91影视破解版

Get the transcript.

Civic engagement and social responsibility

President Ginsberg:
Your title is an interesting one鈥擟ivic Engagement and Social Responsibility. Let's begin with what might sound like a simple question, but really isn鈥檛: What do those terms mean?

Dr. H眉bler:
That鈥檚 a great question, and one we get often. At the heart of our work is preparing students for active participation in their communities. That can take many forms, from civic engagement and community service to advocacy. We want students to ask themselves, 鈥淗ow can I use my voice and my values to influence what鈥檚 happening in my community, my country, or the world?鈥�

President Ginsberg:
So it鈥檚 about helping students participate in society in meaningful ways. We often say 91影视破解版 is a university for the public good, and it sounds like your office is deeply rooted in that mission.

Dr. H眉bler:
Absolutely.

President Ginsberg:
How would you differentiate between civic engagement and social responsibility? They seem parallel but not quite the same.

Dr. H眉bler:
We see them as interconnected. Civic engagement often refers to taking action鈥攇etting involved, advocating, influencing policy. Social responsibility has more to do with ethics鈥攗nderstanding who we are, what values shape us, and what kind of communities we want to live in. Both are essential.

President Ginsberg:
So civic engagement might involve elected officials or policy change, while social responsibility is more about our individual values and how we relate to others?

Dr. H眉bler:
Exactly. And often, it takes both. Sometimes you鈥檙e working with grassroots community leaders or organizations. Other times, you鈥檙e collaborating with neighbors or even strangers to identify issues and drive change. It鈥檚 about equipping students with all the tools they might need to do that effectively.

Understanding restorative practices

President Ginsberg:
Building strong communities requires strong communication. You mentioned restorative practices and dialogue鈥攃an you expand on that?

Dr. H眉bler:
Definitely. One key element of civic and community engagement that often gets overlooked is the ability to foster connection. We teach students how to build relationships through restorative practices, dialogue, and community organizing.

That includes learning to truly listen鈥攗nderstanding someone鈥檚 story, what they care about, what motivates them. A lot of our current work focuses on storytelling: the story of self, the story of us, and imagining what鈥檚 possible together.

President Ginsberg:
That feels especially important in today鈥檚 world, where we often see polarization and division. What you're describing seems like a powerful remedy.

Dr. H眉bler:
That鈥檚 exactly the hope.

President Ginsberg:
It seems the kind of work you're doing might offer some remedies to the deep divides we see in our society.

Dr. H眉bler:
We鈥檇 like to think so. Many of us, even on our staff team, have had moments when it鈥檚 difficult to talk with people close to us鈥攕ometimes even family. So, we seek tools and opportunities to help bridge those divides.

What we鈥檝e found鈥攁t 91影视破解版 and even nationally鈥攊s the power of story. Understanding why someone believes what they do is often rooted in personal experience鈥攎aybe they felt like they didn鈥檛 belong in a community or weren鈥檛 valued in their country.

They may not have had the tools or knowledge to figure out how to work with others鈥攚hether they feel the same way or see things differently鈥攖o address a challenge. When we look at the big picture鈥攖he world鈥檚 issues, or even just the divisions in our own society鈥攊t can feel overwhelming. That鈥檚 why we focus on the local, including what we can do right here at 91影视破解版.

We ask, 鈥淲hat can we do here to create a more welcoming, inclusive community?鈥� That might involve addressing food access, housing access, or collective safety. It starts close to home.

President Ginsberg:
Yet, to get to that point, there seems to be a prerequisite鈥攁 willingness to listen. It feels like so often in conversations, especially when we disagree, we're more focused on how to respond than on what the other person is actually saying. And in doing so, we miss the meaning. It sounds like your work is aimed at stopping that kind of disconnect and creating genuine connection.

Dr. H眉bler:
Absolutely. And as you're saying that, I鈥檓 reminded that we need two key things: curiosity and imagination.

If we鈥檙e genuinely curious about why someone thinks the way they do, and we ask deeper questions鈥攏ot to challenge them, but because we鈥檙e truly interested鈥攖hat leads to active listening. It鈥檚 a skill, and we help students practice it.

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge

President Ginsberg:
I understand there are some programs here at Towson that support this kind of engagement. One that comes to mind is the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. Could you tell us what that is, and how it contributes to fostering that sense of connectedness?

Dr. H眉bler:
Sure. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit. They support campuses in developing civic engagement strategies and campus democratic action plans. While voting is a key component, they view civic engagement much more broadly.

If we鈥檙e only empowered on one day鈥擡lection Day鈥攚hat about all the other days of the year? Civic life isn鈥檛 just at the ballot box; it鈥檚 something we live every day.

President Ginsberg:
So civic life is all around us?

Dr. H眉bler:
Exactly. It exists in all our spaces. Civic engagement is an everyday practice. At 91影视破解版, we developed a 10-year campus democratic action plan to guide our work.

It helps us ask: 鈥淲here do we want to go? Where are the gaps?鈥� It鈥檚 a tool for building partnerships and ensuring students gain the skills, mindsets, and knowledge to see themselves as active participants in society鈥攅very single day.

President Ginsberg:
And how鈥檚 the program going? Give us a progress report on how it's been.

Dr. H眉bler:
We put the action plan together in 2024鈥攋ust a year ago鈥攁nd it鈥檚 for the next 10 years. We鈥檝e already made some great progress. We recently submitted our report鈥攊t鈥檚 a long one鈥攂ut it gave us a chance to reflect on what we鈥檝e accomplished during this election cycle. What excites me most is that the plan gives us a roadmap. It helps us approach campus partners creatively and think about how to take civic engagement at 91影视破解版 to the next level.

We have a lot of students who live on campus. When they move in, it鈥檚 a prime opportunity to say, 鈥淗ey, you鈥檝e moved. Have you updated your voter registration?鈥� We integrate that into processes that already exist, like move-in checklists.

The reality is, students who move often may not have consistent documentation of their residence. If they wait until Election Day to sort that out, they might show up to vote and be turned away because they can鈥檛 prove where they live. So, proactive engagement is key.

President Ginsberg:
So part of the strategy here is helping students鈥攁nd maybe even others鈥攏ot just be registered, but truly participate in our democracy. It鈥檚 about that sense of agency, right? That personal responsibility to be engaged.

Dr. H眉bler:
Absolutely. One of our key learning objectives in the Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility is civic agency.

It can be tough to feel powerful when so much is happening in the world that feels beyond our control. But civic agency is about helping students realize they actually have more power than they think.

President Ginsberg:
But they have to take that power. I was reading something that described civic engagement as a responsibility to actively shape our society鈥攏ot just to vote, but to really participate in the democratic process. Given all the turbulence today鈥攁round what democracy even means, or which policies best serve the country鈥攜our approach doesn鈥檛 seem focused on content, but more on process. Regardless of your stance, there鈥檚 a responsibility to participate in the levers of government.

The civic renewal fellowship

President Ginsberg:
Another program I found really interesting is the Civic Renewal Fellowship. That鈥檚 a year-long training, right? To help students facilitate community conversations?

Dr. H眉bler:
Yes. The idea came from being on a college campus in 2016, seeing how deeply impacted students and colleagues were after the election. There was a lot of emotional energy鈥攑owerlessness. In 2020, I realized we needed to equip people to shape their communities after an election, no matter the outcome.

So, we partnered with the Counseling Center, restorative practices, dialogue, inclusion, and civic leadership to create a training program. It empowered people across campus鈥攆aculty, staff, and students鈥攖o lead conversations in their networks. SGA hosted listening circles. Academic departments, student orgs, student affairs鈥攁ll came together. We used restorative practices to let people process, reflect, and figure out how to move forward as a community, even if they disagreed.

When I came to 91影视破解版, I brought the model here. We鈥檝e expanded it to go beyond elections鈥攗sing listening circles and restorative practices to talk about key campus issues.

Now, we call them 91影视破解版 Community Conversations鈥攆acilitated discussions on important topics like food access, housing, and most recently, collective care and campus safety.

The program evolved from one-off trainings to a year-long, high-impact experience. Students learn how to build community, facilitate conversations across differences, and identify paths forward. We recently added a community organizing component鈥攕o students not only listen, they also act. After hearing concerns, we partner with other campus groups to make improvements.

President Ginsberg:
So it鈥檚 about being active鈥攖aking action. I鈥檓 reminded of a quote from my friend and hero, Marian Wright Edelman, who said, 鈥淒emocracy is not a spectator sport.鈥� If we want a democracy, we have to be participants. This program sounds like a catalyst for that kind of involvement.

Dr. H眉bler:
Absolutely. And I want to give credit where it鈥檚 due鈥擟haris Lawson from my office runs the Civic Renewal Fellowship. She鈥檚 our coordinator for civic engagement.

Obstacles to civic engagement on a college campus
President Ginsberg:
It all sounds incredibly valuable. But let me flip the question a bit鈥攏ot to be a skeptic, but to dig into the challenge. What are the barriers to student participation? Because today鈥檚 environment makes it really hard to engage with people who hold different views. The divisions are deep. So how big of a hurdle is that? And what other obstacles have you encountered in building a successful program?

Dr. H眉bler:
That鈥檚 a question鈥攁nd a challenge鈥攆or all of us. Students often come with a strong desire for change, but they鈥檙e not always sure where to direct that energy.

President Ginsberg:
So鈥� what鈥檚 the recipe?

Dr. H眉bler:
Yeah, right? [Laughs] Many students look to large protest movements鈥攖hat was definitely me when I was younger. I鈥檇 ask, 鈥淲here鈥檚 my movement?鈥�

President Ginsberg:
Where鈥檚 your sign?

Dr. H眉bler:
Right? And not finding it, or posting on social media鈥攖hose kinds of things, we see as acts of activism.

What I have found is that it can still feel very lonely. I鈥檝e gone to demonstrations and felt great, and then I walked away, back at home in my living room, thinking: 鈥淎nd now what?鈥�
I don't know any of the movement leaders, I don't know what the agenda is or what the next steps are. Or I posted something鈥攈ow many people will actually read it, engage with it, and will it really bring about any change?

How social media impacts active participation

President Ginsberg:
You mentioned social media. I was wondering as you said that鈥攚hat has been the influence of those channels of communication? They can be accurate or wildly inaccurate, but certainly they shape opinion. You鈥檝e probably thought about this?

Dr. H眉bler:
I have. And I will also say鈥擨 don鈥檛 use social media. At all.

President Ginsberg:
At all? Really? And why have you made that decision?

Dr. H眉bler:
It took up a lot of space.

I noticed it took me away from being in conversation with other people鈥攐r from taking care of myself. So, I鈥檓 just using that energy and time in a different way.

President Ginsberg:
You've created a boundary, it sounds like. But many people haven鈥檛. And social media鈥攆or good and bad鈥攊s shaping a lot of public opinion. I suspect it鈥檚 also contributing to the intensity of division.

Dr. H眉bler:
Yes, I think social media has a place in change work or active participation.
But there are so many other pathways鈥攍ike community organizing, dialogue and restorative practices, civic discourse skills. In our work, we鈥檙e harnessing that energy students bring and introducing them to these lesser-known opportunities.

Responsible activism

President Ginsberg:
One criticism I hear often鈥攅specially now, in such turbulent and divisive times鈥攊s that there鈥檚 great apathy. That people have stood back and not engaged.

Martin Luther King once wrote, 鈥淥ur lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.鈥�

What you鈥檙e doing seems to energize activism鈥攏ot for activism鈥檚 sake, but in a responsible way. Does that quote resonate with you?

Dr. H眉bler:
It does鈥攂ut I think it depends on how we define silence.

In today鈥檚 society, where social media equals 鈥渘oise,鈥� silence might be misunderstood. Just because someone isn鈥檛 saying something online doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檙e silent.

Martin Luther King and other organizers knew how vital it is to organize in the background鈥攖o build community, to have conversations. That takes time. And it doesn鈥檛 always require being loud. There鈥檚 a time for that鈥攂ut the organizing must lead.

President Ginsberg:
That鈥檚 a powerful distinction. Silence may not be silence鈥攁nd its opposite isn鈥檛 always meaningful. Sometimes it鈥檚 just noise, not contributing anything real.

Another quote comes to mind鈥擩ohn F. Kennedy said, 鈥淓very person can make a difference, but every person must try to make a difference.鈥�
That feels like what you're saying: the opportunity to contribute balanced by the responsibility to try.

Dr. H眉bler:
Yes. And I mentioned the importance of story, so I鈥檒l share a bit of mine鈥攚hy I care so much about this work.

I grew up in East Germany during Communism, in Leipzig. That鈥檚 where the peaceful revolution started.

It began in a small church鈥攕ilent at first. People outside didn鈥檛 know. But it grew to hundreds of thousands, including my father and his friends, who demonstrated every Monday. The right to protest was not a right in my country.

President Ginsberg:
It wasn鈥檛. And there was real risk.

Dr. H眉bler:
A huge risk鈥攏ot just to my father, but to all of us. Authorities could鈥檝e taken us away, imprisoned him, disappeared him, destroyed our family.

My great-grandfather鈥攚ho was dear to me鈥攚as in the resistance against the Nazis. He was a political prisoner, in a labor camp.
He was freed and lived in exile, fighting for the British army. His risk was even greater than my dad鈥檚.

Having those role models has shaped me. It made me ask: 鈥淲hy do people risk so much to bring about change they believe in?鈥�

And: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 my role? What鈥檚 the role of people I care about, and those I don鈥檛 even know鈥攍ike students? What is our role to do what is right, even in the face of consequences?鈥�

President Ginsberg:
That鈥檚 a magnificent way to close. You began with stories, and your story is incredibly powerful.

It鈥檚 motivated you and shaped your life鈥檚 work鈥攈elping others tell and live their stories through civic engagement and social responsibility.