Adult Civics Programs Offered at St. Helens Public Library

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 7, 2017

ADULT CIVICS PROGRAMS OFFERED AT ST. HELENS PUBLIC LIBRARY

St. Helens, Ore. – The St. Helens Public Library will host a series of Civics for Adults community workshops designed to enhance civic knowledge and inspire political engagement. Led by Donna L. Cohen, a teacher and librarian, the workshops are non-partisan, free to the public, and no pre-registration is required.

Four workshops will be offered over the next year, each featuring a different topic designed to fill in the gaps of civic and political understanding and encourage critical evaluation of information. Information will be provided that is typically hidden behind the headline-grabbing, background noise of our lives.

The first workshop, “Misinformation, Fake News, and Political Propaganda,” will be held on Thursday, September 21, 2017, at 7 p.m. inside the St. Helens Public Library. We are overwhelmed with messages from politicians, news sources and other media. Learn to distinguish truth from fiction using critical thinking strategies. The workshop uses real-world examples of political ads, news headlines, logical fallacies, graphs and charts, the effect of word choice in messaging, statistical data, and other types of information in a “what do you see here?/what is missing?” format. The last part of the workshop focuses on finding accurate information and helping people become their own fact checkers.

The second workshop is “Citizen Activism 101: Making Change Happen” This workshop will be held on Thursday, February 15, 2018, at 7 p.m. Participants wanting to improve life for themselves or their neighbors or those that have concerns about local, state, or federal laws will learn strategies for change. Topics covered will include examples of successful advocacy, a brief history of perspective, choosing your battles, what matters to you, who makes the rules, tools for change, and tracking civic and political issues. The workshop will take place while the State legislature is in session. Discussion will also center around what is going on in the legislature and how to make your mark.

“The Influence of the Constitution on Political Conversation” is the third workshop and will be held on Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 7 p.m. Cohen will talk about the creation of the Constitution, examine myths about the Constitution, and guide attendees in developing a broader perspective of its significance which will help people evaluate current political events more thoughtfully.

The final workshop, “Beyond Voting: Elections and Campaign Financing,” is scheduled for Thursday, September 20, 2018 at 7 p.m. This unique workshop will cover 20 topics related to the United States electoral systems and present specific ideas for bi-partisan civic and political engagement. Some of the topics that will be covered include voting as a Constitutional right, voter rights, voter fraud, instant runoff elections, redistricting, superdelegates, Electoral College, campaign financing, contribution limits, dark money, and public attitudes about money in politics.

Donna L. Cohen worked in New England social service agencies in the 1970s. From New England, she came to Oregon, received her Master of Education, and taught Industrial Arts for the next 12 years. After returning from the Peace Corps in 1994, where she taught at a college of education in Botswana, she went to library school at the University of British Columbia. In 1996, she returned to Oregon and started a career as an information professional. She continues to perform occasional on-call reference services for Beaverton City Library.

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For further information regarding the Civics for Adults workshops at St. Helens Public Library, please contact Library Director Margaret Jeffries at margaretj@ci.st-helens.or.us or 503-397-4544.