After spending the semester encouraging students to vote, one Rutgers intern shares what she learned about the motivations behind student civic engagement. Whether it’s voting on behalf of those who can’t, making sure their voices are heard, addressing issues that affect their daily lives, or exercising their constitutional right, they've heard countless reasons why students want to make a difference in their communities.

As social media becomes increasingly filled with paid political messaging and inauthentic content, the authors reflect on the importance of knowing who is behind the messages we see online. They share how their work with Rutgers Democracy Lab allows them to take a different approach by creating authentic content that reflects real student experiences and encourages civic engagement.

Eyal Hanfling, Director of the Technology and Democracy Research Hub reflects on focus group findings from a new partnership between Rutgers Democracy Lab and Public Agenda. 

Rutgers Democracy Lab and Public Agenda are partnering to explore young people's perspectives on American democracy. Our collaborative project uses focus groups and pre- and post-midterm election surveys to explore why young people choose to civically engage despite feeling disillusioned with politics.

Quincy A. Bevely and Ashley E. Nickels will extend civic engagement work to the university’s Newark and Camden campuses.

The New Jersey College Civility Tour event at Rutgers’s Eagleton Institute brought together student leaders from opposing parties to discuss polarization, AI, immigration and democracy, showing that people can agree on the problems while disagreeing on solutions. The authors, Talking Across Difference fellows, reflect on the value of respectful dialogue, and on the need to listen critically when a statement disregards others’ dignity.