Civic Engagement

Politics can be frustrating. I have found that the bulk of the frustration that I feel comes from the saturation of misinformation that seems to spew from every possible media outlet. Maybe you’ve heard this one… “Barrack Obama is a ‘radical muslim’ who ‘will not recite the pledge of allegiance.’” Right. Or how about this one from four years ago… “George W. Bush will re-institute the draft if he is elected.” The scary part is that people believe this stuff. Check out this quote from the Pew Research Center:

In the latest survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 12% say Obama is Muslim, virtually unchanged from 10% in March. This misperception is not limited to voters who oppose Obama. Identical percentages of Republicans and Democrats (12% each) think he is Muslim, and the link between views of Obama’s religion and their candidate choice vote is strongest among Democrats.

12%! That is 1/8 of the electorate! Even more bizarre, 1% believe he is Jewish! You can check out the poll information here.

This is not a partisan approach. We saw similar slander that Bush was planning to open the draft after being elected to his second term. Now (four years and no draft later) these rumors have officially been proven false.

So what can a poor voter do? Get educated. My favorite website for FACTUAL political information is factcheck.org. This website was made famous when Dick Cheney incorrectly referenced it in a debate versus John Edwards in 2004 by calling it “factcheck.com” not “factcheck.org” (irony anyone?), but it really is great and bi-partisan.

So try to weed out the “Entertainment Tonight” style news from your political life, and save the gossip for A-Rod and Madonna. I like my politics to have some “truthiness” as Mr. Colbert likes to say.

-Peter Starr

Hello again! As we watch our candidates for political offices both locally and nationally begin to really start campaigning, it is time for our campus to start thinking about student leadership and the offices that will be available this fall.

Since I took this position this past spring, I have heard a lot of students expressing an interest in creating change here at Chemeketa. This want for change has been for things as simple as parking and food service, to ideas as complex as student rights and political action. Regardless of the level of change these students may have been interested in, there is no better way to create action than getting involved in your student government. I often tell classes that I visit that registering to vote gives them a license to complain. The same can be said about student government. Talking about change is one thing, but exacting change is another, and ASC gives our students a voice to communicate their complaints, criticisms, and opinions.

So if you are a student who may be interested in getting involved with ASC, or an instructor or staff member who may know a student that they would like to recommend for a position, contact me at pstarr1@chemeketa.edu, call me at (503) 365-4764, or stop by Student Life for more info on the positions. I would be happy to help!

113 days until election day!

-Peter Starr

Information about the Associated Students of Chemeketa (ASC) and the positions that will be available this fall, as well as application materials can be located at this site.

Hello world indeed! Well, off we go into the wonderful world of blogging, and for my first blog, a few observations. It is truly strange to walk around this campus with no students. At the beginning of the week between spring and summer term, I wandered around marveling at the peace and quiet that existed on Chemeketa’s campus without the masses of students who call this college home doing their daily activities. No hacky-sack by Building 1, no smokers by building 3, no gamers by the theater, no screaming in the student center, no roll around back packs dragging across the sidewalks. It seemed like heaven (or at least some strange version of heaven where there is no cafeteria and lots of empty classrooms). Then something strange happened…

On Wednesday I saw one of my former students who came in to my office to discuss her grade from Spring term. At first I thought, “How could she have the audacity to break the wonderful Zen-like silence that existed in my office (or corner with a desk, not really an office)?” Then we started talking and a weird thing happened, I realized that after only three days, I missed the students. This short talk reminded me that our greatest resource here at Chemeketa is our students. Whether they be old, young, male, female, black, white, or purple, our students are what make this campus great.

I have taught at other institutions and attended even more as a student, but something about Chemeketa is different, and I struggle at times to figure out what it is. I do know this: there are not many other colleges or universities where students come to an instructor’s office during the vacation week between graduation and the beginning of summer term. While this student could have been at the movies, rafting down a river, or sitting on her couch staring at Drew Carey’s version of “The Price is Right” (by the way, he is far from Bob Barker, who is also coincidentally my childhood idol), instead here she was in my office, discussing her performance last term and preparing for her summer course work.

So on this last day before summer term I eagerly anticipate the return of the hacky-sackers, the smokers, the gamers, the roll around backpacks, and all of the other students who make this campus what it is: the best school I have ever had the privilege of being a part of.

Future blogs will get more political (trust me), but for now, enjoy your summer, and enjoy your weekend!

2 days until Summer term
137 days until Election Day

-Peter Starr