LSC-CyFair Center for Civic Engagement
About Us
The Center for Civic Engagement at LSC-CyFair aims to teach students the importance of voice and agency because we firmly believe that everyone has the capacity to become an advocate on issues that matter to them. Furthermore, we strive to build social capital within and beyond our campus community in an effort to strengthen human relationships and help students prepare for a purposeful life whatever their career path. All of this will be accomplished through a variety of activities such as organizing campus events, hosting guest speakers, participating in workshops, attending conferences, and connecting the college with local nonprofit organizations that have volunteer opportunities. At this time, LSC-CyFair CCE is being generously funded by the Engage the Electorate Grant from the Houston Endowment.
What is Engage the Electorate?
Engage the Electorate is a three-year grant awarded to Lone Star College with the goal to enhance, fortify, and systemize Civic Engagement activities that focus on civic and voter education and electoral participation in the Greater Houston region our campuses serve. Through this proposed project, LSC Civic Engagement faculty and grant personnel collaborate to combine, replicate, and scale best practices and strategize to implement new initiatives that address electoral participation among students, faculty, and staff.
Upcoming Events
Think Factory
The Think Factory is an interdisciplinary forum hosted by the Philosophy Department of Lone Star College-CyFair. The Think Factory seeks to engage in robust authentic dialogue. Think Factory forums are free, open to the public, and hosted the last Wednesday of each month. Food provided!
"Aftermath" (The Meaning of the 2024 Election)
Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: LSC-CyFair ART 102
Philosophy Goes to the Movies
This series screens various films from different genres, both fictional and documentary, and discusses the philosophical, societal, and sometimes political implications of the films with guest appearances. Hosted the third Thursday every month with free popcorn and candy provided!
Philosophy Goes to the Movies
Date: Thursday, November 21, 2024
Time: 4PM
Location: CASA 110
Deliberative Dialogues
Deliberative Dialogues provide a way for community members with diverse views and experiences to seek a shared understanding of a problem and to search for common ground for action. Programming guides provided by National Issues Forums Institute. Lunch provided!
Deliberative Dialogue: Everyone's In (Issue TBA)
Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Time: 12-1PM
Location: LSC-CyFair CENT (Conference Center)
Deliberative Dialogue: Everyone's In (Issue TBA)
Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Time: 12-1PM
Location: LSC-CyFair CENT (Conference Center)
Deliberative Dialogue: Everyone's In (Issue TBA)
Date: Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Time: 12-1PM
Location: LSC-CyFair CENT (Conference Center)
Past Events
- Think Factory: Secret Signs & Extraordinary Anticipations (Fall 2024)
- Philosophy Goes to the Movies: The Manchurian Candidate (Fall 2024)
- Think Factory: A New Journal (Fall 2024)
- Deliberative Dialogue: Sustaining Ourselves (Spring 2018)
- Finding Truth Amidst Distortion: The Role of Journalism in a Modern Democracy (Spring 2018)
- Deliberative Dialogue: Coming to America (Spring 2018)
- Deliberative Dialogue: What Should We Do about the Opioid Epidemic? (Spring 2018)
- TEDTalk by Eric Liu: "Why Ordinary People Need to Understand Power" (Spring 2018)
- Before the Flood film screening and discussion (Spring 2017)
- "The Best Offense is a Good Defense: Understanding and Protecting Individual Rights in America" Panel Discussion (Spring 2016)
- "Citizen Professional Education Workshop," Dennis Donovan (Fall 2016)
- Deliberative Dialogues: Mental Illness (Fall 2015); Mass Shootings (Spring 2016); Climate Choices (Fall 2016); Changing World of Work (Fall 2016); Health Care (Spring 2017); Land Use Conflict (Spring 2017); Making Ends Meet (Spring 2017)
- "The Environmental Impact of Animal Agriculture," Michael Battey (Fall 2016)
- Faces of Immigration (Spring 2016)
- "From Texas' Death Row to Freedom," Anthony Graves (Spring 2016)
- Houston Foreign Policy Alliance (Spring 2017)
- Human Rights Campaign, Andrea Segovia (Spring 2017)
- Inequality for All film screening and discussion (Fall 2016)
- Lone Star Voices (Fall 2016, Spring 2017)
- "Meet Your Candidates!" (Fall 2016)
- "Patriotism Isn't Enough: Discrimination, Participation, and the Political Socialization of Refugees and Immigrants," Shyam K. Sriram (Spring 2017)
- "Plant-Based Food to Combat Climate Change, Save the Environment, and Improve Your Health" presentation and cooking demonstration, Karoline Mueller, Ph.D. (Spring 2017)
- Poverty Awareness Week (Fall 2015, co-sponsored the Sociology Club in Fall 2016)
- Presidential Debate Watch Party (Fall 2016)
- "Prison Plantation: Criminal Justice and Reform" Alternative Spring Break (2016, 2017)
- Rowing to America: The Immigrant Project (Spring 2017)
- "Savage Inequalities: Understanding Poverty and Education in Latin America" Alternative Spring Break (2016, 2017)
- Sun Come Up film screening and discussion (Spring 2017)
- Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (Fall 2016)
- Texas Tribune Festival (2015, 2016)
- Uchenna Paul, immigration attorney (Spring 2017)
- “What Do We Owe Future Generations?: The Future of Energy & the Environment” Think Factory. Note: Event hosted by the Philosophy Department and co-sponsored by the CCE (Spring 2017)
- "What Philosophers Say About Animal Ethics," Alan Clune, Ph.D. (Spring 2017)
- "What's That Up in the Sky? A Panel Discussion on Drones" Panel Discussion (Fall 2016)
- "Wild for Wildlife," Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition (Spring 2017)