Q Running head: CITY COUNCIL MEETING REPORT Purpose Democracy is not a spectator sport! This assignment is designed to encourage student engagement in their local community’s civic process and provide hands-on learning about policy development and advocacy techniques. ________________________________________ Expectations Remember to view the grading rubric below for a detailed explanation of the point breakdown. Review the Sample Assignments page to see how other students have completed this assignment. For this assignment, you will get to experience advocacy in action by participating in a local city council meeting (or other governmental/legislative meeting with elected officials, if approved by the instructor prior to attending, such as a school board meeting). Note that the frequency of city council meetings may vary depending on where you live. Get one on your calendar as soon as the semester starts to ensure you have time to attend a meeting and submit the assignment on time! You may also be able to attend a meeting virtually. Write a 3-4 page report on the proceedings including: 1. First, give some context, such as which city council meeting you attended, on what date, how large the turnout was, and how the council is structured. 2. Describe the meeting agenda and discussions in detail. What are the residents’ concerns on this particular day that you attended? What issues were discussed and what viewpoints were expressed? 3. Discuss the strategies advocates of this issue/or opponents of the issue are using to effectively (or not!) communicate their positions. What did they do effectively? Where there any tactics you would not want to emulate? 4. Either: o Share your own viewpoints on a social issue at the meeting. What strategies did you employ to persuade the elected officials and leaders? OR o In your paper, identify a social issue you would like to address at a future meeting. What strategies could you employ to persuade the elected officials and leaders? 5. Conclude with any lessons learned or takeaways from this experience.