Creating Your Vision

What is your vision for the campus and/or community?

I want my generation to become more involved in the democratic foundation of America. I envision a world where students are educated about their elected officials, our academic institutions provide us with voting materials and students are knowledgeable about the political processes that affect their lives.

My vision is to create eager civic engagement in the Chi Alpha Epsilon National Honor Society at Temple University. By running my campaign on a smaller scale in 2008, I will have the ability to make noticeable progressive change in this group of students over the next two years. With a long term commitment to the movement for civic engagement in the academic community, I will instill in Chi Alpha Epsilon the motivation to work for public service through civic engagement.

Assessing Your Campus and Community

What campus/community problem does your blueprint address? What structures, practices and policies institutionalize the problem?

My blueprint addresses the problem in the separation between academic achievement and organized political engagement outside the secluded university community. Temple University has a progressive student body with several activists that work to register voters. However, the honor's community shows a lack in that political activism. To solve this problem, it will take grassroots-inspired activism and organization to mobilize the academic community towards civic engagement.

What communities will you work with?

• Campus community

Setting Goals and Deliverables

• Goal 1: Develop my skills as a leader in progressive activism
• Attend Camp Wellstone training for Citizen Activism
• Goal 2: Educate students about the political candidates, their issues and make voter materials available
• Distribute voter registration forms and absentee ballots to RCC/ XAE students in need
• Insert a "Did you know?" question about each Presidential candidate in Chi Alpha Epsilon's list serv email
• Make political discussion a regular part of Chi Alpha Epsilon's student community (in and out of meetings)
• Place an announcement link about the voter regestration deadline on Blackboard
• Goal 3: Make civic engagement and political volunteering credible as community service
• Reach an agreement with the executive board to make GOTV work means for community service hours
• Organize Chi Alpha Epsilon students to canvass on GOTV weekend for a candidate or organization of their choice
• Organize Chi Alpha Epsilon students to work a polling place on November 4, 2008

What is your primary approach? Organizing

Why did you choose this approach?

I chose the approach to organize because the movement for increased civic engagement requires a group of students who are passionate about the cause. As the leader in my campaign, I need to organize XAE students to participate in civic engagement work to accomplish each deliverable.

Did you have secondary approaches? What are they?

My secondary approach is leadership development. By attending Camp Wellstone's training in Philadelphia in July, I will develop vital skills needed to run a progressive campaign and organize my community. This is an important part of my blueprint because I hope to develop new leaders in the society so that the movement can keep growing after I graduate.

What will your tactics and activities be?

I am going to be a leader in my society to make civic engagement a form of community service. My tactics will be to approach the executive board's first meeting with an organized plan of my campaign and open communication for suggestions or critiques. To reach my goals, I plan to lead other students towards civic engagement while leading by example; and staying involved myself.

Connecting Back to Vision

How does your strategy contribute to your vision for your campus and/or your community?

My vision is for the academic community of my generation to become more involved in the democratic foundation of America. To put this vision into action, I plan to strategically organize students in the Chi Alpha Epsilon Honor Society at Temple to become active participants in political activism. By focusing on the students in this honor society, rather than the entire Temple student body, I will have the ability to inspire individuals about civic engagement rather than an unclear mass of people. My vision will be successful in this blueprint if I achieve my expected outcomes and deliverables because I will create sustainable activism in this society of honorable students.

Resources and skills you will need

What skills do you need for this approach?

The approaches I am using are organizing and leadership development. I will undoubtedly use and improve my skill of persuasion in convincing my fellow XAE board members that civic engagement is needed in serving the community. Since I have plentiful experience in community organizing, I will continue to improve that skill and alter it to work with my peers, instead of community members I do not know. Furthermore, I will develop leadership skills in Chi Alpha Epsilon. Overall, I want to improve my ability to be an approachable mentor as a political activist, community organizer and an honors student.