WCBC

February 24th, 2016 by WCBC Radio

Two former members of the U.S. House of Representatives will visit Allegany College of Maryland on Monday, Feb. 29, as part of a “Congress to Campus” event to promote civic engagement and responsibility. The program, through the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress, is bringing former Reps. Dan Maffei (D-N.Y.) and Tom Petri (R-Wisc.) to ACM for class visits and a forum that is open to the community. Each ended his Capitol Hill service on Jan. 3, 2015.

 

The public forum will be held from noon to 1:15 p.m. in the College Center’s Zimmer Theatre. The former congressmen will speak to the importance of civic engagement and responsibility, address the U.S. presidential campaign and urge voter involvement in political decision-making.

 

Moderating the forum will be Dr. Kurt Hoffman, ACM interim senior vice president of instructional and student affairs, and Lenny Vega, president of ACM’s Peace Studies Club.

 

The student club is sponsoring the program with ACM’s Student Government Association, Service Learning and Civic Engagement Volunteer Center and its Democracy Commitment, part of a national effort to promote involvement in the democratic process by community college students.

 

In conjunction, prospective Maryland voters will have an opportunity to register in advance of the state’s April 26 primary election. Voter registration will take place from 10 a.m. to noon in the College Center.

 

Frostburg State University is a co-sponsor of the local Congress to Campus event through coordination with the Office of Civic Engagement and Student Government Association. A student group from FSU will attend the mid-day forum.

 

The U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress, which has the goal of promoting public service and strengthening representative democracy, draws on the insights and unique expertise of its membership to present public service initiatives in the U.S. and abroad.

 

The objective of USAFMC’s Congress to Campus program is to engage students and provide inspiration that will lead to greater democratic participation, whether in the arena of public service or merely to encourage voter participation.

 

Through it USAFMC sends a bipartisan pair of former members of Congress to college campuses for community forums and informal meetings that allow students and the local community to discover, on a personal basis, what participation in a democracy entails.

 

For more information contact Dr. Diane McMahon, ACM service learning and civic engagement coordinator, at 301-784-5113 or email her at dmcahon@allegany.edu. Information is also available on the college website, www.allegany.edu.