Â鶹¹ú²úAV

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Student sightings of Secret Service agents in academic buildings raised excitement across campus and heralded the arrival of this year’s inaugural Common Ground event, as Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack ’72 was one of the featured speakers.

This year, Common Ground’s programming will focus broadly on climate change and the variety of issues surrounding it. Aptly, Vilsack visited Professor of Environmental Studies Aaron Strong’s Climate Change class in the afternoon.

Common Ground guests Tom Vilsack ’72 and GT Thompson chat with students.

Later, the whole Â鶹¹ú²úAV community was invited to join Vilsack and his fellow speaker Representative G.T. Thompson, the chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture from Pennsylvania’s 15th district, for an informal discussion at the first ever Coffee and Cookies event.

Edvige Jean-François ’90
The discussion was moderated by Edvige Jean-François ’90, an award-winning journalist.

The evening’s discussion focused on agricultural issues such as the Farm Bill, as well as bipartisanship. The discussion was moderated by Edvige Jean-François ’90, an award-winning, multilingual global journalist. She is the inaugural executive director of the Center for Studies on Africa and Its Diaspora at Georgia State University.

“Agriculture is one of the last bastions of bipartisanship.”

Despite Vilsack being a Democrat and Thompson a Republican, they both agreed about the importance of bipartisanship in the world of agricultural politics.

“Agriculture is one of the last bastions of bipartisanship,” Vilsack said, a sentiment later echoed by Thompson.

Representative G.T. Thompson
Rep. G.T. Thompson is chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture.

This description proved true in the duo’s discussion about the Farm Bill, which is up for renewal soon.

“The Farm Bill impacts the lives of everyday Americans and people around the world in immeasurable ways,” Thompson explained. “It’s about keeping American farm families from failing, because if they fail, every American suffers. It’s providing them tools so they can provide us with food, firewood, building materials, and energy resources. It’s about economic impact. It’s about jobs. It’s about taxes. It’s about trade. It’s about food security. It’s about rural development.”

Vilsack pointed out a few issues slowing the progression of a new Farm Bill, namely debates over eligibility requirements for the SNAP program and adjustments to reference prices for crops.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack ’72
(left) U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack ’72. Photo: Nancy L. Ford

While Vilsack promoted the SNAP program as a social safety net fundamental for our democracy, Thompson argued that reasonable eligibility requirements are already in place for the program. Both ultimately disagreed with demands for stricter work requirements for the SNAP program, but from different perspectives.

Climate change entered the discussion regarding meat production’s emission of the greenhouse gas methane. Once more, Vilsack and Thompson came to the same end point supporting meat production through vastly different rationale.

“I think the livestock industry is sensitive to the methane issue, as the Climate Smart Commodities Partnership we’ve set up has established many new programs to reduce methane either by reducing it to begin with or capturing it and turning it into a multitude of new products, including energy,” Vilsack said.

Next Event: Wednesday, Oct. 18

The Supreme Court’s Decision in 303 Creative LLP v. Elenis — The Collision Between Free Speech and LGBTQ+ Rights

Common Ground Events

Conversely, Thompson defended the livestock industry, saying “we need to stop putting bullseyes on the backs of the American farmer, rancher, and foresters” and appreciate the amount of carbon that they sequester.

The program ended with an audience question-and-answer session in which students prompted the speakers on economic efficiency theories’ impact on rural America, the Chinese economic downturn’s effect on American agriculture, and the possibilities for bipartisan climate change initiatives in legislature. A local dairy farmer also posed a question about whole milk in schools and governmental support of dairy farmers.

This year’s Common Ground events, ushered in by Vilsack and Thompson’s discussion, is more relevant now than ever as climate change is at the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist. The series is addressing issues that resonate with both students and the wider Â鶹¹ú²úAV community.

Common Ground

Common Ground is Â鶹¹ú²úAV’s multi-format program that helps prepare students for active citizenship. Designed to explore cross-boundary political thought and complex social issues, Common Ground brings respected thought leaders to Â鶹¹ú²úAV to participate in small classroom dialogues and large event discussions.

Common Ground and Bipartisan Policy Center partnership announcement

Bipartisan Policy Center Partners with Â鶹¹ú²úAV

This collaboration will connect Â鶹¹ú²úAV’s Common Ground program and Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) University Partnership Program to encourage civil discourse and bring bipartisanship outside the beltway through robust intellectual exchange. Â鶹¹ú²úAV is the first liberal arts college to partner with BPC.

David Brody, Professor of Government Robert Martin, and Shoshana Weissmann

What Does Freedom Mean in Online Speech? Experts Debate

As algorithms and online platforms come to define our daily lives, how do we navigate the social responsibilities of platforms and our own online freedoms?  These were questions addressed at the Common Ground panel on March 27. Guest speakers were Shoshana Weissmann, the digital director of the think tank R Street, and David Brody, the managing attorney of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s Digital Justice Initiative. Professor of Government Robert Martin moderated the conversation.

Common Ground 11/15/21 income inequality

Common Ground: Income Inequality Causes, Consequences, Response

Christina Romer, a professor of economics at University of California, Berkeley, and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under the Obama administration, engaged in a dialogue with Greg Mankiw, a Harvard University professor of economics and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush.

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