Hi, everyone! Congratulations to all of you who posted to the comments section on the introductory blog post. Each of you gets two points toward your final grade. Some of you posted multiple times, perhaps because you went to the blog and didn't see your post.
For this first "real" assignment, you should address a simple question: should departments (let's say journalism, but if you're in another major, you're welcome to use that) require students to take POLS 220? Be sure to consider the benefits of studying state and local government, but also the tradeoff between this requirement and some other course that you might not take because you have to take POLS 220. Is there another course outside your major that your major should require instead of POLS 220? If so, why? In answering the question, feel free to use my lecture from last week, your own considered views, and, especially, any outside sources you wish to bring in. You get half a point simply for signing in to the comments section. You can earn up to 3 points (pretty rare) for this week's assignment by providing more substance. Better answers will be well-developed (though they need not be long), will consider the comments of your colleagues (it's OK to disagree with one another; just don't be disagreeable!; and it's OK to respond to comments after others make them. Better answers may also bring up outside sources (feel free to leave a link).
Good luck on this assignment; it's due by 2:00 pm on Monday, January 27. If you have problems with it, please email at berchnorto@msn.com Good luck!--Neil Berch
I personally feel that any student in any department could benefit from taking poli sci 220. There are tons of students and even adults that do not fully understand how the local and state government work on a day to day basis. I think that I will get a great deal of information from this class that will help me later in life.
ReplyDelete-Brendan durkee
My major is Social Work, so this course was required for me. I think it should be a required course. I believe everyone should be somewhat educated on the basics of state government. Even education on topics we talked about such as political culture in the states and how citizens influence the local government could influence the kinds of rules we have later and the population of voters. If people are educated about these two things for example, wouldn't we become more likely to vote on and care about issues with our government?
ReplyDelete-Rachel Hall
I do believe that my department (journalism) should require students to take a state and local government class because if in the future they have to report on politics they should be able to understand what they are broadcasting or writing about. Granted all students may not be going into journalism to cover politics I still think it's a good idea to take this course just in case they have to one day. Even though I am a television journalism major and sports comm minor and do not plan to work in the politically idle of journalism I still think this should be a required class. I also think that this class could be a good GEC requirement for many because it can help you to better understand state and local governments and the same goes for the intro to American govt course.
ReplyDeleteI am a political science major, so I believe the obvious answer to the question is that it should be a required course for my major. More than just the obvious reasons, I think that students within my major should have to take this class for many reasons. First off, the understanding of basic government within one's own personal state is a personal gain and is an important knowledge to obtain as a citizen. Seeing as every state has their own, different government, it is a good skill to know how different states operate compared to others. Secondly, it is a good base knowledge for anyone in my major to have as a platform in which they can begin to add knowledge of the federal government or other governmental systems to. Students can take the information retrieved in this class and use it to further their advancement in other political science classes, as well.
ReplyDeleteSpecific to this course, you will gain awareness of how you, as a citizen, can influence the state and local government where you live. You can pick up skills that may help you one day down the road if you have an encounter that may involve your local or state government. We, as citizens, do have an opportunity to have an influence on the government, especially at the state level. Everything from the taxes we pay to the education that we receive is affiliated with the state and local government. These are the reasons in which I believe that anyone, not only political science majors, should be required the take POLS 220.
Personally my belief is that all students majoring in journalism, my major, should be required to take POLS 220. After all political articles and news stories are some of the most viewed and read topics online and in newspapers. Also political science can apply to most every specific field in the journalism department. For example print, probably the most obvious can be used to record interviews with political figures and relay these interviews to the public. Another is advertising, political figures have advertisements don't they? Advertising majors can use their skill combined with political knowledge to create these ads used by politicians. This course would also be good for most every student, so they may understand the goings on in their local and state government, so that their activities within the government are not just ignored and fly over their head.
ReplyDeleteI am a psychology major and I personally feel that it is not necessary to take this class. In my major, we do not HAVE to take this class but it is in the list for GEC 3 and I took it because government interests me. But like I said, I do not feel that it should be required for Psychology majors. Although government does have a lot to do with how people think and interact with each other, I feel that psych majors should be focused more on relevant studies and behavioral observations instead of how the government works. Psychology is a major that is set out to help people and give someone a better future, so I feel like focusing on the past techniques of American Government does not help much.
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary, State and Local Government is very important to some majors. I think that majors such as international studies and obviously political science should take this course. International studies it could be important because it shows what the past used to be like and to keep things running smoothly in the present, we must look into the past for mistakes. Political science majors because it is the basis of what the reset of their career will look like.
So yes, POLS 220 may not be extremely important to me, but it can be and IS important to others at WVU.
Kelly:
DeleteJust a friendly disagreement, but wouldn't you say that a better understanding of the role that the states and feds play in something like the prison system or psychiatric hospitals would be useful to your major?
I am a Social Work major and I feel as if this course is necessary but only for a couple of reasons. One reason being that many of our programs are funded by the state government and grants, so we do depend on the government to keep many of our programs up and running. Also, the government has a big impact on the views and behavior of the public. For example, when the government was shut down, a lot of programs that correspond with my major were in danger and did not have funding. Issues like this are not uncommon and I do believe that the general public should be educated in this particular area. Especially Social Work majors so this way we are more prepared rather than shocked by an event such as the government shutting down. Also being aware about what is going on in our world leaves more room for individuals to speak up if change is necessary. This should be viewed as a privilege to have a say in the ways of the government on a state level. Although I can not say politics or state and local government are interesting to me, it is something that I should be aware of.
ReplyDeleteI'm a business major. We shouldn't be required to take pols 220 because it doesn't affect our major relating to decision making. But the benefit of taking this class is to give me an insight to the fore-fathers of the American society, How the state and its laws came to be.
ReplyDeleteI'm from Nigeria and though i haven't been here for a long time, i find information relating to countries an interesting fact. For example, Louisiana. It was owned by the French and before it was sold to the Americans, it stretched to the borders of Canada.
I feel it should be required for Political Science and Journalism majors but should still be offered as a GEC for those interested in learning it.
- Oluwasegun I. Faleye
A friendly disagreement to this statement in that business and state and local government go hand and hand. One affects the other.
DeleteI agree with previous posts that this course is very important for every college student in any field of study: it teaches us how the local and state government work. Knowing how the complexity of government helps people to understand the system, such as who to vote for during elections. Because some people don’t really understand how the government works, they make up their own ideology about the government. So in conclusion, political science is important for understanding the structure and function of the government.
ReplyDeleteDickson D. Redd, Jr.
I am a social work major. I believe that pols 220 is important for college student because everyone should know about the state and local government and the example you gave us about the Maine state and how the local citizen involve in politics and they are able to influence the local government, that was good example because in the end whether you are a doctor or engineer if there is bad politics you will effect from it!
ReplyDeleteThe local citizen can track the politician and see how well they are doing their job!
I'm coming from overseas and i have never seen federalism before, and my country try to bring the federalism. that is the interesting part for me.
Mustafa Rfat
As a political science major, I do think it should be a requirement to take the Pols 220 course. This course specifically benefits each student who is majoring in political science, or a similar major like international studies, because it specifies in state and local government. From my perspective, knowing your own countries federal system, and how it operates within each state is very important and because of how each state operates slightly differently than one another. Students should need to know how/why state and local governments operate. On the other hand, if you are majoring in a department that government it irreverent, I do not think this course should be a requirement. Reason being, it will have almost next to nothing with what a student would have to know to succeed in their major. For example, if you are a sports management major, what does state and local government have to do with that? nothing. A student would benefit more if he or she was taking a required course that is related to their major. I do think it should be pushed to each student to enroll in this course, but in the end, it needs to come down to their personal decision. Pols 220 should be an requirement for people whose majors involve government, but it is more of a distraction for those whose majors do not relate to it.
ReplyDeleteBrandon Izzo
I think taking a Political Science class, especially on state and local government can benefit everyone no matter their major. In my high school you have the choice to take a Government class senior year and many people do take the class because you learn so much about our state government (and you get to go on cool field trips to watch court cases). Taking a class about state and local government teaches you things that will benefit you now and in the future. I always hear about people getting in trouble because they don't know their rights, learning about the laws in your area can help you to avoid that. I am surprised this is not a course required for all majors, I think the name of it being "political science" is what scares away people or makes them nervous to take this class. I know in our generation you meet very few people who care about politics at all, manly because of the horrible situation our government has gotten itself into. Overall I think more people would benefit from taking a class in political science especially if it is about their state/local government, maybe if more people cared about that kind of stuff we would be in the situation we are?
ReplyDeleteI believe that this class should be optional for journalism students depending on what the individual students want to go into after graduation. I am an advertising major, so I know that for that political advertising is a big section of advertising. I personally have no interest working in political advertising therefore I do not believe I should have to take this class. I agree that it is good for students to be well rounded and knowledgeable about what is going on in their government, but POLS 201 and POLS 220 probably won't stick with me past my graduation. They are subjects that do not interest me and are only memorized until the final is finished. I think a better class for journalism students might be a history class of what has happened throughout the history of the individual majors such as advertising. The class could have a section of political science within it, but it would not be the whole class.
ReplyDeleteSarah Collins
I am an Engineering student, with emphasis in Mining and Civil. I think that taking Pols220 is a good idea for all engineering students. It is good to know the difference between state and local government, and which laws apply in certain situations. If I build a bridge as a Professional Engineer and it falls, would I be held liable by the state or federal government? If the government is electing a representative, wouldn't it be wise for me to vote for someone who will support the mining industry? Taking this course will keep everyone on top of the state, federal, and local government actions. Not a bad idea for any student.
ReplyDeleteJordan Atkins
Departments should require students to take POLS 220. I am an Education major pursuing a masters in secondary history. According to the benedum program, this is a required course for me to get my masters. It is important to me to take the class because of what I am trying to do in life, which is teach high school kids history. I think it is a great thing to know something about state and local government. Not only do I believe it is something that will be important for you I think it is something that is crucial for you to know, in any department. We as citizens should know the local and state rights we have under the constitution.
ReplyDeleteI am a Journalism major with an emphasis in Public Relations here at West Virginia. I do believe that this Political Science class should be required for the Journalism school which it is. Depending on the direction in which a student wants to apply their journalism skills, having a background on our state and local governments definitely will help that student for various aspects expected with in journalism career. For instance, let's say I throw myself out there into the public relations field being unfamiliar of the functions and duties of our state and local governments. In the meantime, I am responsible for writing a press release regarding the current dilemma with our local Congress's representatives not following through with their responsibilities. Being uneducated with this particular topic will require researching which should be unnecessary. This example is relatable to any other projects concerning political science that are dealt with in the PR field. Without any background in state and local government, I believe I would have an unsuccessful PR future ahead of me.
ReplyDeleteI am also in the Education program pursuing a masters in secondary history as well. According to the requirements of the benedum program I am required to take this course. I feel as though it is very important for me to take this course because of the nature of work I am pursuing. A high school history teacher should understand how the US government and state and local governments works. I believe that everyone should have to take introductory political science classes because everyone should understand the basics of how our government operates. Many people do not understand how the government operates but they criticize politicians when they do not even understand what they are talking about. I really think that political science is interesting and I am glad I am required to take this course
ReplyDeleteMy major is General Studies, but right now I'm applying to the Social Work program. Looking at it from a General Studies point of view, I'd be on the fence if this class should be required or not. But I do believe that since it's a major to explore on what you may or may not like, a Political Science class should be taken at some point or another. With me applying to the Social Work major, I do think that this class should be required for students to take. This class teaches you about your state and local government and that's pretty important for a Social Worker to know about that. Political Science in general goes along with Social Work because you have to be aware with different programs and organizations that the government is funding for them and the opportunities that you can give clients. One thing that should be brought to people’s attention and that I also do not have much knowledge of is about the institutions. We vote for these people in our area and have no idea who they are or sometimes what their position is. With this class, I will gain knowledge of knowing more about my state and the government that is affecting me on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteDorothy DeVine
I am a Public Relations major. Before taking this class and POLS 102, I thought it was silly that we had to take these classes, but now that I'm learning more about the national and state governments, I can see how it is efficient. That being said, I do think it should be required. There are way too many people in the country that don't know about the way our government works, especially state government, myself included. Though I do believe it should be required, I think they should make it easier for students not majoring in Political Science. POLS 102 was hard for me and I studied harder for it than any other class I've had, which doesn't make sense to me. As I've mentioned, there are definitely benefits in taking POLS 220. I honestly don't know much about West Virginia's state government or what is involved with it. I don't see how I can form any kind of opinion about what is happening in the state if I don't educate myself. As for not having the chance to take certain other classes due to taking POLS 220, this is a good point. I haven't thought of what I may be missing because of required classes, but I personally would probably be able to minor in English if I didn't have to take certain required classes. My excuse for not minoring in English was always that I didn't have enough time to focus on those classes.
ReplyDelete- Rachel Duryea
I am a Journalism major and I feel that we should be required to take POLS 220. I feel that any major or department should have their students take POLS 220. By having students take this class they will have a better understanding about state and local government, which is important no mater what your major is. This course is required for my major but I feel that it is for my own good. By taking POLS 220 I will be able to understand what is going on around me or wherever my future job might take me. This course will prepare me for a possible job opportunity that has something to do with state and local government. I feel that there is a substantial amount of people in this country who simply don't know what is going on with our government, including myself. Being a West Virginian, I can honestly say I do not know that much about our state government. Which is why I am happy to be taking POLS 220 because by the end of this class I will have a strong opinion about West Virginia's state and local government.
ReplyDelete- Morgan McPherson
I am an Advertising major (housed within the school of Journalism) and I believe that POLS 220 should be a requirement for not only my major but all majors. Many people, both students and adults, do not have a solid understanding on how state and local government works as well as its history. As an Advertising major having a better understanding of Political Science will help me with my future career especially dealing with any type of political advertisements.The reason why I think that all majors should require it is because you only learn a little about the government in high school and by the time you are in college you forget a lot of the fine details. The understanding of state and local government is important to everyone since it affects you as a citizen and will be present in your life and any future career choices. Also, we are the future decision holders for the next generation and I think that it would be of best interest if everyone has at least a basic understanding on how our government is structured.
ReplyDelete-Valerie Bennett
I do think that departments should require students to take Political Science 220 for two reasons. The first reason being that last semester I had to take Political Science 102, which I surprisingly found very interesting. Actually, so interesting that I almost changed my minor from communications to political science. I wouldn't have known I had an interest in the field unless it was required for my major. This is a major reasons why I think it is good to require this course. The second reason that this course should be required is because being educated in other areas than what you are studying can in turn help you broaden and expand interests within the given major. For example, I am a public relations major, so it is good to have a background in political science as it can open the door for opportunities within the field of public relations. And as students that will one day be living completely on our own, with families to support so it is good for us to learn about the past so that we can better our future for ourselves and our children. My preference would be to take classes that are more geared towards my major, however the advantages that this class offers outweighs the tradeoff of taking other classes in place of Political Science 220.
ReplyDeleteBeing a graduate of the Poli Sci 102 class, I have seen a TON of similarity in the lectures of the two classes while I also see many DIFFERENCES. Looking through the syllabus for this class I see many things that are going to be the same that I learned from my Poli Sci 102 class. I feel like both classes have a unique spin on the different topics but it was almost laughable how similarly the two classes began with federalism and anti federalism but I guess starting there makes sense since it is the beginning of American politics and all. Also, Professor Berch has been hinting at the fact that the federal governments power has expanded immensely over time... We learned all about this in my Poli Sci 102 class. So what I'm getting at is since both classes have unique spins on the different subject matters I do feel as if people should be required to take ONE OF THE TWO classes if they are in ANY major. I am a Poli Sci/Economics major so I chose to take both but I feel as if anyone that comes to college should leave with some knowledge of the government and who represents them, whether it be state/local government (220) OR the United States government (102), I feel as if that is EXTREMELY important part of being a well rounded person.~~
ReplyDelete-- Dustin Seabolt
I agree with Dustin Seabolt’s statement that all students should be required to take either POLS 102 or POLS 220 in order to gain the basic understanding of our country’s government that is necessary to be a well-informed citizen and voter. In fact, such simple knowledge of government is clearly lacking among the general population as shown in this USA Today article (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-11-19-civics_N.htm). Furthermore, I would like to expand on this statement from the perspective of a social work major.
DeleteThe Social Work Department certainly had positive intentions when making POLS 220 a major requirement. They probably thought that social work students would benefit greatly from seeing how their future profession interacts with local and state governments. However, since this is a political science course taught by a political scientist, it is hardly likely that Professor Berch will tailor his lectures to fit the needs of social work students; I wouldn’t expect him to.
Instead, in replacement of POLS 220, the Social Work Department should create a class that specifically illustrates the connections between the field of social work and state and local government. Pairing this new course with the background knowledge that POLS 102 provides would be a much more effective use of social work majors’ time and money.
-Sarah Pettyjohn
I am a political science major so of course my opinion is going to be that this should be a course that all poli sci majors are required to take. Although for me it was a choice between this and a few others I still believe this is a very important course for my major and other majors to take. Although I have noticed a few people not understanding why this should be a requirement for their majors, it seems to be a more mutual agreement that this course contains very fundamental things that college students should become knowledgeable of before graduation. For my major a lot of the courses stem off of one another and are easily relatable. A course like this allows you to start with the fundamentals and lowest levels of government that we deal with and gives you a good base to build off of when trying to understand our government as a whole or governments in other countries. Already I can see how the topics we are going over now such as the amendments and federalism relate to other pols courses I have taken. For students with other majors I still believe this should be a course that needs to be taken. Although I can see why some wouldn't want it to be a requirement because some people have no interest in these types of classes, it is still important. Understanding the way local and state government works is important because you will know the ways the citizens affect government, and how they affect us. To have at least some ground knowledge on that is a good thing no matter what major you have or where you come from.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of what may be expected, I think Journalism majors should take Political Science courses, especially 220. As Journalist we are expected to report the facts, the story, etc.… to the listeners. The only way to accurately inform the people is to ask the right questions and with out a basic understanding of State and Local Gov.t journalists will not have the background to know what to ask. Also when writing an article on State actions, an understanding on how certain actions may effect the people is pertinent to provide a logical form for the readers to follow and make decisions off of. A quick web search revealed that in some cases political science majors would mkae better candidates for a reporting job on political actions because they have better understanding of Gov.t in general. > http://themonkeycage.org/2013/07/10/political-science-graduates-as-political-reporters/
ReplyDeleteI don’t really think POLS 220 prevents us from taking something else that could be more useful to our major. We have so many electives that if we don’t take what could be useful by time we graduate, it’s our fault. Also we have to take Geology, so like really? Now that’s useless. At least POLS gives us a background on one of the largest portions journalistic reporting. I can’t think of another course that we could replace it with.
I personally am not a Journalism major but I think it should be required for them, and other majors, to take this course. To be able to talk and inform others about topics you have to be over experienced and know what you're actually talking about. If someone wanted to be a journalist for something related to government they would need to know every little thing about how the government works and what not. I am studying social work and this course is required for my degree. I understand that this is a requirement for me because I will be working at state and government levels so it is only expected for me to know and understand all about it. When I get into the work place I need to know all the rules of the government to help me better assist my clients and lead them the right way. If I knew nothing about the U.S. government I would expect my clients to be very upset with me and look at me as being worthless help for them. Prior to this class I know very little of the government and rules but have only studied the history of it all. I hope to get a lot out of this class and I am confident this will relate to social work tremendously for myself. I 100% agree with others who have posted in regards of saying this class is a necessary requirement when other classes that are required won't be as useful. I think this class should be taken by everyone before they graduate so we have more knowledgeable people trying to impact the government rather than people who know little to nothing who want change but don't even understand how it all works.
ReplyDeleteHello all:
ReplyDeleteIn the opinion of an education major I would argue that it is actually not only useful for me to take State and Local Government, but also vital. In order to better understand the intricacies of the relationship between local, state, and federal educational leaders, it is important to fully grasp the general legal interconnections of all three.
I am certain that at some point during my career I am bound to run into some variety of headache regarding federal, state, or local requirements, especially as they relate to testing. While I do not personally approve of standardized testing, it is important for future teachers to familiarize themselves with those who have the authority to continue such a problematic system. Additionally, the relationship which teacher's unions play in educational affairs at all levels would definitely be better understood by taking a course such as State and Local Government. There is a fairly well-defined hierarchy in education and if any teacher wants to develop a long-lasting career in the public sector, then he or she must understand how the individual fits into that strata.
I am a Public Relations major housed in the Journalism School and I don't think this class should be required. My ideal would be that the Jschool would allow for students to specialize into career paths such as political PR, event planning, corporate, non profit, etc. In this world I would have POLS 220 required for students who are specializing in political pr and even non profit work because it would benefit their future career path. The knowledge in this class is not necessary to advance my career path as an event planner.
ReplyDeleteThough I do not think POLS 220 is necessary for my major, I do think it is a class that is necessary for life in general. This class would be good offered as a non major requirement, something that all students should be required to take before graduation so we know that at least a couple thousand people are going out into the world knowing something about how government works. It is a great class to know, but it is not related to my major in the current career path that I am working in.
Hello Kelsey,
DeleteI agree with you. I'm currently studying television journalism, and I realize questions on government only arise when covering a government beat. However, the problem with being a journalist is that we have to be flexible in the industry. A public relation major may be similar. For example, I have a mentor who specializes in public relations at the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals’ Public Information Office. She informed me of having a string of jobs as a reporter before landing in her success.
I believe writers need to knowledgeable of their surroundings. We need to be able to understand the state, local and federal government because it revolves around our everyday lives. We may be presented with a great opportunity, but the opportunity may also require us to be skilled in government communication. Let me present a situation, have you ever encountered a situation where you had to describe something you didn’t fully understand? Most writers will use vague words and details. In any field of writing, you must be distinguished in your ability to communicate.
You mentioned in your first paragraph of only wanting to be an event planner. I believe you were trying to describe your interest to not be in government. Nevertheless, I have provided information on a group called the Society of Government Meeting Professionals. They describe themselves to be dedicated to enhancing and promoting the knowledge and expertise of government meeting professionals. I believe the group may interest you because you are in the event planning field, and the information may serve as reference for your future career.
You can find the SGMP website at http://www.sgmp.org/.
Thank you for allowing me to comment on your post.
--Cory Sanchez
This class should be required not just for journalism or political science majors, but for every major. It is very important that students who attend WVU should have an understanding of how politics work on the state and local level. I know that most journalism majors feel that it shouldn't be required, but I think this should be made optional.
ReplyDeleteOnce students graduate and start living in communities and become homeowners having this background will be beneficial for those who want to have more of a say. I understand Kelsey's point and I am also a Public Relations major so I understand how this class may not seem relevant to our major, but the background in it can and probably will have some kind of long term effect.
I am a Social Work major so for me it's required to take this course. I feel that it should be required because our work deals greatly with state and local government. Most of the programs we help people with are funded by the government. I believe that anyone who has an opinion in politics should take some type of political science course. When they graduate and get out on their own it is beneficial to know how the local government works if they were to ever need anything done.
ReplyDeleteLike many others in this class, I am a public relations major with the school of journalism. I think it should be a requirement for all majors to take POLS 220 because it gives you more knowledge on your home and future residence state and local governments. Our generation is not aware of how federalism works in this democracy and I think this course will give a better understanding of how it works. As Professor Berch mentioned in class earlier, it is easier to contact state and local politicians than federal to change your personal problems. I feel this course will benefit all majors not matter what their future holds.
ReplyDelete-Abigail Roberts
I am a history major. Though this is not a requirement for my major it is honestly helpful towards my major. With the class so far about the development of our governmental system and the changes that this has brought about goes hand in hand with history. For historians are taught not to just look at what has happened in the past but how this effects the future, and its significance. This class goes deeper into the relation of state and local government than most history classes will which can be used in our studies to explain events in history from these relationships.
ReplyDeleteJournalism students going to an American college should be able to recite how their state and local government works. By taking POLS 220, students will gain the knowledge along with skills of how to report for their local community without error. In perspective, journalists who report illegitimate news can damage their credibility. This type of writing should be avoided because it can cause public distrust towards journalism. Good journalist must be able to report the facts while reporting with accuracy.
ReplyDeleteIn order to gain all the facts, journalists must understand their right while reporting on government. The right is called freedom of the press; it was presented in the Bill of Rights, a document that protected basic human rights. As the POLS 220 class learned on January 22, 2014, the Anti-Federalists supported the Bill of Rights because it created a limited government. The Federalists, on the other hand, opposed the Bill of Rights because they wanted an unlimited government. According to the American Civil Liberties Union website, the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791 to allow protection for the press. (For more Bill of Rights history, students can examine the ACLU website at https://www.aclu.org/racial-justice_prisoners-rights_drug-law-reform_immigrants-rights/bill-rights-brief-history.) Journalists can still use freedom of the press to supplement their reporting.
The clause is generally known to stop the government from interfering with the press. However, there are exceptions to the right. As listed by Legislative Attorney Henry Cohen, freedom of the press does not provide full protection for “commercial speech, defamation (libel and slander), speech that may be harmful to children, speech broadcast on radio and television, and public employees’ speech.” (More information can be found at https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/95-815.pdf.) The Supreme Court has also guaranteed no protection for obscenity, child obscenity, and speech that advocates the use of force or law violation. In other words, journalists must report in good taste. (For information on how to report in good taste, student journalists should check the news manual website at http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%203/volume3_61.htm.)
The class on January 22, 2014 allowed me to connect the ideological perspectives of Federalism and Anti-Federalism to my future right as a journalist. However, there is a tradeoff to study POLS 220, rather than another journalism course. A journalism course could have expanding my writing proficiency. However, I now believe I am becoming more proficient through my 300-400 level courses and student jobs. All American journalists should voluntarily take a course in state and local government to better understand government relations. I will use my real-life experience as an example.
As a senior at the P.I. Reed School of Journalism, I had to take a public affairs course that required me to report on local government. The most challenging assignment was to report on a locally elected government official. The information was overwhelming. I found myself Google searching government words I didn’t understand, exploring the Monongalia County’s election process, and reading piles of papers and books in the County Clerk’s office. Least to say, I could have saved some time if I understood my local government. Journalism students will benefit from POLS 220 by having the ability to quickly report a complex social system.
--Cory Sanchez
I am a social work major, so POLS 220 is a requirement for me. I think it is a necessary requirement for most majors and very useful. In the field of social work you must have an understanding of state and local government. I also think the information that I will learn throughout this course would be helpful to people of many majors. Everyone should have some knowledge about their government.
ReplyDeleteI believe that political science 220 should be a requirement for college students because it gives you a much better understanding of government and as young adults, we need to be informed of the institution that we take orders from. POLS 220 has already given me more insight into the amendments that were passed prior to the Civil War and why they were passed, something my high school government course failed to cover. This class also has made me think more about how the demographics and location of an area has such a profound affect on the scope and size of that region's politics. This class has also helped me to understand more of the governmental system in place in Morgantown, something I had absolutely no concept of prior to moving to campus. I think this class should be mandatory for all students because you start to realize that you may be entitled to more than you're getting from your local politicians and I found that out during class discussion.
ReplyDeleteI am a social work major here at WVU and we are required to take POLS 220. I believe that it is important for social work students to take this course to understand the state and local government. Social work is mostly based on the state and local government unless you are a national representative. Most of the programs we offer and recommend to our clients are funded by the government. We depend on the government to keep our organizations, facilities, and programs funded and open. Social workers understanding how the government works is very important in our careers. If we did not understand how the government worked than we would not be able to do our job to its full potential. There might be a time when I need to stand up to the government to get something to be changed for an organization or clients that I have and the only way I would be able to do that is to understand exactly how the government works and to prove to them that there needs to be a change for my clients or organizations to have what they need to survive and prosper. I think it is important for everyone to understand how the government works because it does not really matter what major you are in. The government effects everyone's lives in some way either through your career choice or through your personal life. So that being said I do think that every one should be required to take POLS 220.
ReplyDeleteI'm a political science major, so of course I believe it's necessary for my major to take this course. As for other majors, I think it varies. Most people learn this information in high school government and history classes. If a journalism student wants to pursue a career in political writing or advertising, then they should definitely take this course. If a person has no desire to go into politics, then they shouldn't be forced to take the class. Even if this course wasn't required, many people should consider taking it as an elective because it's important to know about your local and state government even if you're not going to use it in your field of work. There are many majors who can benefit from this course, but then again there are many majors who shouldn't have to take it unless they feel like they need to be more informed about our government.
ReplyDeleteAs a Political Science major, I think it is important for everyone to know at least the basic functions of government. That is why I think it is positive that certain majors, like journalism, take POLS 220. The relationship between the federal, stet, and local entities is of particular importance for those that are going to be involved in the media.
ReplyDeleteHypothetically, the media is the watchdog of the people over the government; a relationship which is cemented by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and verified by cases like New York Times v. United States (http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1970/1970_1873). Since this is the case, it is important for these people to understand the basic relationships between the branches and levels of government. This is important because the people rely on reporters to provide accurate and informative information that they do not have the tools to acquire themselves.
Along with this, reporters most commonly report on issues that are relevant to the local level. This means that an understanding of the state and local level of government is imperative for successful completion of the reporters assigned duties.
In conclusion, POLS 220 should be required for like journalism, and would be extremely beneficial for most majors. An understanding of how government functions is important for all people in order to make educated decisions in civic engagement. Understanding your state and local government will also make it easier lobby for your interests as an individual because it will grant you the knowledge to know exactly where to turn.
I am a Journalism major and do not believe that Political science 220 should be a required course. I am personally interested about how the government works and want to learn more about it so I probably would have taken this class regardless but I do not think it should be a requirement. Some other journalism majors argue that it should be required because politics is a popular topic to write about in the journalism world. This may be correct but there are many, many more fields that do not require any knowledge of politics whatsoever and if one wishes to pursue a journalism career involving politics then they should chose to take this class on their own. I personally believe that everyone should be better educated and participate more in politics, however I do not see how political science can directly benefit any journalism major who is not interested in writing about politics as a career.
ReplyDeleteI am a business major and I believe students should take POLS 220. Even though it is not a requirement for me to take this course, it's not a bad thing to understand how our governments work. I believe it's a necessity for students to be informed about politics because it is an important thing to know. It's good to know the differences between state and local government. It's also important to know which laws are applied in certain places. Most of the programs are funded by the government. Many facilities are dependent on the funding by the government.
ReplyDeleteAs a Journalism major i do believe that Pols 220 should be a requirement. Having the knowledge about Local and State government will, in my opinion, help a journalist succeed in the journalism field. Some Journalism majors might argue that they should not be required to take this course because they do not want to work or report about politics and government. But, to be a successful journalist you have to report and create articles on what is happening currently, and what people care about reading, which a lot of the times have to do with local and state government.
ReplyDeleteMy major is Public Relations which is in the journalism school. I believe all departments should require students to take POLS 220 so they have an understanding of how the country functions. It is beneficial especially for our generation to know how politics functions so we vote with knowledge of what going on. The tradeoff of taking a class such as POLS 220 compared to geology, would be more beneficial because you can use the elements you learn in POLS 220 more in everyday life. Even though a class like geology would be important in terms of knowing the origins of the planet, POLS 220 allows you to apply what you learn to what is happening now in terms of the government/politics. Another course my major should require would be POLS 250 Intro to comparative politics. This course would be helpful because it could give you a better understanding about politics on both parties.
ReplyDeleteI believe that State and Local Government should be a requirement in order to complete the BSW, Social Work degree. Most Social Workers, no matter their trade, are going to be dealing directly with policies put in place by the local and state government, and need to be educated on how these things take effect in order to purposefully advocate for their clients as well as create change as much as possible in their position. It is necessary to understand our current system and its hand in public services and welfare programs to develop a realistic and efficient response to the needs of clients. This knowledge is also crucial in the development and upkeep of broader community projects such as grassroots, non-profit organizations and legal advocacy.
ReplyDeleteI am a Agricultural and Extension Education major with an emphasis in extension because I want to be a extension agent when I graduate. Along with the agriculture classes that I have to take I also have to take two political science classes, 102 and 220, public relations, journalism, and a public administration class. These classes are definitely out of my element but I have learned a lot from the ones that I have taken so far. As a extension agent I will work for the government so understanding how the state and local government works and what lead to us to work under this system will be very beneficial in my future. I am not a government or history person at all so if it was not for these classes being a requirement for my major I would not have taken this class. But by taken all of these classes I do not get to take as many agriculture classes as I would like. I understand that it is important to take these classes but personally I would much rather take agriculture classes. In my opinion so far much of our lecture has been information that I learned through 102, it could just be a refresher but if it turns out that the whole class is very similar to 102 I do not see the point in taking both of them. I hope that this is not the case because I like said earlier this class could be very beneficial to my future working in extension. So overall I do think that it is important for political sciences classes to be required, as long as they are not just repeating information over and over again. Other wise I believe that one political science class would be sufficient enough for my major to take.
ReplyDeleteAs a history major I believe that POLS 220 should not be a required course for my major; but it should be highly recommended that you take it. History and politics have always been closely related and one could only benefit from having a basic understanding of how local governments work. Personally I believe that having a basic knowledge of how state and local governments function, helps improve a person as a citizen.
ReplyDeleteI am a journalism major, and I believe that students in the program should be required to take POLS 220. I think this because it is important to understand the way the country functions when working in the field. For someone who is reporting on local and state issues each day, they best know what is going on so they can do a proper job reporting. I think the class benefits journalism majors because it allows them to learn about the world that they could possibly be working in. Although I believe that the class should be taken, I do see others views on why it could be useless. For example, if a journalism major were to land a job in the fashion industry they would not need to know about politics. Therefore, instead of taking a political science class, they would benefit more from a class given by the design school.
ReplyDeleteI am a social work major, and feel it is very important that every student is required to take POLS 220. I have taken a previous Government class prior to this one and learned a lot. It is very important to understand how our local government, state government and national government are ran and how they work. There are constant policy and law changes happening as we speak, and unless one is aware and pays attention to the news and other media sources, it can change in a blink of an eye. It is very important for social work students to take this class as well because there are many programs that are funded by the local and state government. These programs provide daycare resources, nutrition resources, healthcare, and it also provides job assistance. Without being aware of the laws and policies within the government a person resides in, they are less likely of being able to use the resources that are there and provided for them.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is extremely important for everyone to have a general knowledge of the basic institutions, processes and policy outputs of American subnational government. I think it is particularly important that young adults have a general understanding of how national and local governments work.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate everything that I learned in POLS 102 last semester and think I will benefit from POLS 220 as well, but I wish I would have had the opportunity to learn more about politics in high school so I could focus my college studies on classes more specific to my desired career. It is my understanding that high schools, on average, require only a semester of government class. Four months to teach and learn an entire political system is not nearly enough time. In my opinion, students should be exposed to more political science classes while they are in high school, and have the OPTION to further that knowledge while they are in college. I wish that Journalism majors were not required to take POLS 220; I wish that I learned more about the American political system before I arrived at West Virginia University.
That being said, I think it is still important for students to take POLS 220, due to the fact that most of the students in the class are hearing the information for the first time. We would be cheating ourselves if we graduated from college with no understanding of the distribution of power in the state and local politics, and for that reason, I am glad Journalism majors required to take POLS 220.
Megan Woods
I am a political science major and an economics minor , I do think that students should be required to take POLS220. I think that taking a course on government can be very beneficial for students especially for students that haven't studied Government in the past. Although a student may not be interested in politics or government, i think its important as Americans to know how our system works and why it is set up the way it is. Studying government benefits students, no matter what major he/she might be in.
ReplyDeleteI am a public relations major, within the School of Journalism, and this course is a requirement for my major. Not only should this course be required for the journalism majors, but also I think this course should be required for all majors. It is beneficial to every college student that wants to be successful in the working world and even further their education. After searching the WVU course schedule, I have not found any courses that would be more useful to every student than Political Science 220. However, some students may want this course to be an option for Objective 3 under the General Education Curriculum, as there are many interesting religion and history courses. Furthermore, there are many benefits from taking this course. By studying state and local government, students will be more prepared for the realities they will face in their professions. For example, knowing the laws, rules and regulations of the area you reside in, may be advantageous to you in your career. It is also very important to know how and when state and local governments interact. As discussed in Professor Berch’s last lecture, there is a power struggle between the national government and state and local governments. Power shifts have occurred between them, and they continue to occur. It is important to know what powers state and local governments hold opposed to the powers the national government holds. In addition, I agree with Abigail Roberts’ comments about the significance of studying state and local government to become informed about how federalism works in our republic because much of the young population does not have knowledge on this. Also, I found an article explaining the roles that states play in the financial distress of local governments.
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.pewstates.org/research/reports/the-state-role-in-local-government-financial-distress-85899492075
-Alexa Nagy
I am majoring in Communication Studies, and POLS 220 is not a requirement for the major. It is an option to take to fulfill the GEC 3 requirement. However, I think that this class should be a requirement for all majors. In my opinion, it is important that college students should have knowledge of state and local government simply because it is something that we all have in common, we all live in the United States. I think that it is vital to know how and why certain laws and rights were made for us, and to better our country. I chose this class for that reason. Politics is something that most college students do not know much about or care about now, but when we get older and start paying taxes and paying more attention to elections, they will be more important and we should know more about it. I just feel that more people, not matter what your major is, should know about the history of our government. I bet that most people do not know random simple facts like, what year the Declaration of Independence was signed, or how many articles are in the Bill of Rights. Taking this class will answer those questions and many more. I do not know much about other majors, but I think that POLS 220 is a class everyone should take. Engineers should be aware of laws before making power plants or whatever they do. Journalism majors should be aware of local laws before publishing articles that might go against it. If you are an Education major, and plan on being a teacher, you should definitely know state and local laws because you are working for the state. Pretty much, I just think that class is interesting and beneficial to everyone and should be required for graduation.
ReplyDeleteAnother course outside of my major that I feel should be required is a business course. I also think that students should know a little bit about how businesses and companies run because one day we will either own one or be working at one. We are all here to get an education and we should take advantage of classes offered at WVU to have a better knowledge of what is around us, even if it has nothing to do with our major.
As a Psychology major I do not necessarily believe that this class should be required for me to take. As interesting as it is, it does not directly effect my field. However, I am enrolled in this class because I do see other benefits of it. I do believe that everyone should understand what happens within their state and local government. They should be informed on how they can help change things in their community if they see something that needs changed. Being informed is not going to hurt anyone and is more beneficial than most realize.
ReplyDelete-Rebecca Flockerzi
As a Political Science major, I feel quite strongly that POLS 220 should be a major requirement. The ability to dissect and analyze different levels of government and their interactions requires a thorough understanding of their scope, structures, historical and contemporary purposes, and places of tension between them. This course provides an introduction to all of these and more.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with everything my PoliSci comrade, David Hancock, has said above about journalism, and only regret not being the first to reference New York Times v. United States! Indeed, the media must act to restrain unjust governance by providing accurate, informed accounts of a government's actions. Injustice and corruption can arise at all levels of government; therefore, it follows that the competent journalist must have knowledge of all levels of government.
In this way, I disagree with Robert Reilley, who seems to dispute Mr. Hancock's (as well as my) primary purpose of journalism. He asserts that there are several journalistic fields which are not actively political at any level and require no knowledge of State and Local Government. On two points I think he is wrong:
Firstly, the exercise of public commentary never exists in a vacuum. Whether in writing, on TV, over the radio, or in pictures and movies, every act of journalism requires firstly Freedom of the Press (instantiated in the Constitution, but executed also by state and local governments), and, beyond that, indirect interaction with state and local governments who tailor policies which either attract or repel small and corporate businesses (media outlets, for example), and allow the general population more or less income to spend on, say, journalistic pursuits. As those generally considered most in-tune with public opinion and general happenings, it seems the responsibility of all journalists to be aware of the function and procedures of these levels of government.
Secondly, though there are career paths in journalism which are less dependent on (though, as I argue, not wholly independent of) an understanding of politics, it seems reasonable that a school of journalism should train people in these areas to increase options available to graduates and, if duty calls, be able to exercise its primary purpose as expounded above.
Therefore, as I argue, POLS 220 should be a required class for both the Political Science and Journalism majors in particular. Moreover, it would be a beneficial class for any student, as everyone is affected by their state and local governments, and these are the easiest to contribute to as a layman. A better understanding of government is never a bad thing, and this class will only increase one's ability to use such tools of democracy.
I do not believe that all majors should be required to take POLS220, however I do believe that it is a very useful class for all students take. So many Americans are uneducated in our nations political history. I feel that it could only benefit our nations well being by educating the citizens of the political culture, especially the rising generations.
ReplyDeleteAs of right now I am an Engineering student, but I will soon be switching into the Political Science Department. With this being my only class involving politics I can say that I think it’s important for all students, no matter what their major, to take this class. It helps students understand that their state and local government takes a role in their day-to-day activities. As an example from class, if you have a concern with the US going to war can you call President Obama to express your thoughts? No. However, if you have a problem with snow removal in your area you can call your local city council and they will probably get back to you as soon as they can. The key is knowing who in your state and local government you can approach that will actually listen, which is something I’m sure we’ll learn in this class. By knowing the structure and workings of state and local government we can use it to our advantage as US citizens to be aware of the good our local officials can do.
ReplyDelete-Katherine Krause
I am currently in the process of changing my major to general business. I chose this course out of my interest in political science and the possibility of yet another major change. I also really enjoyed political science 102 and wanted to continue.
ReplyDeleteI think this course should be a requirement for most majors, one being business. I believe it is in every student's best interest to enroll, regardless of their major. Living in the United States it is necessary to have the knowledge and understanding of your state's government along with local, because both impact your life. The benefits of studying state and local government are great. The policies implemented by your home states and West Virginia affect us all. Marriage rights, the drinking age, and speed limits are all policies determined by the state government, gaining an understanding on the reasoning behind these policies can help you become a more educated and aware individual.
-Quinn Crosby
i am a criminology major and i don't believe that pols 220 should be required to take for that degree. i do however think that it wouldn't be a bad idea to take this class because this class will give you knowledge about state governments. i took this class because it is a GEC 3 requirement and also because i felt i could learn a lot from this class. after i graduate i want to work for the government and this class will give me a better understanding of how the government works. i feel that students should take this class because everyone should have knowledge on their state and local government and the ways that they are affected by the choices their government makes. most of us after we graduate are going to move to other states and if would be nice to know about those laws and policies of the state you plan on moving to so you know what to expect when you move to that state. if you plan on getting a state job i would also be a good idea to take this class so you can learn about the laws and policies of the state you plan on working for. this class can offer you a lot that you can use as you venture out into the world after you graduate.
ReplyDeleteShelby Kerns
My major is broadcast journalism, and I do think it should be required for all students to take Polisci 220. I believe it is real beneficial for people to learn about how local state and governments are run. Once we are out of college, regardless of what major you are, we are going to be out on our own. When we are all out in the real world I believe if I have some knowledge on state and government it will better help me adapt to the community. As US citizens we should be aware of what their local government officials are doing. We can never get a hold of Obama but we can get a hold of the local mayor and if your lucky possibly get a hold of your states governor if you have any problems that should be addressed. I understand that most majors jobs won't require knowledge on politics but if we are required to take this class in college it will be very beneficial in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAs Pre-Social Work major it is required that we take POLS 220. I personally believe that it makes sense that this course is required, most Social Workers work under the local and state government. Regardless of ones exact occupation they are going to constantly be dealing with policies from their local and state government. One would think it is important to understand how that local and state governments function and create polices. Advocacy tends to be a huge part of many Social Workers trades, understanding local and state government allows for proper advocacy and polices. I believe that any student would benefit from taking this course; it is crucial to understand local, state, and federal government. Many people in the US barely know anything about their government and how it functions.
ReplyDelete-Megan Collins
Public Relations, as major within the school of Journalism, requires that I take POLS 220. Similar to a few other courses they require, I cant say that I feel the material is crucial to my understanding the PR profession. However, I do believe that overall, the material covered in this course can be beneficial to me and the general population in the long-run.
ReplyDeleteWhile I have no intensions of using my degree in Public Relations as a news personality, there are some people who do. For those who do a small background into the history of the government can make a job reporting about legislative decision or interviewing a politician on their decisions in office much easier. Having some understanding of government process and history would make it much easier to prep for such a day.
In respect to the rest of the population and myself, classes such as this one, can teach you to better understand how the federal and local governments work. Thus more effectively voicing and reinforcing your opinions to the governments involved within your everyday life. Ensuring that you are more familiar with your rights and abilities to actively make the government work for or with you. Leading to what could be a more educated and active populous. Therefore, regardless of your field of study, I feel that a light background in Political Science can be beneficial to any and everyone and should be required.
I am a Chemistry major and I plan to attend Pharmacy School. I do believe POLS 220 should be a required course for all majors. Before the start of this class I thought it would be useless to me, but I am starting to realize how little I know about state and local government. I am actually starting to find the class interesting. I know that high schools require government classes for their students, but in all honesty those classes are a joke. I did not learn anything from the government class that I took my senior year of high school. People should have an understanding of this subject before they get out into the real world. When it comes time to vote for local and state politicians we should at least have a little understanding of the issues and how the issues will affect our state. I also feel that this will be beneficial to me because as a pharmacist I will be required to understand state laws that relate to my job. Not all laws relating to a pharmacy will be the same in each state. Overall, I am happy that I am taking this class because I know that I am going to walk away with a better understanding of how my local and state government works. I also know that this is a class that will benefit me in the future.
ReplyDeleteAmber Rose
My major is Social Work and I think it's important for this to be a required course for my major, since I will be working very closely with law enforcement and the courts. Understanding local laws and how the system works are going to be a big part of what I am and am not allowed to do when working with the people I will be trying to help. Though I'm not particularly psyched about the course, I know that it will help me hugely in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAs a political science major, I believe that state and local government should be a required course. Many of the students enrolled in POLS 220 have already completed POLS 102 (Introduction to American Government). POLS 102 is an introduction to the processes and members of government, yet doesn’t go into great detail of how state and local governments work or why we have them. State and local government is very important for Political Science majors to learn because the majority of government jobs available are among the state and local level. POLS 220 can give the average student a better understanding of why we have states and further explain the duties and actions of local political actors.
ReplyDeleteBeing knowledgeable about state and local government can also help political science students in other Political Science classes. My belief is that the central focus of Political Science is to identify and fully understand how our Federal system works. The Political Science curriculum is broken up into many different classes such as “Legislative Process”, “Criminal Law”, or “State and Local Government.” The purpose is to learn and build a series of tools in order to be knowledgeable enough to influence or analyze politics post-graduation. More importantly, this course can give students knowledge on how they can make a difference in their states or local institutions.
Well said Marcus.
DeleteAs a Journalism major, I believe that Political Science 220 should be a requirement. Knowledge of state and local government is useful to anyone in the world, but particularly useful in the world of Journalism. When one turns on the news or opens a newspaper, government issues seem to almost always take center stage. That alone merits the need for any potential journalist to have a general understanding of local government and policy. Although I do not believe the course should be required for every major the university offers, I feel that any student who takes the course would be doing themselves a huge favor. Regardless of one's profession, it is important to be educated in matters of government and policy in today's society. This knowledge is essential when it comes to endeavors such as voting, paying your taxes, and trying to start a business. One cannot hope to go about such things without being properly educated on the subject. The government is supposed to help us, but we must step up and use it. However, we can only do this if we understand how it works, and I hope this class will teach me that.
ReplyDelete- Jesse Hamrick
As a Public Relations major hoping to work in the entertainment industry, I personally do not believe POLS 220 should be a requirement for my studies. However, a large majority of public relations students work in different industries, one of them being politics. For that sole reason, I believe that POLS 220 should absolutely be a requirement for all public relations majors. In addition, every major should be required to take the course, whether it has anything to do with your future career plans or not.
ReplyDeleteOne large reason I believe State and Local Government should be required to be studied by all students is because everyone should know how their community and state government is run. For public relations and journalism students, there will be a good amount of times when a politician is caught in a scandal and a public relations professional is going to be needed to create a mutual statement to the public; or when a journalist is going to report a story about two opposing candidates in an upcoming election. In order to execute their jobs correctly and successfully in these situations, one must know about the fundamentals about politics.
As an advertising major, I am happy that POLS220 is a required course for my major. I believe it should be a required course for every major at WVU. Many of my classmates have argued that the state and local government are not relevant to their major and understanding how they work will not help them in their future careers. While this may or may not be true, I still believe that understanding how the state and local government work will benefit them in some way at some point in their lives.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, during one of our first classes we discussed who we would contact in the government if we had a problem, such as the city roads not being plowed. Understanding who to contact and when it is appropriate to contact them will prove to be useful regardless of my future career. I am sure that at some point I will have an issue that my state or local government will be able to help me with.
I do not think there is trade off by making this course required. Students have four years to take every course that is required as well as the courses that they feel are beneficial or just fun. However, there are other courses in addition to POLS220 that I think should be required. The school of Journalism requires students to take both macro and micro economics as well as an accounting course. While these courses may not be fun, they are necessary. I believe that these are all beneficial courses because they offer skills that will make students' professional and adult lives easier. I also think that there should be a required resume and career planning course for seniors so that they can be better prepared for life after graduation.
Having a basic understanding of accounting, economics, state and local government, as well as career planning will help students become more successful well-rounded adults. Or at least help them pretend to be.
-Stephanie Burt
I'm a history major with a minor in political science here, so I had to take this class. I think taking a class based on state and local government would benefit anyone in any major. It's important for a citizen of any state to know how their state government works. How else would you be able to make a logical argument about what's going on in your state if you have no idea how your state government even works? It's a class that will provide the knowledge you need to go forward into that understanding.
ReplyDeleteAs a journalism major with a focus in PR, I believe POLS220 should defiantly be a requirement for students to take. Not only should this course just be required in journalism, I personally think it should be a requirement in every major. Although most students would say that they aren't going to find it beneficial in their life post graduation, I think it is essential that a graduate of any university to have some sort of political science back ground. I feel that a lot of Americans know absolutely nothing about their national or state government and having POLS220 as a requirement would be a helpful insight to any student no matter what professional route they take.
ReplyDeleteAs far as journalism individually, I think it should always remain a requirement. There are so many different opportunities in journalism and having a little education on our state and national government is essential. This course can prepare any journalism student for their careers in the real world and help with job opportunities. Many PR majors will get jobs as an agent for a member of government and will need to have a pretty strong back bone in political science. Another way this course is beneficial is because people in PR always need to give out factual and current information on their state and national government. An example of this is a press release that needs to be completed on inside local or national government issue.
In essence, I think this course would really benefit any student in any major, and would defiantly be more beneficial post graduation then many other classes offered and required.
I am a Secondary Education major in the Benedum Collaborative Program. State and local law is required for this major and I agree with the logic behind it. I will be a high school social studies teacher and it is important to have a basic understanding of our local and state laws because social studies encompasses classes, such as Ethics, Government, and state history. It would be difficult for me to explain the politics behind state decisions of the past without understanding the laws and political structure within our state.
ReplyDeleteI’m an exercise physiology major and I feel that it is not necessary for this class to be required for this major. Although you can learn a lot of great information in this class I do not think it will affect the exercise physiology field. On the other hand I chose to take this class because I felt that I didn’t know enough about state and local government. Considering most of my classes are science based its nice to get away from that and learn about the real world. I went into this class thinking I would not enjoy it at all since I’ve never taken a POLS class but I found it to be very interesting so far. I have learned a lot these past couple weeks and I feel like this class will benefit me in the future when I’m in the real world.
ReplyDeleteThis class is not required for my major, environmental and natural resource economics, but it is for my minor, which is political science. I believe that most majors should be required to take this course. It is useful in understanding the daily impacts that our state government has on our lives, and how our election choices can influence our professional practices. All fields are affected by politics, including journalism and Davis college majors. While this class could take away from another course that the student may want to take, few rival this class’s relevance on such a variety of majors. It is understandable that people who are not interested in politics would not enjoy this class, but it is a class that is based on real world examples, and can be utilized in our lives, no matter our career choices.
ReplyDeleteNo, I do not believe this class should be a required course for a number of reasons.
ReplyDeleteI am an engineering major, and I pay good money to get an education in engineering. I did not come to college to be a "well rounded" student. I came to college to get a career in engineering, and the state and local government class helps very little with that career path.
Secondly, the biggest reason it shouldn't be required, is because it should be each individuals responsibility to know about the government. It is our (the people) government, and we should have a firm grasp of it way before graduating high school. Therefore, students should not be required to take it because they should have the responsibility and motivation to learn and understand it for themselves. After all, it is their government, they should learn all they can as soon as they can, and shouldn't need a class in college for it.
-Ray Miller
As a Social Work major, I believe this is a necessary class to take. The type of jobs a social worker can accomplish as well as to what extent is largely funded by legislature that goes through both state and local government. It is important for anyone going into the field of Social Work to understand how these laws come about to be able to best utilize them. Especially important is local government for a social worker, and it is better to have this class that gives a broader view including other states and the government as a whole rather then a class that would focus just on West Virginia legislature. This is important because many of the Social Work majors plan on going to other states to practice and having a big picture view will be more helpful. This may not be as of an important class to all majors but to my major I believe it to be very important.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a political science course be required for every college student. For the simple fact that everyone in the United States should have a general idea on how our country runs. pols 220, state and local government is also very important for understanding how your own state works. Although it might take away from a class you need to take I believe it doesn't harm anything in taking an political science class.
ReplyDeleteAs a Journalism major, I do think some simple communications classes should be required. I have seen that it should be "personal responsibilities" for people to learn about the government but its very rare that people actually go out of there way to do such a thing.
-Jesse Costanza
As an advertising major I don't think that this class is extremely beneficial to helping me in my courses.I think that as a journalism major, I should be required to take a marketing class to further build my understanding for the industry.
ReplyDeleteHowever I feel like this class should be required for all majors, because it's good for students to understand and learn about state and national government. Before this class I don't think I realized how much more there is to learn. I feel as though there are a lot of other students that don't have the knowledge about government and moving forward beyond college they need to know about the government to make decisions in their lives.
I am a broadcast journalism major which is a part of the journalism school here. I would say that taking POLS courses should definitely be a requirement no matter what major you study. Taking a POLS course can help every student understand more clearly how our government works. I believe personally that after taking POLS I will be able to make a better judged decision on who to vote for in our next election, since I didn't feel well enough prepared to vote this past year. I also believe it is more important for anyone in our generation to to take this courses because we are the up and coming voters in America that can change the vote. Anyone, no matter what major we are taking, should be required to take POLS classes to learn about the functions of our local and state governments. I know personally after taking POLS 102 I felt like a had a decent background knowledge of how the political system worked. Overall, I would recommend that every college student should have to take a least one to two semesters of political science courses based on what major they are exactly. I know I cannot pick another course to take in replacement of that that I think would benefit me better in my major.
ReplyDeleteSigned by Brittany Cavanaugh
DeleteI am a Strategic Communications major which is within the Journalism field. Personally, I feel that it's good for political science to be a required course for my major, because journalists every day deal with plenty of political issues and it would be stupid to have a reporter talking about politics if they don't even understand it. Most majors require some amount of political knowledge and I don't think anyone should be complaining about this as a requirement because in America politics are such a big debate and everyone has some kind of voice in our political system, so it's important that people know what they're talking about for the sake of this country.
ReplyDelete- Alexandra Henderson
I am a Political Science major so PS220 is required for obvious reasons. That being said, I am going to examine if the question of, "Should departments require students to take PS220?" as if I were a Journalism major. Throughout my peers' comments, there seems to be a concurrence that it is a good idea for students to have an understanding of their local government. The major premises to this conclusion coming from concepts we learned in class such as, it is much easier and more effective to call the head of your specific township about a local issue than calling the president about a national issue. In other words, the decisions made by local state officials often times impact an individual's daily life much more than decisions from the federal government.
ReplyDeleteHowever, agreement about PS220's importance does not necessarily mean it should be required. After all, telling students, they should take this course is completely different from telling them they are required to take this course. For that reason, I feel that a Political Science GEC for Journalism majors should be required, but I do not feel it be necessary that it specifically is PS220. Under the concept of Individualism, an individual will due what is best for his or herself. I say we use this concept and let the students chose what Political Science course they take. This will allow students to chose which Political Science course they feel will benefit them most in their desired career path because, what is good for one student is not necessarily good for another student. For example, one student might have a great prior knowledge on local government and knows little about International Relations. In this case the student could chose to take PS 260 (Introduction to International Relations) as opposed to PS 220. When all students are required to take the same Political Science course, it squanders the individuals ability to make the choice on what is best for his or herself.
I do believe that GEC courses are of great importance for students and want to make clear that I am not in opposition to them. This importance is shown empirically in the literature review attached conducted by the University of Hawaii. This literature review leaves no need for normative statements and claims on whether or not GECs are beneficial to a student. In conclusion, I feel that GECs are beneficial, but students should be able to pick which course in each different subject they see as most beneficial for themselves. For that reason, I acknowledge the importance of PS220 but do not feel that it should be required for ALL Journalism majors.
Link: http://www.hawaii.edu/ovppp/gened/litrev.htm
-Nathan Wagner
*do
DeletePersonally, I believe that this class would be beneficial to students, regardless of major. My reasoning for this draws from the simple fact all should have at least a basic understanding of how state and local governments function and why.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have read some of the other comments and agree with one of the recurring statements. It should be the responsibility of the individual to become more aware and knowledgeable of their government. Although I may think it is a ridiculous idea, a person should be free to choose not to learn something if they do not wish.
I agree with the statement that students should be required to take some sort of political science class but should not be limited to pols 220. I myself would have most likely gravitated towards pols 220 because i have little knowledge on local and state governments and as discussed in class I have a much better chance getting on the phone with a state or town elected official rather than president Obama. One course that I would replace with another political science course would be first year seminar. Though it was informative I don't it was worth my three hours a week or three credits it is awarded. Don't get me wrong I love an easy A but I also value my time and education. So in the end I am happy to be taking pols 220 and looks forward to learning more about state and local government and believe that first year seminar should be replaced with a political science class of some sort.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Birch claimed that state and local government affect us more than federal government, for political change is more feasible at a local level than a national one. However, it is important to remember political participation at any level is not mandatory. An individual can choose to not concern himself/herself with politics. Since voting is optional in the United States, everyone does not need to be forced to take a course about state and local government. On the other hand, if the United States was structured as Australia is, where every citizen is required to vote or else they are fined, then Political Science 220 should certainly be required for everyone (If you don’t believe me about Australia, check out the Australian Electoral Commission’s website: http://www.aec.gov.au/faqs/voting_australia.htm).
ReplyDeleteI agree with numerous previous posts that someone majoring in political science should be required to take this course. A student with a political science major is exposed predominantly to the federal government, so in order to better expose members of the major to local government, they should take political science 220. As for other majors, I feel that this course should not be mandatory for the reasons I stated above. If someone is not interested in politics, then he/she should not be forced to take a course about politics. Making every single student at the university take this course would dilute the quality of the course. Students would be wasting their time in a class that does not apply to them or interest them as much as another course could. Likewise, professors’ lessons would often be futile with these students that were simply forced to take the subject. The opportunity cost of both these students and professors would suggest that political science should not be mandatory for students in a major outside of political science. Many previous posts have stated that the course should be required for everyone because they feel it is important and will impact them. The importance and impact of a class should usually be determined by the student himself/herself, not by an outside third party. Some students’ time would be better spent in another class as opposed to this one; interests are subjective, not objective.
I’m a public relations major, and I really think that the political science courses that I have had to take have only helped me. It did seem a little weird at first, but in every major it’s important to know the basics of law. Knowing what is and isn't legal in state and local government can keep a public relations representative in check and keep them out of legal trouble. A course that I think my major should require instead of political science is more theatre classes; I was an acting major before switching to PR and the acting , voice, and dance classes I was required to take for that major have only helped me in the PR world; I’m not afraid of public speaking and I know how to enunciate and speak from my diaphragm and not my throat, which makes it possible for me to speak longer.
ReplyDelete--Mara Regling
I am a journalism major with intentions of going to law school after graduation, so I personally feel that the class requirement benefits me. Also, I feel as though it is a great opportunity for journalism majors to discover whether they want to take their career into the world of politics. Without Pols 220 being required, many students may never find that they could potentially enjoy covering this field of work. In addition, regardless of your major, requiring this class forces students to be informed on the roles of local and state governments and how the individual can utilize them in an efficient, productive way.
ReplyDeleteAs an advertising major, I believe that POLS 220 is not as valuable for my field as it might be for other majors. However, I think it is important to have a basic understanding of state and local government because it helps me understand how different states are set up. This information might be valuable when it comes to planning campaigns and understanding the needs and wants of the buying public.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, having a good understanding of the topic can definitely help and build credibility in political ads.
My major is social work, to become a medical social worker. I guess I could see where will MAYBE come into play with my major, but for it to be required, it shouldn't be. I don't think it should be required for any majors except history, political science, etc. If my major was dance, art, something of that nature, what does political science have to do with that? If I didn't have to be in this class, I wouldn't. I honestly don't like this subject, I think it's so boring and it doesn't interest me in the least bit.
ReplyDeleteBut, as far as required classes go, the only reason the University, and other colleges, "require" half of the classes that they do, is just to get money. For example, by the time we graduate high school, we've taken how many years of English? And you're telling me when I get to college I have to take more years of it? Because the last time that I checked a verb, is a very, is a verb, is a verb. It's all a crock of ****.
Requiring classes that have direct correlation with our major is understandable. But classes on the opposite end of the spectrum is ridiculous. We should have more say so in the classes that we take, after all, it's our education.
I believe that it is important to have a better understanding of the government through this class but I do think that it is not completely necessary for all majors, eg. psychology, communications, engineering and medicine. What I do think is that this class and many other political science classes should be required in your GEC's. It's very important to understand your government, not only to know what you're talking about but to also be aware of what type of country you live in and how history of the political system has changed over time.
ReplyDeleteI registered for this class while I was a forensic biology major because I was interested in political science. I have since switched my major to political science but I do not feel as though it should be necessary for a forensics major. Obviously for a political science major this class should be necessary. Also, as the majority of my classmates have mentioned, understanding how state and local government works is not only beneficial to us as US citizens but it should almost feel like an obligation to understand and be able to give a valid and knowledgeable opinion about the way politics and government that occur where it most directly effects (state and local). I feel as though a large portion of the citizens in this country not only don't understand or don't care about politics but also don't want to understand politics. This country was founded on the concept of a new government and has slowly lost that strong sense of patriotism and duty to itself in our citizens. If it was required for every major to take a state and local government course that could be a revolutionary step forward in creating a generation that is more involved in their government than the generation before them. If primary and secondary education systems offered students valuable information and skills that could help them in everyday life as well as academic information these courses may not need to be required. But because of the fact that a lot of skills are not taught in the classroom, these courses should be required at some point. In conclusion, I do believe that this course should be required for pretty much every major. Not because of it's relevance to the major but for it's ability to make a better American citizen out of the graduates of WVU.
ReplyDeleteI'm a philosophy major with a minor in political science so it obviously makes sense to require a student in my position to take pols 220. State and local government is an integral topic of study for anyone with law school aspirations. While it's obvious that some majors should be required to take the course others don't seem like their students would benefit as much from it. Personally I think everyone should take the class because it provides useful information about how the system we live in functions but for majors unrelated to politics it might just end up being another general credit class students complain about. We are required to take a wide range of classes to give us a more rounded education and I agree with that philosophy to a point but if every department got to add their class to the general credits list our students really would be here for seven years like wvu has become infamous for.
ReplyDeleteI am double majoring in social work and theatre. Both majors are extremely different from each other. At first before I started taking this class, I did think it was necessary for my social work major. By taking social work courses I've realized that the legislation has a large impact on the funding for programs that social workers become involved with. It is important for me to understand how the government works because the decisions made could greatly affect my area of work. I know the basics on how the government works, but political science 220 will better inform me by going into detail. As an American I believe that everyone should at least know the basics for how the government works. Every choice made will affect you in some way. The only problem I have with taking this political science course would be that I wish I had the opportunity to take a lower level political science course first before entering this class. Maybe political science should be required for all majors, but I do believe that the lowest level of political science should be the class required for everyone.
ReplyDelete-Kaitlyn Boothby
As a public relations major I do believe we should be required to take POLS 220. Personally I believe this class should be required for all majors. Everyone needs to know the basics of their state and local government. It is our job as citizens to know what is going on within our a states and cities, and if we are not properly educated then we are unable todo so. If there are not basic fundamentals learned then how are we properly educated to vote, and make decisions politically that would help determine the future of our states and local cities?
ReplyDelete-Anjelica D'Annunzio
My major is social work and I plan on working with clients who have mental disorders. In order for me to fully be able to understand what policies and laws protect or help these individuals I will have to have at least the bare minimum understanding of state and local government, so I think this class is very helpful in doing so. I also will have a better understanding for policies and how I can help change them if need be.
ReplyDeleteRachel Lessner
I'm a advertising major and i feel that POLS 202 may not exactly affect me as much compared to other majors because of advertising deals with clients more on a national level then just a state itself. However, with that being said, there may be times where complications between clients may arise and clients may sue within the particular state. With the knowledge of POLS 202, i believe that it could help ease the situation by having a better understanding of the laws and policies of the particular state.
ReplyDeleteRueben Lee.
I am a Social Work major and I feel that taking POLS 220 is a very beneficial course to take for my major as well as any other major. Firstly, in the context of Social Work, I need a pretty decent background in laws and the government for my job. My career will determine on who is in office, who is making the laws, and who is paying me to provide social services. Secondly, following up on that is the fact that to help keep who I think should be in office I would need to know about basic government. I need to know how to stay informed and keep in contact with the politics occurring around me. So far in POLS 220, I have learned how to stay informed and contact my local representatives. I have learned how basic government works and it helps to make intelligent decisions when I am dealing with the government and my opinions. Lastly, I think another person in some other major would benefit for similar reasons. Everyone should stay informed and involved in their government. Local and federal government determines things in our every day lives, and without providing a say you are allowing anything to happen outside of your control. All in all, it is very important to have the basic knowledge of the government around us, how it creates an impact on us and how we can create an impact on it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am a Political Science major and I do think that a State and Local Government course should be a requirement for my degree, but I honestly believe that this course could be beneficial to any student of any major. Specifically for a Political Science Major a solid understanding of State and Local Governments seems essential in my opinion. I believe that any person choosing to major in Political Science should work to obtain a prestigious understanding for government and its functions. While American Government, on a National level, has merit and reason to be understood, an understanding of Government on a State and Local level just seems to me to be more detrimental. State and Local Government is more specific and focuses on what you will most likely be dealing with throughout your life. If you are a Political Science major and you choose to pursue a governmental position with your degree, you are not going to start off working at a national level. You will most likely work your way up through your local government, and then to state and maybe eventually at some point you may work in government at a national level, but you may spend most if not all of your career working only in a State or Local position. Even if some day a person were to work as a member of our national government, it is still important that they understand the workings and what is going on with smaller more specific sectors of our system. I feel that this concept applies to any american. Most Americans as I learned in my American Government class with Professor Hickey are not well educated about our government at all, and I feel that everyone should at least understand their local government. As Professor Berch said, if we are faced with a problem in our city we aren't going to contact the president to try and solve the problem, and even if we had a problem with the National government or disagreed with something at a National level, we wouldn't be able to solve the issue ourselves, or solve it by contacting a National Government official, we would just try to elect a local or state official to represent us and pass our best interests up a chain of commands and hopefully have our needs met. I think that a State and Local government course is a very useful course. I think it is essential to all Political Science majors and I agree that it should be required, but I also think that any student could benefit from a solid understanding of their State and Local Government.
ReplyDeleteI believe any college student would benefit from taking this course to further their knowledge on state and local government. I’m a Journalism student and think that it’s a great-required elective for our program. Everyone should understand how the choices we makes as citizens on a daily basis influence what goes on in the government and also understand the importance of voting.
ReplyDeleteI am a social work major, I feel that pols 220 is very beneficial to my major because I will be offering services to the public that is provided by state and local government. This course will also keep me informed on who is in office and who I can reach out to and keep in contact with to be an advocate for change. Not only would social work majors benefit from taking this course, but I honestly believe that this should be a required course for the main reason that everyone should be informed and educated about our state and local government because they have the power to make change in our everyday lives, without having a say you are allowing the government to make decisions of your everyday life.
ReplyDeleteAs a public relations major in the P.I Reed School of Journalism, I believe that taking a course in political science should be a requirement for everyone regardless of department or major. Politics affect everyone’s life in one or another, and it is important that we understand our rights as U.S citizens. Along with that, it is important to know the different responsibilities of the national, state and local government so individuals can then evaluate the effectiveness of our government. There is a saying that goes “those who fail to learn from our past are doomed to repeat it,” and I firmly believe in that statement. Political science provides an explanation as to why our government operates the way it does today by illustrating our nation’s history.
ReplyDeleteIn particular, I believe that students enrolled in the School of Journalism should especially take political science because our nation heavily relies on journalists for political information. Journalists play a key role in politics, and they have the ability to influence our opinions.
-Alyssa Pluchino
As a journalism major, I do think that pols 220 should be a required course. Before coming into this class I had little knowledge on the political process which could cause issues for me as a reporter in the future. Not only do I think this class is important for my major but I also believe it should be a requirement for most majors. Many students only see politics and government as they are portrayed in the media. Teaching students the process behind our political system and government is imperative, especially in our country of democracy.
ReplyDeleteI am a public relations major, I feel that pols 220 should be required to take. Considering my major will require me to be educated on current political issues, this is a great way to start understanding how the system works, However, I also believe this class should be required for all majors. I think that it is extremely beneficial for all people to know the basic understanding of their state and local government. This only reflects on how we in the future make decisions based off of what is going on within our a states and cities. Regardless of ones major, in real world applications, having this knowledge should be required. Some of the reasons this course is beneficial is because it will, at least, provide us with the understanding of properly voting, and other political decisions that reflect on our own cities and states we may be living in.
ReplyDeleteI am a criminology major and I feel like pols 220 should be required for not just my major, but all majors. I know people would whine and complain because they don't think they need to know about the government and they don't care, but they really should. I believe you should always know the basic facts and history of the country you live in, especially since the people in the government make decisions that effect our daily lives. People who are ignorant of the government and of the world around them make up an uneducated population and a weaker nation. If we all knew the basics about the government and the history of our country, I believe we would be a stronger nation, which is why I believe every student at WVU should take pols 220, regardless of their major.
ReplyDeleteAs a journalism student, I do believe it's important to study political science. I think being able to have a wide range of knowledge in this area is going to be beneficial with a lot of ethical situations I may deal with. In this field, there will be a lot of times where having good ethical judgment is crucial, and being educated on state and local government and why it is the way it is will only help a better decision to be made. I also think no matter what you're majoring in, being knowledgeable about the government is important, always. The world is constantly changing and evolving and the people have to keep up with it. Knowledge is the most powerful tool to have, and knowledge of government will be beneficial no matter what walk of life you're on.
ReplyDeleteI believe that every major should be required to take a political science class. Many people are uneducated when it comes to understanding the functions of our state and local government. It's very important as students and young adults to be familiar with the functions of our government. Specifically, as a social work major I do understand how important it is to further my knowledge when it comes to the state and local government. Although, I do agree with Sarah Pettyjohn that the field of social work should have a specific political science course that covers issues specifically in the social work field.
ReplyDeleteJoe Wakim
ReplyDelete1/24/14
State & Local government blog assignment
I have a Bachelor in Business Administration from West Liberty State College and after several years working in the banking sector last year in January I choose to come back to school. I am now second degree seeking student pursing a history degree with a goal of obtaining a Master’s in Education were I plan on teaching Social Studies in High School. The question at hand is whether Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and the Education department should require me to take State and Local government. My answer is yes.
The reason why I say yes is because if you are seeking a history degree and want to teach one should know what the state and local politics of times are affecting school systems. I will be teaching education to high school aged students in the near future. While teaching either in West Virginia or in another state the funding mechanism is property taxes on homes and businesses. So if I were to teach in an affluent area my school should be well funded and the needs of school should be taken care of, yet less affluent areas in the country the school systems will be wanted. Eberly College of Arts and Science needs to require students to take State and Local government because boards of educations and taxes affect how school systems are funded. One needs to know what local government’s tax policies are on businesses and who is elected to local school boards. Only having a curriculum that includes state and local government for students who are in the Eberly College of Arts and Science and the Education department
Joe Wakim
With my major being advertising, I do see how this course is more well-aligned with the curriculum that the University has set with us. I think this class is beneficial to our general studies because I think that all we really learn about else where is the national government. As important as the national government is, as citizens we can only truly become involved at the local and/or state levels. To get involved, we must have an idea and prior knowledge of how the local government runs. Therefore, I do not believe that there should be a tradeoff between this class and another course on campus. If we truly wished to take another class we are more interested in, that is what our electives are for. This class is necessary to gain outside knowledge and have a well-balanced college education.
ReplyDeleteKelsey Montgomery
It's extremely important to be able to understand the governing bodies of our country. Not only does Political Science class teach you about the fundamentals of our government but it teaches us the rights and freedoms that we have and that we do not have. We get a sense of the law and how things work in our governmental system when we take Political Science classes. As a Criminology major, I do not feel like every major should take POLS 220. It is a complicated course and if someone is an art major or dance major, it has no relevance to their academic degree. However, Social Sciences, Public Relations, Communications, Business, and other degrees in which require a person to be an active member of a society should absolutely be required to take POLS 220, simply due to the fact that they need to be informed of our governmental system and how it can and potentially will have an impact on their job someday in the future.
ReplyDeleteI am working on a major in Advertising and really do not feel that POLS220 is necessary for graduation as a requirement. Personally, I feel that there are many other courses that a student in my position should take that would be more helpful and informative to their degree. I think classes that have to do with graphic design and creative copywriting would go a lot longer way than a class on State and Local Governments. Having said that, regardless of my major I do see the importance of being educated on how the system works. I do think as an American citizen its my right to know where the power lies and what I can do or who I can go to in order to either have my voice heard or seek help. I have taken many classes that could be considered irrelevant to my major for example, PE classes. Even if POLS may not have a ton do with what I want to do later, my job and life could be affected by something done in state or local government.
ReplyDeleteI think this is an important class because it gives people the knowledge about the government that they may not have had before. I also think that as an American you should have to have some type of understanding of how our local and national governments actually work, and how they came about to work like this. I don't know if it should be required to take though because you may never need to know any of this depending on your major. I know for myself though that I am glad I am taking it, because I am a social work major so maybe it will shed some light on why and how some policies get passed throughout the country. I think if anything it should probably be something that you do not have to take but can. at the same time though I know there are way more irrelevant classes for my major that I have to take.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do feel that the inclusion of POLS 220 is a good benefit for any course. I do not feel it should be required for all the aspects of Journalism. For example, for Advertising, I feel it would be less instrumental in the grand scheme of things for them. Their job is to design advertising for their company or firm, not to understand the workings of politics, and realistically the students who go through this class will lose what they learned, because in their occupation that kind of knowledge is not used very much. However, for something like Television Journalism, I feel POLS 220 is very beneficial. TVJ is directly involved with things like state and local government, reporting what happens in these political realms, among everything else they do. It is good knowledge to know for interviews or understanding how to write stories on state and local government. So, in summary, I feel that POLS 220 should be required for schools of Journalism that focus on or are involved with state and local government.
ReplyDeleteI am a Social Work Major and this course was a requirement for me to take. I can see how state and local government could be useful information for my major. But, I think it is more important to focus to modern state and local government. Social Workers have to be aware of the laws and such when helping their clients. For example, when granting a client with welfare or any other government forms of assistance, it is essential that you are aware of the state and government laws and regulations. But, as far as the history of state and local government, I am unsure of how useful the information is to my major. As I continue on with this course, I am sure that everything will fall in to place and help me in my studies to become a Social Worker.
ReplyDeleteI have recently switched into the business and economics department, and throughout the class so far, I believe it is the type of class that should be required to take by all undergraduate students. The information covered in POLS 220 is information that everyone should know. Not just journalism or poly sci majors. Understanding the basis of how the state and local government works is crucial to being a functioning, contributing member of society. Ultimately, the point is to improve everyday life through a decision making process, which is why everyone should understand how legislature is carried out.
ReplyDeleteAs a business management major, I believe it is important for me, along with everyone else, to understand state and local law.
It benefits an person to know how its ruling bodies work. While I dont think it is absolutely critical to have POLS 220 in the journalism curriculum, POLS 220 at least in essence is an essential part of most majors.
ReplyDeleteI believe the idea behind adding POLS 220 to the curriculum is to make students "overlearn" the subject matter making the core easier to recall and apply in the future. I do however think a more stream lined verson may be better.
I am a public relations major, and to be honest I didn’t understand why I had to take POLS 220. I thought that the class would be for law students; but in these past few weeks the things we have gone over seem to be very important for everyone, no matter what major, should know. It’s important to know the history of laws and amendments in this country in order to understand why things are the way they are now and why they are the way they will be in the future. Although there are other classes that may be closer to my major which would enhance my skills and knowledge in my field I still believe I still believe it’s worth it to take POLS 220.
ReplyDeleteAs a Public Relations Major, is that POLS 220 should be optional, based on what one wants to focus on with their Journalism degree. If one is looking to be a political journalist or work in broadcasting, government and politics are constant themes, thus making this course beneficial, and perhaps even necessary. A reporter can harness their knowledge of the structure and workings of state and local government to better deliver information to their readers/listeners/viewers. I am interested in using my degree within the sports field and one might not think I would have a direct professional need to take POLS 220, but An overview/knowledge of local and state government is useful, and in some cases, necessary. It is not unusual for sports franchises to seek state and local government and public support to renovate or build new stadiums. The regulations of associations and organizations I work with in the future may be affected by changes in the political system or laws. For example, any decision about whether or not student athletes should be paid is affected not only by the NCAA, but what state and local governments says the NCAA can regulate. POLS 220 is about developing analytical and communication skills and learning to become engaged in society that makes one a productive, contributing member. “Research conducted at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville “suggests that college students who have taken a course in political science are more civically engaged than their peers.” (http://civiceducationprojectsiue.wordpress.com/spotlight-on-research/research-spotlight-political-science-courses-help-stimulate-political-engagement/)
ReplyDeleteAnother course that a PR major may benefit from would be a web design course or even an advertising or broadcasting course. Journalism has a wide range of disciplines, all of which complement, reinforce, and borrow knowledge and skills from one another. Having more expansive knowledge of and practical experience in these other Journalism disciplines can help shape one into a more valuable professional asset for any organization or company and improve one’s marketability. Such courses can give one the opportunity to develop new skills or achieve new levels of skills that improve one’s chance for professional success. The focus of Public Relations is to create and maintain a favorable image of an organization/company/client in the eyes of the public, but to successfully do this, one must know how all the disciplines can affect that image and how to use those other disciplines to create, improve, or repair that image. (http://www.prsa.org/aboutprsa/publicrelationsdefined/#.UuXiDij0C2w)
POLS 220 is an immensely beneficial course, however, it is still my contention that students have personal choice in their selection of courses outside of their major and the course should remain optional.
As a student in the journalism department, I do think all political science classes are important for the journalism major. In my case, I plan to work in the broadcast field of journalism, reporter and writing for television news. I believe it is very important when reporting about national and local political agenda to truly understand the system which our country runs on. If I did not understand the terms and basics on the state and local government system, I would be hindered when reporting on local issues. Although my minor is political science, I still find this course to be crucial for journalism majors who intend to pursue a career in the field and be successful in using the concepts throughout their reporting.
ReplyDeleteBecause I am in the Social Work Major, POLS 220 is indeed a requirement for me. Which it should be, due to the fact that Social Workers have to deal with the state and local government daily. The government provides the programs that Social Workers send clients to and it always helps to be informed on how the government is running things. Not only does the government provide these programs, they also provide the grants and funds to keep the programs running. Taking this course is useful so that Social Work majors can understand how the government is, and how it will affect them.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, this course should be a requirement for all majors. The state and local government affects us all and knowing at least the basics is important. This class is a good way to educate people, so we can better understand and be more aware of what the government is up to.
-Ryan Fox
As an advertising major, I do feel that there are alternative classes that might be more beneficial, such as a marketing elective, or even a creative writing class. However, I can understand why the university would make POLS 220 a required class, because it is important for people to understand how the different levels of government interact, and how government affects our everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteSInce I am an education major, I do believe that State and Local government should be a requirement in my pedagogy. With any public school, major developments occur due to funding. Usually, public school fundings are determined by both a the state and the town. For example, my town voted on a new school to be built two years ago. Since the state would only fund a certain amount for the new school, citizens of the town had to pay more for this upgrade. This means taxes were increased. I believe if I am a teacher at a public school, I will need to know more about state and local government fundings, taxes, and voting. Also, I plan on persuing a career of Athletic Director of a public school. Many things such as budgets, funding, and sports programs will be based around the citizens in the town. They have a voice in their public schools and can ultimately decided what is funded and what is not in the schools.
ReplyDeleteI myself am a political Science major. I have always had a strong interest in politics (everyone has that one thing I suppose) I do believe that this class should be mandatory for certain majors, if not all. Because politics actually matter to everyone's life. In a certain way politics is EVERYTHING, from your taxes, healthcare, environmental issues, etc. I think its important that young people are educate on very important social issues like the ones I have just mentioned.
ReplyDeletePOLS 220 seams like a very basic guide to what every american should know about there local politics. Which is important becuase that means more people in this country will actually know what is important and can effect there daily lives unlike stupid things like Chemistry, Calculus, biology.
I feel that this is an important class that may be essential in succeeding as an active member of society. It is necessary to understand the way that the legal and political system work in order to ensure that we, as citizens of the United States, are being treated fair and equally, the way our founding fathers had fought for. It is also important to know the legal system to make it easier to follow expected rules and guidelines. I think that if you have a background on this subject, you also have a background on what our country was truly founded on.
ReplyDeleteI am currently a Criminology major, I believe that POLS 220 should be required for the major. However, despite my beliefs, it is not. I disagree with the Criminology department in the aspect of not having any POLS classes listed as course requirements. As I see it, in respect to POLS 220, this class will offer insight to how state and local governments affect law, including criminal law. Since criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, control, and prevention of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society, I think studying the relations of state and local governments would be helpful to determine why certain laws are laws, especially the criminal laws. This could help many people who graduate with a criminology major who pursue a career in multiple fields, not limited to: a local/state/federal law enforcement officer, a lawyer, a criminal psychologist, or a teacher. This class offers much needed knowledge on topics that most are probably unaware of that would be essential for anyone in any one of those career fields. This class would not take the space of any other required to graduate with a required class in the criminology major path, so as I see it and have mentioned above, this class should definitely be a required class.
ReplyDeleteBradley Chenault
I am a Journalism major. I believe it should be required for students to take any political science class. People think they know how the U.S. government works because they watch Fox News, MSNBC, etc. That is good, but many of these news outlets may put out false information and most of the time they are very bias when it comes to certain issues. For someone like me to take a political science class, I can learn the correct information in order for me to pass it on to someone else who is curious to know what is going on in politics.
ReplyDeleteMy major is Criminology. I think that POLS 220 should be a requirement for all criminology majors. People can greatly benefit in the feild of criminology with a basic understanding of state and local government. Knowing and understanding the basic knowledge of politcal institutions, actors and processes can only benefit a person with a degree in crim. I think that state and local government could be switched out with families and society or men and women in society which are both SOCA classes. In those Soca classes i learned how people interact with eachother in certain settings. However, I think crim majors can benefit by taking POLS 220 then familes/men and women in society due to the fact that we are learning not just how people interact with other people but how people interact with politcal institutions and politcal processes.
ReplyDeleteI am a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. I think POLS 220 is necessary course for any journalism major. In the past couple of years I have had to write stories on different issues in the community, many of those including the government in some way. This past semester one of my courses required me to interview a local official and do a story on the local government.
ReplyDeleteI have made visits to the courthouse and sat in on a few magistrate court sessions along with city council meetings for different journalism class assignments. As a journalist it is always better to have some prior knowledge on the subject before interviewing a person or doing a story about it.
The POLS 220 requirement gives you that opportunity to gain information about the local government in Morgantown. So I think that it is beneficial to my major that this course is required.
I am a political science major and this course is currently a requirement for my graduation at the end of this semester. I personally believe that this class should be a requirement over POLS 102. Its great to know how the federal government works, but its involvement in my everyday life is on a very small scale compared to State and Local government. The federal government will not be shoveling my sidewalks, filling potholes on my streets, or any other problem in Morgantown will the federal government truly get involved. I believe it helps us see things on a much smaller scale to truly understand the big picture.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion this course should be required for many majors, but not all majors. I believe that this class is important though as it has already taught me why tuition at WVU is significantly lower than other states, and I have lived here my whole life and never really took that into consideration before. It also gives us an idea of where to live, cost of living in states, and cultures of different states. So a requirement? No, but it is an important class.
I do not think that POLS 220 should be required for other majors. While I think that it is a helpful and important class, some students just don't necessarily need it to help contribute to their degrees. For example, I am an engineering student. Most of my classes will consist of science and math courses and many (I can't say all because I have not taken all the classes) contribute directly to my degree and as far as degree course work goes, I feel that they are more important than POLS 220. However, I do think that POLS 220 is a very good class to take because I think that it is important for young people to understand government and policies in order to make educated and well informed voting decisions.
ReplyDeleteWhile I run the risk of sounding like a clique journalism major, I believe everyone in my major should be required to take Political Science 220. Personally, I think political science classes are beneficial, but the emphasis on local and state politics make POLS 220 an extremely important class for journalism majors. My ideology behind this belief is that most journalism majors will not be a factor in national matters, politics, or incidents. Most will report on or write about the happenings of local or state issues. Most journalism jobs are found local and being able to understand the influence that local and state governments have on the population is crucial. Many people view politics as a national back and forth without realizing what is going on around them locally. Journalism majors should be able to look past the national politics and report on what is happening locally.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Joshua Davis as he says that he does not believe advertising majors should be required to take this class. His main premise is that their job is to design advertising for their company or firm, not to understand the workings of politics. While I agree that those involved in the creative process will most likely not find POLS 220 as a necessity, those in the administrative portion of advertising must understand local and state governments as they must abide by their laws and legal constraints while potentially using local and state governments as an additional tool for themselves in terms of leverage.
In conclusion, I believe that all journalism majors should be required a semester in POLS 220 due to its help in understanding how state and local governments can affect them.
-Colin Hass-Hill
I am a Public Relations major, and I believe that it is imperative that we have to take this course. I would even go as far as to say that of all of our required electives, this is one of the most important classes. By learning about the inner workings of the state and local government, you gain important, practical knowledge about how the system works, and this is very important in a field such as PR. However, like some others have stated, this should be a class that is required for all majors. Too often, it seems like you find a good handful of people that don't know the basic knowledge of state or even local government. This was especially true where I grew up, because it seemed like the only time people mentioned anything about the government was when they pretended to care about it during election time, but I digress.
ReplyDeleteThough I think it is also important to learn about the national government, I feel like this class takes precedence over that. In one of the previous lectures, the big point was that it was exponentially easier to contact a local or state official than it is a national official. Due to the closer relationship (literally) between the people in the government in the state/local setting, this class is vital to understanding how this system works.
I am a Social Work major and POLS 220 is a requirement. I believe this course is very beneficial and it will lay out the basis of state and local government, where the vast majority of social workers will spend their time in the work field after graduation.
ReplyDeleteI took an interest of looking at some job search sites to see some of the requirements for jobs as a social worker to try and see a connection to POLS 220 and my future. The number one requirement according to college grad.com is experience in healthcare industries and social assistance, as well as state and local government agencies. I believe POLS220 will teach me information on how these agencies work, giving social worker graduates an advantage in the field.
http://www.collegegrad.com/careers/proft41.shtml
I am a Journalism Major, and i do believe that political science 220 should be a required class. Being a Journalism Major means that you will have stories on an uncountable number of subjects in your career whether you are broadcast, print or anything else. Due to the nature of what my job will be, it is important to have a good knowledge of many subjects. Since politics is such an integral part of our nation, covering politics is very important to journalist. If a journalist doesn't understand what they are reporting on then they will be unable to portray the information to the general public in a way that can make everyone understand. This class is important because a Journalist needs to have a working knowledge of everything that they can report on in their career after college.
ReplyDeleteI believe that every student should be required to take this course. I feel that way too many people in this country are misinformed or not informed at all about our state and local governments and the logistics behind it. I like to think of myself as an educated individual, and I have many grey spaces on the topic of this course that needs to be filled. A lot of emphasis is put in the national government, what it does, how it works, elections, etc. not enough is put into what we do on the state and local level that effect our daily lives. For this reason, I believe everyone should be required to take this course to be educated on these important matters.
ReplyDeleteLacie Geary
I am a social work major and I do believe that this class should be a required course. Considering that many of the social welfare programs are funded by the government, it would be important for a social work student to learn more about those governments and how they work. After reviewing the lecture, the main thing that relates to my major is the welfare payment comparison between different states. As it is important to my major to take POLS 220, I believe it would be beneficial for any student to take this course because of its prevalence in everyday life. It's important for people to have a better understanding of what is going on when they open their local newspaper or watch their local news on TV.
ReplyDeleteBrianna Dendler
I am a strategic communications major and am required to take this course. I think it is helpful to gain knowledge about state and local governments because, in my opinion, people do not know much about them. They know more about the basic outline of the federal government. Depending on the occupation one holds after graduating, this class may help the understanding of politics and the guidelines of state and local governments. For my major, politics is a field you may go in to for PR and advertising. As a strategic communications major, I personally am not interested in politics so I don't see this class helpful for me. I know there are other courses that would be more beneficial for what I pursue a career in. But in the last couple of classes, I think it is interesting learning about why the New York legislature makes fewer technical mistakes than West Virginia's. Or any other state and local government differences. In conclusion, I think POLS 220 should be optional since strategic communication majors already are required to take POLS 102 and it may not be beneficial to their major.
ReplyDeleteI both support and disagree with being forced to take this class.
ReplyDeleteDisagree- I am a Journalism- Advertising major. I have already taken History 153 (Reconstruction- Present) last semester. With that in mind, the topics we have already discussed have been covered largely or could be implied from what we have already been taught in HIST 153. For example, the court cases, the amendments, the political structure, and evolution of political parties.
Support- I do how ever find it beneficial for students who have never taken a history class, more specifically HIST 153, to take this class. It is our jobs as citizens to make sure the government is in check, for instance the New England area style of government involvement with town councils.
Another student previously commented stating that politics is every where, which in my opinion, is absolutely true. Being brought up in a family who loves the news, loves discussing politics over dinner to make me and my younger sister had a clue as to what was going on. I was already aware that politics is every where! Which gets me thinking: Why haven't I spoke to a city representative about why I have yet to see a snow plow? Taking this class I feel is a good reminder to get students more proactive since in about 4 years I will be put into the real world, because we all know college we have responsibilities, yet they are no where compared to how they will be once we all graduate.
As a journalism major I am required to take this class as a non major requirement. Although the class is a non major requirement, in believe everyone should take it as part of any major because of the lack of uninformed youth. There are many college students unaware about how state and local government is carried out because they often end up only trusting mainstream news sources that focus mainly on the national government. Even after the first few classes I learned how our representation is stronger on a state and local government scale, our opinions can actually matter.
ReplyDeleteJournalism students should take this so that we know our rights and can ethically perform our public duties.
Being a political science major, I feel that all students in the major should be required to complete this course. This class can explain the relationships between individuals and their state/local governments, which I feel is an important concept for people to understand. Those who have strong opinions on controversial issues need to understand how and why governments make certain decisions because these decisions effect society as a whole, rather than a group of individuals.
ReplyDeleteI realize that the course overview addresses the fact that citizens try to influence the government, and also discusses the institutions which they influence. Every individual has the power to make an impact on politics, whether it is by running for office, voting, or lobbying for certain policies. Even for those who are not political science majors, it is crucial to understand this dynamic. If people do not participate in the political process, they cannot expect changes that they desire to occur. No matter what state or country one resides in, I feel it is somewhat necessary to have some insight to the workings of the government.
Derek Santos
I am a Geography major with an emphasis on Urban Planning and development. POLS 220 was the recommended writing course for my area of emphasis and it seems to be the right choice thus far. I do not feel it should be a requirement, although I would strongly recommend to those in the same field as I since it will probably relate more to our future work than most Geography classes. This class can be very helpful to those who wish to gain a better understanding of the history and procedures of state and local government in the U.S. I also imagine many of the information we obtain in 220 will be very useful for those who regularly participate in political debates and discussions. It is always beneficial to learn about government in this country from a historical aspect instead of always relying on the media. So while I do not think it should be a requirement for non-Political Science majors, it is clear that those who do take this class will have a better knowledge and understanding of the inner workings of state and local government, and how it has shaped society as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI think that all departments should have pols 220 as a requirement. I feel as though its a good course to take so that you'll be knowledgeable about the history of our government, and the reasons behind some of the laws that we have today. I'm majoring in social work and this class is a requirement for the major. This is good for a social because politics can alter your work flow. One law can ultimately change how you do your job from a day to day basis
DeleteI am a journalism major, and I think POLS 220 should be optional. I feel this way because people that go in the journalism path really don't intend to care much or really pay attention to politics and they things within the state and local governments. But I do believe students should be required a POLS class. just one of them in my opinion, Students should get to pick which one they would want to take, rather than being forces to take 102, and 220. But in the end, it does give you a better understanding on how things work and how they're made up to make politics. It good be a good use of information to help benefit you in the future if you ever need to write papers, or have a background knowledge on state governments and how things are made up to this day on how they go about business.
ReplyDeleteI am a Social Work major and I believe that POLS 220 is a very beneficial course but not necessary for every major. If a student is not interested in this subject I do not see why they should take this class. I do believe it should be a requirement for a Politic Science major and any other major dealing with any type of government work (Criminology, for example.) I do believe that understanding state and local government is extremely important and believe those wanting to learn more about this subject are more than welcome to take this course.
ReplyDeleteBeing a Journalism major (Public Relations) it is a requirement for me to take POLS 220. Now do I believe i should be taking said course, no. My major and area of emphasis in which i would like to study does not tie in with what is being taught in POLS 220. So no only am I wasting my time but also money on a class that is of no value to my degree or future profession. Not to say that all students majoring in Journalism shouldn't take POLS 220 but those who intend to use their degree to land a job that ties in with political science.
ReplyDeleteAfter I graduate I intend on working as a PR specialist in areas such as hospitality, sports/entertainment, and travel. POLS 220 is not going to teach me was in which a PR specialist works. POLS 220 isn't going to teach me hot to write up press releases, it isn't going to teach me how to conduct survey's for a product/company, or other important tasks regarding my major/job. However, as a young adult and U.S. citizen i believe 100% that POLS 220 is a necessary course.
Not just a requirement for Journalism majors, but POLS 22O should be a requirement for every student in general. Learning about how the government works, the different powers granted to a nat'l gov't and a state gov't, and etc. After just two weeks in POLS 220 I gained a better understanding of the Articles of Confederation, a better understanding differentiating between the federalists and anti-federalists, and a better understanding of major court rulings (Marbury v. Madison & McCulloch v. Maryland), and the list goes on. Understanding and knowing more about our gov't can only help us as american citizens and human beings. POLS 220 is not only a require class but it is also a life class which should be required by all to take.
I am an advertising major in the School of Journalism and I believe this class should be required to take, not only for Journalism students, but for all students. It is important to have a general understanding of how state and local governments work. People need to know that their opinions actually mean something and that they have an actual say in state and local governments. It is also important for when your going to vote. If you do not have a general information on how state and local governments work, how are you suposed to vote. Local and state governments effect us more than the Federal governement does, which is another reason of why its important to know the basics.
ReplyDeleteJournalism majors definitely should be required to take this class since there could be political stories they might have to write or cover over the course of their careers. Without a general understanding of state and local governments, there is a chance they will not even be able to write a story. As for in advertising, this class is importnant for me to take if I ever have to advertise for a campaign. It would help if I knew the basics behind state and local governments.
-Daniel Griffin
I am a journalism major and I believe POLS 220 should be a required course, and I would reccommend for people to take it. I think it's an extremely beneficial course in order to better understand state and local government. I think students could be more informed on politics and our country's government no matter what major you are in. In my opinon I feel people don't know much about what is going on within our government and everyone should be aware of how it works because this is something that we will need to understand throughout our lives in comparison to many other courses that we won't really get much use out of in the future. Especially as a journalism major it should be required because in that field of work you need to have knowledge on this subject when it comes to reporting as well. I look forward to this course teaching me more about state and local government as I feel that it will be extremely benefical to me and that it will give me a better understanding of state and local government.
ReplyDeleteI am criminology major; although I am not required to take this course for my major I believe that the university should make it a major requirement. Knowing the origins of why our government is the way it is and how it works, can be beneficial to any criminologist because every state has different laws and regulations that people break. Knowing these laws of each state makes it easier to identify what criminal behavior is which varies from state to state. I also believe that this class should be a university wide undergraduate requirement. It is important to know the laws of your state and local government body regardless of your major. These bodies of government affect you directly. It is extremely important to have knowledge of. Although there are other classes that may be more closely related to my major, I still believe it’s worth it to take POLS 220. Because I am taking POLS 220, I could not take GEOL 102. As far a GEC stands I think that POLS 220 does a lot more for me as far as expanding my general knowledge and allows me to be better rounded and think more critically. I also think POLS 102 should be a major requirement because it is important to know how our government works and its history.
ReplyDelete-Nicholas Madden
I am Broadcast Journalism major, I believe POLS 220 should be a required course. It is important for journalism majors to know the in's and out's of the Federal and State Gov. It is important to know important court cases that have defined our nation. As well as differences between state and federal law when dealing with certain issues when reporting a story. This course should be taken by all journalism majors to learn the importance of politics as well as different laws, parties, and rules that have defined what America is today.
ReplyDeleteAs a Political Science major I definitely think the POLS department should require me to take the POLS 220 class. I have taken multiple POLS classes that seem to be relatively similar in terms of the content being taught. I have not yet encountered this with POLS 220. This class is not only important because there is new material being presented, but also because your average person does not fully understand how state and local governments work. For me, there is no trade-off because I am a POLS student and I am already required to take this course.
ReplyDelete-Ryan Nash
I am a Public Relations major and come from a small town in Pennsylvania. In this small town there isn't much talk about local politics, I'm sure kids there that don't even know the mayors name. So for a school to require an individual to take a government class like this could be shocking, I find that this informs us into making our own decisions thus allowing us to take a stand on an issue. This class can also teach us how to find information which allows us to go back and use these resources in the future that could help inform us on decisions. State and Local governments has a more direct effect on communities and neighborhoods than the Federal government does. For these reasons I believe this is a good requirement for students to take this class. Also since our government is so unique, it is nice to have good base knowledge of how this effects us.
ReplyDelete-Chris Brunner
I am a journalism major and I think mostly everyone covered the basic reasons for journalism. If you are in print, you may need to write about politics. If you are in broadcast, you may need to report on politics. Last, if you are in public relations or advertising, there is a lot of work needed to be done involving both of those fields in political campaigns. However, that is the obvious answer to the question. I will explain a different reason as to why Political Science 220 should be required for all majors. A poll done by "The Week" in summer of 2013 showed that 83% of people disapprove with congress. That number hasn't changed for several years. I believe in 2010, there was roughly 80% of people who did not like congress. Also, a survey was done and reported on mediaite.com that showed Congress is LESS popular than hemorrhoids. I don't think I need to explain what hemorrhoids are, but to anyone who has had them, just rethink of how uncomfortable it was. If you have never had them, use your imagination. So, it is pretty clear that people have an interest in politics. Clearly, people invest a lot of time into politics if they hate congress so much. I mean, if you have such a strong opinion, surely you spend a lot of time gathering information, right? Wrong. First off, only a little over half of eligible voters actually vote. Also, a poll done and reported on by people-press.org in 2007, showed that only 66% of people surveyed knew who their governor was. The percentage of people who were able to recognize state senators ranged from medium to very low, some reaching 15% of people. The most well-known political bodies in 2007 were Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hilary Clinton at 93%. That is not bad, only accept one of them is a movie star. You don't even need to look up statistics, just look around you. Log onto Facebook and see how long it takes to read a clearly misinformed political Facebook post. You can find videos of people explaining what they would do if they were president. I have to stop the person's video before it finishes, because the first words out of the vlogger's mouth is, "I would lower the salaries of congress, if I was president." That isn't even a presidential power. However, despite their lack of information people believe that politics affect their daily lives. When people of high, medium and low education levels were asked if issues in Washington affected their lives, over half in every category felt that they were affected. To top it off, educated people who are informed on politics are going down in numbers. There are more educated people who are unaware of their political surroundings today than 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteSo, why are we so uninformed, despite having such heated opinions? If I were to guess, it is a variety of reasons. Number 1, people aren't as interested in politics as they claim to be. Number 2, they are told by their peers that you shouldn't trust politicians, so they blindly hate them despite not knowing much. And number 3, they get their information from a biased source and arbitrarily agree with it. Being interested in politics is a good thing. The people and laws we vote on can have a direct impact on our lives, and even though people supposedly "care" about that, they don't care enough to gather the information needed to make a rational decision. People complain about college being a giant scheme to get thousands of dollars out of you just to get a piece of paper that might get you a job. Where is the teaching? Where is the information? Where are the life experiences? Those are questions people ask when criticizing college. Well, here you go. You major in Biology, but want to be a politically active person and take stances on issues and defend your claims? Take a political science class. Political debate is so popular among people of our age, because many are just now starting to vote and start watching the news/reading papers, that political science courses (not just 220) should be required in order to keep us informed and willing to gather more information.
Delete* I apologize for using two comments, the website restricted me from posting it in one comment.
As a Public Relations major, POLS 220 is a required course for my major. I understood taking POLS 102 because in PR one of the areas you can go into is Politics. POLS 102 provided that brief overview into politics that could probably give you an idea if you want to pursue that area in PR. We're also required to take a business class, I'm assuming to explore if going into the corporate world is really what we want to do too. But honestly, I feel that any of my PR classes should be the ones educating me on the different areas of PR because PR in politics is not taught in POLS 102/220. How is that class going to help me understand what my career is going to lead me to do? How does it give me a real idea of what the job would entail? Why not just create a PR class that goes over PR in politics? Instead I'm subjected to take a class in an area where I may or may not be too good at it and may not even go into that area of PR. I personally want to pursue becoming a publicist, why do I need to know about state and local governments? If I went into politics this class could be useful because I would most likely start out doing PR with state or local governments so it would be useful to know how they work. But besides that reasoning, I see no real reason to have to take this class for my major.
ReplyDelete--Brianna Lemaster
As a Public Relations major, I am required to take political science 102 as well as 220. I feel that studying political science isn't neccessarily vital to our major but is definitely helpful. In PR, we are often dealing with legal and ethical dilemmas, so it is important to know what we can legally say or do. Studying state and local government is beneficial because there may be different laws in different states can can affect our profession. When working with organizations in different states, it is important to be aware of that states legal system. Many PR professionals have been faced with legal issues such as libel or slander, so it is important to know what we can do or say legally.
ReplyDeleteI am a political science major, so I feel like it should be mandatory for us to take this class. I also feel like it should be mandatory for a lot of other majors to have to take this class to educate them on how the federal government gained power, and how states lost power. I feel like you should maybe be able to generalize in a certain area of political science if you wanted to and only take the things you are extremely interested in. While taking this class I realized I actually enjoy things that are taught in it though.
ReplyDeletei am a strategic communications major with emphasis in Public Relations, and POLS 220 is required for my major. I must say i disagree with the majority in that i agree that POLS 220 should not be required for my major. Personally i political science is needed for me to do my job a publicist. At no point will POLS 220 help me write a press release or tell me how i should reply to media scrutiny towards a client of mine. I plan on using my degree to get in the field of pr in sports/entertainment or non-profit organizations, and POLS 220 will not help me accomplish this goal any better. Be that as it may i do agree that many majors or students period should have the choice to take this class because knowing one's state and local governments is vital. It could benefit many by informing them of what is going on with the governments that make the decisions for them and what their money in taxes is going towards. I just don't think money and time should be spent on a class that in no way helps me in my field of choice.
ReplyDeleteTerrell E. Hall
As a Public Relations major I feel that Political Science should be a required course to take. Not only is politics important to be educated about it can also effect myself as well as my line of work. Knowing how society makes its decisions and how the government works is so vital. If a decision is made, it can affect my line of work due to money issues or even controversial issues. As a PR major I am to be knowledgeable of all timely events. Not only this, but events that occur in politics have a big impact on society meaning that I may have to make a public statement about what candidate was just elected or if gay marriage was legalized in certain states. Political Science will help me gain a knowledge and appreciation for politics and help me know more about the society that I will be working closely with.
ReplyDeleteBeing a political Science major i think it should be absolutely required to take this course, being able to understand the basic concepts of U.S. Government is vital to being a political science major because otherwise you would get pretty lost when taking any other political science courses. Apart from being a political science major i think this course should be required for all majors only because in my opinion our generation chooses to be blindsided and ignore all the major issues going on in our country, this course will help us more thoroughly understand and maybe even spark up some interest in what is actually going on. On top of knowing what is going on in our country it is also imperative to have government knowledge, especially with journalism, because when writing for the public a lot of what is actually written pertains to state and local government issues at the time.
ReplyDeleteI believe everyone should be required to take POLS 220 because a lot of this generation has stopped caring about major issues in our country and how the state and local government works. I think that it is very important for everyone to know details about how the state and local governments work which is why I do believe this is a very important class to take in College.
ReplyDeleteI think it is extremely important to take a course on state and local government (POLS220) for every major, not just political science or journalism. While a better understanding of state and local government might be somewhat more useful for a political science or journalism major that works with government issues and related topics on a regular basis, the understanding of state and local government is imperative to all citizens. It is important to be knowledgeable of this topic for many reasons. First, our generation tends to be rather uneducated or blindsided by the political spectrum. We don’t pay attention to important issues, don’t vote, or worse—vote without education about the candidate and issues at hand. By taking a state and local government class, our generation will hopefully become aware of the importance of such issues, how they are voted and decided upon, and how the election process works. Heck, it might even spark some interest! The second reason it is imperative to take a state and local government class, and the reason I believe it should be required of all majors, is whether you enjoy political science or not, you will be affected by politics and governmental decisions the rest of your life. Many young people think the issues being voted on or the stances political candidates take, will not affect them. But they are wrong. Taxation, social security, healthcare…all these issues will affect us greatly at some point, and if you don’t know how any of those will apply to you, let’s just say it is YOUR money that will be affected in the long run, good or bad. The third reason I think taking a state and local government class is so important, while debatable, is because we live in the age of social media. While there are many news outlets and sources of credible information available online or through social media, there are many sources that are NOT credible. By taking a state and local government class, we can learn facts about politics, not just opinions from someone’s twitter rant. By taking a state and local government class, we can become educated and gain a factual understanding of the law and government processes.
ReplyDeleteAs a Strategic Communications major, I believe POLS 220 should be a required class to take. Understanding how state and local government works is important to anyone, especially students in their late teens and early 20's like most of us are. Knowing how the government most relevant to us operates is very beneficial to us.
ReplyDeleteI believe that taking POLS220 should be a requirement for all majors not just journalism. We are now old enough to vote, so I believe that we all need to be informed before voting. Taking local and state government, will help students realize what exactly we are voting for and even what the office we are voting for does. Naturally, being a history major, I love politics, but many students cannot stand the thought of taking a political science class. I actually believe that once students have taken the course, they might actually find political science intriguing. This might make students pay attention to the news, officials in office, and potential candidates before voting. The class also teaches us about our country's history. I think it is so important for us to know how our country formed and why things are the way they are. History definitely repeats itself and especially with political issues. By knowing the history of our nation's politics, we can compare their actions to similar situations and issues we have today.
ReplyDeletePOLS 220, state and local government should be a requirement for not only my major, but every major. It is important for students to be educated about their government systems. State and local governments apply closely to our lives as students. We need to know how to take our complains and concerns to officials in charge. It is also important to understand the history behind how state and local government principles were created, as well as how the power was taken from the national government and handed to the state governments. Different types of people live in different parts of the country. Therefore, knowing we have a strong say in our state and local government is crucial.
ReplyDeletePOLS 220 should be a required class for every major. It is necessary that students know the functions of their local governments and how they work. The citizens have a duty to be informed and participate in politics. It helps keep the system free and most in the line of the republic that was intended for this nation.
ReplyDeleteI'm a journalism student, and as much as I'm dreading this class, I do think that it should be required. A journalist's obligation is to the people - to uncover the truth and share it with the public. However, without an understanding of that which you seek to reveal the truth about, how can you be confident in your story? Further, state and local government is more than just a potential story. It's also the future of our generation. We are the future, and if we don't care enough to understand how our governing bodies work, how can we make educated decisions to improve the world we live in? Political science has never been my favorite subject, but I do think that it's necessary to have an understanding of this subject in order to be successful in my career path as well as to be a responsible citizen.
ReplyDeleteI am a political science major, so obviously I think it's important for us to take this course. However, for majors that don't have much to do with politics, it shouldn't be a requirement. I know personally, that GEC's take up a lot of my schedule as a sophomore and it really takes away from time I could be spending on classes towards my major. If a student is required to take a course, they're most likely going to learn the materials for the class, not for the purpose of expanding their view on life. Therefore, I don't think it should be required.
ReplyDeleteAs a politcal science major I can see this class being very importain. This course covers alot of key ideas and details, that need to be known if you want to pursue a career in this type of field. I am not sure if majors like criminology should be required to take this course but they have so many weird classes they have to take, who knows. Overall I do feel like if you want to do something within governemtn if its either working for it or writing about it,(journalist majors) they should have an understand of these concepts.
ReplyDeleteAs a Television Journalism major, I feel that taking this course should indeed be manditory. Especially in my field, you don't usually get to choose what you report on, therefore having even the slightest idea about state and local government is vital. Knowing the basics when it comes to state and local government can actually get you a long way, particularly because many people do not know much about government, other than that we just have one. With different states and parts of states having varied laws, it is important to know your personal state and local govenment as well as the laws in the area in which you will be working (if not in your home state or area).
ReplyDeleteI am a journalism major. However, I feel there are certain classes that students should not take if it will not be needed in their future career paths. I do not plan on using my Public Relations major and using that in the political science area. However, at the same time I do feel it is necessary to know facts about politics. We can not live in our country and not know what is going on around us or how we can be affected by what our government officials choose to do. I believe we should have an understanding of the political science concepts.
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