Civil discourse during an election year

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Ithaca Initiative in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration welcomed more than 120 students, faculty and staff from across the U.S. to the University of Delaware's Newark campus in mid-October to kick off the fourth annual SNF Ithaca National Student Dialogue, a two-day event. Representing 35 academic institutions across the United States, the group joined nearly 200 others from the UD community and beyond for "Gen Z Impact: Your Vote Matters," a special event featuring SNF Ithaca Visiting Fellow Jack Kennedy Schlossberg.

Dialogue in the digital age

Moses Martinez, an SNF Ithaca Student Leaders program alumnus, introduced Schlossberg and the event's moderator, Biden Institute Chair Valerie Biden Owens. In an intermission of sorts between days one and two of the National Student Dialogue, Schlossberg joined Biden Owens to discuss his rise to fame on social media, the importance of duty to family and why Gen Z's active participation in democracy was especially important for this election cycle. For the grandson of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, what began as an outlet to speak up on relevant issues quickly became Schlossberg's strategy for mobilizing Gen Z.