Before I moved here, all I really knew of Golden State politics was Arnold Schwarzenegger, marijuana and Proposition 8. In my first semester as a graduate student at Cal’s Goldman School of Public Policy, my understanding of the political landscape—specifically the effects of direct democracy—increased immensely. I worked with a group of my classmates to… Continue reading Direct Democracy in California: Meaningful Civic Engagement?
Category: Blog
My GC Journey (Which Has Only Just Begun)
Generation Citizen first found me only twenty months ago (it feels more like twenty years) in a cold, dimly lit classroom of the NYU Steinhardt School of Education. I was fresh off the plane from a semester in Prague, CZ, and during my obligatory soul searching while abroad I had concluded that I wanted to… Continue reading My GC Journey (Which Has Only Just Begun)
Can Philanthropy Save our Educational System?
Peter Buffet’s recent op-ed, “The Charitable Industrial Complex”, has been rocking the interwebs since its publication Saturday. His basic but harsh argument, that philanthropy is essentially preserving the status quo while causing small blips of success that allow the wealthy to feel “heroic,” has some people praising him for finally speaking truth to power, while others… Continue reading Can Philanthropy Save our Educational System?
Assessing Efficacy and Skills Impact
As Generation Citizen continues to grow, we continue to assess our impact- both through determining which parts of our our program are working and which we need to improve. To do this, we are employing a number of different evaluation tools, including a pre- and post-test survey, and more rigorous process evaluation tools, which involve… Continue reading Assessing Efficacy and Skills Impact
Introduction from RI Program Associate
My name is Emily Flower and I’m joining Generation Citizen as the Rhode Island Program Associate. From a young age I was surrounded by civic influences. I woke up early everyday to watch a re-run of The West Wing with my dad before work and would follow my mom to community meetings after school. The… Continue reading Introduction from RI Program Associate
Gee(k), I love politics!
“I’msuchahugefan! It’ssonicetomeetyou! I’vebeenafanofyourclimatepolicyforsolong! MayIbeacompletedorkandgetaphotowithyou?” As I gushed, I’m pretty sure it all came out in one long word. Senate Candidate Ed Markey was very kind, saying it was nice to meet me too, and obliged me with a picture. After the fact, Christina, our New Sector Fellow in the office this summer, assured me that… Continue reading Gee(k), I love politics!
GC to Receive Funding from Knight Foundation
Today, we’re excited to announce that Generation Citizen has received a transformative grant of $190,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to both evaluate and expand our work. We are truly grateful to the Knight Foundation for taking a chance on us, and believing in action civics. See the press release below from… Continue reading GC to Receive Funding from Knight Foundation
Let’s Go Chasing Waterfalls
I’ve been on “vacation” in Ecuador almost two weeks now, and it’s largely been great. I’ve been able to do a ton of hiking, some horseback riding, some rafting, and some reading. But along the way, I have not done a great job of letting go of work. At all. Part of this is that… Continue reading Let’s Go Chasing Waterfalls
Let’s Have an Identity Crisis
In the midst of a trip throughout Ecuador, re-connecting with the country where I graduated high school, I had the opportunity yesterday to speak at my high school, Academia Cotopaxi, addressing a mix of 6th-10th graders. My speech consisted of two main themes. The first focused on Generation Citizen – the reason I created it… Continue reading Let’s Have an Identity Crisis
Youth Voters in the NYC Mayoral Election
The primary election for the NYC mayoral race is scheduled for September 2013 and from the most recent polls, it looks like we can expect competitive primary elections. In the Democratic primary elections alone, there will be at least 8 candidates in the running. With so many candidates on the ballot, it may not take… Continue reading Youth Voters in the NYC Mayoral Election