Events

Events

Active Citizen Series: Deliberative Dialogue – America’s Next 250: What’s Next, America?
Monday, February 23, 4:30pm, Lakeside 212
2026 marks our nation’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This dialogue is one of many that will take place across the country this year, and is designed to bring people together to reflect on the past and discuss what kind of future we want to create for generations to come. Many Americans believe that the time is right for conversations that connect people who might not usually interact, conversations that will encourage fresh, innovative thinking and actions to emerge. Join this dialogue to help script the next 250 years of the United States. A Deliberative Dialogue is an opportunity for participants to gather and exchange diverse views and experiences to seek a shared understanding of a challenge facing our society and to search for common ground for action.
Sponsored by the Kernodle Center for Civic Life and Political Engagement Work Group

Active Citizen Series: State of the Union Watch Event
Tuesday, February 24, 9:00pm, Moseley Center First Floor
The Elon community will come together to watch President Donald Trump deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. The State of the Union is an address in which the president outlines the current state of the nation and presents policy priorities for the upcoming legislative year.
Sponsored by the Kernodle Center for Civic Life and Political Engagement Work Group 

Active Citizen Series: A Conversation with the City of Burlington’s Newly Elected City Council Members Jeff Smythe and Ian Baltutis
Wednesday, February 25, 4:00pm, Moseley Center First Floor
Jeff Smythe was recently appointed by Governor Josh Stein as the Secretary of Public Safety. He has 35 years of experience in law enforcement and is the former police chief for the Burlington (NC) Police Department and Show Low (AZ) Police Department. Ian Baltutis has over 17 years of experience in government and business and served as mayor of the City of Burlington for three terms (2015-2021). He is the owner of Persnickety Books and is a 2008 graduate of Elon University.
Sponsored by the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, Political Engagement Work Group, Elon Votes!, and Elon News Network

Recognizing and Resisting Online Manipulation Workshop
Wednesday, February 25, 7:00-8:30pm, Upstairs Lakeside Hall
Please register for free pizza: Recognizing and Resisting Online Manipulation Workshop Registration Form
In this workshop, participants will identify manipulative tactics used online, and how such narratives can lead to division and violence. Participants learn to recognize and resist emotional manipulation and similar tactics, and how to help others do so, in order to promote freedom of thought and agency of opinion. The workshop is faciliated by staff of PERIL (Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab) from American University.
Sponsored by the Women’s, Gender, and Sexualities Studies program and the Gender & LGBTQIA Center

Cynthia Miller-Idriss – Man Up: Understanding Misogyny to Prevent Extremism
Lauren Dunne Astley Memorial Lecture
Thursday, February 26, 4:30pm, McBride Gathering Space, Numen Lumen Pavilion
A leading expert on extremism, Cynthia Miller-Idriss, addresses how an epidemic of misogyny – both online and off – and a patriarchal backlash are contributing to an exponential rise in mass and far-right violence. She also offers essential prevention strategies to fight the rising tide of violence, beginning with recognizing and interrupting the misogyny that pervades our everyday lives. Faculty who plan to bring their entire class should contact Dr. Ann Cahill in advance.

Zeynep Tufekci: Power, Protest and Algorithms: How Technology Shapes Society and Democracy
Baird Lecture
Thursday, March 12, 7:00pm, McCrary Theatre, Center for the Arts
Zeynep Tufekci is an internationally renowned techno-sociologist whose work analyzes the intersections of science, technology, politics and society. As a New York Times opinion columnist and the Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University, she is known for asking hard questions about artificial intelligence, privacy and surveillance, social movements and public health, and answers in ways that defy disciplinary boundaries. A 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist for commentary, Tufekci examines the use of social media to mobilize large numbers of people in political protest and why many modern movements lack the direction to foster real change. Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Tickets available February 19 at ElonTickets.com

Bill Adair: Why Fact-Checking Still Matters in our Polarized Discourse
Liberal Arts Forum Lecture with support from the Turnage Family Fund for the Study of Political Communication and Department of Journalism in the School of Communications
Monday, March 16, 7:30pm, Whitley Auditorium
Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Bill Adair has been on the front lines of fact-checking for many years. He is the founder of PolitiFact and the co-founder of the International Fact-Checking Network. Last year he published  “Beyond the Big Lie,” an examination of how politicians lie and why. In his career as a Washington journalist, he has seen political dialogue degenerate into partisan acrimony. Nevertheless, he still believes checking facts is a crucial task for political journalists to provide people the information they need to make sense of our wild discourse.

Frank Bruni: The Age of Grievance
James P. Elder Lecture
Thursday, April 9, 6:30pm, Whitley Auditorium
Frank Bruni is the author of five New York Times bestsellers including “The Age of Grievance,” which explores how a cultural of outrage has come to dominate American politics. He makes the case that Americans conflate legitimate causes and petty complaints, creating a condition of constant self-victimization. People obsess over how they’ve been wronged and who to blame, which poses a threat to American democracy, rather than choosing to focus on civil, productive dialogue and constructive action. Why has that happened and how can we change it? Bruni explores those questions and suggests remedies, which he expands on in thoughtful remarks that reflect on decades of reporting and his current role in the classroom. Bruni is the Eugene C. Patterson Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Tickets available beginning March 19 at ElonTickets.com

Beth Noveck: Artificial Intelligence and Democracy
Wednesday, April 15, 2:00pm, LaRose Digital Theater
Beth Noveck is a leading expert on using artificial intelligence to reimagine participatory democracy and strengthen governance. She is a professor at Northeastern University, where she directs the Burnes Center for Social Change and its partner project, The Governance Lab. Noveck previously served as the first Deputy Chief Technology Officer under President Barack Obama, where she founded the White House Open Government Initiative which created policies and platforms for making the federal government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative. Noveck also served as Senior Advisor for Open Government to British Prime Minister David Cameron and as a member of the Digital Council that advised German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She is the author of Solving Public Problems: How to Fix Our Government and Change Our World, and her new book Reboot: The Race to Save Democracy with AI will appear with Yale University Press.
Sponsored by the Imagining the Digital Future Center and Council on Civic Engagement