Educate & Act Series will offer opportunities to learn about civic participation

LAWRENCE — The Educate & Act series, led by The Commons, the Center for Service Learning and the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity at the University of Kansas, will host three virtual events this fall for students, staff and faculty.

Now in its third year, this series offers opportunities to learn more about individual issues and general engagement in democracy in the United States, offering information and sharing resources about civic participation.

The first session, scheduled for noon Sept. 8, will be led by the Center for Service Learning. It will offer insights about the upcoming general election on Nov. 8, including ways in which the process has changed, what offices and issues are on the ballot, and the effects of the recent redistricting. Speakers for the event:

• Marcus Winn, director of integrated voter engagement at MORE2.
• Lindsay Ford, associate director of the Voter Network.
• Paul Buskirk, senior associate athletics director for student athlete support services at KU Athletics.
• Ursula Minor, president of the Lawrence NAACP.
• Donnavan Dillon, undergraduate student at KU and student power campaign fellow at Loud Light.

The session will be moderated by Kate Kemper, associate director for student and civic engagement at the Center for Service Learning.

A second session will take place at noon Oct. 6 and center on the Indian Child Welfare Act, which is at the center of recent cases scheduled for a Supreme Court hearing in November.

The final session of the semester will take place at noon Nov. 3, focusing on reproductive justice advocacy. To complement this virtual event, Students United for Reproductive & Gender Equity will host an in-person watch party.

Register for the events online.