• Presidential Debate Watch
  • September 10, 2024 | Friends Hall | 9pm-11pm
• Vice Presidential Debate Watch
  • October 1, 2024 | Friends Hall | 9pm-11pm

(Sponsored by the Civic and Community Engagement Center and the Political Science Convening Group)

• • September 17, 2024 | At the Grove/Arch | 4pm

(Sponsored by the Civic and Community Engagement Center)

• • October 7, 2024 |  Ballots and Boba Tea | 1-2pm | Civic and Community Engagement Center, SC 213
  • October 8, 2024 |  Empanadas and Engagement | 3:30-5pm | Civic and Community Engagement Center
  • October 9, 2024 |  Bagels and Ballots | 7:45-9:00 am | 2nd Floor, Student Center Lobby
  • October 10, 2024 | “Why do you Vote?” Build a Bulletin Board with the Black Student Union and the CCEC |2-4pm | BSU Office, SC277
  • October 11, 2024 | Ballots and Bracelets with Alphi Phi Omega |1:30-2:30pm | Fishbowl

(Sponsored by the Civic and Community Engagement Center)

• • Presented by the Eastern Economic Association, renowned economist Jonathan Gruber will discuss the “Past, Present, and Future of U.S. Healthcare” | Berrie Center, Sharp Theater | Tuesday, October 8 | Doors open at 5:45 pm.
    • This event is first come/first serve. If you have questions, please contact Alex Olbrecht at eea@ramapo.edu.
  • Abridged bio of Dr. Gruber: Dr. Gruber is the Ford Professor of Economics and the Chairman of the Economics Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has taught since 1992. He is also the former Director of the Health Care Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the former President of the American Society of Health Economists. During the 1997-1998 academic year, Dr. Gruber was on leave as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Treasury Department. From 2003-2006 he was a key architect of Massachusetts’ ambitious health reform effort, and in 2006 became an inaugural member of the Health Connector Board, the main implementing body for that effort. During 2009-2010 he served as a technical consultant to the Obama Administration and worked with both the Administration and Congress to help craft the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In 2011 he was named “One of the Top 25 Most Innovative and Practical Thinkers of Our Time” by Slate Magazine. In both 2006 and 2012 he was rated as one of the top 100 most powerful people in health care in the United States by Modern Healthcare Magazine. In 2020 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship.

(Sponsored by the Eastern Economic Association which is headquartered at Ramapo College)

• Univision News hosted a live televised interview from Las Vegas with Kamala Harris. The Univision NY crew was at Ramapo conducting a viewing of the live Harris interview. At moments before, during, and after the program Latinos Ask: Kamala Harris Responds, the Las Vegas broadcast was present to cut to Ramapo students for live reactions and interviews.
  • Thursday, October 10 | Friends Hall (SC219) | 10-11:30PM
• Univision News hosted a live televised interview from Miami with Donald Trump. The Univision NY crew was at Ramapo conducting a viewing of the live Trump interview. At moments before, during, and after the program Latinos Ask: Donald Trump Responds, the Miami broadcast was present to cut to Ramapo students for live reactions and interviews.
  • Wednesday, October 16 | Friends Hall (SC219) | 10-11:30PM

(Sponsored by the Civic and Community Engagement Center)

• • Mary Legere, Managing Director of Global Defense with Accenture, “The Implications of Artificial Intelligence on Leadership & Democracy” | October 22 | H-Wing Auditorium | 1 pm

(Sponsored by the Office of the President)

• • November 5, 2024 | 5-10:00 pm | Friends Hall

(Sponsored by the Civic and Community Engagement Center)

• • November 6, 2024 |11 am

(Sponsored by the Civic and Community Engagement Center and School of Humanities & Global Studies)

• • Super Tuesday Reflection: Q&A and Panel Discussion
    • March 6, 1pm, York Room
    • Featuring Ramapo College students and Professors Jeremy Teigen, Dean Chen, Kaitlin Sidorsky, and Michael Unger

• • Be Heard. Listen.: A Public Art Installation of Student Voices at the Learning Commons
    • Mid-February 2024: Student submissions open; March 8: Installation Opens; April 8: Installation Closes
    • Featuring the voices, experiences, and perspectives of RCNJ students.
    • Description: The purpose of this Ramapo College-curated installation, Be Heard. Listen., is simple: to engage the campus through an opportunity to be heard, and to amplify the other on-campus programming by calling attention to student perspectives and experiences which are often unshared. This is an artistic response to a community experience and not intended to be journalistic. This interactive installation was housed in the Learning Commons and called attention to the authentic experiences and perspectives of students.

This three-part series of talks will help prepare the Ramapo community to hold meaningful conversations about the latest Israel-Hamas war. We start off with reports on current conditions for civilians in Israel and Gaza, founded on the conviction that productive study and discussion must begin with the humanization of every person and community involved. We acknowledge that the violence of the past months is rooted in a long history which remains the subject of scholarship and acrimonious public debate—a history that we cannot responsibly recount in just a handful of lectures. Thus, for our third and final talk in this series, we meet with two scholars, each with personal connections to the affected regions and communities, who will model for us how to discuss and learn about history and current events productively and meaningfully. They come not to tell us what to think—that is your decision—but how to share and test our convictions, how to learn from others, and how to process the information we receive from various media, scholarly sources, and even college courses. These are vital skills for anyone seeking to make lasting political change or who simply wants to be better informed.

• • • Talk 1: Documenting Trauma- Recording Testimonies of Survivors and Witnesses of the October 7 Attacks
      • February 19, 2024, 1pm, Alumni Lounges & Virtual
        • Due to the holiday, this program is also being offered via virtual participation. If you plan to participate virtually, advance registration is required. 
      • Featuring Dr. Roni Mikel-Arieli, Open University of Israel, Ben-Gurion University, Israel.
      • Description: Oral history serves as both a field of study and a method for gathering, preserving, and interpreting the voices and memories of individuals, communities, and participants in historical events. This talk delves into the ethical, emotional, and social dimensions involved in preserving firsthand accounts of a traumatic event, focusing on various documentation initiatives collecting testimonies related to the October 7 brutal attack by Hamas on southern Israel.
    • Talk 2: Life and Need in Gaza Today
      • February 29, 2024, 1pm, Alumni Lounges
      • Featuring: Rasha Abousaelem, Independent Aid Worker, St. Louis, MO
      • Description: Rasha Abousalem left for Egypt in early 2024 to help facilitate the collection and delivery of food and medical supplies vital to survival in Gaza. While sharing her experiences, Rasha will provide an insider’s account of conditions on the ground and the humanitarian crisis facing millions of Palestinians in Gaza. Rasha is also part of the Palestinian diaspora in St. Louis and can also speak to the effects of the current war and the proceeding history on her community.
    • Talk 3: Meaningfully Discussing Palestine/Israel after October 7
      • March 12, 2024, 3pm, Alumni Lounges
      • Featuring Dr. Mira Sucharov, Professor of Political Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, and Dr. Sa’ed Atshan, Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies and Anthropology Swarthmore, PA
      • Description:  This program will bring together two experts who have been working across national, ethnic, and religious divides to explore the most challenging dimensions of the situation in Israel-Palestine and to help others find ways to have productive discussions about it. Their focus extends beyond conditions in the Middle East to cover the perspectives and needs of multiple diasporas as well.

• • Annual Diversity Convocation
    • February 21st, 3:00 p.m., Sharp Theater
    • Featuring: Tahesha Way, Esq., Lieutenant Governor of NJ.
    • Description: A lifelong public servant, Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way, Esq. has devoted her entire career to improving the lives of her fellow New Jerseyans. Over the past two decades, she has served at numerous levels of local and state government. As Lieutenant Governor, Ms. Way brings her extensive experience to bear on addressing the greatest challenges facing New Jerseyans — from making life more affordable, to protecting fundamental freedoms—like access to reproductive health care and equality under the law — to maintaining New Jersey’s reputation as the best and safest state to raise a family. Read more about Lieutenant Governor Way.

• • I Think, I Feel: A Student-Centered Forum
    • • Thursday, March 14, 1:15pm-2:15pm, Trustees Pavilion
      • Featuring the thoughts and viewpoints of RCNJ students through faculty/staff facilitation.
      • Description: I Think, I Feel is a student-centered forum that will provide students with a space to share thoughts related to current issues and the national and international responses. The forum endeavors to be a place where you can talk about issues embedded in domestic and international communities, understand social issues, listen to and respect viewpoints different from your own, and stay in touch with self-care as being vital to your well-being.

• • Beginning Our Discussion: Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank | What do you know? What do you think you know? What do you want to know?
    • October 17, 2024, 5 p.m., Alumni Lounges
    • Featuring an interdisciplinary panel of scholars and opportunity for Q&A:
      • Ruth Beitler, Panelist, Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Social Sciences, United States Military Academy at West Point
      • Mia Serban, Panelist, Professor of Law and Society, Ramapo College of New Jersey
      • Behzad Yaghmaian, Panelist, Professor of Political Economy, Ramapo College of New Jersey
      • Jacob Labendz, Moderator, Director of the Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies
    • Description: This academic program is intended to begin campus discussion. We gather with the intention of interdisciplinary learning and gaining a deeper understanding of Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank through a moderated discussion with scholars of comparative politics, history, human rights, political economy, and law and justice.  

• • Student Leadership Summit: Working Together
    • November 6, 2023, 3:30 p.m., York Room
    • Featuring the collaborative energies of student leaders from across Ramapo College’s clubs and organizations.
    • Description: Ramapo student leaders are hosting a summit with the primary purpose of working together across faith-based, cultural, academic, and special interest student groups to identify resources and develop programming that can further our understanding of the latest Israel-Hamas war as well as our empathy for one another.

• • Media Management and Well-being: How can we stay informed without compromising our well-being?
    • November 16, 2023, 1 p.m., A 221
    • Featuring Ramapo College scholars and practitioners and opportunity for Q&A
      • Regina Clark, Panelist, Associate Professor of Journalism
      • Katie Cohen, Panelist, Reference and Instruction Librarian
      • Megan Johnson, Panelist, Health Educator
    • Description: With real-time updates, graphic images, and a range of opinions flooding our screens, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Continuous exposure to emotionally charged news and current events can take a toll on one’s mental health, raising the crucial question addressed in this panel discussion. Panelists will discuss the impact of media, strategies for media literacy and for well-being during times of stress and crisis.