Podcast Season 4, Episode 2 Transcript
Babette Faehmel: 0:04
Welcome to Many Voices. One Call. SUNY Schenectady's very own diversity, equity, inclusion,
social justice and civics podcast. I'm your host, Babette Faehmel, history professor
here at the college.
Archer Abbott: 0:15
And I'm the co-host, Archer Abbott. I'm a sociology major at SUNY SCCC and I'm a Civic
Engagement intern with the Empire State Service Corps and the student co-host for
this podcast.
Babette Faehmel: 0:28
And this is our election to 2024 debrief episode. So we are an educational podcast,
so a clarification might be due.
Archer Abbott: 0:48
This episode is to provide a safe but also a brave space for students, faculty staff
and community stakeholders to talk about their expectations, fears and hopes.
Babette Faehmel: 0:56
And we want to discuss the facts so far we have them right now and model active listening
and civic dialogue skills. We are not here to articulate an official position of SUNY
or SUNY Schenectady County Community College.
Archer Abbott: 1:13
And we have some guests in the studio today. With us today are Zoe Oxley, Professor
of Political Science at Union College.
Zoe Oxley: 1:20
Yes, I'm Zoe and I'm looking forward to our conversation.
Archer Abbott: 1:24
Marian Porterfield, Schenectady City Council President.
Marion Porterfield: 1:27
Good afternoon. It's a pleasure to be with you today.
Archer Abbott: 1:29
Pleasure to be with you too, and Omar McGill, who represents District 1 in the Schenectady
County Legislature.
Omar McGill: 1:36
Hello everybody, I'm excited to be here. Thank you for having me.
Babette Faehmel: 1:39
We also have SUNY Schenectady's own Carrie Buff, information literacy Specialist and
Academic Librarian.
Caroline Buff: 1:47
Hello, thank you for inviting me today. I'm Caroline Buff. I'm a librarian here at
the college.
Babette Faehmel: 1:52
We have Sean Mullen, Counselor in the Office of Wellness and Support Services.
Sean Mullen: 1:57
Hey, this is Sean. Thanks for having me. Happy to be here.
Babette Faehmel: 2:00
And most importantly, of course, we have students. We have Cassie
Cassie: 2:05
we have Cassie
Babette Faehmel: 2:07
We have Dylan.
Dylan: 2:08
Dylan Mahar, student government president. Thank you.
Babette Faehmel: 2:12
And Nadine.
Nadine: 2:14
Hi, thank you for having me.
Babette Faehmel: 2:17
All right, I want to start actually where we left off in the last episode, which was
on civic engagement. Off in the last episode, which was on civic engagement, and that
episode ended with a call to students to get engaged and to consider their vote, their
voice. So, okay, students probably voted and, judging from the results, it's likely
that more than half right now feel their voice didn't matter and some of them might
even fear they will be marginalized in the years to come.
Archer Abbott: 2:46
There might also be students who think well, my vote was my voice and I was heard,
but I'm not sure I'll be accepted by my peers because of the way that I voted. We
live in highly polarized times. As a college podcast, our main interest today is to
talk about what we here at SUNY Schenectady can do to make sure that all of our students,
no matter who they voted for and indiscriminate of their views and identities, feel
heard and included and safe, and also to make sure that students remain hopeful and
that they can play a meaningful role in civic life in the future. And another goal
is to talk about the sources of our divisions, what exactly we seem to disagree on
and how we can best continue or start to talk across our division so that we can find
a common ground for constructive action.
Babette Faehmel: 3:28
All right, let's start with the students. How have you been processing the election?
Cassie: 3:56
Well, uh, I think it's been like a pretty emotional for me and a lot of other people,
um, because of the issues that we're dealing with right now. Um, so I don't know exactly
what we mean by processing. I've definitely been doing a lot of thinking and reading
about what is important to concentrate on going forward to continue to feel hopeful
about our future.
Cassie: 4:28
I've been thinking personally a lot about community and the importance of community
engagement and talking to the people around us, and especially in person, not through
social media. I think it's really important to directly talk to people in our community
and build community connections.
Babette Faehmel: 4:56
Yeah, yeah, absolutely! Nadine?
Nadine: 5:03
Initially I felt heavy, and I think I'm still trying to process all that is going
on and my emotions and how I feel, how my peers feel, and forgive me if I'm not supposed
to talk about religion, but I will say that I'm a woman of faith and I'm comforted
with the fact that, no matter who's in office, Jesus is King.
Babette Faehmel: 5:35
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Yeah, I think we are all still processing. Dylan?
Dylan: 5:42
Well, you know, I voted for some candidates that won and some candidates that lost,
just like every election and at the end of the day. I follow it to a T! The whole
election and then, when it's over, I move forward. I just try to get ready for January
when they take over. Yeah, so that's what we can look forward to.
Babette Faehmel: 6:06
Yeah, I mean, that's the ideal right. It's an election, the people have spoken and
now we will just continue to be a community. How do others feel? How do, maybe, as
a community... as a representative of this community, or as a counselor, or as a professor
of political science? What are your views? Whoever wants to jump in the next is fine.
Marion Porterfield: 6:37
So I'll start. This is Marion. I'm still processing. I'm still processing. I'm very
clear that when there's an outcome of an election, then we just have to decide how
we process and how we move forward with the way the government's going to be. And
so I'm really more concerned about younger people who, for the first time, came out
to vote and to make their voices heard, especially those who the outcome was not what
they anticipated, and I can imagine that must be very difficult.
Marion Porterfield: 7:08
I've been in politics for quite a while, been in elected office for almost 13 years,
so you know the ups and downs. You know I'm probably maybe a little bit better equipped
to deal with it. However, for younger people, this is the first time. They were like
okay, I'm making my voice heard. Uh, we did a voter registration, we had some first-time
voters come out, so people really anticipated and really wanted to be part of the
process. So, um, I'm concerned that some of the younger people like it didn't work,
because I've heard so many people say, um, my vote doesn't count, and I can imagine
there are people walking away now feeling that their vote didn't count. So that that's
really my concern for younger people, because one of the things I really believe in
is succession planning. So we really need young people to be a part of the process
to move forward to govern our country.
Babette Faehmel: 7:54
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, Zoe, Sean?
Zoe Oxley: 7:59
So this is Zoe. At one level. As a political science professor, I spend my time trying
to understand election outcomes and we're still trying to figure out exactly what
happened. But one possibility is that the outcome was largely a negative referendum
on the Biden administration, handling of the economy, the economy that understanding
of the election, if that turns out to be true, is important to bear in mind for lots
of reasons. But one is for individuals who feel like, because of their identities,
that they're a bit marginalized now in our society and our community community because
they might have felt they were lots of hateful rhetoric directed toward them.
Zoe Oxley: 8:48
And if there's concern which understandably many people are concerned that the level
of hate that was dominant in the election coming from the side that won the national
offices, president for sure that that might send a message that only certain members
of our society should be involved in politics, should be involved in community. The
degree to which, if the election ends up being best understood as a referendum of
the economy, not an endorsement of hate, I think it's important If that is the best
way to understand the election.
Zoe Oxley: 9:27
It's going to be months before we know whether that is or not. I think it's important
to underscore that message to encourage people of all backgrounds to become active
and engaged in politics. But I'm also frankly quite worried that even if most people
didn't vote based on hate, those few that did might feel emboldened now, and we've
already seen evidence of that on social media and a few hateful messages can have
the effect of dampening civic engagement, not only not of young people writ large,
but of young people with certain backgrounds and certain identities. So I'm torn about
what to think about the election and the likely consequences.
Babette Faehmel: 10:16
Sean, as a counselor here at the college, have you noticed that students are particularly
stressed out or more anxious about this time?
Sean Mullen: 10:27
So I will say that I think during every election season there's always a lot of stress
going into it because, like you kind of put before, at the end of the day, at the
end of any election, there's going to be roughly half the country that's not happy,
right, you know.
Sean Mullen: 10:39
So it's tough because there's two sides and you know, we kind of split into our sides,
which I don't know, but there's a lot more to go into there as well.
Sean Mullen: 10:49
But yeah, I think it's tough too because there definitely is a lot more stress during
this season and then also afterwards and that's kind of a typical thing that I think
happens every election.
Sean Mullen: 10:58
But it seems like it's what you were kind of mentioning there was so much kind of
I don't know extremes put into a lot of the sides, at least for this recent time.
So there was a lot more stress that comes with the extremes and I think, you know,
a lot of times it's kind of being able to I don't know the reaction to. It is especially
me as a counselor kind of having to take off my own hat of, like, my own personal
beliefs and everything and meet whoever's there in the room with what they're going
through. And there's going to be stress for this election, whatever politically human,
wise and all those kinds of things. But you know, I definitely think there is a lot
of just stressful energy that has been going on and definitely a sense that you know
kind of sense the results as well. You know it's another kind of just people processing.
Whatever direction things went.
Babette Faehmel: 11:46
Yeah, yeah. Do you think that, as is for students too? Do you think we have? We are
providing sufficient spaces and opportunities for students to articulate how they
feel and maybe to talk about these issues.
Archer Abbott: 12:02
I think that, honestly, a lot of students are afraid to talk about how they feel in
in scholarly spaces because they're afraid of, you know, being met with an extreme
opposite opinion that might invalidate theirs or just a general lack of respect in
open discussion that have occurred online and people are afraid that's going to translate
into one-on-one spaces with each other, um, and for a lot of people it's just a lot
of stress to talk about these things, because some of these issues hit really close
to home and it's just people don't want to have to think about it unless they have
to, you know.
Babette Faehmel: 12:44
Cassie, Nadine, Dawn?
Cassie: 12:48
I think, for me, I'm a culinary student, so I don't think, unless I had taken the
women and gender studies class, that I would really feel like I had any place at school
to talk about this sort of thing, because we're sort of in our own little world over
there cooking and just doing that and uh, not to say that there I've never had a political
discussion, but mostly we're talking about what we're doing we're cooking, we're baking,
um, and talking about other stuff than that is kind of discouraged in my opinion.
Cassie: 13:30
I mean, in some of my classes we've had things that have touched on political issues
that, um, we have discussed, but I think generally it's kind of like why are we talking
about this, this? This isn't about the topic Nadine.
Nadine: 13:54
I would say my experience is outside of your classroom. I don't think there's a platform
that we can have a healthy conversation about it. I have overheard and I have been
involved in heated conversations, so for myself I kind of shy away from having those
talks as well. But I think you did a great job at allowing your students in your classroom
to kind of have a respect for each other's opinion, and so I appreciate that.
Babette Faehmel: 14:29
Well, that's good to know, yeah, but it's, I mean, it's really a hard balance. It's
a fine line because, I mean, we don't want to. I'm personally, I'm very aware of how
stressed out some students are about this entire election and about politics in general,
but I also find it extremely important that we do articulate how we feel, because
this is our country and this is our community and there is a lot at stake, and I don't
think it's necessarily possible for all of us to separate the politics and the personal.
But, Dylan, you didn't have a chance yet to talk about this issue from the student
government association perspective.
Dylan: 15:19
Well, being president there, I think I deal with people that may be more engaged than
the general student population, being as they're in that active role, and I almost
get from both sides whether they voted for Trump or Harris just sort of a general
sense of relief that the election is over. I haven't gotten too much of a nervous
sense. I feel like most people are just sort of we're moving forward now. I mean,
it was a contentious election, it was violent at times, but I think at the end of
the day and we've been through this before 2016 and then 2020. And so this is kind
of the third go around here, and I think that it's almost sort of a conclusion that
I get from some people that were, you know, I don't know how to describe it, but I've
gotten a lot of relief sense from people as opposed to a nervous sense.
Babette Faehmel: 16:21
Yeah, that's interesting. It also kind of reminds me of some of the topics from the
last episode where we talked about what civic engagement actually entails, because
for me I would say, voting is an action based on a disposition to be civically engaged,
but it's not the whole package. So how do you feel about like getting students civically
engaged during polarized times? What are kind of like spaces that we could provide
for that to make that easier? Because when I if I remember what was said in the last
episode, but also in the last couple of minutes, it seems that our way of interacting
with each other is really very much shaped by social media and it's very easy to express
your dislikes and disrespect on social media. Do you feel that this has already completely
carried over into our interpersonal communication and interactions, and is there anything
that we can maybe do to create healthier discursive I don't know habits, spaces Wow,
that was a broad one. As an information literacy specialist, how about I give this
one to you?
Caroline Buff: 17:47
So this is Caroline. And I think that, as a librarian, I would encourage you to use
places like libraries as a neutral space, and maybe as a space further to be discourse.
You know, the code of ethics for librarians is very ... We really take seriously your
privacy. We really take seriously that we want to collect information from multiple
points of view. So we're not, we're not there to tell you you need to believe one
thing or the other. I have my own points of view, but when I'm working with a student,
that goes out the window.
Caroline Buff: 18:30
I'm there to help you find what it is that you need to find, and I think there's a
famous quote, and I don't remember who it's by but a great library will contain something
to - what's the word ... Now I can't remember it. To you know, like make everyone
uncomfortable right.
Caroline Buff: 18:50
Because everyone's going to be uncomfortable because of something. So I think if we
use these neutral spaces more, use your libraries, use other spaces where, you know,
we don't have a, we don't have something we're trying to convince you of, we're there
for you, and that can be a space where you can feel comfortable, safe, learning, you
know, expressing yourself.
Babette Faehmel: 19:22
Yeah, absolutely! So, for the elected officials in the room. So, Omar and Marion,
I was just wondering if maybe it might be helpful for us to learn how you chose to
be so involved in your community, to take such an active role, and what shaped you
in this, and if the kind like conditions that allowed you to become a representative
of your community were different back in the days I don't know how long ago it was.
Maybe like, how did social media factor in here? What were the moments that inspired
you that you want to be an active part in all of this, Omar?
Omar McGill: 20:08
Well, for me, this is Omar McGill, here. I was, I've always taken on leadership roles
when I was coming growing up in different organizations that I was in, and I always
took great pride in my community, the institution. I went to, Morehouse College. We
are trained and molded to make sure that we take an active role in the community around
us and making sure that we're doing our part to better it. When I came back to New
York from there, I worked at the state legislature. I'm in my 10th or 11th year in
the state legislature.
Omar McGill: 20:44
I worked in the assembly I worked on the policy side, I worked at the state legislature.
I'm in my 10th or 11th year in the state legislature. I've worked in the assembly,
I've worked on the policy side, I've worked on the procedure side, so I've been able
to see how policy is actually enacted and passed and, with mentorship from Ms.. Porterfield,
I was able to be placed in a position to be effective in my community and it wasn't
something that just happened right away. Ms. Porterfield, along with others, watched
what I did over time and spoke to me and spoke life into me about being a part of
the political process and standing in the gap, especially when, in regards to representation
within Schenectady County, there wasn't a lot of representation for people of color
in Schenectady County and we're still in that battle to this day. So that was one
of the things that really, really inspired me to get in. And then, also at the state
legislature, there are a lot of people of color in positions of power. I worked for
Speaker Carl Hasey, who's the first black speaker of the assembly, and there's been
100 speakers. I worked for leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who's the first woman and
first black person to lead the Senate. So I see that type of leadership and I see
myself. I can see myself in them and then also, just, it doesn't matter what color
you are at the state legislature, you are around some powerful and great leaders on
both sides of the aisle too. So it really, really inspired me to make sure that I
wanted to be involved, to make sure I do my part to help my community and beyond um.
Omar McGill: 22:25
And if I could just real quick on the um safe spaces, I think that you know, for students,
you know it's, it's. I think if we come together with empathy and understanding, diversity
of experiences and having conversations on facts, I think it would be. It creates
that safer space. And I know sometimes that's hard because of the play in social media
and the misinformation and we don't have the. We don't know if this information is
factual or not, right, you know, and sometimes it paints a picture or whether it be
an educator like yourself who has already gotten compliments that your space is safe.
Omar McGill: 23:08
So I think that's just really really important for students to being able to talk
and have those conversations to really, really... B ecause everybody wants a better
future. You know, it's all about coming to a common ground, right, it's all about
coming to a common ground, to see how we can do this together, to see how we can do
this together Because, ms Porterfield, one of the things that I admire about her is
you have to work with both sides, and I see that in the state and I see that through
the work that she does. You're not going to agree with everybody, and just because
we disagree doesn't mean we can't work for the betterment of our community.
Babette Faehmel: 23:37
Right! No, I think that's a really really important skill. I think that's a really
really important skill actually, and muscle to develop. We have to learn how to constructively
disagree and to get at the sources of our shared desires and goals for the future.
Because, I don't think. I think the number of people who would disagree on that good
future that we are all seeking is probably very small. I'm not sure who that would
be. So it should be possible, but it also seems kind of like a hurdle, like a psychological
hurdle, before we get into that kind of mindset that we open ourselves up to these
conversations. I think, Archer, you had that was actually one of your concerns, right?
That people would just not have the skills, the conversational skills, but maybe also
not the full comprehension of what is out there, how we can get involved, right?
Archer Abbott: 24:42
yeah, absolutely!
Archer Abbott: 24:44
I mean, I honestly think that we should have basic education of like civics and maybe
debate skills in like public schools, because that's where you learn all these communication
skills. And if you're not getting those skills or learning how to do proper research,
then you're going to be kind of lost when you're an adult and out there. And it's
been hard because I went to a high school that had like some civic education but I
could see all my peers around me and I could see the way that the education was. Um,
I don't like the way that it was set up. It wasn't super in depth. So a lot of people
I saw a lot of people just take it as like face value and didn't want to do the research
to go further and they went off into their lives with just those like basic set of
skills. And it's been hard for me trying to develop those skills without really a
whole lot of like personal mentorship in my life so I just think that's important,
that everybody gets that.
Babette Faehmel: 25:45
Yeah, I totally agree. I have to. I think a lot of people, when they think about politics
and voting, they just think about, well, the big offices, right, and that's well okay.
Yes, of course they matter. But what matters, like when I look at you, omar and Marion,
you got involved in local politics. And if you were, if you had a chance to talk to
a person who might right now feel like this whole politics is just ugly and corrupt
and whatnot, and it doesn't matter anyhow, because see what happens what would you
tell them about the local community? And also, Dylan, you chose to get involved, really
local, like Student Government Association. What's in that for you and what can you
actually do as a politically engaged, civically engaged person?
Marion Porterfield: 26:37
So I would say that it's really important to get involved, and so I just want to step
back and tell you how I got involved, because it was a different pathway than Omar.
I spent many years going to the city council and I was on the other side of the rail
going to advocate for my community, to talk about where I felt things were missing,
where things needed attention, and I felt that they were falling on deaf ears.
Marion Porterfield: 26:59
And so well.
Marion Porterfield: 27:01
I was like well, they need somebody on the other side of that rail who's going to
listen to the community, and so that's how I started the process of getting involved,
and I took the time to learn how people got elected by helping other people get elected
and working through that process, and then, when the opportunity came, I, you know,
put my hat in the ring and ran for office, and one of the things I'm going to be really
frank about so I was missing that the level of diversity that was on the city council.
Marion Porterfield: 27:28
At that time there was only one person of color, an African American male, who had
been there for years, and then I was elected. Let me just be clear. He then left the
council and I was elected, and so we still had one African American, one person of
color on the council. The next year, a Guyanese gentleman, who's still there as well,
got on the council, but then for the next eight, nine years, that was it. And now
we've been able to, through some of the work that I've done, been able to gain two
young African-American men on the council, because, again, it's important that we
have youth involved and that we have some level of succession planning and that our
government, local government, reflects our community. That is extremely important.
It can't be.
Marion Porterfield: 28:15
You know, no matter how liberal you may feel or you may feel an ally to someone in
certain ways, have lived experiences make a difference when you're governing, and
so it's important to have people who have certain lived experience to be able to sit
at the table and maybe give a different perspective than than one that you would have,
having not lived it, even though you may be have empathy for a certain position.
Marion Porterfield: 28:36
So that's why I said you know it's got to happen and you know I've been there almost
13 years the downside is, I'm the only African American woman that's ever been on
the council, and so we have to change that dynamic. You know, um, I want to light
some flames. You know, I'm not ready to distinguish mine, don't, don't just don't
misunderstand that but I definitely want to light some flames because I know that,
um, I'm not going to be there forever and I I have. No, I don't want to be, but we
have to make sure that, whatever amount of, um, what we've gained yeah, that we don't
want to be, but we have to make sure that, whatever amount of what we've gained, that
we don't want to lose that, and so we want to make sure, Cassie, Cassie? no!
Archer Abbott: 29:16
Archer.
Marion Porterfield: 29:17
Archer said it very clearly that there isn't civic engagement really taught in schools.
Marion Porterfield: 29:23
And I firmly believe that, even before it doesn't need to be high school, I think
it should at least start in middle school so that young people are interested in it
and you're not trying to like make them get interested in high school and get ready
to go on to college. So I think it really should start in middle school. And civic
engagement to me, is more than elected office, though. You can sit on different committees,
different, different commissions, and find out what's going on and actually be a decision
maker in your community. That's extremely important. And then if you want to go on
to elected office which is challenging sometimes and sometimes vicious, quite frankly
um then you you could do that, but you don't always have to be in elected office.
Marion Porterfield: 30:02
You could do something in a level that you may be more comfortable with yeah but you're
still making decisions and and uh about what the outcomes are in your community. So
I think people should always have that broad thought about what civic engagement can
really look like in their community. And local is really, really important, because
you can go talk to omar, um or any other of the county legislators. That's people
that you can actually put your hands on, and maybe your federal government. You don't
see them as much as you see the local people. So I think it's important to realize
the importance of local government and what we bring to the table
Babette Faehmel: 30:37
Right,
Omar McGill: 30:41
just to go off the civic education.
Omar McGill: 30:45
It's almost like you know our students. It's like you know, when we were getting ready
to go to college. Right, we take steps, starting in, like you know, 7th, 8th, 9th,
10th, 11th, 12th, to pick a college, to pick a major. It's the same thing with molding
your, your, your political ideology. You know it might not come from you, might you
might not agree with the same things that even your family agrees with right.
Omar McGill: 31:07
So I think civic education is super important and I think that leads into the individuals
who don't want to be involved in politics, because sometimes they just don't understand
it. Sometimes they also are just it's intimidating to the point where it's just like
you know well, I'm supposed to be, I'm supposed supposed to be Democrat, or I'm supposed
to be working Families Party, or I'm supposed to be the Green Party, or you know.
So I think it's important that we have that in our schools and, like Ms. Porterfield
said, even in like starting in seventh and eighth grade. I mean, if you're not in
student government in seventh and eighth grade or high school, you don't really talk
about it. And you know, I know it's difficult sometimes for schools to have, you know,
elected officials to come, to come in and speak. You know, because I've tried to do
that at Schenectady they can form their own conceptions about it but also have factual
information about it and not what they see on social media, which can just build a
very, very large mistrust.
Omar McGill: 32:19
So when you run into those people just like, I don't want the political, I don't want
to deal with the political process, you have to acknowledge their feelings one, but
you also have to get them to look at the broader, the broader vision of what you know
what this means. You know, okay, on the federal level, you, you don't think it means
as much, but on the local level, one, it does mean much. On the federal level, so
let me say that. But on the local level it means a ton too, because that shapes your
everyday life. You know that shapes your everyday life. So you know you want to make
sure that they can understand that um, and you know it's, it's. It's difficult sometimes
when people don't understand politics. They don't really want to, but you gotta, you
know, try to kind of kind of keep pushing, pushing and pushing and try to give them
information and build that trust. Sometimes it's just building that rapport with them.
If they trust you and they believe that you're leaning them down the right path, it
goes a long way.
Zoe Oxley: 33:10
This is Zoe. Again, I agree with all of the importance that everyone so far has been
putting on civic engagement, crucially important. I'm a little worried that in some
states across our nation the message of the past few years seems to be that we need
less discussion of issues in schools, with certain issues just considered to be off
topic, with the perception that it can be too difficult to talk about these issues
so therefore we shouldn't talk about any at all. I think that's particularly evident
at the high school level. So I'm heartened by these pleas for not only civic education
in the schools but broadening our understanding of what civic engagement is and could
be beyond politics, beyond the national level. And I also want to make a plea for
the ways in which we can start even in elementary school.
Zoe Oxley: 34:04
So even before, say, seventh grade, middle school. I was involved in some research
where we, my colleagues and I, went into elementary schools across the country and
asked kids what political leaders look like.
Zoe Oxley: 34:20
So we were interested in perceptions of leadership and one of the main take-home messages
we got from this work is that in around first grade, young girls were more well. At
every age girls were more likely to think that political leaders could be girls or
women. But as girls got older they were less likely to think that girls and women
could be political leaders. So early on the message is, or maybe there's not much
of a message, so there's a bit of a blank slate for the littlest kids. But as kids
get older and they learn, they see pictures of who the presidents have been in the
U.S. in their classroom. They see from the news who is likely to be in national political
office.
Zoe Oxley: 35:06
Patterns are different at the local level, but the message gets communicated to kids
as young as 10 years old that politics really isn't a place for girls or women, and
it's girls who are hearing that message more keenly than boys are. So by the age of
10 or so, boys and girls are as unlikely to think that political leaders are women,
whereas at younger ages girls were a bit more likely to think that women could be
leaders. So I think it's super important even at these young levels to get messages
about who can be engaged in politics and that politics at some level, is about improving
lives and improving community and thinking about future. But it's not only happening
in the distance place that's Washington.
Zoe Oxley: 35:55
It's happening very locally. And engagement can happen around lots of things, and
community betterment is really something that we should really all be caring about
and that we should really all be caring about and that we all have some level of skill
to contribute and cultivating notions of who can be engaged and who can be a leader.
It's really never too young to start start that activity right, I love that.
Babette Faehmel: 36:17
I mean, I think I'm oh, Cassie, go ahead.
Cassie: 36:20
Okay, um, I was just thinking about... A lot of you have talked about civic engagement
in middle school and elementary school and high school and personally, I think I was
one of the more civically engaged students in school, mostly because of how I was
raised.
Cassie: 36:42
Mostly because of how I was raised. But something I think that's important to talk
about is that it was very easy for my schools to say that they cared about students'
opinions and their ability to be civically engaged. But to experience it was mostly
every time that we actually displayed our opinions and protested and civically engaged,
it was beaten down, it was said sorry. It was said this is just students being disobedient.
They're not listening to our rules, even though those are what we're challenging.
We're challenging those rules and that's what you're telling us to do. You're telling
us to come up as a collective and tell our opinions and advocate for them, but you're
not listening to them and you're not actually letting us express them. You're saying
you're children, you don't know what you're talking about, and not actually allowing
us to to display those things unless it fit into this specific box of what made them
look good yeah, so right, right, it has to be meaningful, exactly, exactly be real.
Nadine: 37:59
I was just gonna say um, I think at the very least it needs to be taught at a very
basic level. Whether it's just the chain of command, maybe we don't. I guess I can
see the conflict with allowing students to discuss this during school, but it needs
to be taught somewhere, because if you don't have a passion for it or an interest
in it, then you just truly don't understand the concept or even how election works.
Who controls these rules? Who passes laws? So, even at a very basic level, I would
strive for that and I will say there may be some hope, because I was very pleased
to see that at a pre-K level, my daughter was introduced to voting and ballots and
although they didn't vote for the president, they voted for what snack they were going
to have for the day. I like it.
Nadine: 38:55
She came home so excited, so happy, that her voice mattered and cookies won. So I
would say there's some hope there, cookies won and um.
Nadine: 39:11
So there's some hope there and I just be hopeful and let's keep pushing for that very
basic level and those who want to be involved, let's um encourage, yes, yes
Babette Faehmel: 39:17
I mean, I'm obviously, like as an educator, all in favor of civic education, but I
also I think it's really it's extremely important right now because I feel if, if
you don't, if you don't understand how the like let's just call it the system um is
set up to function, you will not notice when there are rules being violated.
Babette Faehmel: 39:38
And when they are just like um, basically being departed from and it just seems then
as if it's just okay, it's more same of the same, or same old, same old politicians
being politicians. And I think it's really, really important for, like, maybe, peer
educators on civics, and that we open up these spaces for these kinds of conversations.
And I'm just wondering maybe SGA could be a part of conversations and I'm just wondering
maybe SGA could be a part of that. I mean, Dylan, what's your impression of how responsive
to what SGA is doing the general student body at SUNY Schenectady is?
Dylan: 40:17
Well, I think I've found that most people on campus don't even know we have a student
government, let alone that I'm the president. That's who I am, but not many people
realize that. So I've been trying to do some outreach and just get people to even
know that we're there, that we meet every two weeks. Our meetings are open to the
public Thursday, two o'clock I think it's 2 o'clock Thursday. That's when we meet,
so anybody's welcome to come and see what we do and even become part of it, because
we have openings that we'd like more students to be involved with and be more engaged.
Babette Faehmel: 41:00
How were you doing the outreach?
Dylan: 41:04
Well, today, for a start, just so people and I talk to people on campus and in different
classes that I'm in. And. I just ask them did you know we have a student government?
And the most common answer is no, I didn't know that was here, and so the more they
find out about it, they're interested to become a part of it, and you don't really
have to be politically minded to be engaged with it either.
Dylan: 41:42
You can learn and just be engaged with the community and that could lead to being
politically involved too.
Omar McGill: 41:47
This is Omar McGill. Steve" Dylan sorry, Excuse me, Dylan. Well, I and I don't know
if this is the forum for it, but you know I'm willing. I know a couple of my colleagues.
We will totally work with the SGA, whether it's a sponsored event, to discuss certain
issues or anything like that. So you know we can exchange information, we can talk.
I will be willing to come to campus. I know Ms. Porterfield is not offering up her
time, but you know this is. You know succession is something that she talked about
and she instilled in me and a couple of other of my colleagues. So you know, anytime
you want to brainstorm and work together, you know I'm totally open to that, you know,
and we can get the word out more. You know, obviously the community college falls
under Schenectady County, so it's kind of part of my role.
Omar McGill: 42:31
And I'm the Workforce Development Chair as well, so we can talk offline about that.
That would be great. Yeah, definitely, and I would love to.
Marion Porterfield: 42:39
So I just want to jump in here and talk about. We're talking about voting, but really
we also for people, especially first-time voters, people you know they've never voted
before. We also need to talk about the actual act of voting itself because, as I said,
there are people that we registered, that never registered before, um, and so I can
see them walking into a voting booth and seeing a ballot and not understanding what's
really going on in front of them so either they spoil the ballot and and then don't
want to do it over again, or just say, whoa, I'm just not going to vote um.
Marion Porterfield: 43:13
And in New York State we have fusion voting. So, uh, one candidate can be um, can
be um, endorsed um, by different parties, like not the major parties, but like a,
what they call them, the minor parties. So if you were a Democrat, you could be a
Democrat and also working families, let's say, for instance. And so therefore you
would see somebody's name on the ballot twice, but you can only vote for them once.
For somebody who's never voted before, they're like that's my candidate, I'll circle
in here and then I'll circle them in again. Now I voted for them twice and so those
are.
Marion Porterfield: 43:49
I mean, that sounds very basic, but I can understand, if you've never voted before,
that you would do that and then you wouldn't know. So not only do we need to help
people be engaged, but also have that really basic thing for people who've never like,
when they want to vote for their cookies, to be able to understand what the process
is and how it works. So there's no intimidation when they go into that voting booth
Because, again, if you're first time out, then you might be a little intimidated by
the process. I do want to give a shout-out here to Schenectady High School though,
because they actually had a whole voting day for their student presidents, their student
body presidents, which I thought was great. I mean, they set up just like as though
we go to the polling place with little cubicles to go in. It says vote, and all that
got a little sticker that said I voted. So there are some things being done in our
community at certain levels, but we need to expand that a little bit more and, you
know, give even the basics.
Babette Faehmel: 44:45
Actually I'm going to jump in here too, because I think a couple of like really important
things came up in the last couple of minutes. You said, Marion, you were referring
to, I think, to what Archer and the like when we were talking about the talking points,
Archer referred to civic misconceptions about voting, which seems to be falling in
that category. I'm not knowing exactly who's on the ballot and how is fusion voting.
What is that? I also think that there are certain conceptions that people bring into
the political process where they just don't think that the political system is really
listening or really responsive to their needs or to their interests. I was kind of
surprised to see that youth voter turnout was down in this election. I didn't expect
that and I was just wondering what everybody's conception or everybody's impression
is of how responsive turnout to especially young people's needs and desires and fears
the political system currently is and if there are enough venues for youth and for
students to really get their voices out there. Okay, that's another one of those big
ones that lead to silence.
Marion Porterfield: 46:10
So I think that younger people probably are better to speak to that, whether they
feel like there's a place for their voice to be heard. You know as much as I and other
elected people try, we try to reach that demographic. But I think two things that
we definitely should continue to do that but also to have I personally try to surround
myself with younger people who can reach other younger people and kind of give me
some idea of what younger people are thinking about, what's important to them, because
you know, I always say that how you see it depends on where you sit.
Marion Porterfield: 46:46
So at my age I maybe don't. I know that I don't have the same thoughts as a person
that's in their 20s. So I think that a younger person probably would give a different
perspective, whether they feel like their voice is heard or not. And also can we those
of us who are in elected office, have to be receptive to that to say that you're not
I'm talking but you're really not hearing me, because I understand what that's like
from a different perspective as a person of color that I'm talking but you're not
hearing me. So I think that we have to get more young people engaged and again, they
don't always have to be elected right away, but we need that voice, that person who
tells us sort of like an advisory committee that says hey, you're not even thinking
about this.
Marion Porterfield: 47:31
You should take a look at this. So we need to, I believe, be open to listen to everyone's
voice, and we won't always agree on everything. Even people who don't belong to the
same parties don't agree on everything, but everybody's voice is important and everybody's
voice needs to be heard. So I would invite younger people to say do you feel like
you're being heard?
Babette Faehmel: 47:54
And I mean you kind of modeled that right. I mean you were saying that you got involved
in politics because you felt that there was like deafness, tone deafness, and like
people were not listening, and then, instead of just opting out or just getting disillusioned,
you became involved. So that's super inspiring and I guess that's probably also the
case for you, Dylan, and for you Archer, Cassie, right, and Nadine that you got involved
that way. On the other hand, I mean, like Sean, as a counselor, as a wellness professional,
do you think that, like what would be advice from you to educators and also students
who want to like spark these kind of conversations about things that we might need
to keep in mind in order to make sure that, well, like, students are actually feeling
empowered and enabled to participate in these conversations when they have not had
a lot of practice in civic discourse yet?
Sean Mullen: 48:59
Yeah, this is Sean again, but yeah, I think you know one thing, kind of a point that
I was thinking about for a little bit when we were talking about it, like getting
civic engagement when you, engagement in schools when you're younger, I like to even
think of that more of a core level of did any of us have a communication class when?
We were kids.
Sean Mullen: 49:19
Like how to talk to other people, right, that's something that we don't specifically
ever think about but we do every single day. It's one of those things that I think
we end up learning how to communicate based on the people that we're around, and sometimes
that's great, sometimes it's not, and so I think a part of it is just kind of understanding
communication styles and like the ways different people talk. And also I think the
one thing I would say about this just kind of in general, is how to you know, and
the question of like how to engage with others and share your opinion in a way, is
that come at the situation as if you know. I think a lot of times when politics are
involved in things, it's almost like people have things they want to say and they
say it at a wall right when that wall is actually another human being right there
behind you.
Sean Mullen: 50:01
So really think about it as this conversation. Hey, I'm talking to another human being.
I'm not just spinning facts out there about things that I believe. I'm talking to
someone who is different than me, similar maybe a lot of these different things, so
I don't know. I just like to kind of focus on the human aspect of all of it, that
we're all humans at the end of the day and none of us are the same and we all share
some things.
Sean Mullen: 50:26
We all have a lot of differences...
Babette Faehmel: 50:32
Carrie, that's kind of like fits right into, , I think, like your area with information
and like making the library a space for these kinds of conversations. Do you have
any kind of like ideas on how we can open up more spaces, especially for like next
semester and the beginning of next semester, when we will have to transition to a
new administration, and how we can make sure that there's room for for conversations
and also to clarify certain misconceptions or concerns?
Caroline Buff: 51:01
Wow that's a big question. Um, yeah, I mean well, the yeah, I mean well, the library
will be there and we will remain a neutral space.
Caroline Buff: 51:14
I think one of the things that Sean was saying was very interesting to me in that,
remembering that we're talking to other human beings and we're not talking to the
enemy who we should demonize- I think that I see a ton of that on social media, and
I also see a ton of I hesitate to call it misinformation, because I think that each
and every one of us has an algorithm that decides what news we see and when we see
it, and we walk around with it without realizing that it's. You know, it shapes our
worldview what we think we see things similar to what we believe, and that's the same
for all of us. So I think you know I might be sitting next to you and saying what?
How can you not? And you're saying, " what.
Caroline Buff: 52:09
Because we're you, you know we're each getting information from this you know source.
That seems like, yes, we are 100 right and everyone agrees with us. Because everyone
on my social media agrees with me. Because I unfriend people who don't. You know what
I mean. I don't do that, but. But I'm just saying like that's very easy to do. So
I really like your idea, or what you were saying, of just remembering that we're talking
to people and I really do think we have more in common than we think and I think if
we can remain empathetic and respectful of each other, then we can have these civil
discussions in places where you know are safe. You're, you're, you're in a library,
you're in a college, you're in a classroom, you're in places like that.
Babette Faehmel: 52:59
Omar?
Omar McGill: 53:03
I agree. This is Omar. I agree. I think that communication is key. Just when we're
speaking to each other, I think that we have to acknowledge that. You know, everybody
has a different perspectives, different experiences. I think that communication has
taken a downward turn since social media, especially after going through a pandemic.
I think it's tough for people to converse with each other. I think people actually
tend to avoid it.
Omar McGill: 53:34
As far as the political system reaching our young people and some of the pressing
issues, I mean, it's a tough time right now. Cost of living is very, very high, college
tuition is very, very high and rising and there has to be something that has to be
done. And you know about what's going on and I think that you know the previous um,
the Biden administration, I think, had a tough go because they, you know, received
the administration, the country, in a place after the pandemic which took a toll.
So these are the after effects of the pandemic that we're seeing right now. You know
the cost of living being high and you know us, you know our young people not being
able to like really wanting to talk to each other or people in general, and I think
that sometimes that people have recency bias and they're not understanding what we
came out of.
Omar McGill: 54:23
Um, and especially people that are like my age. Um, you know, to go through you know
the unfortunate events of 9-11, to go through a pandemic, um, you know I've it's it's
tough, uh, it's tough mentally and to see the after effects of that is is it's tough
on everybody. And I think there's there's stuff that be done and I'm interested to
see what is done. But I think that people have this misconception. Oh well, the Biden
administration put us in a bad place economically. I think we were on our way there
because of the pandemic. You know the Obama administration which Biden was in, they
had, they had something like a long streak of the employment rate rising and increasing
when they handed over the reins to the Trump administration.
Omar McGill: 55:22
So I think that you know there's a, once again a lot of misinformation, a lot of people
not being educated to have actual facts of what's going on, and I think that it's
it's one of those things where young people are they're, they're, they're really,
really struggling because they're feeling like their needs are not being met and and
and the fact of the matter is, I mean, you know it's, it's hard for everybody out
here, but for especially them, and I think that discourages them from wanting to be
involved politically because their voices, they're saying their voice is not being
heard. But you know, government is tough, it's not. Uh, I want something. Change is
happening tomorrow. You know government is tough, it's not. I want something to change.
It's happening tomorrow.
Omar McGill: 55:52
You know, I worked on legislation that took me three sessions and that was Uber trying
to get Uber from New York City to the rest of the state took us three sessions as
we came to the table didn't work. Next session came to the table didn't work. Next
session came to the table. So and you know that's that was something that was going
to help our community immensely. It's just understanding that, you know. Hopefully
we as elected officials, like Ms. Porterfield said, can understand and listen to our
young people and encourage them and give them a safe space to be able to speak to
us and feel like their voices are being heard.
Omar McGill: 56:28
I will continue to try and make sure that I do that.
Babette Faehmel: 56:29
Right. I think that is one of the most important things and lessons that we need to
teach and also that people need to learn. That is the sausage factory, right? Like
how does the government, how does change happen? Right, and I have to say, like I
thought the educational system or like the curriculum, or I don't know like the way
in which we teach the curriculum quite a bit, because if I'm, if I'm thinking about
like how we, how we teach, like social change, it's usually there's a movement, it
makes things happen and then things change, but it's it's it's it's a long hurl and
it's incredibly every time you have change it's contested, and there's pushback, and
I mean it's just like something that we need to like educate people better about.
And also, I think, just like show them on a local level how politicians interact,
because I mean there is probably no other profession that has a worse reputation currently
than the politicians and "the government. And I mean you have to probably start small
if you want to change that.
Omar McGill: 57:37
We like to be called elected officials, yeah.
Omar McGill: 57:42
Please don't call me that
Babette Faehmel: 57:43
Yeah, seriously. But it's also honestly. It's so weird that a person can become incredibly
popular by showing they are not a politician. But the "politician. That's a job description.
So if you are saying like, I don't meet that job description, why are you the best
candidate for that job? It kind of makes no sense, but that's just what it's like.
Babette Faehmel: 58:12
So part of our talking points was actually also the topic of political polarization
and how we got there and how we got here, and I think we don't oftentimes have the
privilege of being in the company of A.) public officials and B.) political scientists.
So do you maybe want to talk a little bit about, like, how we arrived in this polarized
part of I don't know, polarized times, polarized moments?
Zoe Oxley: 58:40
Sure, I'll start. This is Zoe. Again, I think it's important to recognize how we're
polarized and how we're not polarized. From a sort of political science, social science
point of view, the evidence is very clear that we're polarized in our feelings and
thoughts about our opponents and our team, and we're less polarized in terms of issues.
So we tend to think that our side is smart and virtuous and open-minded and our opponents
are the opposite of all that, and we like our side and we feel very cold towards the
other side. So it's polarization around, and it within an us versus them world. It's
more and more viewing the "them coldly and negatively and the us slightly more positively
and maybe a little bit more warmly, but mostly we have a lot more negative attitudes
regarding and emotions toward the other side, and that is lots of reasons why that's
happened, but one of them has clearly been social media.
Zoe Oxley: 59:48
The American public, though, is less polarized than is often presented in terms of
issues. Sure, there are some issues where we're polarized about, where we disagree
quite strongly. There's also lots of issues where there's agreement on one side or
another of an issue. Take gun control, some gun control measures, high agreement over
a number of possible ways to reform gun laws, democrats and Republicans 80, 90% agreeing
on some solutions, not all, but on some. And then there are other issues where actually
it's best to characterize the public as right in the middle, not strongly one side,
strongly the other side, but a bulk in the middle with perhaps some support on other
ends.
Zoe Oxley: 1:00:34
On issues. We are getting a little further apart on some issues, particularly those
issues that are tied to identities. So the degree to which, for example, the criminal
justice system gets tied to race, then we see a divide, a divide on that issue if
we're understanding criminal justice matters in terms of either through the lens of
racial discriminatory practices or not believing there's any racial discrimination
in the criminal justice system. So as an issue gets tied to identity, we see a little
bit more party polarization. But the real polarization is on how we view our side
and the other side, much, much more so than on how we view the issues.
Babette Faehmel: 1:01:15
And that's something that we can like ourselves work on, like not to fall for this
"us versus them rhetoric.
Zoe Oxley: 1:01:23
We can try, but it's hard, it's hard. Some of it is just social psychologists. We
know from decades and decades of work in social psychology that some of the us versus
them thinking is natural, and the more to which our identities get tied up to the
political sides, the more that we fall into us versus them thinking, and increasingly
over time. In America we've had a lining up of different identities within our political
identities religion, for example, race, another one so, and there's there's a few
others as well. But as we have these core identities of who we are lining up into
one political side or another, then it gets even harder to not think of politics in
these kinds of identity and tribal ways, because at some level you're thinking about
that's who I am and that's who they are. But I do think one way to the elite level
discourse could matter If campaigns were run more on what are the problems facing
the country how do we solve them.
Zoe Oxley: 1:02:32
Let's have discussions about how to solve them and really more policy, substantive
debates at the national, state and local level. It can affect how the public thinks
about the issues and perhaps get the attention a bit away from the groups and the
identities and more towards what do we agree on in terms of you know, the problems
that are really out there? How can we diagnose it? How can we go about solving and
working towards real important solutions to what the public has identified as the
most pressing problems?
Babette Faehmel: 1:03:05
That would be lovely. I'm not sure how likely it is, but I mean, maybe, especially
by promoting engagement in local politics, we can model it on the small level, on
the ground level, on the local level. And I mean, like politics-wise, what matters
more to our communities, the things that we are doing here around here, locally, or
the things that are being done in Washington? What would you say?
Omar McGill: 1:03:36
This is Omar. Well, I think it's important to make sure that people understand the
issues that are going on locally. It's very important, and I think to agree with the
professor, professor Zoe, that I think that we need more policy substantive campaigns.
Omar McGill: 1:03:59
I think that we are too like okay, well, you're for this person and I'm for this person,
but what are the issues? I think that polarization it is a real challenge, but, like
the professor said, I don't think it's the whole story. I think there are issues that
we agree on. You know access to health care. You know education. You know economic
equality. You know these are things that I think people are willing to work together
on to. You know work with the other side on to for the for the best solution for everybody.
Omar McGill: 1:04:31
But I think that with social media it's of the tribal nature. I mean it's it really
is. It's like us versus them. You know if you're voting for this person and that's
really on the, on the national level. And you know, sometimes Ms. Porterfield will
tell you and she knows, you know she's been through it and I've been through it. Porterfield
will tell you and she knows, you know, she's been through it and I've been through
it. They sometimes you know it's a tactic in politics to diverge from the issues and
make the candidate scarier than they really are. So, no, I'm not going to talk about
what the candidate is actually talking about, what they want to do and what they want
to change, and one of the issues that they are standing by and aligning with. I want
to talk about, you know, something that may have happened a long time ago and make
a misconception that, oh no, be afraid of this person and don't hear what they say,
just look at them and be afraid of them.
Omar McGill: 1:05:17
So I think that it's important that we have more policy substantive campaigns. I think
it's. I think it falls on the shoulders of elected officials or public servants to
make sure that we are the ones who are doing right by our people and giving them the
policy and not giving them. Okay, let's talk about that person's character. Talk about
my opponent's character to try to get you not to vote against them but instead to
vote for me and what I want and the policies that I want to see, and hopefully that
they're aligning with the policies and the change that you want to see, and that's
why you should cast your vote. Don't cast your vote because you know a mailer is going
around that's talking about something that's you know that's inappropriate. You know
let's vote because you see a mailer that has some policies that you align with. You
know education. You know economic equality and access to health care, just for some
examples.
Marion Porterfield: 1:06:16
Yeah, absolutely, and I and I also agree with with Zoe in terms of they look focus
more on the person and not the issues, and Omar has also talked about that. And one
of the other thing we have to be careful like, once we, once people, are in elected
office, then we have to really focus on what is the goal here for us in terms of moving
our community forward, and it's not about these horrible mailers that go out and how
that, because I don't think, frankly, I don't think people really enjoy that those
mailers. I don't think that it makes people happy. Maybe the people that created them
think they're wonderful, but people that receive them that's part of what creates
that angst inside of people that makes them feel like, oh you know, you would say
something about this person, or is that person really like that?
Marion Porterfield: 1:07:06
You know it really makes them have a different thought. And we do have to stay more
focused on what the issues are. And then, after it's over, and I have to also say
that sometimes that polarization is just not along party lines, sometimes that polarization
is within parties. And so, regardless of a party you identify with, or if you don't
identify with a party at all, we have to remember that the goal that we should have
as elected individuals is to make sure that our community gets the best that it can
get, that we can advocate for the best for our community, that we take everyone's
needs into consideration and not just people who necessarily we identify with and
there was a question you had about that we if maybe we were to the liberal adults
and first of all, I don't necessarily put myself in any position like liberal progressive-
I just want to know that I'm here for everyone.
Marion Porterfield: 1:08:14
But one of the things you talked about is that are adults too focused on cultural
issues when young people don't see that as one of the concerns? And I would have to
agree, I've been to, I'll say, seed Center. I hope that's where young people are starting
to get their GED and then going on to different vocations. And I've been there to
speak Both Omar and I have and they don't generally always talk about the cultural
issues, they talk about economic issues.
Marion Porterfield: 1:08:41
I can't afford to feed my children, I can't afford my rent, so I try not to just focus
on, I mean, everything comes into play.
Marion Porterfield: 1:08:52
The cultural issues is a part of it, but economics is also a major part of it and
you know people want to be able to eat, to live to, you know, take care of their family.
Marion Porterfield: 1:09:02
So I think that as adults sometimes we can get to like we're all adults, but it's
more mature adults, I'll say we can like kind of get too focused on that. But then
that's again when you're listening to the people from different backgrounds and ages
and all of that it brings you back to like that's not the only thing that concerns
me right now. I'm concerned that, regardless of what ethnicity I belong to or whatever
my identity is, I need to be able to pay my bills and all that. So you know and I'm
hoping I know that, zoe that you don't think we can get there, but I'm really hoping
and believing that if enough people work towards that, we can stop looking at how
I call it character assassination that we just continue with this character assassination
that makes up a horrible person who may have been the best candidate, but because
they put that fear in you about that person, you're like I don't want that person
in office.
Marion Porterfield: 1:09:57
So I think that we do have to look at how we can change that. And Omar will tell you
this that when one of the things when I was mentoring him, I always said when you're
running your campaign, don't tear the other person down, even if they do it to you
and they did. But don't tear the other person down Because, in my opinion, it says
more about you than the person that you're speaking poorly of.
Babette Faehmel: 1:10:20
So I have to admit that I added that talking point to the list of talking points because
I heard it from students again and again in class. They address their economic needs
and economic interests and actually I've never seen my students really denigrate and
tear down somebody for their viewpoints. The way in which I see it modeled in the
political system like on whatever on social media, or see it modeled in the political
system like on whatever on social media or on tv or um in in the news, because I think
that's the beauty of community college, or like a college, that is community making
um, that we bring together so many like different thinkers and like people from different
walks of life. And if you are, if you are spending all this time in a classroom talking
and really like being encouraged to listen, um, I think a lot of this like us versus
them thinking can can be really successfully disrupted.
Cassie: 1:11:24
Um kind of connected to what you were talking to but, also um, going back a little
bit about um polarization, um, I think it's really interesting what both of you were
saying, um about how, like so many people feel like my party is right and just and
the other side is evil, basically, right?
Cassie: 1:11:51
Because personally, the people I know, which is obviously biased, but the youth that
I know feel mostly like no one is actually representing what they think and that neither
party is good, real, think and that neither party is good like realistically, that
neither party is good and I just have to vote for the lesser evil and that's the,
and I have to be in this position, and it creates a lot of like, apathy, of like I,
this political, I don't want to participate in this system because both sides are
evil and that's wrong and I hate that like just so much. Um, like, I'm just saying
that as like those are the feelings that I have seen a lot not just like a few people
in large groups of the youth that I have been around.
Caroline Buff: 1:12:56
And can I add. Cassie, that it's not just youth.
Caroline Buff: 1:13:04
I would say that a lot of people I know and I'm older than you this is Caroline would
echo those same sentiments. So it's maybe universal, like I feel like we have too
few choices sometimes.
Archer Abbott: 1:13:16
I mean, I feel like that's a big part of why we've seen such a big trend away from
the two political major two political parties into people registering as independent
or not choosing a party, because people, especially people like our age, are just
sick of the whole partisan-ness and they just want to, you know, discard of those
labels and the connotations associated with them and just like kind of re-figure everything
out on their own to try to balance things out again.
Archer Abbott: 1:13:46
I guess and I mean there's also been studies done that show the effects of partisan
um like party line voting, because if you ask somebody about a certain um issue and
say, oh, this party supports it, then they're more likely to like agree with it or
disagree with it based on if their party supports it.
Archer Abbott: 1:14:08
So I think people are just kind of realizing that. You know, like Cassie was saying,
people aren't happy with the two choices that we have and we're just trying to like,
show this is the way that we can show the system that we're unhappy with it and we're
not going to, like you know, register to be a part of those parties if they're not
actually helping us.
Marion Porterfield: 1:14:34
I have to say I actually saw that we did voter registration at the high school, so
at this point in time, 16 and 17 year olds can actually register to vote, although
they can't vote until they're 18, and the great majority of them chose no party.
Marion Porterfield: 1:14:48
They didn't want to identify with one or the other and, uh, you know, even though
you explain, if you're not in the party, you can't vote in the primary, like doesn't
matter I don't want to identify with a party and so you know those are decisions.
Marion Porterfield: 1:15:00
So it's actually you're. You are 100 correct. That is that's what's happening, because
they don't want to identify. What has probably is nowadays looking at as being just
very evil and very negative and just saying things about other people. So you know,
people don't want to identify with that. So you're right. So we have to do a better
job.
Omar McGill: 1:15:20
Yeah, and this is Omar, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing that new
voters who are just learning the process go independent. I think it's important Excuse
me, I'm sorry I think it's important that they form their own ideologies. I maybe
want to be a registered voter. I don't know what party I want to be in. So fine, let
me go independent, let me decide and do more research, more education of what's going
on, and if I want to choose a party, cool. If I don't, I'll stay independent and I'll
vote for a candidate that most aligns with my issues and I'll vote for a candidate
where I can see better conditions that are coming, that are that are that are going
to come. Well, you know, that's kind of like the lesser of two evils, but you know,
I mean, but I, I see that this person will have better conditions than this other
candidate.
Omar McGill: 1:16:03
Because you know, and you're not going to agree with every, it's not, it's not all
or nothing in politics. You're just not going to agree with everybody. It's just impossible,
it just doesn't work like that. We, as people, we're not going to agree with everything
that every candidate says. I mean, if you can point to me that a candidate that you
have, that you agree with everything they said. I will stand up and clap for you.
Maybe give you some flowers.
Omar McGill: 1:16:26
But it's very, very difficult to do that in today's times, you know, because there
are so many differing views on different things. Just like Ms. Porterfield said, she
doesn't want to have a label, that's you know. It just depends on the issue. So I
think it's great that you know young people. I don't think it's a bad thing that young
people who register to vote may go independent at first until they're comfortable
identifying with either party, or if they're never comfortable identifying with any
party and they just still want to be a part of the process, as long as they're making
their voice heard by using their voice and their vote, I don't care what party you're
a part of, just be a part of the process.
Babette Faehmel: 1:17:04
I think that's an awesome last sentence or last sentiment to end on. I would actually
personally love to continue this conversation for a few more hours, but at SUNY Schenectady
County Community College we all wear many, many hats and I'm already 10 minutes late
for the next meeting. So once again, thank you. Zoe, Marion, Omar, Carrie, Sean, Cassie,
Dylan, and Nadine.
Babette Faehmel: 1:17:30
Many Voices, One Call is made possible thanks to the contributions of the SUNY Schenectady
Foundation. The recording of the podcast was possible thanks to the School of Music.
Our student editors, Benjamin Gravel and Connor Schearer, and Professor Sten Isaacson.
Heather Meany, Karen Tansky and Jessica McHugh-Green deserve credit for promoting
the podcast. Thanks also go to Vice President of Academic Affairs, Mark Meacham, College
President Steady Mono, the Student Government Association, and the Student Activities
Advisor.
Babette Faehmel: 1:17:57
Please stay tuned for more episodes like this on Spotify or wherever you get your
podcasts.