Moraine Valley Community College will host two presentations about the upcoming presidential election on Tuesday, Feb. 20, in the Dr. Sylvia Jenkins Library inside Building L, on the main campus, 9000 W. College Parkway, and livestreamed on the college Library’s YouTube page. The presentations are part of the college’s Democracy Commitment project and will feature Moraine Valley political science faculty members.
A panel discussion, titled “The Factions Within: The Schisms in the Democratic Party,” will run from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. and will include a discussion about some of the divisions which have been forming within the Democratic coalition over several topics, including social issues, whether Joe Biden should run for a second term, U.S. support for Israel and several other issues.
Immediately following the first session, another panel discussion, “This is Not Normal: The 2024 Candidacy of Donald Trump,” will cover how the 2024 candidacy of former President Donald Trump is unlike any political campaign in United States history. It will run from 11 a.m. through noon.
Kevin Navratil, professor of political science, has been the coordinator of the Democracy Commitment project since 2018. He believes these types of events are important to make available to students and the general public.
“Providing opportunities to improve civic literacy is vital to a healthy democracy. Unfortunately, according to international organizations like Freedom House that assess the quality of democracy and freedom around the world, democracy is eroding not only globally, but also in the United States, which is now characterized as a ‘flawed democracy’ by the Economist Intelligence Unit,” Navratil said.
Navratil noted that every two years, the college hosts events with a focus on national and state elections to inform the college and local community about upcoming elections.
“I’m proud to be part of our campus commitment to improve democracy,” he said.
The two presentations are free and open to the public. For more information and streaming links, visit morainevalley.libcal.com.
For news media inquiries, contact Karen Town, communications specialist, at (708) 974-5652 or town@morainevalley.edu.
