Politically Speaking: Episode 5

 

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Richard Lovette

Welcome to Politically Speaking, an ETSU podcast about freedom and citizenship. Hosted by Dr. Daryl Carter, a professor and scholar of political history.

Each week, we dive into the essential topics of personal freedom and engaged citizenship, exploring what it means to be an active and responsible citizen in today's world.

Join us as we talk politics with members of the ETSU community, asking important questions and seeking meaningful answers.

Dr. Carter




We're here today with Dr. Susan McCracken, who is vice provost, and the office of the Provost, as well as one of our students, Sarah Mohammed.

Welcome.

Mohammed

Thanks for having us. 

Dr. Carter

Well, I hope both of you have been doing well. And we're just so tickled to have you here today. You know, we're about 44 days out from a presidential election. And so politics is on the minds of a lot of our people.

And, today we're going to get into it and how you view politics and how the campus views it.

And I want to start with you, Dr. McCracken.

Can you tell us a little bit about your career and your career trajectory?

Dr. McCracken

So I'll tell you a little bit about my journey.

I feel like I'm deeply rooted in community, and I think that's really defined a lot of my view of politics, both the big politics and little politics.

But I grew up in a pretty small town in the sandhills of North Carolina, and I often joke that my teachers, my English and history teachers, are really responsible for my career path and any success that I've had, because they taught me about critical thinking, how to look at things deeply and how to write.

so in my town, one of the things that we did every year is we went to the JC Hat Divot. Well, not every year, but every year there was an election. My parents took us to the JC hat where we got in a little, I guess, a little voting booth with the curtains. We pulled the thing shut and we would.

That was something my brother and I did all the time, and I wouldn't say that my parents were political in a really super engaged way, but they were very, very engaged in our community.

My father, for his entire life was involved in a civic organization called the Exchange Club, was passionate about raising money to support wheelchair and equipment for folks with physical disabilities.

And my mom was very involved in historic preservation and was a founding member of our historic association in my county.

So they weren't elected officials, they weren't super political. They had very normal jobs. My dad was an electrician and a plumber, and my mom stayed home and took care of us.

But what I saw in my whole life was that they served others.

So for me personally, when I was in graduate school, I started working with a program called Upward Bound, to help young people who were in high school who wanted to aspire to go to college, get the skills they needed, and be successful.

And it really spoke to me that sense of serving not just those students, but helping them get skills and get opportunities that would uplift their community.

So after I did that work for about 16 years, I actually, did some of that work with President Noland because we both worked with, statewide group programs, and I had a chance to, after that to take on some additional leadership roles at the university level.

And then I was interested in new opportunities, and I knew that ETSU was looking for a vice provost for community engagement.

I felt like the values of ETSU were not just something on a piece of paper, that it was really and truly how we interacted.

And so I applied for the position and I came and joined ETSU in June 2022, and I think I have the best job on campus. I love the work that I get to do.

Dr. Carter

Well thank you. You know, you mentioned, you know, these non-governmental organizations that often play a role. And we have dozens and dozens from around, Johnson City, Washington County, and, of course, northeast Tennessee.

And they are vital to, the social fabric of of our community.

Sarah, can you tell us a little bit about where you're from? 

Mohammed

Thank you again. I am from Johnson City, Tennessee. Local.

However, I was born in Ghana on a refugee camp that no longer exists.

So my parents and I came early. My mother and I came to the U.S. in 2005, and we've been living in Johnson City ever since.

I really love being a first-generation immigrant.

There are some parts of it that feel isolating at some points, but I think that it's a really unique part of myself that I get to share with people here at ETSU.

Dr. Carter

And that's wonderful.

You know, when it comes to the issue of immigration.

We often get, wound up in the political debates, but at its core, it's about human beings. And it's about human beings who are moving for a variety of reasons.

Sometimes it's for political persecution, sometimes it's for opportunity, sometimes it's temporary for jobs. And they will go back to their country of origin.

But there's no doubt that, you know, the United States has been built off of, immigration throughout the past 200, nearly 50 years.

And that and enriches the country. And one of the things as a faculty member that I love is that I have, almost every semester, immigrants in my courses. I just spoke to a young student this morning, from Africa, who is a graduate student in the history department, who is looking at doing some comparisons and contrast where between the United States and other parts of the, of the world.

So, we are certainly glad that you're here. And you said you went to watch high school, Science Hill High School.

Mohammed

Go toppers. Go toppers.

Dr. Carter

Well, as as some of, our listeners may know, I'm a graduate of Science Hill High School as well. Go toppers. So we appreciate that.

What brought you to ETSU,

Mohammed

Namely, the Roan Scholars leadership program. I love their values of character, intellectual curiosity, physical vigor, just to say three out of the four, and 

I, I owe them, honestly, so much for my personal development, for my academic development.

We are given a lot of credibility and resources right? That's been built by our steering committee members and by previous scholars in the program, with which we are able to continue to add to that prestige. If I can say that. With what we do in the community, with what we do on campus, that financial award allows us to be more than we would have otherwise.

And to give back and servant leadership, which is the fourth pillar.

Dr. Carter


If you a high schooler, thinking about your next step, we would encourage you to to speak to, retired Lieutenant Colonel Scott Jeffress, who is the director of the program and wwould love to, give you all the details.
So thank you.

Dr. McCracken, can you tell us a little bit about your role? You mentioned you were hired here just a couple minutes ago, and, we are so glad that you're here.
And, what do you do all day?

Dr. McCracken

Well, it's interesting.


Sarah just mentioned steward leadership.


And when I was jotting down my notes, thinking about today, one of the things I wrote under my role of vice provost is that I think of myself as a steward leader because my values drive me and they are my guiding light, both professionally and personally.


And I share that because I believe so completely in it.


She is mission and vision, and I feel like my job so much is bringing is helping bring that to life.


So when I first came, my primary responsibility and it really is still my primary responsibility was to help our quality enhancement plan.


So as part of our reaffirmation for our accrediting body, which is, SACSCOC we have to do a QP every ten years. And basically a ship is like a five year strategic plan. And we decided that ours here wwould be community engaged learning. And the name of our ship is Go Beyond the Classroom.



I'll talk more about that in a few minutes.


But this plan, at its core, was to find ways to really bring, the community into the classroom.


And so we've been working really hard to create community, engaged learning experiences, courses that have a designation, experiences that have a designation.


So I get to be an ambassador here on campus for community engagement and off campus. I get to be an ambassador for ETSU and how to connect the community. This morning I was at the Breaking Barriers breakfast that the chamber hosted at the Langston Center, and I was talking to a colleague, or a new friend.


She works at Citi, and she said, oh, I'm the community engagement liaison for city. I'm like, great.


Well, we want to connect with you and figure out how maybe we cwould do some mentoring with students.


What type of internship opportunities cwould there be? the other thing I get to do in this, I get to do a lot of really great things in this role.


I feel like I get to work in the world of possibility and opportunities for faculty, staff and for students.


So ETSU Elevates is coming up, two weeks from today, on October 7th. And that's a really cool opportunity that I have been able to head up.
And Sarah has been a part of that.


Maybe she'll talk about that, but it's sort of that social entrepreneurship program that provides seed money for community agencies to work with our students to, to help those students pilot.


And then an innovative solution to a problem that they've identified.


And then I think the other thing is, I just want to mention with my role is I get to work very closely with my colleagues in student life and enrollment, Joy Fulkerson and Nathan Farner. And we've worked really hard to put in place a lot of processes, especially for our community partners.
Our community partners have said, we love ETSU, but sometimes we don't know there's a huge animal.


Where do - where's the entry point? So working with Nathan and Joy, we've been working on our ETSU service platform. I'm convening more partners here on campus, getting out into the community. We've got a lot of long term established partnerships.As you mentioned earlier, there's so many agencies and so many services available in this community. For those people who have established relationships, it's part of what they do.

But there are a lot of newer agencies or smaller ones. And so we want to make sure that everyone feels they have a way to get in to, to ETSU.
So I get to do a lot of things, and the thing that I really do love is I feel like I get to work and I think I enjoy, my profession the most.


When I get to work, places come together. I feel really strongly that higher education, especially public institutions, we are here for the public.

They fund us, our citizens fund us. Students certainly pay tuition, but the bulk of our funds come from taxpayers. And so how do we really serve those other entities in addition to our students is pretty important to me. And I feel like that that is so much at my job.

Dr. Carter

Well, I appreciate that, and it just sounds like a wonderful job. And you must have a lot of fun dealing with, you know, all these people in this serious work.


And for our listeners, when we talk about accreditation, as a, as an institution who receives federal funding, we are required to have accreditation.


And that accreditation is through SACSCOC based in Atlanta, Georgia. So, Sarah, can you talk a little bit about your major and minor here at the university?

Mohammed

So I am a psych major on the clinical concentration at ETSU.

I have found myself wanting to win more into the waters of science and research, and all of the mentorship that comes with that.

I love learning about the brain, the bio psychosocial model as it relates to health and mental health in general. So I think that psychology has much to offer the world, the university, on all levels.



And I would love to be a part of that process moving forward as a professional.

Dr. Carter


Have you had an opportunity to do your own research projects?

Mohammed

Yeah, I have ETSU elevates, thankfully, I was able to compete through the pitch process and gained some funding for my own research, which is related to studying access discrimination, internal stigma, perceived stigma, and preference for a black counselor for black Americans in Washington County, Tennessee, just through a lot of words that you.


But racialized rural health is very much understudied in the literature, in terms of access to mental health care and what that looks like when people are receiving mental health care.


So I think that studying that in Washington County, Tennessee, can really help branch out to other local counties.


Right? The general is generally the ability of that may be limited, but I think that knowing that in itself can give birth to programs to increase access, and to increase cultural competency within clinicians in this area.


I mean, there's just so much you cwould do with this data, but if you don't have it, where can you start?

Dr. Carter

Well, I think that is absolutely marvelous. And when we think about Appalachia, you know, one of the problems that we have is that people think we're monolithic here, culturally, racially, etc., but the fact is, there is real diversity, in Appalachia.


We're here in central Appalachia, on the southern side. But there are a lot of people in this region that, are often and historically been underserved.


And so if we can have, meaningful research like yours that can help us spot, you know, point out those gaps so that we can fill them with qualified professionals so that we can have better outcomes. It's going to make the entire region better.


And I think that's one of the important parts about the university is that, we get back to this idea of servant leadership or serving the region.
We're serving its residents where serving people beyond the region.


And it has this really positive impact of helping people be seen, be heard, as well as be cared for.


So I really am and tickled about your research interest there.


And, hope to hear more about and for some of our listeners, I would encourage you to talk to your faculty, if you are a student, also to look at the honors college and undergraduate research there, or to talk to any faculty member, if you're unsure about how you can get more involved in doing research on the campus.


Sarah, you know, we're at a time where there is high volatility across the country.


There's a lot of people who are, you know, confused or angry.


They're upset about one thing or another, because of politics or political issues.


Could you please speak about what you believe to be the most pressing issues in the country today? And why do you feel that they are so, pressing?

Mohammed

From my corner, from my situated ness as an East Tennessee and, as a black woman, as a student, I know that there are things that are going to be outside of my purview, but from my perspective, it seems like affordability is one of the major issues that a lot of people are facing right now.


People can't afford to be, socially mobile, especially in terms of wanting children or wanting to gain housing that's more permanent, that's looking like it's going to be diminishing in the near future.


People are having questions about Social Security payouts, retirement and whether or not they can afford to live at this point.
that's a really big one.


And then another is foreign affairs with the internet, with social media, a lot more people my age and older have been more exposed to the things going on around the world.


You'll see a lot of people post about what's going on in the Congo or certain parts in 2019, in Nigeria, not to mention more popular and controversial aspects of foreign affairs currently.


So a lot of people are looking at our presidential candidates saying, what is your foreign policy? Who are we here to protect? in these areas that we're in, frankly, abroad.


So people are very curious about how they're going to afford the next ten years and what's going on abroad.

Dr. Carter


Well, I think that's, you know, just absolutely critically important because I think people have a hard time understanding how something in China or Eastern Europe affects them, or something in the Middle East or Africa or Latin America, how that affects them.


But we are interconnected, in terms of the global economy, we are moving, products across the globe.

We're moving money across the globe, every day.


And so understanding that and having an informed citizenry, they can vote with knowledge about how we are interacting with the rest of the world is important.


And so when we talk about students or others understanding the taxpayers fund university, that's important as well.


But it goes into these other issues which you're talking about, which I think is critically important.


Which brings me back to you, Dr. McCracken.


You know, when we think about this issue of servant leadership in the community, all too often we think about global issues and they're critically important, but I think they go together.


And so, could you please speak a little bit about the go beyond, program? What does it do? How does it or, connect, students, faculty to community, and how does it benefit the region and beyond?

Dr. McCracken

Yeah.


So just reflecting on what Sarah was sharing, when we when we were working on this quality enhancement plan, we had to give it a name.
And the university was, you know, starting to put out Go Beyond as sort of a moniker for the university in what we do because we have a history of doing that.


So we came up with the term go beyond the classroom, and we see that.


I see that is an opportunity for faculty, staff and students, not just students, to go beyond the classroom, but all of us.


And to Sarah's point, what when we think about specifically community engaged learning, it is where a learning experience, not only is it experiential, not only is it linked back to the classroom, but it has a mutually beneficial partner in the community.


It's not us going in.


The Sarah was just saying, you know, we're going into these areas to do things that's not mutually beneficial unless we are invited and we're included.
So community gauged learning is mutually beneficial and it has a critical reflection aspect.


And so one way to think of this is it's teaching through critical reflection where you're asking the questions of students and perhaps of ourselves too.
What is it? So what about it? And now what about it? What does that mean? And so thinking about some of the examples that Sarah just shared about issues that are really on the minds of students.


So let's just take affordability and we think about how, you know, might there be a community engaged learning course that's really looking at affordable housing? Well, the aspects of that affordable housing are more than just there's so many different things related.
There are social disparities of health.


There's where do you live there? What of the services that are in place for you? What is the environment? The physical geographic environment? Like my daughter, she's been working out West this summer and literally had to evacuate because of forest fires.


That's not something we think about here, but that impacts affordability, that impacts your housing.


And so through this go beyond the classroom initiative.


What we really are striving for is for students to reach deeper.


And that so what is what does that issue mean to me? How do I do something about that and or at least wrestle with it in my own world? And how is it going to inform how I live in the world when I leave here? I think of it a lot of times as helping students think about who is it, the not just what do I want to do, but who is it? The person I want to be in my community, whether that's New York City, Nashville, Hampton, Tennessee, you know, Cherokee, North Carolina, wherever it is you land, each of us has an opportunity to be engaged and understand what's going on, challenge some of the status quo and find our own place to contribute.

Dr. Carter


Think there's people out there that see the university in and on a part of it, and they say, well, it's big.


You know, they they can throw their weight around. Bbut what you're telling me is that, is something that the president talks about all the time, which is we want to partner, we want to engage, we want to we want to, yes, lead, but we want to engage where we're wanted. And that's I think that's really important to get across to our listeners is that we're here, as a good community citizen, as a partner, not as, something that is going to be unnecessarily disruptive, to your life.

Dr. McCracken


Well, if I can to share an example of that this morning, Dustin Hensley, who's the librarian? Elizabeth.

The Elizabethton High School asked to meet with some of us here on campus because of an incentive they have around project based learning that has a community focus.


And so we had a folks sitting around the table brainstorming.


He's like, what? What are the possibilities? How cwould the university and our high school work better together for students to have opportunities?

Faculty and staff at the high school, faculty and staff here to learn more about what each other is doing to serve our larger community.
So that is the type to me.


That's where those conversations start, and that's where real partnerships start.

Dr. Carter


Well, Sarah, you know, we've talked a little bit about politics and what it means to you in terms of being an informed and understanding what is happening. Uou know, what does politics mean to you, A? And B, how can we restore civility to our national discourse?

Mohammed

Politics is how we've all agreed to run ourselves as a society, right? Who can do what to whom? And with what consequences? To me, that is politics.


Oversimplified, yes, but I think that's the bare bones.


as for civility, it really takes humility to sit down and say, I want to understand you, but that humility has to be rested on a shared reality.
So once that shared reality is broken, there's nothing to meet in the middle about.


And I think that's my biggest fear for America is that there will be no more agreement that such and such happened in this way, and we will all come away with our own versions that are so vastly different that there is not much chance for reconciliation.


Again, humility and empathy and taking the time to listen has its place.

It can only do so much, though, if there's not something to meet in the middle about.

Dr. Carter


I understand, thank you. And, Dr. McCracken, you had recently participated in Constitution Day events in Greene County, I understand, is that correct?

Dr. McCracken

Yes. I got to go to the federal courthouse, just last week to be there for their Constitution Day celebration.

Dr. Carter


And what and, what role did you play down there? And can you tell us a little bit about your remarks?

Dr. McCracken

Yeah.


So, I think all the plans got changed because of the weather.


originally the plan was for folks to read the Constitution on the steps of the courthouse, but it wasn't a great day.


And so actually, I think it was wonderful they moved all of the students.


There were high school students, I think, from 5 or 6 schools in Greene County.


They all went into one of the two federal court rooms on the fourth floor.


And I went into the room with George, Judge Weirich.


And as we're walking in and she said, well, can you talk a little bit about what the Constitution means to you and why it's important? And I'm like, okay, I was going to read a section, but that's what we're going to talk now.


But it was really great.


And, several different folks from the community, the, chief fire officer came in, the mayor came in and spoke.


And what I shared with the students is that we that one, many of them, or a fair number of them in the room were 18.


And that voting is such an amazing tool of our democracy.


And it's not one to be taken lightly, but also, even if you can't vote, for whatever reason, you're not old enough.


You might have you might not be eligible to vote because you're not a U.S. citizen. You still have enormous influence.

And just because you can't vote doesn't mean that you don't have a say in how things are done and how important it is for young people to be engaged.
And Sarah's comments about what is on the mind of young people is really important.


And I think sometimes some of our, some of our world doesn't really pay attention to those thoughts of those things that are weighing on young people's minds.


And if we want young people to be engaged in the political process, we need to find ways to really honor and hear those voices because they are super important.

Dr. Carter


Absolutely.



And, Sarah, I'm going to give you the last shot here.


You know, how do you see the campus unfolding in terms of, the the national election, this fall? are your are your friends and, and peers talking a lot about national issues here at East Tennessee State?

Mohammed

Absolutely.


I wanted to give a big shout out to, the Department of Civic and Leadership Engagement, which is Nathan Farner and Joy Fulkerson as Dr. McCracken has prior.


There's a really big campaign about getting students registered to vote, getting to vote.


And that has drummed up a lot of thought and discussion discourse around the national election.


I believe that things will go through, more, more in the spirit of civility.




ETSU has a lot of initiatives around that civility week, Founders Week, discussing what it looks like to be a citizen or engage in civic duty without throwing up a fist to your neighbor.


So I believe things will go smoothly, and that people will express their opinion, but in ways that are wise, and use tact and have discretion because that's who we are at ETSU.


Dr. Carter

Well, thank you so much.


And and thank you, Dr. McCracken, for being here today.


And I'll just say to, our listeners, you know, a couple things that came out today is this need for community and and it's a theme that keeps coming up again and again in our discussions.


And, it's not going to go away.


And I think the university is a perfect example of how you can harness community for, for, really good outcomes.


The second part is humility.


You know, it's easy to think that we're always right.


but the truth is, is that sometimes we're wrong.


And having that humility and recognizing that, hey, you just may be wrong is important as a citizen.


And then this idea of a shared reality.


We're in a contest right now where, fundamental aspects of our national life are contested, whether it be the Founding Fathers, the American Constitution, slavery, issues over citizenship, immigration, whatever it is, and, you know, this issue of a shared reality.


And I think Sarah is so on point here by mentioning that we're in a really dangerous place here, if we cannot agree on basic, history about what has happened in this country, how it happened, why it happened, and how it impacts us today.


And so as we leave this episode, I just like to encourage our, our audience and our listeners to engage people that do not think like they do, to engage people with different life experiences and to do so with compassion, with empathy, and with humility.


it's the only way that we're going to be able to move forward in a productive way as a society and as a country.


So thank you both, and thanks for speaking politically.

Thank you for joining us on this episode of "Politically Speaking" an ETSU podcast about freedom and citizenship. We hope you enjoyed our discussion and found it thought provoking.

Before we wrap up, we want to remind you about ETSU Votes, an initiative led by the office of Leadership and Civic Engagement at ETSU. ETSU Votes is dedicated to fostering active citizenship by providing resources and support for voter registration, engagement and education.

Last year, ETSU was honored by Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett for our outstanding efforts to promote voter registration. Remember, your voice matters, and participating in the electoral process is a powerful way to make it heard.

To learn more about ETSU Votes and how you can get involved, visit etsu.edu/votes. Thank you for listening. 

Be sure to tune in to our next episode as we continue to explore the crucial concepts and topics of personal freedom and engage citizenship. Until then, stay informed, stay engaged, and keep speaking politically.

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East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.

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