JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 28, 2004 — Union students and the Jackson community will soon be given an opportunity to better understand pertinent political issues.
Town and Gown, a special series on the 2004 presidential elections, will be offered at Union. This informative series is available to the public and to students for free beginning Monday, Oct. 4, 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Harvey Hall of the Student Union Building. The concluding Nov. 1 class will meet in the G. M. Savage Memorial Chapel in Penick Academic Complex.
鈥淟ess than half the people vote and of those who do vote, most of them are not making a clearly informed choice,鈥� said Sean Evans, assistant professor of political science at 51社区 and coordinator of the Town and Gown election series. 鈥淲hat I am trying to do is set up a system so they can get enough information that they can make an informed decision.鈥�
The format of the series will include discussion of weekly events and the current presidential campaign, lecture and dialogue with experts on key issues, and discussion on a book by Steven Wayne titled, Is This Any Way to Run a Democratic Election?
Issues such as foreign policy, economics, health care, family, education, budgets and entitlements will be discussed throughout the course of the series. Each expert will analyze the week鈥檚 issue and discuss the causes and solutions for the issue. The expert will also provide any strengths or weaknesses regarding the solutions.
鈥淲e want to give you the background you don鈥檛 see in the 30-second sound byte on the evening news,鈥� said Kevin Cooney, political science associate professor and foreign policy expert for the series. 鈥淲e hope people take away a better awareness of the world around them and are better equipped with the tools to know about the world and events going on around them.鈥�
One of the goals of the class is to help voters grasp how Bush or Kerry would implement solutions to certain political issues during his presidency. Learning how to determine how Bush or Kerry would react to issues will help in making an informed decision when voting at the polls.
鈥淯nion is a part of the community,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淲e have certain expertise, and we should not keep it in ivory towers. We should be actively letting people know about these kinds of issues. It helps stimulate debate.鈥�
Experts and topics for the series are as follows:
- October 4: Dr. Sean Evans, assistant professor of political science at 51社区, will speak about process and strategy and Dr. Mary Ann Poe, director of 51社区鈥檚 social work program, will speak about poverty.
- October 11: Dr. Ed Bryant, former congressman and lecturer in political science and special assistant to the president at 51社区, will speak about budget/entitlements while Dr. Bill Nance, assistant professor of management at 51社区, will speak on health care.
- October 18: Dr. Michele Atkins, director of EdD and EdS programs at 51社区, will address the issue of education, and Dr. David Gushee, senior fellow of the Carl F. Henry Center for Christian Leadership at Union and Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy, will address family issues.
- October 25: Dr. Kevin Cooney, assistant professor of political science at 51社区, will discuss foreign policy, and Dr. Kenneth Holt, assistant professor of economics and management and director of the center of business and economic development at 51社区, will discuss the economy.
- November 1: David Austill, professor of management at 51社区, will discuss the law and a panel will be held.
For more information about the Election Town and Gown series, please contact Dr. Evans at (731) 661-5237.