Civic Engagement at the University of Oklahoma

At the University of Oklahoma, community engagement and civic learning are working priorities for the institution. The mission statement of the University of Oklahoma is “to provide the best possible educational experience for our students through excellence in teaching, research and creative activity, and service to the state and society.”

Throughout campus, several departments and individuals support and engage in programs, coursework, research, and initiatives that propel civic engagement at OU. Our campus has signed on to several national initiatives to promote civic engagement: ALL IN Democracy Challenge, National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE), and Voter Friendly Campus through NASPA and Campus Vote Project. Our Provost has also signed-on to the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge Presidential Commitment, which is a huge step for civic and community engagement on campus. In addition, there are currently steps being taken to institutionalize civic engagement on campus with our upper administration.

The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center serves as the hub for coordinating civic education, political participation, and community engagement. These services are a part of the mission of the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center, which is to strengthen representative democracy through engaged and informed citizens. The Center encourages large participation from students on community and civic engagement through voter registration, education, and mobilization.

You can learn more about all these initiatives in OU's Action Plan and dive into the data of our campus NSLVE Reports.

Oklahoma Votes!

Oklahoma Votes is a campus-wide initiative to encourage students to register to vote and to participate in local, state, and national elections. The mission of Oklahoma Votes is “Registration. Education. Mobilization.” Under the leadership of the Carl Albert Civic Engagement Fellows, Oklahoma Votes coordinates voter registration drives and many other civic engagement efforts on OU’s campus.

If you are interested in learning more or to become involved send us an email, text, or follow us on social media.

Email: voting@ou.edu
Website: https://ou.edu/voting
Instagram: @ok_votes
Twitter: @OklahomaVotes
Facebook: @OKVotes

Civic Engagement vs. Democratic Engagement

What is Civic Engagement?

Civic engagement is contributing and working to make a difference in the public (or civic) life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and commitment to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community and solving public problems, through both political and non-political processes. Civic engagement is undergirded by constructs of collective action and social responsibility (Ehrlich, 2000).

What is Democratic Engagement?

Democratic engagement is the practice of engaged citizenship (defined as membership in a community) through democratic mechanisms and principles. Democratic engagement is a component of civic engagement. Politics, and agency within political processes, is a particularly important component of democratic engagement. Politics is a process by which a group of people, whose opinions or interests might be divergent, reach collective agreements that are generally regarded as binding on the group and enforced as common or public policy (AAC&U, NASPA).

So, as situated in the United States, democratic engagement means engagement in a democracy (or democratic form of government). It is a central part of civic engagement, specifically related to applying learned skills, knowledge, and commitments to contribute to public life through the democratic political process.

Excerpt used with permission from the Ginsberg Center at the University of Michigan.

There are many different ways that you can be democratically engaged!

If you've participated in any of these activities, you've engaged with the democratic process:

Signing a petition
Attending a protest or rally
Attending a town hall
Contacting an elected or appointed representative about an issue you care about
Voting in an election
Persuading others to vote in an election
Volunteering for a campaign or political cause
Contributing financially to a campaign or political cause
Canvassing for an issue or candidate
Displaying buttons, stickers, or signs about an issue or candidate
Contributing to or writing an article about an issue or candidate
Educating yourself about important issues that face your community

Other kinds of civic engagement activities include:

Volunteering in your community
Having an active membership in a community group or organization
Participating in a fundraiser walk/run/drive
Fundraising for charity
Doing favors for neighbors

While these activities are not comprehensive, they demonstrate the many different avenues for engaging in civic and democratic participation. While this module will focus primarily on the voting aspect of civic engagement, we want to uplift some of other opportunities for getting involved at the University of Oklahoma (located at the top of this page).

Understanding Youth Voting Participation

Watch this video to get an overview of where youth voting currently stands in the US and some ways to help engage more young people in the process. You can also view more videos on the topic on the Carl Albert Center YouTube channel.