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Local involvement sought for Cottey MLK Day of Service
As part of Cottey College’s participation in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service on Monday, January 21, Assistant Professor of Organizational Leadership Dr. Carol Clyde Gallagher, along with students, will be facilitating “Creating a Better Nevada” at the Community Center from 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Gallagher’s project is one part of a larger effort at Cottey to involve students in service on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. “This idea grew from the realization that our society, in general, doesn’t engage in civil dialogue enough,” she explained. “We are so polarized, and there’s a perception that common ground is rarely possible. My work at Cottey involves students interested in developing themselves and their leadership, and I saw this as a great opportunity to meld the two pieces together.”
Gallagher’s goal is to involve more citizens in identifying and working to solve issues. “I hope to bring people into a conversation; people who might not be part of the conversations we need to be having about how to make our community better. I am hoping that we can come together to determine some high priority areas, which in turn can be shared with relevant community leaders.” The information gathered from the meeting will then be presented to city council by Cottey students.
“I think that a lot of times there are efforts to represent all walks of life in the community – but I also think there might be a difference of perception between those who coordinate about an issue and those who live it. We need to figure out how to get those voices heard.”
According to Coordinator of Career Planning and Experiential Learning, Renee Hampton, “The whole idea behind this program, the MLK Day of Service, is that we want our students to understand that social responsibility is more than just a term – that there is action involved – and how important it is for them to engage in their communities.”
“For us,” she continued, “the whole idea MLK Day of Service is to teach that engagement is vital to the success of almost all social endeavors. If we are to improve ourselves socially, economically and all the other ways, then we need to be engaged as citizens.”
It is Gallagher’s hope that Monday’s session will be the beginning of a long-term conversation that includes community members from all walks of life, and that it will “also inform current and future leaders, in addition to engaging individuals who may not be otherwise involved. There are great things happening here, and many other great things that we haven’t yet discovered or determined.”
Gallagher, who also serves on Nevada’s City Council, wants people to start having a voice. “I think there are a lot of people in the community who do feel like they have a voice,” she said, “but there are also others that I don’t know if they feel they have a voice, or that if they raise their voice that it isn’t heard or it isn’t wanted.”
Hampton added that, “It could be something as simple, too, as the mom who can’t make it to the council meetings but she might have a concern about something like, are there enough activities for kids in Nevada. It’s about bringing in everybody who might not have an opportunity to get in front of the council and voice their concerns.”
Gallagher made clear that she is not speaking for anyone other than herself and that she is drawing from her learning experience on the council. “I think that one of the challenges we face as a council is that it’s hard to get the buy-in and it’s hard to get the commitment. As it has been explained to me, ‘we want change and we hope that it will happen, but when the rubber meets the road we don’t necessarily find ways to get people to invest the time. So one of my questions will be how can we get commitment with low time investment, but still get people involved in the process.”
Hampton added that, “There’s another aspect of this that is new, and that is bringing forth the Cottey students, because they are going to help Carol facilitate, so they are going to be seeing these issues as well.” Hampton explained that the whole idea behind this MLK Day of Service program, is for students to understand that social responsibility is more than just a term – that there is action involved – and how important it is for them to engage in their communities.
Gallagher hopes that Monday’s event can be the beginning of a civil dialogue program in Nevada. “With the varieties of opinions, philosophies and experiences in the community and a political climate that makes it difficult to have a constructive dialog, there is a lot of opportunity for it and that might be a good place for Cottey to help out.”
She hopes those obstacles can be overcome by listening. “Really good things can come about if we can get past some of those things that get in the way. My hope is that we can find a way to make that happen in Nevada.”