The Harward Center for Community Partnerships continues its 2008-09 Civic Forum series with a student panel discussion on possible outcomes and implications of the upcoming presidential election.

Theodore Sutherland, a sophomore from Accra, Ghana; Rachel Kurzius, a junior from Ridgewood, N.J.; Marshall Hatch, a junior from Chicago; and Emily Grady, a junior from Littleton, Mass., offer a presentation titled "Why November 4 Matters: Student Voices on the Stakes of the Presidential Election" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, in Chase Hall Lounge, 56 Campus Ave.

The event is open to the public free of charge. For more information, please contact Kristen Cloutier at the Harward Center, at 207-786-6202.

"We are excited to be sponsoring this student panel on the presidential election," says Harward Center director David Scobey. "Our Civic Forum series presents advocates and activists on important civic and political issues, and the voices of students and young voters could not be more important in this campaign."

The discussion is not intended as a back-and-forth debate among the candidates' supporters, Scobey says, but instead a chance to hear students speak for themselves on the stakes of this historic election.

The panel represents a variety of backgrounds and political interests. "I'm eager to hear the panelists' thoughts and take part in the wider conversation they'll spark with the audience," says Scobey.

The forum is a lively series that invites the audience to explore civic, political and policy issues significant to the Bates community, Maine and beyond. 

The Harward Center leads Bates' efforts in community involvement, including programs in service-learning, community volunteerism and environmental stewardship. The center works with community partners to meet community needs and, in the process, to integrate civic engagement with the Bates educational experience.