“The State of Our Democracy”: FSU’s Town Hall Meeting

Frostburg State University’s Office of Civic Engagement recently held a Town Hall event on “The State of Our Democracy.” Students, professors, and faculty gathered to discuss a range of topics including The Mueller Report, current attitudes about immigration, and the 2020 Presidential election.

Timothy McGrath, a professor in the Department of Political Science, was the mediator of the night’s dialogue, and two mics were passed around to students. In his opening remarks, McGrath cited The Washington Post to remind students that “democracy dies in darkness.” The remainder of the meeting, comprised mostly of student commentary, lasted approximately 90 minutes. 

The discussion of the Mueller Report elicited clarification of the issues from the College Democrats President Patrick Bower, and although the College Republican contingency was not represented, both sides of the issues were explored. One participant joked that “someone needs to sell the Mueller Report to TMZ” ahead of a hopeful, yet perhaps distant, publication of the report by the Justice Department.

Moving to the topic of climate change, a poll asked students if they believed climate change was real. The results were unanimous. However, the anthropogenic aspects of climate change met some resistance. Some notable remarks included, “this is our home [Earth], if we destroy it, where will we go?” and, “science shouldn’t be a bipartisan issue; facts are facts.”

The lengthiest of the topics was about immigration. Andrea Constant, a graduating senior who was recently chosen as the Spring Commencement speaker, opened the conversation by asking what others felt about the use of the word “immigration” as subtext for “black or brown skin.” Student elaboration of the idea brought about a general consensus that, while Constant’s comment was indeed valid, that the bigger issue was about the fear of immigrants. One student, an underclassman whose parents immigrated from Honduras shared some of her experiences as a person of color. Through tears, she talked about how conversations like this Town Hall, “give [her] hope.” Potential solutions to this issue were suggested by students including “getting out of the echo chamber of social media” or through a realization of the power of freedom.

The last topic, the 2020 election, aroused the crowd. A small discussion of the 2016 Presidential Election and the “unlikability of Hillary Clinton” was met with indignant responses by some students. However, the upcoming 2020 election seemed to be on everyone’s mind. Possible front runner candidates could not be identified, but many candidates were regarded as unfavorable, including Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, and John Delaney.  

The event ended with some closing remarks from Patrick O’Brien of the Office of Civic Engagement and Timothy McGrath. Both appreciated the points of view expressed, and students left with a renewed sense of what democracy means and requires.