Santa Fe College: The Democracy Commitment

Best Practices Report

To view Santa Fe College’s full report, please click HERE.

Santa Fe College pursued civics literacy advancement on a variety of fronts during 2014. As a member of The Democracy Commitment since 2012, SFC has made a commitment to develop and expand programs, projects and curricula that engage students in civic learning and democratic practice – the mission of the national initiative called The Democracy Commitment.

As with many members of the Florida College System, Santa Fe College took full advantage of the 2014 mid-term elections as a platform on which to build civics education projects. These included hosting candidate forums for all seriously contested races in its marketplace, staging forums to explain the constitutional amendments and the Affordable Care Act, and hosting a faculty-led Watch Party for the Florida Gubernatorial Debate and – here’s a new twist – an Election Results Prediction Party on Election Day.

A project any college could copy: Alternative Spring Break. Santa Fe College sponsored a Spring Break trip to Selma, Ala., for the second year in a row to help students learn the history of the civil rights movement and non-violent conflict resolution, and to see landmarks of those historic events. A memorable experience: Students walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of the 1965 Bloody Sunday March in which more than 50 people were injured.

Santa Fe also took part in the FCS TurboVote project to promote student voter registration, and hosted a regional Florida Model Legislature session, as well as a Florida Model UN Conference. Santa Fe’s Model UN team also participated in a Southern Regional Model UN Conference. The college also collaborated with the local League of Women Voters chapter to provide students more opportunities to meet outstanding public figures.

Tags: Service Learning, Institute for Civic Engagement and Democracy, Santa Fe College, Civic Engagement, Democracy Commitment, Model UN, Model Legislature

• View Report: Santa Fe College Best Practices Report

For more information, contact:
Vilma Fuentes, Ph. D.
Assistant Vice President, Academic Affairs
Santa Fe College
vilma.fuentes@sfcollege.edu
352-395-5030