Fall 2024 Events

Additional Programming

Monday, August 26, 2024 | 6-7 p.m.

Northfield Public Library
Public Polling
Join Chris Chapp, St. Olaf College Political Science Professor and Morrison Family Director of the Institute for Freedom and Community, as he shares the basic ins and outs of political polling–and how to make sense of it all!–in the lead up to the November 2024 election. Co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters Northfield Cannon Falls, Northfield Public Library, Carleton College’s Center for Civic and Community Engagement, and St. Olaf’s Institute for Freedom and Community.

Monday, September 30, 2024 | 6-7 p.m.
Northfield Public Library
AI & Election Media
Co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters Northfield Cannon Falls, Northfield Public Library, Carleton College’s Center for Civic and Community Engagement, and St. Olaf’s Institute for Freedom and Community.

Thursday, October 10, 2024 | 4 p.m.
Flaten Art Museum
Despite political polls being a ubiquitous part of American elections, they are poorly understood by the mass public. This talk will explain how polls work and why professional pollsters can arrive at different results, ultimately addressing the question, “Can We Trust the Polls?”

Monday, October 28, 2024 | 6-7 p.m.
Northfield Public Library
Seeking Trustworthy Voices
Co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters Northfield Cannon Falls, Northfield Public Library, Carleton College’s Center for Civic and Community Engagement, and St. Olaf’s Institute for Freedom and Community.

Thursday, November 7, 2024 | 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Flaten Art Museum
Post-Election Living Room Conversation with Chris Chapp, Professor of Political Science; Morrison Family Director of the Institute for Freedom and Community
Cozy in and debrief the election results in a casual Q & A setting

Monday, December 9, 2024 | 3:30 p.m.
Viking Theater, Buntrock Commons
Skills for Disagreeing Better Workshop moderated by Bill Doherty, co-founder of Braver Angels
The Skills for Disagreeing Better workshop helps participants understand the values and concerns of those who differ from them politically and teaches essential skills for communicating across differences and finding common ground.

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Practicing Democracy: 150 Years of St. Olaf Student Civic Engagement

September 13 – December 10, 2024

In the fall of 2024, St. Olaf College’s Flaten Art Museum (FAM) will become a site for practicing democracy leading up to and following the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. In partnership with the college’s Academic Civic Engagement (ACE) program (within the Smith Center for Global Engagement), the Institute or Freedom and Community (IFC), and College Archives, FAM presents these non-partisan exhibitions to strengthen civil society and highlight the power of art in fostering civic engagement.

Practicing Democracy (September 13 – December 10, 2024) explores and promotes St. Olaf student civic engagement as the college marks its 150th anniversary. Decades of engagement and activism paved the way for St. Olaf College to lead voter engagement among U.S. colleges and universities today. Photographs and ephemera on loan from College Archives highlight non-violent protests, artistic responses to urgent issues, candidate campus visits, and get-out-the-vote campaigns from the early 1900s to the present. These artifacts offer a window into the college’s past and reveal that students have long been at the forefront of political activism. The exhibition continues with an immersive mock election experience where visitors can register to vote, cast a straw poll ballot, and discover ways to stay informed and engaged. Following the election on Tuesday, November 5, this gallery will transform into a “living room” for reflection and civic dialogue.

Learn more about the exhibition and FAM programming at https://wp.stolaf.edu/flaten.