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As a senior citizen and self-described “political junkie,” Phyllis LaVine said she jumped at the opportunity to take Syracuse University’s “Politics of the 2024 Election” honors course offered this fall.

LaVine has taken Professor Margaret Susan Thompson’s class — an intergenerational course offered every two years — since 2016. The course always centers around politics, but its focus varies depending on the country’s current events and ongoing elections.

Thompson’s 2016 class focused on Donald Trump’s first presidential run and his victory over Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Almost a decade later, the class still focuses on the many facets of presidential elections — including candidate campaigns, polling statistics and how to assess political media and news.

“I enjoy the class because I always loved learning and going to school and being educated, and I love the opportunity to be in a classroom again,” LaVine said.

Thompson said that when she started the course in 2008, social media was still very new, so her class emphasized the concept of “false news” and methods of identifying it. LaVine said that while she has always been heavily involved in politics, she extensively learned about finding reliable news sources in the class.

The class is available for 20 students from SU’s Renée Crown University Honors Program and 10 senior citizens from the Oasis Institute — a nonprofit organization which provides a variety of classes to seniors. Oasis offers members, like LaVine, a wide range of opportunities to engage in their community, from university courses, to language workshops, exercise groups and more.

Eric Rogers, another Oasis member, said he has taken Thompson’s course since 2010. He said that he continues to sign up because it encourages cross-generational discussions and integrated coursework, which is not a common opportunity for someone his age.

“I’m really impressed by the students, by their knowledge, by their ability to express themselves,” Rogers said.

The students and Oasis members are split into groups early in the semester to analyze the political dynamics and polling predictions of a particular state, assigned by Thompson. This provides an opportunity for Oasis and SU students to collaborate, bringing different backgrounds and experiences together, Rogers said.

At the beginning of every class, Thompson encourages Oasis and SU students to alternate seats to encourage further discussion and engagement with each other, LaVine said.

Thompson said she always aims to lead a productive dialogue in her classes and has had no issues thus far.

“We could go on for another half hour in almost every class. I mean, really, it’s very lively,” Thompson said. “We even have a system for if you’ve got an urgent thing to say as an immediate response to somebody — how you raise your hand is different.”

Cassidy Snyder, a senior studying history and political philosophy, said that hearing perspectives from other generations has benefited her learning. She said the opportunity for cross-generational dialogue was one of the reasons she took the course.

“I’m a history major, but there’s only so much I can learn through reading books,” Snyder said. “It’s always such a treat, such a treasure, to be able to actually hear from people who went through it, to be able to hear personal stories.”

Snyder said one thing Thompson stresses throughout her class is the importance of “calm and educated conversations,” urging students to remain respectful regardless of diverging viewpoints.

Along with weekly discussions on relevant topics in the news — such as state polling predictions, candidate campaigns, advertisements and election updates — Thompson often invites political experts to speak during class. In September, Gloria Weissman — a Democratic delegate from North Carolina — spoke to the class virtually about the relevance of swing states. New York State Sen. Rachel May also visited the class in October.

Every Tuesday, the SU students write reflections on current political events, along with contributing to discussion threads and email chains. Rogers said he enjoys reading and discussing these reflections every week and admires hearing the students’ interest.

In one discussion, LaVine recalled being asked by an SU student what events shaped her political thought and political leaning as a teenager. She said she thought back to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975. LaVine said she enjoys giving young students her own first-person point-of-view of those events.

Thompson said that, through individual state analysis leading up to the election, her class analyzed and discussed the possible different outcomes of the election.

“One of the things I told the students at the beginning of the semester, and we found out repeatedly, is be prepared to kind of shift gears at any given moment, expect the unexpected, and that’s sort of been our mantra,” Thompson said.

Published on November 7, 2024 at 12:42 am

Contact Kate: kjacks19@syr.edu