How to Get Involved

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History of the Issue at CC

• 1965: Civil Rights Protests at CC -> “During the 1960s, Colorado College students became increasingly aware of the problems plaguing American Society.” (Ann Engles, The Catalyst, April 24, 1981)
• 1969:  Vietnam Protests  -> “...members of the college community protest[ed] the injustice of the war and question[ed] the validity of American Involvement.” (Ann Engles, The Catalyst, April 24, 1981)
• 1979: Anti-KKK Protests and Activists Stokely Carmichael’s visit to CC (Colorado College Special Collections)   
• 1990: Protests for Colorado College to divest from corporations active in South Africa during Apartheid
• 2000: Students protest Sodexo-Marriott's connections with the private prison industry and push for CC to cut ties
• 2012: President Obama visits Colorado College while campaigning
• 2016: CC students organize a protest to City Hall in response to the election of Donald Trump
• 2019: CC hosts a City Council Debate on energy and the environment
• 2020: CC wins ALL IN Campus Democracy Colorado State Challenge with 84.5% voting rate in the 2020 presidential election.

Current State of the Issue at CC

Colorado College is committed to nonpartisan support of all political beliefs and provides students with equal opportunities to engage on all sides of the political spectrum.

Groups

Visit our student org webpage for the most current info and student leader contacts.

• CC Votes
  • CC Votes is the Campus Votes Initiative of Colorado College, for more information click here. 
• American Enterprise Institute
  • The American Enterprise Institute Executive Council is a student group dedicated to eloquently and respectfully representing the principles of limited government, economic freedom, human dignity, and a strong American role in the world to the Colorado College community. We are a campus chapter of the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tank known for its work in foreign and domestic policy, including education, taxation, fiscal policy, culture, and much more. Executive Council members invite speakers to campus each semester, host a regular discussion group, and attend a AEI conferences twice yearly. The Executive Council is capped at six members and is currently full-however, if you are interested, please contact us!
• Democratic Dialogue Project
• CC Democrats
• Middle Ground

Local Organizations

• Citizen's Project (High Impact Partner)
  
  • Citizens Project is a local nonprofit 501(c)3 organization spotlighting issues in the Pikes Peak region and mobilizing people to strengthen our community by promoting equity, inclusive impact, civic engagement, and social justice. We educate the community through our online newsletter and nonpartisan voter guides, we monitor local government and public schools to ensure that rights and freedoms are upheld, and we mobilize residents to make their voices heard.
• New Era Colorado 
  • New Era Colorado Action Fund organizes with young people across the state to show up in full force: to vote our values, to lobby for the change we need, and to mobilize our peers. We provide tools like a voter guide to connect candidates and decode ballot measures, educate and mobilize young voters to participate in our elections up and down the ballot, and then connect them directly with elected officials to shape the policy that impacts all of us. Join us.  

Resources

Documentary Films

• Digital Disconnect (Kanopy) is an hour-long documentary covering the emergence and controversy of the internet as it relates to a participatory democracy, and the spread of information. The main theme? How the internet calls into question the clash between capitalism and democracy.
  • ** Kanopy Instructions: To watch a film on Kanopy, sign in using your CC ID information, and you will have access to a whole database of streaming films. (If you do not have a CC ID, you can log in to Kanopy using any public library card information.) Once logged in, click on the "Browse" tab at the top and filter the films according to your preferences.
• "Knock Down the House," (Netflix) a documentary streaming on Netflix, covers the story of Alexandria Ocasio-Ortez and three other women who ran for Congress in 2018. Get an inside look at what it takes to make a grassroots campaign successful in this day and age, and learn more about AOC's personal journey of doing what she and others thought no one else wanted to: challenge the 14-year incumbent candidate of the time and refuse campaign money from big businesses.

Presentations, Panels, & Short Clips

• Watch the Political Advocacy Coalition Issue Panel, from Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021.
  • Facilitated by Elena Martinez-Vivot '21
  • Panelists: 
    • Drew Houston, Citizen's Project
    • Teddy Weiss, CC Alum and City Council Campaign representative
    • Nate Hochman, CC Alum
    • Brita Mackey, CC Student
  •  
• "The Paradox of Choice," according to Barry Schwartz, a professor and applied psychologist, relates to the idea that more incentives are not always better, especially in our era of bureaucracy. Watch through this link.

Podcast Episodes & Series

• Dolly Parton's America is an NPR podcast series focused on the "story of a legend at the crossroads of America's culture wars."
• United Shades of America, featuring host Kamau Bell, focuses on storytelling related to many different communities across the nation and the challenges they face.

Websites, Databases & Newsletters

1. Rise: Get Out the Vote 2020 Organizing Database
2. "Understanding the Supreme Court's Seismic Season" video from the Aspen Institute