2008 Woodie Awards
Pizza and Politics: Food for Thought, Civil Liberties and Terrorism
Jonathan E. Thompson
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: News
Pizza boxes neatly sat on a blue table near the first floor elevator in Academic Hall 102 as University Hour began on Thursday, February 28th.
Within fifteen minutes, the lecture hall filled up with approximately fifty attendees including students and faculty. Pizza and Politics consists of professors leading healthy discussions on prominent matters.
Thursday marked the 3rd Pizza and Politics event for CSUSM. The event encourages students to discuss their opinions in a free and friendly environment.
"The long-term goal of the American Democracy Project at CSUSM is to raise awareness of and enhance the development of civic engagement inside and outside of the classroom, to the larger campus community and community beyond," said Professor Pamela Stricker who has been a part of CSUSM for 11 and a half years.
Striker organized Pizza and Politics, which began December 4th, 2007. Prior to attending Pizza and Politics events, Stricker highly encourages Cougars to read the selected relevant article for each forum at www.csusm.edu/adp. The website also contains more information regarding the event.
For this particular session on civil liberties and terrorism, organizers chose the article "Because They Said So," an opinion article in the New York Times. The article discusses the implication of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the pending civil suits against major telecommunication companies regarding their alleged involvement in supplying the government with information.
Before the event officially began, Stricker passed out questionnaires and information sheets to all attendees. The information sheet highlighted the core values of the program: reason, respect, and responsibility.
"The key point of the event is to facilitate meaningful respectful discussion between members of the university community," Stricker said. "Given that much of the public political discourse on radio and television is often strident, disrespectful and particularly divisive, it is necessary to learn to speak with one another in a respectful, civil fashion if we wish to help rebuild civic engagement within our communities."
Within fifteen minutes, the lecture hall filled up with approximately fifty attendees including students and faculty. Pizza and Politics consists of professors leading healthy discussions on prominent matters.
Thursday marked the 3rd Pizza and Politics event for CSUSM. The event encourages students to discuss their opinions in a free and friendly environment.
"The long-term goal of the American Democracy Project at CSUSM is to raise awareness of and enhance the development of civic engagement inside and outside of the classroom, to the larger campus community and community beyond," said Professor Pamela Stricker who has been a part of CSUSM for 11 and a half years.
Striker organized Pizza and Politics, which began December 4th, 2007. Prior to attending Pizza and Politics events, Stricker highly encourages Cougars to read the selected relevant article for each forum at www.csusm.edu/adp. The website also contains more information regarding the event.
For this particular session on civil liberties and terrorism, organizers chose the article "Because They Said So," an opinion article in the New York Times. The article discusses the implication of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the pending civil suits against major telecommunication companies regarding their alleged involvement in supplying the government with information.
Before the event officially began, Stricker passed out questionnaires and information sheets to all attendees. The information sheet highlighted the core values of the program: reason, respect, and responsibility.
"The key point of the event is to facilitate meaningful respectful discussion between members of the university community," Stricker said. "Given that much of the public political discourse on radio and television is often strident, disrespectful and particularly divisive, it is necessary to learn to speak with one another in a respectful, civil fashion if we wish to help rebuild civic engagement within our communities."
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