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Each June, faculty, staff, and students from across the U.S. gather to discuss higher education’s work preparing students to engage in civic life. Below are reflections from five students who participated in this year’s Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) Meeting as members of UMBC’s delegation. The meeting took place in Anaheim, California, from June 6-9, 2018.
Markya D. Reed ’18, Psychology, immediate past Executive Vice President, UMBC Student Government Association
Tess McRae ’21, English, immediate past Election Board Member, UMBC Student Government Association
Julia Arbutus ’20, English, Editor-in-Chief, The Retriever
Scott Buchan ’20, Political Science, Finance Board Representative, UMBC Student Government Association
Brandon Liu ’19, Biology and Visual Arts, Senator, UMBC Student Government Association; President, Sign of Life
Before the CLDE meeting, I had made two assumptions without realizing it. One was that I would experience the same free-flowing, non-hierarchical communication I had come to expect through my experiences as a member of UMBC’s student government and as a representative on campus shared governance committees. The other was that I would need to monitor my own tendency to over-participate and inadvertently crowd out other voices.