Skip to main content Skip to navigation
CAS in the Media Arts and Sciences Media Headlines

Civility 101: You’re invited

North Idaho College will partner with the Coeur d’Alene Task Force on Human Relations, the school’s own Diversity Council, and the Associated Students of North Idaho College in a one-day conference, “Returning Civility to America’s Democracy: The Promotion of Civil Dialogue,” 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday at the Schuler Performing Arts Center in Boswell Hall.

The conference’s keynote speaker will be Cornell W. Clayton, director of Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University.

Clayton also is a professor of political science, an author and well-known lecturer on the topic of civility.

Find out more

CDA Press

Fossatti made the most of her 102 years

Alice Fossatti died Sunday at age 102. Her spitfire personality propelled her through the Depression, a 73-year marriage, motherhood, 23 years of teaching kindergarten at Hawthorne Elementary School and decades of communing with her inner artist.

Brigit Farley
Farley

Washington State University history professor Brigit Farley recalls how Fossatti validated and affirmed her pint-size pupils. Later, when Farley started teaching at the college level, the two discussed the teaching profession and the importance of lifting up students and teaching them to be kind thinkers.

“I think she would say that the most important thing in teaching little kids was instilling confidence and belief in themselves,” Farley said. “That’s the foundation she built in them. That’s something I very consciously took from her in my own work. Turns out that is as important when people are 25 as it is when they are just five.”

Find out more

East Oregonian

Should judges be elected by the public? Let’s break it down

David Brody
Brody

“The benefit to electing judges is giving the public more buy-in and respect for the justice system,” says David Brody, a criminal justice professor at Washington State University who has studied judicial elections. “If people lose respect for the court, it’s a major blow to the community.”

Yet, given the issues surrounding judicial elections, Brody and other experts question whether judges should be elected. For example, information about judicial candidates is relatively sparse (compared to, say, a candidate for mayor or city council) and is not as easily obtainable.
» More …

How Do You Teach Politics In The Year Of Donald Trump?

Michael Salamone
Salamone

Michael Salamone at Washington State University echoed the sentiments of several political scientists who spoke with NPR, floating the idea that, as disruptive as Trump’s rise might have been, it’s been beneficial to their field.

“It’s definitely good for the study of political science,” said Salamone. “It’s definitely pushing our ability to make sense of political phenomena to its limit, and I think there is a lot of good that can come out of that. Whether or not it’s a good thing for the political system is an entirely different question.”

Find out more

National Public Radio

Worried about the phenomenon of Donald Trump? WSU professor says political incivility has always existed

Think our current presidential political landscape is unprecedented, and worse than it’s ever been?

On Sunday, the Highline Historical Society put on a presentation, “American Rage — Division and Anger in US Politics.” Presented by Washington State University professor of political science Cornell Clayton, the program compared the current period of political incivility with other flashpoints in American history to prove how incivility has served as a catalyst to move the nation forward when other means had failed.

“I think we can all agree that incivility is around us everywhere in politics,” he began. “You know it’s bad when the people who seem most civil are the comedians, such as Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.” » More …