Democracy Matters - Episode 7: Bring on the Democracy Midwives!

by Carah Ong Whaley

SUMMARY: John Dewey said that "Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife." Although people who go to college are slightly more likely to vote, their participation in other forms of political engagement are actually slightly depressed. There is more we can do in both academic AND student affairs to really make a difference in preparing students to be actively engaged in democracy. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Elizabeth Bennion, Political Science Professor and founding director of the American Democracy Project at Indiana University South Bend, and Andrew Lardie, Associate Director for Service and Leadership at the McKeen Center for the Common Good at Bowdoin College.