Engaging Politically Disenfranchised Students in Governance

Abstract

New Jersey City University is an urban, Minority- and Hispanic-Serving Institution with a First-Generation-to-College, commuter, and immigrant student population. How can we engage our students who feel powerless, distrustful, or even threatened by government actors in governance? Will perceptions of governance change with increased exposure to political elites in their communities? Using Community Engaged Learning methods, we asked students to attend civic meetings and courtrooms to observe the inner workings of governance and engage in dialogue with political elites. Journals and surveys reveal that students deconstructed pre-conceived notions of powerlessness, humanized government actors, and became hopeful about change in their communities.