From Maxwell Perspective...

What Do You Think?

A new social media campaign invites everyone to opine (briefly) on the essence of citizenship.

Join In!
To make your contribution to the “citizenship thought bubble” campaign visit maxwell.syr.edu/ToMeCitizenship
Or just post to social media using the hashtag: #ToMeCitizenship
At the Maxwell School’s 90th birthday party last October, there was a little sideshow. While revelers celebrated in the Joseph A. Strasser Commons —described here

It was the grand public launch of the #ToMeCitizenship campaign. Everyone happening through, from students, staff, and faculty to Advisory Board members, alumni on campus for Orange Central, and even the Chancellor — all were invited to complete the following sentence: “To me, citizenship . . .” They wrote their response in the provided “thought bubble” and were photographed displaying it. Those photos then were posted on the RebelMouse page where the School is collecting dozens, soon hundreds, perhaps thousands of different notions of the definition and significance of citizenship.

Thus far, submissions to #ToMeCitizenship have been made primarily at events such as the 90th birthday party. Similar photo booths will be set up at future citizenship-focused events.

“This work will build on the already vigorous focus we have today on citizenship. . . .,” he said. “It will draw on our research centers and institutes which are already doing innovative work on many of these issues."

But it’s time for #ToMeCitizenship to get out of the photo booth. The idea, as with any hashtag campaign, is to go viral, opening it to the broadest possible community, both within Maxwell and beyond. “As we began to prepare for our 90th anniversary and the reassertion of Maxwell’s unique emphasis on citizenship,” says Dean James Steinberg, “we realized social media gives us an opportunity to involve a larger community. A diverse collection of ideas on citizenship helps us all remember how broadly we define the concept and how profound and pervasive is its reach.” Everyone, he said, has a stake in the School’s “underlying ethos” and so everyone should weigh in on #ToMeCitizenship.

Everyone means you. It’s your turn to make a contribution to the #ToMeCitizenship campaign. And you don’t need a photo booth to get it done. Visit the introductory page at www.maxwell.syr.edu/ToMeCitizenship, which will lead you through the chief options for sending your response:
  

• Download the “thought bubble” placard, fill it out, snap your picture, and post it on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using #ToMeCitizenship. It will aggregate to the RebelMouse page.
• Forego the photo. Just tweet or post the text of your citizenship idea to the listed social media, using #ToMeCitizenship.
    
  

If you are not accustomed to posting with hashtags, there is a third option: Simply e-mail your thought bubble photo or text to alum@maxwell.syr.edu. The Alumni Relations staff will post it.

And then tell other people about #ToMeCitizenship. Everyone has ideas about citizenship — or should.

“One of the strengths of the Maxwell School,” Steinberg concludes, “is that here citizenship is something that is understood and appreciated by everyone. We look forward to hearing many voices on the topic.” — Dana Cooke

This article appeared in the winter 2015 print edition of Maxwell Perspective; © Maxwell School of Syracuse University.