MEADVILLE, Pa., Nov. 1, 2007 (AScribe Newswire) -- On the 150th anniversary of the birth of its pioneering investigative journalist and alumna Ida Tarbell, Allegheny College president Richard J. Cook will invite institutions of higher education nationwide to join Allegheny in a democracy-strengthening initiative with the goal of ending the practice by political candidates of holding closed meetings on college campuses.

In a Nov. 5 news conference at the college, Cook will announce an initiative that invites leaders in higher education to join the "Soapbox Alliance," a coalition of institutions that either have an open campaign-event policy or have pledged to work toward the goal of establishing an open-event policy by September 1, 2008.

"We encourage candidates and campaigns from all political parties to visit college and university campuses to engage students and the public in authentic discussion of the issues," said Cook. "But we reject the notion of ‘town meetings' being limited to hand-picked supporters. Campuses should not be used as convenient backdrops for staged events designed to represent something they are not."

The idea behind the initiative sprang from the dilemma Allegheny College faced during the 2004 election season when it received a request from the Bush-Cheney campaign to rent its gymnasium for a ticketed event, with the campaign organization determining how the tickets would be distributed. At the time, Allegheny's practice had been to welcome private groups to use its facilities with or without charge, depending on availability and circumstance. As a result, despite the college community's distaste for the idea of a closed "town meeting," it found itself without a sound basis to deny the request.

The experience caused members of the college community to look for a way to encourage candidates to visit campus while embracing the ideals of authentic political engagement and debate. Led by Professor Daniel Shea, nationally respected scholar and founder of Allegheny's Center for Political Participation, and in collaboration with his faculty colleagues and the administration, the college adopted a policy that allows campaign organizations to reward supporters with tickets to an event but requires that at least half of the available seats must be made available to the general college community through a non-biased distribution.

The idea of encouraging other colleges to band together in order to strengthen the impact of such policies -- and potentially end the practice of hosting closed campaign events on campuses altogether -- was first described in a perspective piece by Shea that was published in the Chronicle of Higher Education in August 2006.

"The reaction to the article has been great," said Shea. "But everyone realizes that colleges have to come together on this."

Formal invitations to join the Soapbox Alliance will be mailed on Nov. 5 to college and university presidents across the country. In addition, information about the Alliance will be sent to others in the higher education community, such as provosts, deans and editors of student newspapers.

"I'm convinced that students care deeply about genuine debate and are turned off by anything else," Shea said.

Also on Monday, a web site, www.soapboxalliance.org, will be launched to provide information about the Alliance-its history, purpose and progress-and a vehicle for public discussion of the role of open political debate in America.

 WHAT: Allegheny College President Richard Cook, Professor of Political Science Daniel Shea, and Center for Political Participation student fellows will host a news conference to announce a national democracy-strengthening initiative on the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ida Tarbell, an Allegheny alumna and one of the investigative journalists that Teddy Roosevelt dubbed "muckrakers."

       WHEN: Monday, Nov. 5, 10 a.m.

       WHERE: Allegheny College, Campus Center Lobby

       For a campus map or parking information, please contact Barb Steadman at 814-332-6202 (office) or 814-397-9959 (cell).

Additional Background:

Allegheny College Policy for Events Involving Candidates for Elected Political Office

All events featuring or actively including candidates for elected political office will adhere to Allegheny College's normal Event Registration and General Event Guidelines.

Other than small organizational meetings or class sessions, all events held on the Allegheny College campus that are attended by candidates for public office or are part of the candidate's general effort to build support for candidacy shall be open to the general College community.

An open event is defined as one for which no fewer than one-half the available seats or spaces are available to the general college community based on a non-biased distribution of tickets on a first-come, first-served or other suitable basis.

Candidates are required to contact the College with sufficient time prior to an event for appropriate planning and announcements.

Adopted November 21, 2006

Earlier this year, Allegheny College was selected as one of 25 schools nationwide invited to participate in the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Core Commitments program, which explores how higher education can foster engaged citizenship, teach personal and social responsibility, encourage a respect for diversity, cultivate excellence, and implement programs that support community engagement.

Allegheny College is also one of 10 original members of Project Pericles, which, in 2003, challenged colleges and universities to instill in students an abiding and active sense of social responsibility.

A national liberal arts college where 2,100 students with unusual combinations of interests, skills and talents excel.

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