Civic Synergy originated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with Wilmington native and MIT senior Max Williamson acting as director of outreach for the Civic Synergy program.
BY
Associate News Editor
Civic Synergy, a nationwide student-led organization that focuses on tackling issues related to political polarization in America, is bringing a new chapter to the university in the upcoming semester.
Throughout the semester, participants will engage in six strategizing and conversational sessions with other students from around the country related to a topic of their choice in economic mobility, environmentalism, or U.S. & the world. Each session will be held over Zoom and will consist of informative talks about problems and solutions related to each topic, followed by bipartisan discussions about solutions.
After the six sessions, members will have drafted a policy proposal that can be pitched to members of local office, think tanks (research organizations run by experts on certain policy issues) and other organizations.
Civic Synergy originated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with Wilmington native and MIT senior Max Williamson acting as director of outreach for the Civic Synergy program. Lauren Smith, a junior at the University of Delaware studying French and International Relations, will act as the university’s campus ambassador.
Smith and Williamson emphasize that any student who is willing to contribute to discussion is welcome, regardless of field of study or age.
“We are looking for students who are looking to get involved in politics and conversations about public policy, policy proposals and bridging the partisan divide,” Smith said. “Any major or minor is acceptable as long as you have interest in being a part of this group.”
Williamson concurs that in order to enact real change, diversity in backgrounds and ideologies is crucial.
“It can’t just be public policy and political science people making a difference here, everyone should bring their perspectives to the public discourse,” Williamson said.
The goal of these sessions is to facilitate constructive and solution-based conversation relating to some of the most pressing issues facing America and the world. Williamson emphasized the importance of the current generation learning to have frank discussions between peers in order to have the best chance at tackling issues such as climate change, income inequality and international affairs.
“We need to be able to talk to each other now,” Williamson said. “We can’t follow the example of our parents and grandparents whose rhetoric and discourse plays out across the news every day and is just not encouraging to people like us.”
“We have a lot of students from all over the country with a lot of different political views and opinions and thoughts that I think deserve to be heard and discussed,” Smith said. “I think the students at UD specifically can help bridge the partisan divide that Civic Synergy focuses on and will have a lot to contribute within the six sessions.”
Throughout the semester, Smith will be in touch with ambassadors from over a dozen other college chapters, giving students the opportunity to engage in bipartisan debates across schools. Chapters have already opened up at universities such as the University of Wyoming, University of New Hampshire and Clemson University.
The program will begin on March 1 and end on April 15, and will require a time commitment of around two hours per week.
To find out more information about this organization or with any other questions, contact Lauren Smith for application details at laurjsmi@udel.edu by Feb. 20.
