Volume 7, No. 4 | Fall 2018
Policy Institute Digest
Director's Report
The thermometer says summer but the calendar says fall. As students head back to the classroom in an election year, the Institute kicks off its 2018-2019 season with programs that help voters meet the candidates seeking to represent them and to understand the ballot issues that will affect them. In addition, we will take up some of the most contentious issues in the public policy realm to bring clarity to policy-making decisions. Among these: gun violence and fake news, both of which continue to dominate the political conversation most days. The articles below provide details on all of the fall programs. I hope to see you often as Florida’s tropical weather pattern begins to catch up with the calendar.

David Klement
Executive Director 
Upcoming Fall Programs
Documentary Records Greatest Story Never Told
Photo: Dalton Nordquist
The biggest story in human history is playing out in remote areas of the Earth with virtually no human witness. That story is the melting of the polar icecap, which has been around since before human history began and likely will not be restored in the lifetime of human civilization. 

Yet you can be part of that story, because a slice of it has been preserved in a documentary film called Chasing Ice . This time-lapse record of the Arctic icecap undergoing dramatic shrinkage in Earth’s rapidly-warming climate will be screened on Aug. 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the SPC STEM Center, 4723 Bay Pines Terrace. Admission is free, but seating is limited and advance registration is required . The screening is co-sponsored by the Institute and the SPC STEM Center at Bay Pines , along with UF/IFAS Extension Pinellas County.

Of special note is Director James Blalog’s footage of the calving of the Ilulissat Glacier in western Greenland, when 1.8 cubic miles of ice broke off in skyscraper-sized chunks over 75 minutes – by his estimate, the equivalent of 3,000 U.S. Capitols.

Forum Will Expose Myths About Guns
One reason America seems unable to have a rational conversation about reducing gun violence is that the issue is steeped in myth and misinformation. Because that misinformation informs the political debate about guns, little substantive action to reduce gun violence is likely to occur, the #NeverAgain Movement notwithstanding.

Busting some of those myths is the focus of the Institute’s first fall Dinner Series program. The forum, titled Guns in America: Myth-Busting in Search of Solutions , will be from 6 to 8:15 p.m. Aug. 30 at the SPC Seminole Campus Conference Center, 9200 113 th St. N. Advance registration to the dinner event is required. Media co-sponsors are the Tampa Bay Times and WEDU Television.

Lead speaker will be Dr. John S. “Jack” Rozel, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh and co-author of a study of gun violence titled “The Link Between Mental Illness and Firearm Violence: Implications for Social Policy and Clinical Practice.”

Amendments Forum Will Clarify
the Bottom of the Ballot
Dr. Frank Alcock
Florida voters may find more confusion than usual when they get to the bottom of the ballot on Nov. 6. That’s because they’ll find 27 proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution down there. But they can’t vote on each issue separately. Six of the 13 amendment titles are “bundles” of multiple issues, but voters can only vote for or against the entire bundle.
 
Confused yet? Don’t worry. It will all be made clear at a forum on the amendments sponsored by the Institute titled Constitutional Amendments: Understanding the Bottom of the Ballot . It will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Seminole Campus Digitorium, 9200 113 th St. N. Leading the discussion will be Dr. Frank Alcock, Political Science Professor at New College of Florida. Register at http://solutions.spcollege.edu/ .

Meet the Candidates, and Savor a Slice
The emphasis will be on informality and personal conversations at Pizza & Politics , a public gathering of local candidates and the voters to whom they look to get elected. It will be Oct. 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the SPC Seminole Campus Conference Center, 9200 113 th St. N., sponsored by the Institute. The program, which includes serving of pizza and soda, is free, but advance registration is requested at http://solutions.spcollege.edu/ .

The informal setting is designed to give voters a chance to meet the candidates and engage in one-on-one conversation with those who seek to represent them. Invited are the candidates on the Nov. 6 ballot for the following offices: Pinellas County Commission, Florida Senate, Florida House of Representatives, and Congressional District 13.
How Climate Change May Affect Your Health
The increasing frequency of hurricanes and heat waves, heat-related illnesses and changes in infectious illnesses like Zika virus call for personal and societal attention. On Oct. 8, the Institute will bring together a multidisciplinary panel to address how climate affects physical and mental health – of both individuals and communities – and highlight existing resources and approaches to developing resiliency. 

Panelists include representatives from St. Petersburg College, Physicians for Social Responsibility Florida, and the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County. It will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at SPC’s Midtown Center, 1300 22 nd St. S., St. Petersburg.

Fake News: A Threat to Democracy
Fake news, a term and concept that barely existed three years ago, has morphed into an industry of malicious fabrication that undermines honest debate and, some fear, threatens the foundation of Western democracy that is built on an informed electorate arriving at consensus.

The Institute will address this new force in politics and communication at a forum titled Fake News: Seeking Truth in a Post-Factual World . The forum, the second in the Institute’s 2018-2019 Dinner Series of topical programs, will be from 6 to 8:15 p.m. Oct. 24 in the Conference Center at the Seminole Campus, 9200 113 th St. N. Media co-sponsors are the Tampa Bay Times and WEDU Television. Advance registration is required at http://solutions.spcollege.edu/ .

Institute Seeking Social Media Employee
We’re hiring! With the graduation of current student employee Briana Harper, the Institute has an opening for a part-time student employee to take over social media management duties. Skill requirements are familiarity with social media platforms and Microsoft Office software programs. Applicants must be registered for at least six academic hours for the fall semester.

Applicants may apply through the SPC student employment office.
Recent Institute Programs
Civility Reigns at Judicial Candidate Forum
There was never a more civil political forum than that held on July 25 for those seeking election to the 6 th Circuit Court bench. That’s because the Judicial Canon has strict limitations on what judicial candidates can say and do in the political realm. They can’t express opinions about cases or persons that might appear before them in court, and they can’t disparage opponents. Can’t boast too much about themselves, either.
Ten of the 11 candidates seeking one of the five seats up for election in the Pinellas/Pasco Circuit took part in the forum, held at SPC’s Clearwater campus. They were staged in mid-summer because these non-partisan races are decided in the primary election, which is Aug. 28, and mail ballots went out to voters the week of July 23.
Dr. Susan Demers, dean of the College of Policy, Ethics and Legal Studies, moderated the program. Serving as panelists to question the candidates were retired Judge Irene Sullivan and Institute Executive Director David Klement.
School Board Candidates Face Off at Debates
There is no excuse for voters to be unaware of who is running for the Pinellas School Board and what they stand for. The Institute hosted three candidate debates at locations spaced throughout the county in advance of the primary election. Partnering to present the debates were the Pinellas Education Foundation, the Pinellas County Council of PTAs, and the League of Women Voters.
The sessions were held at the Clearwater campus on July 24, at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs campus on July 30, and at the Seminole campus on Aug. 2. Questioning the 13 candidates seeking four board seats were Al Ruechel, Senior Anchor for Spectrum Bay News 9, and Ernest Hooper, editor and columnist for the Tampa Bay Times.
Save the Date!
Aug. 21, 2018, 6-8 p.m.: Chasing Ice: A Screening and Discussion . In partnership with SPC STEM Center and University of Florida IFAS Extension. STEM Center at Bay Pines, 4723 Bay Pines Terr., St. Petersburg.
Aug. 30, 2018, 6-8:15 p.m.: Guns in America: Myth-Busting in Search of a Solution. Seminole Campus Digitorium, 9200 113 th St. N.
Sept. 27, 2018, 6-8:15 p.m.: Constitutional Amendments: Understanding the Bottom of the Ballot , Seminole Campus Digitorium, 9200 113 th St. N.
Oct. 4, 2018, 6-8 p.m.: Pizza and Politics , Informal Evening with Candidates for Local Office. Conference Center, Seminole Campus Conference Center, 9200 113 th St. N. 
Oct. 8, 2018, 6-8 p.m.: Climate, Health, and Well-Being: Social and Psychological Effects of Extreme Weather. SPC Midtown Center, 1300 22 nd St. S., St. Petersburg
Oct. 24, 2018, 6-8:15 p.m.: Fake News: Seeking Truth in a Post-Factual World . Conference Center, SPC Seminole Campus Conference Center, 9200 113 th St. N.
Nov. 15, 2018, 12:30-2 p.m.: The Great Debate Finals. Seminole Campus Digitorium, 9200 113 th St. N.

Advance registration requested for all programs. Please check our website for updates and registration details.  http://solutions.spcollege.edu/
St. Petersburg College | P.O. Box 13489 | St. Petersburg FL 33733 | 727-39 4-6942 [email protected]
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