Engaging Student Voices
Lectures on political cartooning and free speech have taken Kevin “Kal” Kallaugher—UMBC artist-in-residence and editorial cartoonist for The Economist—to dozens of campuses around the world, but none quite like UMBC. In Russia, students broke into spontaneous applause when they learned that freedom of speech protection in the U.S. Constitution enables Kallaugher to satirize political leaders without fear of reprisal. The ability to critically draw your own head of state, he argues, is true evidence of freedom of expression. At UMBC, he works with a team of bright and energized student bloggers who exercise this freedom as journalists on USDemocrazy, a news site for students, by students.
“I tell everyone about USDemocrazy and my experience here at UMBC because it fits right into that picture,” says Kallaugher. “New social media, as we know, has turned out to be an important lever to enabling societies and people to express themselves in ways they have not been able to do until now, and it’s a tool that’s worth harnessing as much as possible.”
USDemocrazy has come a long way since January 2009, when it transitioned from a map-based informational site for young people about the U.S. political system—created through Kallaugher’s leadership—to a UMBC student-authored daily news blog. “Our bloggers are now journalists and I tell them that they are empowered to walk up to anybody to ask a question,” Kallaugher says. “They’re not going to be witnessing history as it unfolds; they’re going to be partaking in history. They are going to frame the important subjects and help educate people about what’s going on.”
To-date the blog has received hundreds of thousands of views from readers in all 50 states and 130 countries, and it continues to grow. This is in large part because Kallaugher sees himself not just as an artist-in-residence, but “also an ambassador for UMBC, reaching parts of the country and the world that for the first time are getting that introduction.”
In addition to international trips—such as a 12-day visit to universities in Jordan and Lebanon and a standing-room-only talk at TEDxWarwick—Kallaugher has spoken at museums, arts events, on public radio and with technology and entertainment firms around the country. He has also begun collaborating with middle and high schools that want to utilize USDemocrazy as a tool to teach students about current events and the importance of being informed, taking advantage of the site’s accessible writing and engaging format.
Beyond their commitment to post two to three times a day, six days a week, 52 weeks a year, USDemocrazy’s student bloggers have branched out to producing original research articles and video content and live-Tweeting, covering the Colbert-Stewart Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear and the State of the Union. Senior members now mentor new bloggers on efficiently creating high quality content to meet tight deadlines. “The voice of the blog…sounds like people who are fresh and new to the news,” Kallaugher reflects, “and I think people who are fresh and new to the news themselves respond to that.”
The aims of the blog are indeed similar to Kallaugher’s own goals as editorial cartoonist for The Economist. “My job is not to make people laugh. It’s to make people think,” Kallaugher remarked in the San Francisco Examiner. “You’re trying to further the political discourse using a tool which is accessible to the masses.”
Kallaugher is excited about emerging opportunities to reach new audiences through USDemocrazy as young readers increasingly turn to online news sources. Plus, he says, working with a talented technical crew at UMBC’s Imaging Research Center and energized young writers at a moment of profound media transition is “an irresistible combination.”
Learn about KAL’s early work at UMBC through UMBC Magazine. Students and faculty interested in working with USDemocrazy can email KAL directly.
(4/1/2011)
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