{"id":35205,"date":"2024-11-14T10:54:29","date_gmt":"2024-11-14T15:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=35205"},"modified":"2024-11-14T10:54:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T15:54:29","slug":"faculty-offer-expertise-perspectives-after-election-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/faculty-offer-expertise-perspectives-after-election-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Faculty offer expertise, perspectives after Election Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

No matter the result, Election Day always leaves people asking the same question: What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

Last week as students, faculty and staff processed the outcome of Tuesday\u2019s election, a panel of Furman University professors brought their expertise to answer questions and offer perspectives on the election and its policy implications. With a combined nearly 125 years of academic work at Furman in political science, sociology and economics, the panelists gathered at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 8, in Johns Hall for the discussion.<\/p>\n

The panelists were David Fleming, professor of politics and international affairs; Jessica Hennessey, John D. Hollingsworth professor of economics and interim economics department chair; Ken Kolb, professor of sociology and chair of the department; Elizabeth Smith, professor of politics and international affairs; Danielle Vinson, professor of politics and international affairs; and moderator Brent Nelsen, Jane Fishburne Hipp Professor of Politics and International Affairs.<\/p>\n

\"Students

An \u201cElection Dissection\u201d event between faculty and students held in Johns Hall 101 on Friday, November 8, 2024. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.<\/p><\/div>\n

This \u201cElection Dissection\u201d event was part of the On Discourse Initiative<\/a>; an effort to facilitate constructive conversations among people who have opposing views. On Discourse events are part of The Furman Advantage, equipping students with the social skills to engage in healthy communication on challenging and divisive issues.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Edwar Munoz Ventura \u201927 has appreciated about navigating the election while on campus. A native of Peru, Ventura is an international student majoring in politics and international affairs. Even before Friday\u2019s panel discussion, he said he\u2019d been involved in his department, discussing politics with professors and students while attending \u201cPizza and Politics\u201d events and this semester\u2019s CLPs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been a good level of civic discourse, and I have enjoyed taking in every different perspective,\u201d Ventura said.<\/p>\n

He shared concerns with the panel about how the Latino population in the United States is being seen and treated by other citizens, as well as worries about how possible policy changes might affect international students. Nelsen explained that no policy exists in a vacuum and shared insights into how other factors like corporate influence could affect policy decisions.<\/p>\n

Fleming said increased polarization in public opinion has created situations where voters are less likely to shift from supporting one political party to another.<\/p>\n

\"A

An \u201cElection Dissection\u201d event between faculty and students held in Johns Hall 101 on Friday, November 8, 2024. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cEven in this election that was called before I woke up Wednesday, 125,000 votes in some places and the election would have gone differently,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The two-year cycle of political pendulum swings has shown that one party\u2019s victories usually result in a wave of support for the opposing party during the next election, Vinson said to the discussion\u2019s attendees. Some citizens withheld their votes over specific issues, and she said with how close some congressional races were these uncast votes could have made a difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t take many people in swing states and swing districts deciding \u2018I\u2019m not going to vote this time,\u2019 or \u2018I\u2019m voting third party,\u2019\u201d Vinson said.<\/p>\n

Hennessey and Kolb answered a question about how economists are interpreting President-Elect Donald Trump\u2019s economic policies. Most economists agree his proposed tariffs aren\u2019t likely to improve the economy, Hennessey said, but his campaign has offered a narrative that tariffs are a road to a better economic situation than what people are currently facing. Kolb added that tariffs alone can\u2019t bring back an age of industrial prosperity enjoyed by previous generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if tariffs were to work and we decided America is going to make its own steel again, there\u2019s no way we can employ the number of people needed to create this steel industry that we imagine our grandfathers being a part of,” Kolb said. \u201cThe technology has changed to the point where we don\u2019t need as many humans in the process now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Students

An \u201cElection Dissection\u201d event between faculty and students held in Johns Hall 101 on Friday, November 8, 2024. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.<\/p><\/div>\n

Some students asked the panel for clarity on social issues. Alex Aradas \u201926 shared that her best friend is a transgender woman, and Aradas has felt unsafe and afraid as a queer woman amid anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric in the general public. For T.J. Robertson \u201925, living as a queer man in the South has him fearing social tensions over marginalized groups. Smith explained to attendees that in a federal system where states have their own laws and political cultures, moving to a state with greater protections for marginalized people is a practical consideration, if possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bottom line at the end of the day is everybody should feel safe,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Enabling safe conversations is what On Discourse is for, and Smith said she hopes the panel discussion helps spur students on with curiosity when engaging with others about politics. Nelsen said he wants to see people connect with the concerns and opinions of the working class, and that students should be involved in their communities, mixing with a diversity of people from various backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think action is always the best way to deal with stress,\u201d Smith said. \u201cTalk to people, get to know people that are different from you, and try to bridge the information and perception gaps that we know exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know needs personal assistance, contact the Office for Spiritual Life<\/a> at osl@furman.edu or 864-294-2133 or the Trone Center for Mental Fitness<\/a> at 864-294-3031.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A panel of politics, economics and sociology professors hosted an “Election Dissection” panel as part of the On Discourse Initiative to help field questions and facilitate conversations about the outcome of the election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":35125,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2928,2929],"tags":[1899,2603,245],"class_list":["post-35205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-presidential-election-2024","tag-election-2024","tag-on-discourse","tag-politics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35205"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35234,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35205\/revisions\/35234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}