The Core of Democracy

The day started as most days with a pre-speaker session, conducted by Ray Knight, where we discussed our homework assignments. More specifically, we elaborated upon the topic of the democracy of the United States, its political system as well as the presidential elections of 2016. The debate was focused on the impact of social media on the political life of a country as well as on whether it is helpful or hurtful for a democracy that new faces emerge from outside the political spectrum rather than the existence of political elites.

During the Speaker Session we had a lecture with Dr. Gordon Smith, in which we discussed the political history of the U.S., focusing on the Founding Fathers, the voting system and its restrictions, as well as American values. Prior to that sessions we had been asked to take part in a survey by ranking 10 political values from first to last, the results of which we were presented with and analyzed during the session.

Early in the afternoon we visited the State House of South Carolina, where we did a tour around the building, learned about history and the civil war. In addition to that, we visited the Senate and the House of Representatives of the state of South Carolina, where we were informed about the procedures of the two bodies.

Going back to class for the post-speaker session, we discussed about gerrymandering and were asked, as part of an exercise, to divide an imaginary state into voting districts so as to create the best possible result for our political party.

Concluding, it was undeniably an interesting day full of learning and fruitful discussions.