Hand in your extra credit!
Take your final!
We'll be using this data set concerning Life Expectancy to answer the first group of questions on the final.
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Things to take forward from this course to the rest of your life:
YOU are an important member of civil society.
What is civil society?
- activist groups
- civic groups
- clubs (sports, social, etc.)
- community organizations
- cultural groups
- EMT corps
- environmental groups
- Fire Department
- intermediary organizations for the voluntary and non-profit sector
- non-profit organizations (NPOs)
- professional associations
- religious organizations
- support groups
Civil society is seen as a social sphere separate from both the state and the market. The increasingly accepted understanding of the term civil society is that of non-state, not-for-profit, voluntary organizations formed by people in that social sphere.
Examples of Civil Society:
BRIDGES make civil society stronger.
A healthy Civil Society can improve the well-being of the entire community when it engages in bridging social capital. BRIDGING means becoming involved with people who are less like one's self.
How can you improve a community problem that affects you? Problems are part of life -- they go together with being alive. And every community has problems, too; they go together with being a community. Crime, domestic violence, environmental contamination, ethnic conflict, health disparities, hunger, inadequate emergency services, inequality, lack of jobs, lack of affordable housing, poverty, racism, transportation, violence.
Analyzing community problems is a way of thinking carefully about a problem or issue before acting on a solution. It first involves identifying reasons a problem exists, and then (and only then) identifying possible solutions and a plan for improvement. The techniques for analyzing community problems require simple logic, and sometimes the collection of evidence.
What is activism?
Activism involves taking pro-active steps to analyze and solve a community problem. Some activists use traditional tactics such as picketing, to bring attention to problems, solutions, or responsible parties. Some activists use conventional channels already in place through civil and government organizations or processes. Many activists use both methods.
Your responsibility as a citizen of this college:
Congratulations on becoming a citizen of Ramapo College! One of your charges is to look out for the well-being of yourself and your fellow students. Another is to make this campus your own. You should have a sense of agency: this is your hoe for the next four years and you have the ability to change and improve it. If you see a problem on campus you can address it through Town Hall meetings, conversations with your peers, faculty and support staff, through existing clubs and organizations, or through new analyses and proposed solutions.
You are an important stakeholder.
Democracy is the notion that our rules and standards need to be defined by the people affected by them. Our particular form of Democracy only works if all the members of society are engaged on some level, even if that engagement is not directly "political".Activism involves taking pro-active steps to analyze and solve a community problem.
You are also a citizen of this college, state, country and world.
Your voice is more powerful than you may realize.
Especially on the local level.
