Civic Engagement

What a delightful story on the students at Rayner Browne meeting with city officials! ("Students give city's leaders and earful," Sept. 7) They had done their research, they knew what they needed in their community, they had written, and they talked well and clearly about their needs. Good for them! I hope this is the beginning of a lifetime of civic engagement. Their community and country need citizens like them. Katharine W. Rylaarsdam, Baltimore

Given the rancorous tone of current public debate and the gridlock in government, college students are understandably skeptical about politics and public life. Our polarized legislators seem unable to discuss issues with civility, and policy only seems to be made when one party has a supermajority and compromise is unnecessary. This pessimistic view may be the received wisdom, but we see reasons for hope on many college campuses. At the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, students are helping lead the way to a new kind of politics that bridges difference and strengthens communities.

When asked what they enjoyed most about living or working in Howard County, the three aspects mentioned most were: Location/proximity/convenience 2. Education 3. Neighbors/sense of community The three aspects mentioned least were: Arts/cultural events 2.Recreation/activities 3. Civic engagement Source: Columbia Foundation

Baltimore was recently named an "All American City," an honor recognized by the National Civic League, for its strides in increasing the number of low-income students reading at grade level. The city was among 14 awardees out of 100 entries, earning its recognition for its plan to ensure  students are reading at grade level by the third grade--a pivotal point for literacy development.  According to a release, Baltimore's plan was submitted by The Baltimore Campaign for Grade-Level Reading - a community coalition that includes the Family League of Baltimore City, the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, Baltimore City Public Schools and MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blake's office.

FROM "Bowling Alone, Revisited," an essay by Robert D. Putnam in the spring issue of the communitarian journal The Responsive Community:"It is one of history's real ironies that at the very moment when liberal democracy has swept the battlefield, both ideologically and geopolitically, growing numbers of citizens here at home are questioning the effectiveness of our public institutions. In the United States, at least, there is reason to suspect that this democratic disarray is linked to a broad erosion of civic engagement that began a quarter-century ago."

Baltimore was recently named an "All American City," an honor recognized by the National Civic League, for its strides in increasing the number of low-income students reading at grade level. The city was among 14 awardees out of 100 entries, earning its recognition for its plan to ensure  students are reading at grade level by the third grade--a pivotal point for literacy development.  According to a release, Baltimore's plan was submitted by The Baltimore Campaign for Grade-Level Reading - a community coalition that includes the Family League of Baltimore City, the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, Baltimore City Public Schools and MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blake's office.

Two days after one of the low points in the civic life of Baltimore, with just over 20 percent of its registered voters taking part in the 2011 citywide primary, the following bulletin arrived from our nation's capital: "Baltimore high in civic engagement, according to federal research. " The report comes from an agency I didn't know we had, the Corporation for National and Community Service. It has been around for a couple of decades. The genesis of the agency was "a thousand points of light," George H.W. Bush's kinder-gentler call for volunteers to help the nation, using funds from the so-called post-Cold War "peace dividend.

Peter Levine followed the pattern that he now sees as basic to getting involved in civic life. As an undergraduate at Yale, he was president of the student government. Later, after he got his doctorate in philosophy from Oxford University - where he was a Rhodes scholar - Levine did not retreat into the ivory tower of academia; he joined the civic-based lobbying group Common Cause. There was only one problem he found there. "The median age was very high," he says. Surrounded by people of a certain age who had grown up assuming that you were supposed to be engaged with your community and with politics and such, Levine became concerned about the apparent lack of civic involvement among young people.

In Baltimore County City man, 33, dies after car crashes, burns in I-95 accident ARBUTUS -- A Baltimore City man died yesterday morning after his car ran off Interstate 95 near Arbutus, slammed into a tree and burst into flames, state police said. The driver, 33-year-old Rodger Darnel Jenkins, was traveling north about 7:15 a.m. when his 2000 Chevrolet Malibu swerved across three lanes and ran off the roadway, police said. Jenkins, of the 200 block of S. Payson St., was rescued from the burning car and was pronounced dead at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

"This city needs a hug." "Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty." "Dear World: Sorry. We tried our best. Half of America." The Dalai Lama has said, "My religion is kindness," and I'm all for hugging and apologies. But recent encounters with these prevalent bumper stickers have left me puzzled. Indeed, civility requires us to live one step beyond the Golden Rule - to think first of others, rather than ourselves - if city life is to be sustained. But these sticker sentiments strike me as ultimately passive and resigned.

Ten years ago, a television commercial aired simultaneously on all of the TV stations in Baltimore. It was paid for by the private dollars of principled Baltimore business leaders. It began with the words of a little boy. "My grandmother says we're all part of one big fire. I don't know if that's true, but I know there's a fire inside me. " So began our very public campaign to awaken Baltimore's truer sense of self - to tap the fire inside - and to call upon the power of that spirit to confront the violence of drugs and drug addiction that was killing 300 to 350 of our young men every year - and increasingly, our children.

Two days after one of the low points in the civic life of Baltimore, with just over 20 percent of its registered voters taking part in the 2011 citywide primary, the following bulletin arrived from our nation's capital: "Baltimore high in civic engagement, according to federal research. " The report comes from an agency I didn't know we had, the Corporation for National and Community Service. It has been around for a couple of decades. The genesis of the agency was "a thousand points of light," George H.W. Bush's kinder-gentler call for volunteers to help the nation, using funds from the so-called post-Cold War "peace dividend.

When asked what they enjoyed most about living or working in Howard County, the three aspects mentioned most were: Location/proximity/convenience 2. Education 3. Neighbors/sense of community The three aspects mentioned least were: Arts/cultural events 2.Recreation/activities 3. Civic engagement Source: Columbia Foundation

Declaring a winner in the Baltimore state's attorney's race may be impossible until all the absentee ballots are counted, but one clear conclusion emerges from little known defense attorney Gregg Bernstein's stunning challenge to 15-year incumbent Patricia C. Jessamy: When it comes to prosecuting criminals in the city, there is a widespread and intense dissatisfaction with the status quo. If Mr. Bernstein hangs on for a victory, he will be under intense...

What a delightful story on the students at Rayner Browne meeting with city officials! ("Students give city's leaders and earful," Sept. 7) They had done their research, they knew what they needed in their community, they had written, and they talked well and clearly about their needs. Good for them! I hope this is the beginning of a lifetime of civic engagement. Their community and country need citizens like them. Katharine W. Rylaarsdam, Baltimore

Robert Putnam's fears have come true. The Harvard political scientist worried that some people would use his latest research to argue against immigration, affirmative action and multiculturalism. Sure enough, at least one favorable commentary has popped up on the Web site of David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader. But not to worry. Mr. Putnam's findings are valuable for sane people too. Mr. Putnam is best known for the eye-opening Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, a 2000 best-seller about Americans withdrawing from civic engagement in recent decades.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Of all the states in the nation, Minnesota is still "the most caring," according to one report. A national study released this week by the United Way of America reported that Minnesota offers the best quality of life based on six criteria, including health care, education and financial well-being. The caring report highlights the efforts of Minnesotans such as Mindy Grantham, who has lived in seven states and recently moved to Minneapolis from New York City. "I had forgotten how sweet everyone is, and I kept thinking it was just an act, but it's not," said Grantham, who spends five hours a week mentoring an 11-year-old girl.

Robert Putnam's fears have come true. The Harvard political scientist worried that some people would use his latest research to argue against immigration, affirmative action and multiculturalism. Sure enough, at least one favorable commentary has popped up on the Web site of David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader. But not to worry. Mr. Putnam's findings are valuable for sane people too. Mr. Putnam is best known for the eye-opening Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, a 2000 best-seller about Americans withdrawing from civic engagement in recent decades.

Peter Levine followed the pattern that he now sees as basic to getting involved in civic life. As an undergraduate at Yale, he was president of the student government. Later, after he got his doctorate in philosophy from Oxford University - where he was a Rhodes scholar - Levine did not retreat into the ivory tower of academia; he joined the civic-based lobbying group Common Cause. There was only one problem he found there. "The median age was very high," he says. Surrounded by people of a certain age who had grown up assuming that you were supposed to be engaged with your community and with politics and such, Levine became concerned about the apparent lack of civic involvement among young people.

"This city needs a hug." "Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty." "Dear World: Sorry. We tried our best. Half of America." The Dalai Lama has said, "My religion is kindness," and I'm all for hugging and apologies. But recent encounters with these prevalent bumper stickers have left me puzzled. Indeed, civility requires us to live one step beyond the Golden Rule - to think first of others, rather than ourselves - if city life is to be sustained. But these sticker sentiments strike me as ultimately passive and resigned.