share their project on Twitter by tweeting @center4politics, using #HASHITOUT or by sending an email with pictures to the Center for Politics team.

The challenge is being publicized through social media and by interns and Center for Politics staff reaching out to institutions of education throughout the country. So far, a handful of high schools — including James River High School in Midlothian, Virginia — are in the process of organizing their own Common Grounds discussion to complete the challenge.

In the past few years, political polarization has dramatically worsened, affecting local, state and national governments. Jesse Shapiro, professor of political economy at Brown University, conducted a study released Jan. 20 that found affective polarization in the US has increased more dramatically since the late 1970s than in the eight other countries they examined — the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden.

College campuses aren’t spared from increasing political polarization, and University students are worried that increasing polarization eliminates the possibility to openly discuss current events or political issues with fellow classmates.

“Political polarization has essentially closed the gap for positive discussion and therefore, any opportunity for certain groups to listen to outsider perspectives,” third-year College student Ashley Ban said.

Third-year College student Victoria Kim believes that political polarization on college campuses distorts a central component of unity among a student body.

“Political polarization is bad because it creates irreparable division amongst the student body which is meant to be united in order to function properly,” Kim said in an email to The Cavalier Daily.

The five interns that began the project in Feb. 2021 were in charge of producing the entirety of the documentary — the role of the faculty was only to supervise and help problem-solve when needed. During production of the documentary — which took approximately nine months to complete — Glenn Crossman, director of programs at the Center for Politics, supervised and provided support to the student interns as they crafted the film.

“Whenever they felt they were up against a challenge they could not conquer, they just needed a boost and to know that someone had their back,” Crossman said.

Molly Hayes, third-year College student and intern at the Center for Politics, discussed what the group hopes to achieve in issuing this challenge.

“We hope to inspire other young people to have what can be difficult and scary conversations with people they disagree with,” Hayes said. “On a larger scale, we hope that such conversations can help make the next generation of politics more productive.”

Similarly, Raed Gilliam, Center for Poltiics intern and fourth-year College student, similarly said that the documentary was about collaborating together with people from different political backgrounds and making something together.

“The documentary was our way of doing the same thing — people with different political leanings making a film about politics together,” Gilliam said.

Crossman said that he and others at the Center for Politics have been diligently reaching out to politics programs at colleges and universities across the country and that a few national organizations have come forward to take on the challenge. No names of organizations have been announced yet, but they are in the works.

Learning how to produce the film proved a challenge, Crossman said. Unexpected inclement weather, technical difficulties and trouble finding subjects made the team have to constantly adjust as filming went on.

“One of the student producers experienced pushback from friends for wanting to dialogue with ‘the other side’ but that simply created a learning opportunity for everyone involved and it all worked out well in the final production,” Crossman said.

In regards to whether or not the documentary as a whole was successful, Hayes commented on the positivity from the participants who did speak.

“One thing that went right in the documentary was thanks to our participants– everyone we asked was enthusiastic about engaging in a group discussion which made for really interesting dialogue,” Hayes remarked.

There is currently no initiative to create a follow-up documentary or film on the results of the national challenge.

Gilliam said that the group expects to be flexible about the due date as more and more schools show interest. Interested participants can find information via the project’s social media link on Instagram at commongrounds_uva.

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Politics

‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

Published

2 days ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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