Dragons for Democracy interns design and conduct projects that promote civic discourse.
SUNY defines "civic discourse" as "the reasoned discussion of civic issues [incorporating] multiple perspectives. The goal is "to find greater understanding and common ground on issues understood through diverse perspectives and viewpoints."
Interns meet regularly to share successes and to apply active listening skills as they help each other develop and promote their respective projects. Some of their accomplishments include designing and/or conducting -
- Deliberative dialogues, in which participants discuss evidence-based solutions for a real-world challenge. One topic was "Free Speech and the Inclusive Campus." Students, faculty, staff, and elected officials representing a range of perspectives discussed this concern in a mutually respectful and productive way.
- Watch Parties for a 2024 Presidential Debate and for the Vice Presidential Debate.
- "Truth or Trap: Learn the Difference between Misinformation and Disinformation" workshop.
- "Write the Wrong." Students compose and send informed emails to elected officials to advocate for an action on an issue that is important to them, the students.
- "Let's Talk Taming." Students read a scene from the political satire, "The Taming," then they use dialogue from that scene to identify values in the US Constitution and to consider those values in current US life.
- Forming "Bridge Cortland," a Student Government Association club that is a chapter of BridgeUSA. Bridge organizes civil and informed discussions that help college students bridge their opposition to controversial topics. Bridge students partner with students in, for example, Turning Point USA/Cortland and NYPIRG so that students representing a variety of viewpoints can learn about other points of view.
Interns have developed -
- Professional skills. “I realized that I’ve been able to connect my internship experiences to my profession. I feel a lot more confident.”
- “Soft skills” and self-knowledge. “The biggest skill is taking the initiative. In high school, you’re told what to do, but in this Team, you can do whatever you want to do in your project. That’s the greatest (and the hardest) thing about it.”
Dragons for Democracy internships are open to all SUNY Cortland students, beginning with those in their freshman year's second semester. For more information, email john.suarez@cortland.edu.