Engage! November Edition: The UC Davis CCEP's Anniversary!

The California Civic Engagement Project (CCEP)

at the UC Davis Center for Regional Change

Engage!

CCEP Newsletter

November 2017

Dear CCEP colleagues, partners and friends:

Welcome to the November edition of Engage!

This month's edition highlights some upcoming events around the state, including an awards event honoring California Secretary of State Alex Padilla.

We will also share some of the latest research in the field of civic engagement, and share a story about high schoolers from Savanna High who came together to discuss taking action on their school's controversial mascot.

In partnership,

Mindy Romero, Ph.D.

CCEP Director

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Upcoming Events

The Gubernatorial Race and the New California Electorte

November 8th

The UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) will be hosting the event, The Gubernatorial Race and the New California Electorate, on November 8th at the IGS Library.

This event will examine what the changing California electorate means for California politics. Speaking at the event will be CCEP director Mindy Romero.

For more information, and to register for the event, visit the Eventbrite page here.

A Conference on Immigration

November 9th

Capitol Weekly will be hosting their Conference on Immigration on November 9th in Sacramento.

In the context of California lawmakers currently standing at odds with Federal Immigration laws and policies, this conference will examine the current Immigration debate during its four panels: Labor and the Economy, Sanctuary, The Impact on Families and Communities, and Look Ahead. In addition, CCEP director Mindy Romero will serve as a panelist during the Look Ahead panel.

For more information, and to register for this event, visit the Capitol Weekly event page here.

A Conversation with Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom

November 9th

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) will be hosting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, and candidate for governor in 2018, on November 9th in San Francisco as part of its Speaker Series on California's Future.

The goal of this speaker series is to meet with all major candidates for governor in order to gain a better understanding of how the candidates plan to address challenges facing California.

To learn more about this event, visit the PPIC event page here.

Spotlight on California Awards

December 1st

California Common Cause will be hosting their event, "Spotlight on California Awards" at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles on Friday, December 1st.

This event will be spotlighting California's achievements in redistricting and elections and campaign finance reforms, while celebrating California as an example for the rest of the country.

At the event, Common Cause will be honoring former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger and California Citizens Redistricting Commissioners, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and California Senator Ben Allen.

To purchase tickets to this event, and to learn more, please visit the California Common Cause event page here.

New Civic Engagement Research

Critical Action as a Pathway to Social Mobility Among Marginalized Youth | Developmental Psychology

Researchers from the University of Michigan and Clemson University studied how critical action - a component of what is referred to as "critical consciousness," or the engagement in social action to produce social change - can affect career development in adulthood for those experiencing marginalization.

The researchers found that activism during adolescence can have positive impacts on academic achievement and chances of obtaining higher-status occupations in adulthood.

"Youth in the sample we studied who were engaged in social action had higher expectations for their own career trajectories," said Luke Rapa, assistant professor of adolescent development in Clemson's College of Education. "This suggests that students who engage in social action take the time to reflect critically on their surroundings. That critical thinking motivates them, and that same sense of motivation may be what pays off for them in whatever career they choose."

The study titled, "Critical Action as a Pathway to Social Mobility Among Marginalized Youth," was published in Developmental Psychology in September.

To learn more about this research, visit the University of Michigan press release here.

Political Typology Reveals Deep Fissures on the Right and Left | Pew Research Center

On October 24th, Pew Research Center released its 2017 political typology report titled, "Political Typology Reveals Deep Fissures on the Right and Left."

The political typology, which sorts Americans into like-minded groups based on their values and beliefs and reveals divisions present within the Republican and Democratic parties, was based on the survey results of over 5,000 adults.

According to the findings, the Republican coalition, which is divided into two distinctly different core groups, both approve of President Trump, but do not agree on much else, such as on matters of immigration and global economic engagement. The Democratic group is divided into four distinct groups. While they all support a strong safety net, they are divided on matters of U.S. global involvement and government regulation of business, among other issues.

To learn more about the findings, and to read the report, visit the Pew Research Center page here.

Civic Engagement Success Story


	Photo Credit: Alicia Robinson \| The OCR

Savanna High students tell school district what they want

Anaheim Union High School District is debating whether the Savanna High School mascot, Johnny Rebel, should be erased in image and in name, after the school already had a statue of the mascot removed back in 2009.

To help in this decision, the school board asked Savanna High students to provide them their input. Students spent time studying the Confederacy and how the mascot was adopted at their school, and presented their viewpoints in class discussions. After the discussions took place, the students voted. School results showed that 56 percent of students wanted to re-brand the school mascot, while 26 percents of students voted to keep Johnny Rebel, and 18 percent voted to replace the mascot completely.

The results of the Savanna High student vote is scheduled to be presented at the Anaheim Union High School District school board meeting on November 6th.

To learn more about this story, see The Orange County Register article here.

California Civic Engagement News

UC launches national effort to promote free speech and civic engagement

On Thursday, October 26th, the University of California (UC) President, Janet Napolitano, announced that the UC will establish the National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement in Washington D.C.

This center will be part of the UC's educational, research, and advocacy effort regarding the First Amendment and what those rights mean for Americans and our democracy. In addition, the center will create a fellowship program that will bring together legal scholars, social scientists, journalists, and public policy thinkers to mentor UC students.

For more information about the National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement, visit the UC press release here.

National Civic Engagement News


	Photo Credit: Gary Stewart \| AP

How redistricting became a technological arms race

High-profile consultants, lawyers, terabytes of voting data, and millions of dollars. This is how gerrymandering gets done now.

In this in-depth article, The Atlantic explores the evolution of gerrymandering throughout the years, and how in 2010, one political party was able to draw their district maps with such precision that they gained 700 state legislative seats.

For more on this story, click here to read the in-depth article in The Atlantic.

CCEP Outreach: In the Media

Villaraigosa game plan for governor's race: Blast Newson, turn out Latinos

The San Francisco Chronicle explores Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's strategy for competing against Lt. Gov. Gavin Newson in California's gubernatorial race.

When asked about Latino voters, CCEP director Mindy Romero provided an historical overview of Latino participation in California.

This story ran in the Sunday paper on October 29th. To read more, see the San Francisco Chronicle article here.

Latino Voter Turnout |KCBS

On October 30th, the San Francisco Bay Area's KCBS radio news spoke with CCEP director Mindy Romero about ways to increase Latino voter turnout in California.

Job Opportunities

Mutual Housing California | Multiple Job Openings

Mutual Housing California is seeking to fill multiple job openings.

Created in 1988, Mutual Housing California advocates for sustainable housing and revitalizing low-income communities by strengthening communities through resident participation and leadership development.

To learn more, and to apply for current job openings, see the Mutual Housing California jobs page here.

Common Cause California | Operations Manager

Common Cause California is looking to fill an Operations Manager position. Operations Managers are expected to carry out key operational functions to ensure internal operations are effective and efficient.

Common Cause, a nonpartisan grassroots organization, works to uphold the core values of American democracy by promoting equal rights, opportunities, and representation for all.

Applications for this job are being accepted until November 17th. Visit the Common Cause job opportunities page to apply.

Share Your Civic Engagement Research with the CCEP

Are you working to promote inclusive civic engagement? Do you have a civic engagement success story to share? Share your story with CCEP and you could be featured in an upcoming issue of Engage! Please send your short write-up to Jennifer Puza at [email protected] for consideration. Thanks for reading and staying engaged!

UC Davis California Civic Engagement Project

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CCEP Advisory Committee

Kim Alexander President and Founder California Voter Foundation	Matt A. Barreto Professor, Dept. of Political Science Professor, Dept. of Chicana/o Studies University of California, Los Angeles	Jonathan Fox Professor, School of International Service American University
Luis R. Fraga Arthur Foundation Endowed Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership Professor of Political Science University of Notre Dame	Lisa Garcia Bedolla Chancellor's Professor of Education and Political Science University of California, Berkeley	Bruce Haynes Associate Professor, Dept. of Sociology University of California, Davis
Jongho Lee Professor Dept. of Political Science Western Illinois University	Peter Levine Associate Dean for Research and Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University	Matt Mahan Cofounder and CEO Brigade
James Muldavin Executive Director California Center for Civic Participation and Youth Development	Karthick Ramakrishnan Professor of Public Policy University of California, Riverside	Ricardo Ramirez Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science University of Notre Dame
Jason Reece Assistant Professor of Land Use Planning and Law The Ohio State University	Cruz Reynoso Professor of Law Emeritus University of California, Davis	Dan Schnur Director American Jewish Committee Los Angeles Region
Shakari Byerly Partner and Lead Researcher EVITARUS		Samuel Molina California State Director Mi Familia Vota

California Civic Engagement Project

The California Civic Engagement Project (CCEP) is housed at the UC Davis Center for Regional Change and was established to inform the public dialogue on representative governance in California. The CCEP is engaging in pioneering research to identify disparities in civic participation across place and population. It is well positioned to inform and empower a wide range of policy and organizing efforts in California to reduce disparities in state and regional patterns of well-being and opportunity. Key audiences include public officials, advocacy groups, political researchers and communities themselves.

UC Davis Center for Regional Change

The UC Davis Center for Regional Change (CRC). The CRC is a catalyst for innovative, collaborative, and action-oriented research. It brings together faculty and students from different disciplines, and builds bridges between university, policy, advocacy, business, philanthropy and other sectors. The CRC's goal is to support the building of healthy, equitable, prosperous, and sustainable regions in California and beyond.