2008 Woodie Awards
Pizza and Politics
Food for thought: Healthcare
Jonathan E. Thompson
Issue date: 3/18/08 Section: News
Pizza and Politics hosted the fourth event at CSUSM discussing healthcare on Thurs. March 13th, in Markstein Hall 102 during University Hour. Associate Professor of Sociology for over 12 years at CSUSM, Dr. Don Barrett, led the discussion.
"I counted 80 students, faculty, and staff in attendance," said Professor Pamela Stricker, Director of the American Democracy Project (ADP) and Assistant Professor of Political Science, with over 11 years at CSUSM.
Stricker organized Pizza and Politics which began December 4, 2007. The event consists of professors leading healthy discussions on prominent matters. The professors in the events are volunteers. During the event, students are encouraged to discuss their opinions in an open and friendly environment. Prior to the event, students are to read articles relating to the topic. The articles and other information regarding the event can be found at www.csusm.edu/adp.
"I hope students, faculty and staff continue to attend the Pizza and Politics and respectfully discuss the issues of the election. There will also be more pizza at the next event. So many attended that we ran out. I'm sorry about that," said Stricker.
Stricker provides related articles for students to read beforehand to stimulate discussion during the event. The first article, "Arguments Mount for a National Healthcare System" by David R. Francis, discusses the health care system and the promises made by presidential hopefuls. The second article, "Coming Soon: Healthcare Debate, Part 2" by Kevin Sack, discusses McCain's aim for tax credits for private insurance policies, Clinton's aim for universal healthcare, and Obama's aim for health insurance for children.
"I expected most of the students to be interested in politics but to be relatively naive on the current healthcare issues facing the U.S," said Professor Barrett. "My goal was to spark more interest in why national healthcare issues would be important to them, so that they would do the investigations necessary to be better informed voters. I was very pleased to find that my expectations were wrong -- there was a high level of knowledge about the issues among the students attending."
"I counted 80 students, faculty, and staff in attendance," said Professor Pamela Stricker, Director of the American Democracy Project (ADP) and Assistant Professor of Political Science, with over 11 years at CSUSM.
Stricker organized Pizza and Politics which began December 4, 2007. The event consists of professors leading healthy discussions on prominent matters. The professors in the events are volunteers. During the event, students are encouraged to discuss their opinions in an open and friendly environment. Prior to the event, students are to read articles relating to the topic. The articles and other information regarding the event can be found at www.csusm.edu/adp.
"I hope students, faculty and staff continue to attend the Pizza and Politics and respectfully discuss the issues of the election. There will also be more pizza at the next event. So many attended that we ran out. I'm sorry about that," said Stricker.
Stricker provides related articles for students to read beforehand to stimulate discussion during the event. The first article, "Arguments Mount for a National Healthcare System" by David R. Francis, discusses the health care system and the promises made by presidential hopefuls. The second article, "Coming Soon: Healthcare Debate, Part 2" by Kevin Sack, discusses McCain's aim for tax credits for private insurance policies, Clinton's aim for universal healthcare, and Obama's aim for health insurance for children.
"I expected most of the students to be interested in politics but to be relatively naive on the current healthcare issues facing the U.S," said Professor Barrett. "My goal was to spark more interest in why national healthcare issues would be important to them, so that they would do the investigations necessary to be better informed voters. I was very pleased to find that my expectations were wrong -- there was a high level of knowledge about the issues among the students attending."
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