Teniente-Matson: America at 250 — Civic engagement is our shared responsibility

For 250 years, democracy in the United States has endured because each generation has accepted a shared responsibility to solve public problems, strengthen communities and contribute to the common good.

From those who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, to college students who volunteer to support literacy initiatives in local schools and libraries, the story of American progress is written by the people who show up. I am around young people who remind me of  this truth every day. And it’s a constant reminder that we’re in the business of cultivating civic agency across disciplines with the knowledge and responsibility to improve society and engage in evidence-informed action.

Today, students are passionate about issues that will shape their lives and our collective future, from climate resilience and artificial intelligence, to public health and social justice. This is the democratic participation taking shape in the next generation.

San Jose State University students promote voting, fight poverty and food insecurity and serve as translators in Silicon Valley  neighborhoods, to name just a few. Our students advocate for change at City Council meetings, develop innovative solutions through hackathons and transform communities through clean-ups, beautifications and art installations.

SJSU students represent communities across Silicon Valley and beyond, and many return to those same neighborhoods to serve and work. They remind us that democracy is not something we inherit. It is something we nurture and practice. Helping produce tangible civic benefits that improve everyday lives is one of the defining attributes of a public university like SJSU.

At Silicon Valley’s public university, civic responsibility requires technological literacy alongside civic literacy. We must understand how emerging technologies shape humanity and society. As AI transforms our economy, institutions and democracy, students must learn how to build and deploy technologies ethically, responsibly and in service to humanity.

At SJSU we have a unique opportunity to create spaces where ideas are tested and where differences are examined respectfully. Democracy does not require agreement on every issue. It does, however, require learning to disagree constructively while remaining committed to our shared future.

An example of these values in action is SJSU Votes. Begun as a student class project in 2018, SJSU Votes promotes year-round voter engagement, nonpartisan registration drives and civil discourse about the issues shaping Silicon Valley. Students gain firsthand experience in how democracy works, how to shape it and how to help more citizens exercise their voting rights.

For more than 25 years, SJSU’s Center for Community Learning and Leadership has connected academic learning with community partnerships. Students learn that lasting change necessitates collaboration, working alongside locals to solve real-world problems. Since the center’s founding, more than 90,000 students have contributed more than 1.6 million hours of service, advancing the common good while discovering their sense of purpose.

These efforts provide workforce benefits simultaneously. Graduates report that civic–minded experience shaped their careers. Many of the center’s students advance to regular employment with the organizations they served, and 100% of graduates who volunteered with the center report development of professional skills.

Civic engagement builds business skills for local youth, as well.

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy helps elementary and middle school students learn about ideation, finance, operations management and conflict resolution. Lessons are developed and taught by SJSU business students, supported by financial institutions and delivered through SJSU’s CommUniverCity collaboration with the city of San Jose.

Since its founding in 2005, CommUniverCity has reached nearly 150,000 local residents through projects that promote leadership, nutrition, education and justice. Entrepreneurship can itself be a civic act intentionally connecting innovation in ways that strengthen opportunity and neighborhoods.

As we celebrate 250 years of American democracy, I invite everyone to remember that our nation has always drawn its greatness from its people. At a time when public discourse feels relentlessly polarizing, including at our universities, civic engagement is both enduring and hopeful.

We have an opportunity to ask not only what kind of nation we inherited, but what kind of nation we will leave behind. Public universities play an essential role in answering that question.

Since SJSU’s founding in 1857, we have been at the epicenter of the future, with civic responsibility woven into all that we do. For 250 years, democracy has depended on people who show up.

My confidence in the future comes from watching SJSU students do exactly that, every day. As America begins its next 250 years, our enduring commitment to civic minded education may be one of our greatest contributions to strengthening our democracy.

Cynthia Teniente-Matson is president of San Jose State University.