Sept. 16-19 marks Democracy Days 2019

Published: 09/13/2019

Democracy Days 2019 will run Sept. 16-19 at St. Charles Community College located at 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Dr. in Cottleville. All events will be held in the Daniel J. Conoyer Social Sciences Building auditorium – except those noted to be held in the College Center rotunda. Admission is free.

Democracy Days is supported by the SCC Foundation and has a purpose of “assessing the history, health and functioning of democracy in America and abroad.”

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to attend the following events: 

• Monday, Sept. 16
  • 10 a.m. – “The Need for Integrity in Leadership” – In this interactive session led by Steven Oberg (of SCC’s Business Administration Department), participants will briefly examine the “bases of social power” and explore questions such as: How can citizens advocate for greater transparency and integrity from those in leadership? How does one become a leader? What does true leadership look like? Why are we naturally attracted to some people and not others? This session will tie these leadership concepts to the idea of “sincerity” and “integrity.”
  • 11:30 a.m. – Open student forum – Lisa Randoll (of SCC’s Political Science department) annually holds an open forum for students’ views, questions and experiences regarding current events and political issues that are impacting their lives. Come join the conversation, and speak your mind without fear of ridicule.
  • 1 p.m. – “Healthcare in America: How can we fix it?” – Paul Roesler (of SCC’s Political Science Department) assesses what is wrong with the current healthcare system, discusses the “good, the bad and the ugly” of Obamacare and delves into some of the new proposals to improve upon it, including “Medicare-for-all.”
    
    
• Tuesday, Sept. 17
  • 10 a.m. – “Hate Groups and Hate Crimes in the St. Louis Area” – The St. Louis area is home to numerous hate groups. Gabriel Harper (of SCC’s Political Science Department) will discuss these groups and the hate crimes that have been inspired by their teachings.
  • 11:30 a.m. – “Changing the Culture of Law Enforcement” – Heather Taylor will offer a frontlines assessment of law enforcement and criminal justice reform. Taylor is a homicide detective in the City of St. Louis and president of the Ethical Society of the Police (ESOP), an association of St. Louis police officers and civilians whose mission is to bridge communications between the community and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. ESOP works to improve community/police relations, develop policies and programs to reduce crime, elevate the status of minority civilians and police officers, encourage greater minority employment by law enforcement agencies and increase professionalism in law enforcement.
  • 1 p.m. – Mama Cat & PotBangerz – “Food Outreach to the Unhoused in St. Louis” – Homelessness and food insecurity are on the rise. How can we respond? Cathy Daniels, better known as “Mama Cat,” is the founder and director of PotBangerz, a registered St. Louis nonprofit organization whose mission is food outreach and other services for the homeless. A certified chef and activist, Mama Cat and Michael Kuelker (of SCC’s English Department) will discuss St. Louis homelessness and her vision for progress.
  • 6:30 p.m. – Discussion of elections – St. Charles County Director of Elections, Kurt Bahr, will present the functioning and preparation of Election Day at polling places. Bahr will discuss the role of election judges and ballot reading machines. This interactive, hands-on course will feature a mock election for audience members and a question and answer session.
    
    
• Wednesday, Sept. 18
  • 10 a.m. – “Would St. Louis Be Better Together?” panel discussion – Serious concerns exist regarding the fragmentation of government in the St. Louis metro area after the withdrawal of the Better Together proposal. Pat Kelley (Executive Director of the Municipal League of Metro STL), Terry Jones (Professor Emeritus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis), Nancy Rice (Executive Director of Better Together St. Louis) and Gabriel Harper (of SCC’s Political Science Department) will discuss potential reforms and audience questions.
  • 11:30 a.m. – “Donald Trump and the Politics of Impeachment” – While the Mueller investigation cited several instances in which President Donald Trump probably committed crimes, democratic leaders have been hesitant to impeach him. Paul Roesler (of SCC’s Political Science Department) will discuss the evidence, the politics of impeachment and what the framers of the U.S. Constitution thought constituted impeachable offenses.
  • 1 p.m. – “Your Choice to Vaccinate” – Recently, reported cases of diseases previously thought to be nearly wiped out – including tetanus, measles and the mumps – have arisen. These, and many other diseases, are preventable by vaccination. This discussion by Seema Haridas (of SCC’s Biology Department) and Nicole Pinaire (of SCC’s Biology Department) will cover the science and the mechanisms of how vaccinations work, herd immunity, distinguishing between correlation and causation, information circulating in social media and how this information may influence the "anti-vaxx" movement.
  • 1 p.m. – “Watching What We Retweet: The Implications of Social Media on Voting Behaviors” – Held in the CC Rotunda – Social psychologist, Dr. Amanda Bequette (of SCC’s Psychology Department), will explore how social media, headlines, cognitive dissonance, group polarization and other issues affect our voting behaviors. Bequette will provide examples of how reading a small piece of information can change our views in large ways and why it is vital to read beyond headlines and search for primary sources.
  • 2:30 p.m. – Immigration in St. Louis: A Panel Discussion – Held in the CC Rotunda – Sara John – the program coordinator at the St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America (IFCLA) – will lead a panel on immigration with a decidedly local element: the situation of Alex Garcia and his sanctuary at a local church.
    
    
• Thursday, Sept. 19
  • 10 a.m. – “The Prose of Protest” – The current political climate of the United States has created an environment that is rife for protest in many forms: marches, picket lines, vigils and speeches. This panel will examine another form of popular protest with a rich history: the written word. Following a brief history of the use of literature as protest, members of the fall 2019 fiction writing class – taught by SCC English professor Joe Baumann – will present their protest writing and will discuss their motivations, inspirations and what they hope the power of art and the written word can achieve in a time of turmoil and upheaval.
  • 11:30 a.m. – “Media Coverage of Women in Politics” – How does the news media talk about female politicians? Are they more likely to be defined by their roles as mothers, grandmothers and wives? Do their fashion choices get more coverage than their policy positions? Are they completely ignored? Jayme Novara (of SCC’s English Department) and Annie Bierman (of SCC’s English Department) will examine news articles discussing female politicians at the local, state and national level – in contrast to articles about their male counterparts – to explore how media choices influence how we think about female politicians and their ability to lead.
  • 1 p.m. – “Equity in Education: A Panel Discussion” – How do efforts for equity in education actually turn out? Join us for an honest, student-centered conversation as Naomi Warren (social worker), Jennifer Strauser (associate principal at Eureka High School) and students from Eureka High School describe the school’s “equity journey,” resulting in both new collaborations between students, faculty and staff and professional development opportunities about diversity, equity and inclusion.

For more information, please contact Michael Kuelker at 636-922-8256 or mkuelker@stchas.edu.

St. Charles Community College strives to provide reasonable accommodations to all people at any SCC-sponsored event. Please contact Disability Support Services at dss@stchas.edu or 636-922-8581 as early as possible to discuss your needs.

St. Charles Community College is a public, comprehensive two-year community college with associate degrees and certificate programs in the arts, business, sciences and career-technical fields. SCC provides workforce training and community-based personal and professional development as well as cultural, recreational and entertainment opportunities. For more information, visit www.stchas.edu.