LYCOMING COLLEGE SUMMER MAGAZINE 2023

a voter registration drive that saw nearly 70 students register to vote, either locally or in their home states. Voter education also played a role in the effort, ensuring that students understood how and when to request and return absentee ballots. Classroom content included two guest speakers — State Sen. Gene Yaw ’70 and Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter — helping to ensure that students connected the talks with other strategies for continuous civic engagement. “The ALL IN Voter Challenge provided a unique opportunity for the students in Civic Engagement to work together on a service learning project aimed at directly assisting our campus community, while also examining the impact that students’ democratic participation can have on the larger community in which the College is situated,” said Kurtz. JAMES V. BROWN LIBRARY What would a local community library have in common with a 19th-century French literature class? Graphic novels, of course! Students enrolled in the French

Century in [Speech] Bubbles), which has students explore graphic novel adaptations of classic literary works, I partnered with Dr. Caroline Payne and Nina White, youth services consultant for the North Central Library District, to develop a community based learning experience for my students,” explained Andrew Stafford, Ph.D., assistant professor of French. “To better understand the needs of the library, we met with Nina for a tour of the building and to learn about the services it offers. We learned that the Tween & Teen floor is often unstaffed, and that Nina was working to create activity prompts using marker boards, window paint, building blocks, word tiles, etc., for the patrons to interact with.” Stafford’s students jumped at the occasion and created prompts for visitors to draw themselves as a superhero, inspired by a recent class discussion about what makes a hero. Students were asked

Payne is building relationships with local organizations to ensure that when faculty and students do partner with them, they do so as an equitable partner. “Essentially, we are building a program that adheres to the principle of ‘reciprocity’ to ensure that the work is not only about Lycoming, but also contributes positively to our community.” The Office of CBL coordinated projects academic year, Payne said at least four new collaborations with the departments of English, history, biology, and biochemistry will be added to the existing projects. “We want more faculty using CBL, and we’re excited to see more disciplines come on board.” Below is a sampling of some of the successful CBL projects that were offered this past academic year. ALL IN VOTER CHALLENGE Lycoming’s campus celebrates the important ways it can take part in the democratic process, and the ALL IN Voter Challenge focused on three main components: voter registration, turnout, and education. The challenge helped students, faculty, and staff engage in civil public discourse and close voting gaps based on age and race during the pivotal 2022 midterm elections. Students enrolled in Lycoming’s Civic Engagement course, taught by Angela Kurtz, Ph.D., worked together to organize for nine courses during the 2022-23 academic year. For the upcoming

course partnered with the James V. Brown Library in Williamsport on a project centered on graphic novels. “To better engage with the themes of my course, Dessiner le 19ème siècle en bulles (Drawing the 19th

14 LYCOMING COLLEGE 2023 SUMMER MAGAZINE