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΢��Ȧ students teamed up with WJAR NBC10 to interview Rhode Island citizens about this year’s presidential election.

The project originated in a course titled COMM 353: Political Communication, taught by ΢��Ȧ Professor of Communication Valerie Endress. The project included class participants as well as ΢��Ȧ students who were involved in the American Democracy Project, which is also led by Endress.

“The idea was to ask Rhode Islanders and millennials at ΢��Ȧ a series of questions about the campaign,” Endress said. Questions ranged from capturing the mood of Rhode Island voters to the qualities that voters are looking for in a president.” All interviews were videotaped.

The students were assisted by NBC10 News Director Chris Lanni; ΢��Ȧ Adjunct Professor of Communication Liz Viall; ΢��Ȧ mass media student Maja Giguere; and ΢��Ȧ Assistant Professor of Communication Brian Knoth, who provided advice on the final production of student videos.

Endress said the students learned first-hand how difficult it is for political reporters to get people to speak on camera. ΢��Ȧ student Louisa D’Ovidio noted that “people needed reassurance and a lot of background on some questions, but once you got them talking, they usually had a lot to say.”

D’Ovidio also found that the project became an open platform for those she interviewed. “I think being able to openly discuss your opinion was very important to this election,” said D’Ovidio. “This project opened that door.”

Pleased with the outcomes, Endress said she is eager to give the project another try in 2018. She said, “It’s great when you can have students go beyond classroom discussion to experience for themselves what they are learning.”

In the video below, see student participants in the project being interviewed about their post-election thoughts: