Community Engagement News

University Joins in Celebrating Nation’s ‘Election Heroes’ on Eve of Election Day

Today (Nov. 7) is Election Hero Day, the eve of Election Day and the last “civic holiday” being observed this semester as part of Barry’s Campus Democracy Project (CDP).

With Election Day upon us, the CDP organizers are still mobilizing the student vote, which is considered “crucial” in this year’s midterm elections.

Voting by young people has the potential to decide dozens of key 2022 midterm races across the country, a study by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University has found. The findings of the study indicate that voting by youth of color in states like Florida could have a big impact.

Election Hero Day is a special occasion to acknowledge the work of election administration teams, poll workers, and others around the country who help to ensure that voters can cast their ballots securely and successfully. Alongside county/municipal election clerks and directors, election office staff, and poll workers, the Civic Holidays organization has identified voters as election heroes.

Election Heroes are election administration teams, poll workers, and others who help to ensure that voters can cast their ballots securely and successfully.

Civic holidays are nonpartisan days of action aimed at strengthening and celebrating American democracy. They bring together a range of organizations and communities to work towards a nation where everyone participates and votes.

Four “civic holidays” are on the CDP schedule this semester. They are National Voter Registration Day (Sept. 20), National Voter Education Week (the first week of October), Vote Early Day (Oct. 28), and Election Hero Day.

“Today we recognize and thank election workers across the country: county/municipal election clerks and directors, election office staff, and poll workers,” the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) tweeted. And, in an Instagram post today, the CCSI told election workers: “Whether you’re a first-time volunteer at a polling place or a longtime election worker, you are an Election Hero—and you have our gratitude.”

National Voter Education Week: Eli Garcia, the Florida organizer for VoteRiders, and Monica Bustinza, the senior program manager of voter engagement at Engage Miami, participated in the Florida Ballot Forum during National Voter Education Week. (Photos by Glenn Bowen)

Vote Early Day: As part of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, Bucky took the pledge to vote. The occasion was a Vote Early Day (Oct. 28) rally on Barry’s Miami Shores Campus. (Photo by Glenn Bowen)

Also as part of the CDP, the annual Florida Ballot Forum took place on October 5. Barry University’s major event for National Voter Education Week (Oct. 3–7), the forum was aimed at helping students and other voters make informed choices in the midterm elections.

The CDP furthers Barry’s commitment to fostering a campus culture that nurtures nonpartisan student civic learning, democratic engagement, and student voter participation. Through the CDP, students, faculty, and staff have celebrated the civic holidays with various events and though social media.

Students Preparing to Demonstrate in Support of ‘Fair Food’ on November 19

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program promotes fairness in the fields. “Food Chains” exposes human rights abuses in modern industrial agriculture.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) can expect continued support for its Fair Food Program from Barry students this academic year. Students are getting ready to join the Miami Fair Food Action on November 19.

Led by the CIW and the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA), the demonstration will see students marching for about two miles alongside farmworkers and family members. They will urge the public to boycott the Wendy’s fast-food chain because of its refusal to sign on to the Fair Food Program.

The Fair Food Program is a unique partnership among farmers, farmworkers, and retail food companies that advocates the humane treatment of farmworkers. Participating growers and buyers agree to follow a “Code of Conduct,” which outlines all the protections for farmworkers in the program, and to pay the “Fair Food Premium.”

A worker-based human rights organization, the CIW is recognized internationally for its achievements in fighting human trafficking and gender-based violence at work. The CIW is also recognized for pioneering the design and development of the “Worker-Driven Social Responsibility Paradigm”—described as “a worker-led, market-enforced approach to the protection of human rights in corporate [food] supply chains.”

Over the years, college students have been important allies in the CIW’s fight for fairness in the fields. They have stood in solidarity with the CIW and have created the SFA, through which they have agitated for fair wages and better working conditions for farmworkers.

To prepare for the demonstration, students will watch “Food Chains,” the 2014 documentary set in South Florida, which exposes human rights abuses in modern industrial agriculture. The cast of the film includes Eva Longoria and Robert Kennedy Jr., with well-known actor Forest Whitaker as one of the narrators.

Students are asked to register for the “Food Chains” screening and discussion. Registration for the Miami Fair Food Action is also underway.

School of Education, Leadership, and Human Development Hosts Information Session for College-Bound Ukrainians

Carrollton School Counselor Michelle Patterson (right)—with Academic Advisor Caroline Gillingham-Varela—encourages prospective college students from Ukraine to obtain their high school transcripts.

Story and photos by Heather Johnson Desiral

Barry’s Adrian Dominican School of Education, Leadership, and Human Development (ADSOE-LHD) recently hosted an information session for Ukrainians displaced by the Russia–Ukraine war.

College-bound students and parents received information about the U.S. college system and available opportunities for scholarships. They learned about the college application process and how to make themselves stand out among applicants. 

Ms. Michelle Patterson, a counselor at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, was the main presenter during the information session. She encouraged prospective college students to obtain their high school transcripts and recommendations as soon as possible to meet admissions deadlines.

Mr. Miguel Murphy, executive director of enrollment management at Miami Dade College, expressed delight that the Ukrainian students and their parents were able to get “preliminary insight” into the college application process.

Michelle Patterson of Carrollton School (top) and Miguel Murphy of Miami Dade College (middle, right) share information with students and parents from Ukraine. And Ekaterina Elagina, a USA Help Ukraine organizer (bottom, left), shares a moment with two of the attendees at the event.

Ms. Ekaterina Elagina, a USA Help Ukraine organizer and an ADSOE-LHD graduate student, thanked Barry University and Carrollton School for their support. She singled out Dr. Ruth Ban, the ADSOE-LHD program director for curriculum and instruction, and Mr. Michael Woodward, a director of admissions at Barry, as well as Ms. Caroline Gillingham-Varela from Carrolton.

Ms. Elagina also expressed appreciation to Barry undergraduates JuanPablo Martin and Jason Albury for attending the information session.

In a post-event discussion, Ms. Evelina Saievych of USA Help Ukraine noted that her college-bound compatriots would soon be invited to a soccer outing at Barry. She added that the welcome and support offered to them “means a lot” as they settle into their new lives in the United States.

Community Partners Attend Professional Development Workshop on Campus:
A Pictorial Report

Community partners from more than a dozen organizations attended the October 19 workshop titled “Reimagine, Reconnect, Revive: Restoring Our Community.”  T. Nikki Watkins, associate executive director of MCCJ, conducted the workshop, adopting Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a framework to engage community partners in discussing current organizational needs and opportunities to meet those needs. (Photos by Glenn Bowen)

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AWARDS: The CCSI has issued a call for nominations for the 10th annual Community Engagement Awards.

DELIBERATIVE DIALOGUE: The Deliberative Dialogue Series continued last month with a forum titled “The COVID Slide and Digital Divide: How Do We Help Students Recover Learning Losses?”