This is being considered at three universities now. Take this idea for your own and forward it to the political science department at a college in your area. If it comes off, think how exciting your 4th of July will be this year, anticipating the event.
Article V Project
There are a number of ways to view this project, though in a nutshell, it’s political science: convening a deliberative assembly of students so they may build consensus on what a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ought to look like. In this a number of objectives can be met: the Political Science Department can utilize it to offer direct participation in political action, Film and Media Studies can offer experience in a particular type of production, and the College of Creative Studies can offer it as a course/elective for the quarter. Not only would it be educational, it may be entertaining: the call is issued via flyers and the Daily Nexus. Of those desiring to participate, alpha individuals who either already know, or will learn parliamentary procedure prior, will set about to champion/caucus their particular issue (electoral/media/tax/marriage/gun).
We can think of the project as developing a photograph. What individuals will emerge as leaders/architects of consensus? What non-partisan proposals will end up on the table when the convention adjourns? It should make for compelling narrative. I've been in touch with Professor Sanford Levinson at the University of Texas, he’s in the process of putting together such in Austin. There are two other campuses considering this project also, perhaps more in the coming days. It’s my desire to get footage from at least two conventions in order to provide contrast for a feature documentary which can then be entered into national/international film competitions.
As mentioned, there are various ways to view this project, and as you may or may not know, it’s been two sessions of Congress (going on three) without a proposal to create an effective national standard for voting. If we lose The Vote to private/special interests, we lose a free society; transparent elections and freedom are one in the same. Therefore, the most important reason to hold a convention on campus at this time is to attempt to create the collective consciousness necessary to influence the legislative branch to secure The Vote. I suspect that more than one student delegate will get the voting integrity issue to the top of the pile, and if the documentary breaches somewhere on the film festival circuit, we’ll hope Capitol Hill takes the hint.
I hope this sounds like an interesting endeavor to you and your department. Please feel free to forward any of your colleagues at other colleges. For now, we need to be able to tell the office of Policy and Information Stewardship that one or more departments will offer some amount of credit for student participation.
It should be enjoyable (two days at the school’s stadium) getting those interested involved, and then anticipating what November 22, 2009 will look like at the end of the day. Please let me know any thoughts or questions you may have. Thank you for your time in this matter.
