SLG Schedule of Activities & Assignments

Andrews/State & Local Government – Spring 2013

Day-by-Day Schedule of Activities & Assignments

Schedule subject to change due to speaker availability!

WEEK ONE

January 9

Introductions, syllabus, FAQ & course overview. Community engagement project.

January 11

What are state & local governments?

DUE: Chapter 1 New Directions for State & Local Government. Also, create your blog site using blogger.com or another blog service & email url to me at pandrews@ndnu.edu.

WEEK TWO

January 14

Engagement project; finding your Community Partner and creating a compelling project.

January 16

How do state and local governments differ from the Federal government? Why do we have them?

DUE: Chapter 2 Federalism & the States. Also, make final choice of CP for CBL project.

Blog Topic #1: In what sense did your CP grow from a local need or perspective? Is your CP constrained or otherwise affected by Federal policies? To whom is your CP accountable?

January 18

Conflicts between Federal, state and local authorities.

DUE: Explore in detail the website of the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute in Selma, Alabama: www.nvrmi.com

Blog Topic #2: What is the legacy of Dr. King with regard to the enforcement of voting rights at the local level for African Americans? Are these rights still in danger for African Americans and other groups in the US?

WEEK THREE

January 21

No class, MLK, Jr. Day holiday

Extra Credit Opportunity: Attend or participate in an organized MLK Day event & submit a 1-2 page written reflection on the activity. NDNU’s Diversity Office may have a limited number of free or low-cost tickets for the Peninsula’s annual “Freedom Train” event. (Due 1/25.)

January 23

The importance of citizen participation within a democracy.

DUE: Chapter 4 Citizen Participation & Elections

Blog Topic #3: What is the relationship between citizens and your CP? On what level do they interact? How can citizen participation affect your CP?

January 25

Speaker: John Gervais, Belmont Park & Recreation, on the importance of citizen participation and volunteerism in keeping state and local parks open and safe during times of extreme cuts to operating budgets.

DUE: TBA as desired by Mr. Gervais

WEEK FOUR

January 28

The importance of citizen participation within a democracy.

DUE: Excerpt from Thomas Massaro, Living Justice, Chapter 5… for this week read the Introduction, Section 1 (The Dignity of Every Person and Human Rights) and Section 2 (Solidarity, Common Good, and Participation).

January 30

Political parties, interest groups and campaigns.

DUE: Chapter 5 Political Parties, Interest Groups & Campaigns

Blog Topic #4: Does your CP participate in political campaigns or take public stands on campaigns or candidates? Why or why not?

February 1

Speaker: Debbie Bacigalupi, 2012 candidate running against Jackie Speier for California’s 14^th Congressional District, on running a grass roots campaign for political office. Debbie is also an alumna of NDNU. DATE IS TENTATIVE.

DUE: Read Debbie’s Congressional candidacy website at www.debbieforcongress.org

WEEK FIVE

February 4

Speaker: Bill Campbell, Central Committee of the Republican Party of San Francisco, on working with a political party and being a Republican in San Francisco. DATE IS TENTATIVE.

DUE: TBA as desired by Mr. Campbell

February 6

No class: Comp day for participation in one or more organized Founders’ Week events. You are especially encouraged, if possible, to attend one of the Hallmarks Mini Retreats.

Blog Topic #5: Describe the activity or activities in which you participated. What did you learn about our Foundresses, or about the History or Mission of Notre Dame de Namur learning institutions during this week? Discuss how the charism of the Foundresses might influence the career choices, research pursuits or other professional activities of a Political Science graduate from NDNU.

February 8

State Legislatures.

DUE: Chapter 6 State Legislatures

Blog Topic #6: Has your CP sought or encouraged any legislative changes? What process does it use and what challenges has it encountered in doing so?

WEEK SIX

February 11

Jerry Hill, California State Senator, 13^th District, or a representative from his office… There Oughta Be a Law. DATE IS TENTATIVE

DUE: TBA as desired by Senator Hill

February 13

State-Local relations.

DUE: Chapter 10 State-Local Relations

Blog Topic #7: Does your CP ever get caught up in conflict relating to its various local and state relationships?

February 15

State-Local relations: the notion of subsidiarity and the “proper” role of the various levels of government.

DUE: Excerpt from Massaro… for this week, read Section 4 (Subsidiarity and the Proper Role of Government)

WEEK SEVEN

February 18

No class – Presidents’ Day holiday

February 20

Oral communication and presentation techniques… life beyond PowerPoint.

DUE: CBL Essay: Summarize what you have learned about your CP so far. How/why did you choose this organization? What is the work involved? What challenges have you faced with this assignment so far? How have you addressed them? (3 pages)

February 22

1^st half semester review & prep for midterm exam

WEEK EIGHT

February 25

Formal presentations (5-8 minutes): Introducing your Community Partner & CBL project

DUE: Notecards or other preparation for formal presentation

February 27

Formal presentations (5-8 minutes): Introducing your Community Partner & CBL project

DUE: Notecards or other preparation for formal presentation

March 1

Midterm exam

DUE: Study for midterm

SPRING BREAK WEEK

March 4-8

Enjoy your week off!

WEEK NINE

March 11

One-on-one mid-semester reviews. In-class writing activity.

March 13

Local government structure and leadership.

DUE: Chapter 11 Local Government Structure & Leadership

Blog Topic #8: How does your CP interface with local governmental units? Are there any leaders in particular who’ve had a key impact on the success or development of your CP?

March 14 (a Thursday!)

Speaker: Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder with Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers Union, on non-violence as a tactic for achieving change. Ms. Huerta will speak on our campus at 7:30 pm. Please take notes as you listen. If you are unable to attend the in-person talk, you must come to class as normal on March 15 to listen to the recording.

March 15

Comp day for attendance at talk by Dolores Huerta. You do not need to come to class this day if your attendance at the in-person talk by Ms. Huerta on March 14 is confirmed. For those unable to attend the in-person talk, a recording of it will be played in class this day.

WEEK TEN

March 18

Reflection on talk by Dolores Huerta. Research project and paper write-up assigned: Develop a question about your CP that can be answered through a small quantitative or qualitative primary research project – a survey, statistical analysis, series of interviews, etc. Conduct the research. Write up your results in a 5-page paper that uses your original research as one of your sources in responding to the question you developed.

DUE: Notes from Huerta talk

March 20

The Judiciary.

DUE: Chapter 9 The Judiciary

ALSO DUE: Brief project proposal (2 pages). What is the question you propose to answer? What has already been written about it? How is your question unique? What kind of research will help you answer the question? How will this research be conducted? How might your findings be used?

Blog Topic #9: Does your CP ever have recourse to judicial processes as a way of resolving problems, or does your CP’s work involve the prison system in any way? Describe an example.

Also March 20

Speaker: Father Greg Boyle, SJ, Executive Director of Homeboy Industries, on rehabilitation and retraining of formerly gang-involved or incarcerated youth. Father Boyle will speak on our campus at 7:30 pm. If you are unable to attend the in-person talk, you must come to class as normal on March 22 to listen to the recording. Take notes while you listen.

DUE: Explore www.homeboyindustries.org website.

March 22

Comp day for attendance at talk by Greg Boyle. You do not need to come to class this day if your attendance at the in-person talk by Fr. Boyle on March 20 is confirmed. For those unable to attend the in-person talk, a recording of it will be played in class this day.

WEEK ELEVEN

March 25

Speaker: Anne Bouliane, Superior Court Judge, San Francisco, on sentencing practices and on being a judge. DATE IS TENTATIVE!

DUE: TBA as desired by Judge Bouliane

ALSO DUE: Notes from Greg Boyle talk

March 27

Public administration: budgeting and service delivery.

DUE: Chapter 8 Public Administration: Budgeting & Service Delivery

Blog Topic #10: Does your CP rely on money or services provided by any public entity? Are the money and services provided in a consistent and reliable manner or is the CP subject to periodic application, approval, re-application, etc.? How does this consistency, or lack thereof, affect your CP’s operations? Do other people or organizations rely on your CP to provide funding?

March 29

No class, Good Friday holiday

WEEK TWELVE

April 1

Budgeting and service delivery in crisis.

DUE: Read articles about city and county level governments in

1) Stockton, California ( use the internet to find one or more articles about the pending Stockton bankruptcy ),

2) Highland Park, Michigan ( http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Unable-to-pay-bill-Mich-city-apf-2920161472.html ), and

3) Vallejo, California (use the internet to find one or more articles about the Vallejo bankruptcy).

April 3

Taxing and spending.

DUE: Chapter 12 Taxing & Spending

Blog Topic #11: Does your CP have authority to raise funds through taxation? If so, what factors or processes are involved? Discuss the ways in which your CP is associated with taxing, spending, or both.

April 5

TBA

WEEK THIRTEEN

April 8

Constitutions.

DUE: Chapter 3 State Constitutions

Blog Topic #12: Is your CP constitutionally mandated? Does it seek any kind of protection relating to its existence or scope, or any guarantee relating to its area of interest, under a state constitution?

April 10

Final exam study guide.

April 12

Final speaker to be arranged, ideally from an organization trying to effect change at the level of a State Constitution.

WEEK FOURTEEN

April 15

Governors.

DUE: Chapter 7 Governors.

Blog Topic #13: To what extent does the Governor interact with your CP? Does he/she have the authority to make an impact on your CP’s operations?

April 17

Final exam – written portion

DUE: Study for the final

Blog Topic #14: How useful was the CBL component of this course? Did interaction with your CP make the content areas of the course more meaningful to you?

April 19

Final exam – oral portion

DUE: Research project write-up

WEEK FIFTEEN

April 22

Final research project presentations

April 24

Final research project presentations

April 26

End of the semester class celebration.