On Tuesday, October 6 at 7pm ET, BridgeUSA and Heterodox Academy were joined for “Stop the Echo: Political Polarization,” a virtual panel event. This event explored the growing political polarization, disillusionment, and generational differences sweeping our campuses and country today.
Our panel included two professors and HxA members, Sam Abrams and Lindsay Hoffman, who drew on their research, and two student leaders, Amanda Shafer and Trevor Lane, who shared their personal experiences on campus.
More information on our panelists:
Samuel J. Abrams is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on questions of related civic and political culture and American ideologies. He is concurrently a professor of politics and social science at Sarah Lawrence College, and a faculty fellow with New York University’s Center for Advanced Social Science Research. Dr. Abrams has been widely published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The American Interest, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, among others. He is the author of several books on a variety of topics including public opinion, Congress, religion and society, and polarization.
Lindsay Hoffman joined the faculty of the Department of Communication at the University of Delaware in September 2007 after receiving her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. Her research examines how citizens use internet technology to become engaged with politics and their communities. Dr. Hoffman holds a joint appointment in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, and is the Associate Director of the Center for Political Communication. She is also the Director of the annual National Agenda Speaker Series. She teaches courses in political communication, politics and technology, media effects, and research methods.
Trevor Lane is studying Communication and Political Science at Linn-Benton Community College and Oregon State University. He is the Director of Curriculum Development for BridgeUSA. He has a deep interest in beer, whisky, and Chicago-style deep dish pizza.
Amanda Shafer is a recent UC Berkeley graduate passionate about building a better tomorrow and empowering young people to have a voice in politics. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Bridge Institute at BridgeUSA and hopes to have a future rooted in public service, fighting for causes larger than herself.
