You’ve probably seen one of those TikTok street interviews by now: creators quizzing everyday people about civics and U.S. history, usually in an attempt to highlight how little American citizens really know about the systems that govern us.
I’ve seen some where the speakers ask relatively simple questions about how many senators there are or how the Electoral College works. In most cases, people across every possible walk of life struggle to answer these questions and seem not to be concerned with their civic ignorance when the right responses are revealed. It’s no secret that people can go through life without ever truly learning the basics of government.
In 2018, a study in which Americans were tested on knowledge required to pass the U.S. Citizenship Test, only about one-third received a passing grade of 60% or higher. What’s more, just 19% of people under 45 years old managed to pass. This lack of political literacy among young people, paired with the ideals Villanova aims to promote, is exactly why it’s necessary to more fully incorporate civics education into the curriculum for undergraduates.
At Villanova, our core curriculum is built on the idea that all students deserve the information and skills needed to think critically, defend our views, interact with opposing ideas and develop a sense of media literacy. These ideas of informed, responsible citizenship and the use of our knowledge to improve society are undoubtedly in line with our mission as an Augustinian university. By embracing an opportunity to help Villanovans become more aware and involved citizens, we come closer to fully idealizing the values our school sets forth.
At a school both rooted in tradition and willing to welcome progress, the core curriculum should represent the evolving interests and needs of students.
For example, the recent addition of the diversity requirement has provided students in CLAS, nursing and engineering with the opportunity to develop their understanding of how to promote equity in their respective fields.
In light of the recent election, throughout which misinformation and a lack of inter-party dialogue among young voters perpetuated existing problems, it seems more important than ever that college students are introduced to the principles that define our democracy.
“I didn’t have the opportunity to take a civics class in high school, so college is the chance to learn these things for a lot of students in that position,” CLAS freshman Samantha Morin said. “Civics is just as important as other things like Philosophy or Ethics once we graduate and enter the ‘real world.’”
Implementing yet another requirement would likely be a challenge.
“No matter the workload you already have, it’s important to understand the values behind civic education and have a holistic experience as a student,” sophomore nursing student Andrew Pinou said.
With so many existing requirements already in place, fulfilling the core curriculum can make course registration and academic planning difficult for most students. Considering this, it might be more practical for the University to introduce civics or media literacy as an attribute as opposed to an additional core class for students to take to graduate. By working it into the existing schedule and enhancing some classes instead of having to allocate even more resources for civic education as its own class, Villanova could lessen the burden placed on both administration tasked with introducing it and students required to take these courses.
Whether this might be introduced within my four years as a Villanovan – and the four years before the next major election cycle – is to be determined, but with the support of receptive students and faculty, I am confident that our University can take strides in the right direction before 2028 rolls around. Who knows? Maybe the next opinion article on this topic will be a review instead of a proposal.
