ADP Steering Committee
February 4, 2008, 8:30-9:30am
PRESENT: Berrin Beasley, Matt Corrigan, Lucy Croft, David Jaffee, Heather Patterson,
Martina Perry, Ralph Sawyer, Mark Smith
The meeting began at 8:30am. Handouts were distributed: an agenda, an outline for the
Sunshine Week Audit Committee, and fliers for Sunshine Week and John Parmelee’s
upcoming presentation.
1. Jacksonville Day in Tallahassee
Mark Smith reported on the event, which took place on January 24. A group of 19 students
and four faculty/staff members participated. Staff members included Heather Patterson,
Martina Perry, Laurel Kendall and Janet Owen.
The highlights of the day were discussed:
o Students enjoyed the trip and engaged in political discourse on the way to and from
Tallahassee.
o A diverse age range was represented.
o The students who participated took it seriously and dressed for the occasion.
o UNF’s group was announced at the luncheon that they attended; they were glad to be
represented in front of local leaders.
The committee discussed lessons learned and tips for similar future initiatives:
o Mark Smith stated that twenty people in a group should be the maximum amount to
take in the future. There was discussion of possibly taking two groups of twenty in the
future if logistically and financially possible.
o It was asked what the total cost from the event was for this year. It was determined to
have been roughly $1,100.00.
o It was asked whether the committee members who attended the event would
recommend that it be revisited for next year’s agenda; Mark Smith, Heather Patterson
and Martina Perry all agreed that it was a success and would be a good initiative to
carry into the future.
2. John Parmelee’s Presentation on Candidate Framing
Berrin Beasley reported on the event and asked committee members to utilize their fliers and
promote it to the campus community. The presentation is focused on political ads from
former and current candidates and how they are presented; a media literacy presentation.
Ralph Sawyer said he would ask his current events group to attend.
The event will be on Monday, February 11 at 2pm in 14/1700.
3. Jacksonville Week in Review
Matt Corrigan reported on this topic. This is being facilitated by Don Agnew, producer for
WJCT, and is an opportunity for up to ten students/people to view the filming of local public
affairs show, Jacksonville Week in Review.
o The show normally has four journalists and a guest, and current local affairs are
discussed. The ADP committee is promoting it as a way for students to connect with
local government. A roundtable discussion including the panel guests will take place
after the show’s filming.
o The production will take place on Friday, February 29, at WJCT studios. Those
attending will meet up around 8:30am and the filming begins at 9:00.
o It was established that Martina Perry will help with publicity, and that she will be the
contact person for interested parties.
o The first ten to respond will be eligible to go; a wait list will be formed in case of
cancellation on the part of any of the group of ten.
o It was asked when the show will be aired. Matt Corrigan stated that he believes it is
shown on television Friday nights at 8:30 and Sunday mornings at 11:30, and also
aired live on NPR radio Friday mornings at 9.
o It was suggested that a pre-production briefing be held 2-3 days before February 29,
for students to be told what to expect and what topics to plan on discussing. It was
suggested that pizza be provided for this briefing.
4. Sunshine Week Audit Committee
Berrin Beasley reported; co-sponsor Parvez Ahmed was unable to attend the meeting.
Sunshine Week is a national initiative for educating the public about open access to public
records. For 2008, March 17-21 has been designated as Sunshine Week nationally; since that
is during UNF’s spring break, our events will be scheduled around but not during that time.
Martina had prepared a flier, which was brought to the committee’s attention for promoting
Sunshine Week to the campus community. Interested parties will contact Berrin Beasley or
Parvez Ahmed to participate. Mark Smith stated that he will try to get SG involved.
A timeline of events which had been distributed was brought to the committee’s attention. It
was noted that some of the dates and deadlines were in early February; Berrin Beasley stated
that she would push back those dates and the committee would be contacted with the updated
schedule of events.
The events were discussed:
1) Training on how to request records, what to expect, and how to record results to be
held in February. Joe Adams from the Florida Times-Union will be asked to conduct
the training; Berrin Beasley will handle if Adams is not available.
2) Members of the Audit Committee will conduct their audits during the month of
February and record their findings.
3) Results will be reported the first week in March, and compiled into a traveling poster
board exhibit. A handout will also be created based on the results.
4) A panel presentation will be held on March 29; representative(s) from the ACLU and
Gov. Charlie Crist’s office will be among those invited to attend.
Berrin Beasley welcomed ideas and suggestions from the committee.
o Ralph Sawyer suggested putting together a list of common documents and major
topics to assist those conducting the audit and encourage a flow of ideas and interests
among the group.
o Martina Perry asked if there was an ideal number of participants desired; Berrin
Beasley stated that there is no limit in participation for this project.
o Martina Perry suggested the creation of a worksheet that would aid auditors in what to
report from their findings, for consistency in data to be gathered.
o Berrin Beasley said she would like for the Spinnaker and the Times Union to publish a
report of the committee’s findings, if willing.
5. Fall / Other Ideas
Heather Patterson reported that she has received information from the Jacksonville Chamber
of Commerce about their hobnob event, to be held in August. The exact date was unknown at
the time of the meeting.
o The purpose of the event is to let attendees meet with local, state, and possibly
presidential candidates, in a relaxed setting for open conversation.
o It was suggested that the committee play a role in encouraging student participation in
this event.
Matt Corrigan stated that Paul Harwood is going to be conducting a project focusing on what
youth voters care about in the presidential election. UNF students will create the questions
for a much larger scale survey; the questions will be needed sometime in September.
Ralph Sawyer suggested the possibility of involving the League of Women Voters; David
Jaffee said he felt like this would be a good relationship for the committee to cultivate for the
campus community.
Matt Corrigan asked Mark Smith if he knew what SG has planned for Fall. It was stated that
this won’t likely be known until sometime in April due to SG elections and changes in elected
officers.
David Jaffee reported that Marcia Ladendorff is planning a project on deconstructing media in
politics sometime in the fall.
Ralph Sawyer said he would like to put together a group to examine fundamental issues, such
as why people vote. He said that the Miller Center, a large endowment that specializes in
investigative studies, has archives of video discussions that can be pulled from their website
for free. He suggested that for these sessions, one of the 45-minute videos on a particular
topic from the Miller Center be shown, and then a discussion time be allowed for afterwards.
He stated that more information could be found at www.millercenter.org.
Martina Perry reported that Heather Burk’s group is planning activities, but was unable to
attend the meeting. Berrin Beasley requested that Heather Burk provide the committee with
an update.
The group was reminded about Marcia Ladendorff’s film screening on April 24 in the Fine
Arts Recital Hall from 5-7pm. It was determined that Martina Perry and Melody Taylor will
provide more information to the group for promoting this event.
Berrin Beasley thanked the group for their ideas and asked committee members to be thinking
about solid ideas for Fall for the next meeting.
6. Creation of Issues Forum
David Jaffee reported that progress has been made in this initiative since the ADP
Committee’s last meeting. This project has been placed in the hands of student groups.
o Critical Minds, a nonpartisan student group formed to encourage civil discourse on
political issues, was contacted and its members were enthusiastic about the idea.
o Students from various groups that fall under the Progressive Action Committee met in
mid-January for several hours to discuss the creation of an issues forum.
o The idea was announced at Club Alliance’s meeting last month and was well-received.
o Martina Perry reported that the student groups were given Ralph Sawyer’s idea to
involve the community in their discourse.
o David Jaffee stated that he is keeping in touch with the involved student groups to
ensure progress; he believes they will get there.
7. Visiting of Classes Regarding ADP Mission
David Jaffee reported that he visited a section of Norma Jones’ speech class last month. He
explained the ADP’s functions and mission and then had an open discussion with the class. It
was suggested that these students be connected with the issues forum.
Berrin Beasley asked the committee how they want to handle similar requests in the future.
David Jaffee stated that he thinks committee members should go and talk with students
whenever possible if faculty members make requests for them to do so.
It was asked whether the group wants to make an offer to faculty to go to classes, or go only
when asked by faculty. Ralph Sawyer supported the idea of offering a presentation to the
faculty. David Jaffee stated he feels that there probably won’t be an overwhelming amount of
interest from faculty and it should be manageable.
Lucy Croft mentioned coming up with talking points so that any member of the ADP
Committee could make presentations and have consistency with the rest of the group. This
was discussed favorably among the group.
Berrin Beasley asked the committee their thoughts on going to faculty meetings to discuss the
ADP’s mission. Matt Corrigan suggested postponing this until the fall, since by mid-summer
the group will have a better idea of the direction SG is going in the fall. This idea was
supported by the group.
David Jaffee stated that it may be possible for some committee members to attend the ADP
South Conference, and that it is being looked into.
It was requested that next month’s meeting be scheduled for a Thursday or Friday afternoon
during the first week in March, if possible.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:30am.