A declaration for the future: Longwood students take part in statewide democracy summit

It was really nice to see all these people from different backgrounds, from very different parts of Virginia, come together and agree on the same things. That's what our founding fathers were trying to do.

"The biggest thing I took away is that democracy is dialogue," Childress said about his experience. "It was really nice to see all these people from different backgrounds, from very different parts of Virginia, come together and agree on the same things. That's what our founding fathers were trying to do."

The highly participatory program started with a "Friends and Foes" tour of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, which focused on his close and often adversarial relationship with John Adams. Students also had an opportunity to engage with Dr. Jane Kamensky, leading historian of early American history. In addition to participating in Declaration Next, the students attended Democracy360 sessions with featured speakers and panels at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville.

The students said they felt especially well prepared to participate in the summit due to Longwood's Civitae curriculum, which puts a heavy emphasis on students' civic capacity with writing, public speaking and critical thinking skills.

If Longwood has taught me anything it's to respect people who have different backgrounds and points of view. You don't have to agree with their perspective. But you can discuss it civilly.

"If Longwood has taught me anything it's to respect people who have different backgrounds and points of view. You don't have to agree with their perspective. But you can discuss it civilly," Labott said. "America is full of all different people who want something better for our country. We have to do that by practicing these skills that Longwood is teaching us-thinking critically, talking with one another and just being human to each another."

The culmination of the summit was the deliberations of what was called the "Committee of the Whole," which was all 46 students inside Jefferson's Rotunda at UVA debating which declarations would be included in their final document. Some of the discussion focused on how to define a citizen of the United States and whether all people have inalienable rights if they are on U.S. soil.

Dr. Heather Lettner-Rust, director of Civitae and professor of English, accompanied the group to Charlottesville, and said it was a particularly proud moment for her as she watched the Longwood students participate in the deliberations on the final day.

"I watched them speak up in this group of strangers, their peers, and speak their mind about the declarations that were being posted," said Lettner-Rust. "They continued to raise their hand and engage in civil discourse with the rest of the students. I thought, this is exactly what we've prepped them for. That, to me, was thrilling."

Childress, a math major with a concentration in secondary education from Prince George, Virginia, said the experience left him in awe and feeling proud to be an American.

"We see a lot in the news and the media about people at each other's throats and threatening violence against one another," he said. "But it was refreshing in this day and age to see people disagreeing with one another and still having a friendship and maintaining bonds. It really reminded me we still are the greatest country because we can have discussions like this."

Scotece, a biology major, said her main takeaway from the exercise was it revealed how important government and political literacy are.

We are revisiting the ideas and concerns our forefathers had before us, but this time we have a blueprint-a 250-year-old blueprint-to help steer us in the ideal direction for the future of America.

"We are at a critical turning point in our democracy," she said. "We are revisiting the ideas and concerns our forefathers had before us, but this time we have a blueprint-a 250-year-old blueprint-to help steer us in the ideal direction for the future of America. We're again asking what democracy should look like and how it should function, just like it was back in the beginning."

Labott, an elementary education major from Virginia Beach with a minor in creative writing, said she enjoyed meeting new people and making connections with other students who are interested in bettering the country.

The participants also shared one observation that they said speaks volumes about Longwood's emphasis on the core tenants of Civitae. They noted that of the almost 50 participants, the three Longwood students represented diverse majors not associated with political science. Childress and Labott both plan careers as K-12 educators. Scotese is interested in the research field of biology, but is now considering something related to public policy.

"Longwood truly fostered learning how to speak publicly and put ideas out there," Childress said. "All of my Civitae classes involved speaking about something I believe to an audience of people who might not believe it. I think it's telling that the three people at the conference who weren't majoring in some realm of public history, history or political science, came from Longwood and were some of the most prolific speakers."