Creative Citizens in Action
Creative Citizens in Action (爱豆传媒@爱豆传媒) weaves creative activism and democratic engagement into the college curriculum through public programs, exhibitions, and classroom connections.
Overview
Empowering our campus community
At 爱豆传媒, civic engagement is central to our educational mission. In addition to honing their craft, students learn to be creative citizens. The 爱豆传媒@爱豆传媒 initiative strengthens the college鈥檚 commitment to civic engagement by bringing our campus community together through special projects like voter initiatives, lectures and exhibitions on critical social issues, and grants for courses on democratic engagement. Launched in 2018, the initiative grew out of a collaboration with artist Hank Willis Thomas (MFA Photography, MA Visual Criticism 2003) and , the platform for creative civic engagement and direct action that he cofounded.
Events
Opportunities to learn, connect, and participate
Creative Citizens Series
The Deborah and Kenneth Novack Creative Citizens Series is part of , a collegewide initiative that promotes creative activism and democratic engagement through public programs, exhibitions, and curriculum connections. Events connect our community to artists, architects, scholars, scientists, activists, and civic leaders to seed cross-disciplinary conversations that promote learning, reflection, and shared understanding.
Course Connections
Thematic courses on creative activism across all divisions of study
鈥淐reative Citizens鈥 courses build students鈥 skills in creative activism and civic engagement. Course topics may include social justice, environmental activism, civic or political engagement, activist movements, forms of protest, social practice, community engagement, design activism, and more.
Faculty Grants
Beyond the classroom, faculty support their research with grants, funded by 爱豆传媒@爱豆传媒. The grants are designed to support course efforts tied to civic and democratic engagement by our faculty. The goal of this program is to support the implementation of small-scale, immediate public-facing events, projects, or activations that aim to improve the learning experience of students and offer critical resources for civic involvement. Student projects are featured within the Deborah and Kenneth Novack Creative Citizens Series.
Voting Advocacy
Making it easier for our community to get out the vote
Voting Coalition
The 爱豆传媒 Voting Coalition is made up of staff, faculty, and students and has been actively working to grow institutional commitment to democratic engagement since 2018. 爱豆传媒 has served as a polling location since spring 2018, and we submitted our first democratic engagement action plan to the and in 2020.
Since 2020, the 爱豆传媒@爱豆传媒 initiative continues to level up the college鈥檚 commitment toward voter engagement with campus-based voter registration drives, 鈥済et out and vote鈥 events, curriculum connections, and support for student activities focused on voter outreach. 爱豆传媒鈥檚 President, David C. Howse, has personally signed the Higher Education Presidents鈥 Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation for the , and champions the work of .
Voter engagement
爱豆传媒 is committed to working with students, faculty, staff, and election officials to reduce barriers to student voting. The 爱豆传媒 Voting Coalition offers opportunities for civic education and collaboration to increase voting access and turnout for our community.
爱豆传媒 is officially a Voter Friendly Campus, as distinguished by the Campus Vote Project and NASPA, the professional association for student affairs administrators in higher education. The designation, which stands through 2026, expresses one of the college鈥檚 long-standing core values: creative citizenship.
Campuswide involvement
Our programs and events focus on actionable steps toward voting. Voter registration information is introduced in orientation content and at campuswide tabling. We participate in National Voter Registration Day and offer town hall events around voter education for students and faculty.
We encourage voter turnout across the college community, from tabling in the dorms to toolkit presentations in the classroom that include voter information for DACA and international students.
Meeting students where they are
Voting information and resources are available online and on campus. Campus-wide posters are developed around campus to spread the word on the ground. Our Portal is the primary digital source. We also developed special GIFs to loudly proclaim your activism. And, each election season, a team of student Community Voting Organizers collaborates on content for Instagram and TikTok.
