We discovered lots of folks weren’t opening our newsletter, perhaps because it was too wordy. Who has time for such detail? To remedy that, we are reformatting it into a shorter form – not unlike tweets, though perhaps a bit more than 140 characters long. We hope you’ll find this format more appealing.
David Klement
Executive Director
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Democracy 101 Offers Primer for Citizen Activism
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In the current turbulent political climate, many people on both sides of the political aisle are energized to become active in the political process. But they don’t know how to begin – unsure of how the process works, or what they can do to make a difference in the political world. The second installment of the Institute’s
Democracy 101: A Civic Action Primer
workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 6 at the SPC Midtown Center
(previously scheduled for EpiCenter)
will provide the basics of government structure, policy-making, and civic engagement.
Advance registration required.
The program will be held in partnership with the
League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area
(LWVSP). Guest speakers will be former Congressman Jim Davis, representing the perspective of a federal office holder, and Pinellas County Clerk Ken Burke, representing the local elected official’s perspective. Moderating the workshop will be Tara Newsom, professor of Social and Behavioral Science at SPC, and Julie Kessel, president of LWVSP. The workshop will provide the basics of government structure, policy-making, and civic engagement.
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Forum Will Explore Motives and Impacts of Hate Groups
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Hate groups are on the rise – as are the violent crimes their members commit. The Institute’s next Dinner Series forum on Jan. 25, 2018, will explore why people join violent hate groups, how they affect American politics, and how they impact the lives of African Americans, Muslims, Jews, gays, and transgender people. The forum, titled
Full of Hate: The Toll of Violent Extremism
, will feature guest speaker Angela King, who will describe her journey from violent right-wing extremist to advocate for love. A distinguished panel will join her in discussing the issues in depth. Tickets for dinner and program are $25 for guests and $20 for students and educators. Advance registration is required.
Ms. King, a Florida native who turned to hate groups as a student to escape being bullied, will also talk about her current life as an author, scholar and crusader against hate. Serving a six-year term for her part in a hate crime in 1998, Ms. King found kindness and respect in prison from some of the very people she had hated on the outside. That transformative experience led her to co-found
Life After Hate
, a non-profit organization dedicated to compassion and forgiveness that helps hate group members disengage from that lifestyle.
Click here
to read more.
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VA Deputy Secretary to Discuss Veterans' Issues
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The Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Veterans Administration will be featured speaker at a forum on veterans’ affairs on Feb. 15, 2018. Tom Bowman, who grew up in St. Petersburg, will headline a panel discussion of efforts by the Trump Administration to bring true reform to the troubled VA in order to improve the delivery of health services to veterans. The forum, titled
VA Reform: A New Promise to Veterans
,
will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the
Conference Center on SPC’s Seminole Campus, 9200 113
th
St. N.
Reform of the VA has been a perennial promise of presidential administrations since the Clinton Administration more than two decades ago. Deputy Secretary Bowman will highlight the Trump administration’s commitment to reform of the VA and a distinguished panel will discuss top priorities and assess new strategies for reform. Registration will be available on the Institute’s website on January 2, 2018.
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Cyber Security Is Focus of March Dinner Forum
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The Institute will address the alarming threat of cyber hacking in a forum on March 27, 2018. The program, titled
Hacked: Can We Win the Cyber Security Battle?
will be from 6 to 8:15 p.m. in the Conference Center on the Seminole Campus of SPC, 9200 113
th
St. N. A distinguished speaker will provide insights into the
hacking epidemic
and advice on how to protect one’s privacy at this final program of our 2017-2018 Dinner Series. Registration will be available on the Institute’s website on January 2, 2018.
Click here
to read more.
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Recent Institute Programs
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Don’t Believe in Climate Change? Watch Chasing Coral
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Suncoast Sea Level Rise Collaborative continued its community outreach on Oct. 19 with the screening of
Chasing Coral
, a film that documents a multidisciplinary team as it battles technical malfunctions and the force of nature to reveal the tragic transformation taking place below the ocean surface. Its revelation of the fundamental underwater eco-system is shown through the time-lapse real-time bleaching of coral. The film’s audience, which included a great number of environmental science students, engaged in a lively post-film conversation with Maura Scanlon and Chris Nichol, both professors from SPC’s Natural Science Department.
The Collaborative is an outgrowth of the Institute’s 2015 Working Group that helped develop the 2015 conference,
Sea Level Rise: What’s Our Next Move?
. It recommends and helps to create programs in to increase awareness and support action related to the challenges of a warming environment. For questions and further information on the Collaborative, contact Jacqulyn Schuett at 727-394-6251 or
[email protected]
.
Click here
to learn more about the SLR Collaborative.
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Hot or Not? That’s the question.
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When the partner organizations for Age-Friendly St. Petersburg hosted the third community listening session in early November, that was the first question asked -- “hot or not?” Participants raised a two-sided sign to demonstrate their view on all the hot topics within the Eight Domains of Livability-Transportation, Housing, Public Spaces, Social Participation, Respect and Social Inclusion, Civic Participation and Employment, Communication and Information, and Community Support and Health Services. After the ‘hot or not’ pulse was taken, discussion leaders helped to synthesize the thoughts, ideas and concerns raised by the group.
an action plan in conjunction with stakeholders who have an interest in creating an
environment that supports the well-being of all citizens, regardless of age.
Petersburg College. Materials and summaries from earlier listening sessions and a Collaborative Labs session with stakeholder can be found on the
Age Friendly St. Petersburg webpage.
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Comedian Uses Humor to Get Serious About Politics
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Comedian Steve Bhaerman, alias Swami Beyondananda, provided plenty of laughs while dispensing helpful advice about how to bridge the partisan divide
during a series
of appearances at St. Petersburg College on Sept. 27-28.
Bhaerman spoke to a student gathering in an afternoon session, to a Dinner Series crowd of community and student guests that evening, and on the following morning to a small group of citizen activists interested in forming a “transpartisan collaborative" to keep the conversation going.
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Get Ready for Massive Disruption, Futurist Says
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Houle refered to the current era of rapid technological and social change as The Shift Age, in the context of previous epochs of human activity like the Information Age, which began 45 years ago. According to Houle the Shift Age began 10 years ago, and when it has run its course by 2040 will have been more transformative than the Industrial Revolution or even the Enlightenment.
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Seminole Campus Student Wins 2017 Great Debate
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Great Debate top scoring finalists pictured above. Champion Tracy Pham (center), runner-up Destiny Rodriguez (left), third place finalist Madison Reslink (right).
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Seminole is the home campus of the
2017 Great Debate champion of St. Petersburg College. In the finals of the inter-campus competition held Nov 14 at the Seminole Campus, Tracy Pham argued her way to the championship with a polished, well-researched defense of young undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children by their parents – so-called “Dreamers” – being allowed to remain in the U.S. Her prize was an iPad mini.
Finishing in a close second place and winning a $300 gift card was Destiny Rodriguez of the Downtown/Midtown Center, who argued the opposite point of view. In third place with a $150 gift card was Madison Reslink of the Clearwater Campus. Read more and view photos on the
Institute's blog
.
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Institute Welcomes New Student Employee
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Briana Harper is the new student employee of the Institute, filling the position of social media specialist in early November. Briana is a second-year SPC student majoring in Mass Communications. She plans to seek advance degrees in marketing/communications to prepare her for a career with the U.S. Foreign Service. A resident of Largo, Briana enjoys reading, traveling, watching movies, and spending time with her family. The Institute is happy to have Briana on board to help build the Institute's brand and online presence as well as to help ISPS connect with the SPC student population.
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Feb. 15, 2018: 6-8 p.m.:
VA Reform: A New Promise to Veterans
.
Seminole Campus Conference Center
, 9200 113
th
St. N. Registration open Jan. 2, 2018.
March 27, 2018, 6-8:15 p.m.
:
Hacked: Can We Win the Cyber Security Battle?
.
Seminole Campus Conference Center
, 9200 113
th
St. N. Registration open Jan. 2, 2018.
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Download our 2017-2018 Program Calendar!
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