March 13, 2017
Facilitated discussion: 'Safety and Justice: How Should Communities Reduce Violence?'
Join colleagues, friends and neighbors in a facilitated discussion on policing, race and violence using the new National Issues Forums discussion guide "Safety and Justice: How Should Communities Reduce Violence?" The discussion will be from 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, in Town Hall at the Leadership Studies Building.
After falling steadily for decades, the rate of violent crime in the U.S. rose again in 2016. Many Americans are concerned something is going on with violence in communities, law enforcement and race that are undermining the national ideals of safety and justice for all. How can communities like Manhattan increase safety while at the same time ensuring justice? In this community forum, citizens will come together to discuss and deliberate three different options for solving this problem: enforcing the law together, applying the law fairly, and de-escalating and preventing violence.
Results from this community forum will be included in the National Issues Forum and Kettering Foundation's annual event, A PUBLIC VOICE, on May 9 in Washington, D.C. This event brings the voices of citizens to members and staff of the federal government. To preview the topic and discussion guide, visit NIFI's website.
The purpose of deliberation is to weigh tensions and trade-offs that don't easily fall into for/against categories. Everyone is welcome to participate in the forum, but it is helpful to have participants RSVP on the Facebook event page to help organize small group discussions.
Timothy Shaffer, assistant professor of communication studies and assistant director of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy, teaches public deliberation and communication. Some of his students will facilitate small group conversations during this event, building on what they have been learning this semester in their course.
This event is co-sponsored by the communication studies department and the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy.