Robert Alexander, BA '94
Founding Director, ICAPP
W. Binkley Endowed Chair of Political Science

"un-CAPP it!" podcast

ICAPP has officially launched the first season of their podcast, “un-CAPP it!” Co-hosts Kennedy Aikey and Hailey Trimpey discuss topics previously written upon in their Critical Question Series and provide their Gen-Z perspectives on it. They are then joined by a guest who provides expertise on the topic. They round out each episode with a “Fact or Cap” section, which they explain as a “Gen-Z spin on true or false,” where the guest is asked to agree or disagree with a hard-hitting statement. They also conclude with a “pupdate” on ICAPP’s mascot and Polar Paws dog Sport Grey. Catch up with the podcast on Anchor, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

Polar Bears in public affairs

Polar Bears in Public Affairs was an event put on by ICAPP and Pi Sigma Alpha that worked to bring alumni back on campus to connect with current students. Throughout the month of February, every Tuesday at 11 a.m. we had students connect with alumni, where the alumni shared their experiences from Ohio Northern, career advice, job application advice, and their wisdom. Each session provided students an opportunity to meet alumni in a variety of different fields from lobbying, law, non-profit, research and government affairs. These alumni included Melissa Kuhn Wheeler, BA '01; Mark Schloemer, BA '08; Scott Miller, BA ‘77; Kelly Morman, BA ‘11; Jeremy Martinez, BA ‘15; Gina Grandillo, BA ‘16; Matt Wiseman, BA ‘11; and Speaker Bob Cupp, BA ‘73, JD ‘76, Hon.D. '11. Students greatly benefited from this experience and the connections that were made. We are hoping to continue this series and provide monthly opportunities for current students to connect with our alumni.

Allen Lima leadership event

This spring ICAPP hosted the Allen Lima Leadership group with a number of students from schools in Allen county. The students were able to go through three sessions learning about civics and ways that they can contribute to their communities. The ICAPP Fellows led the first session all about public advocacy with an activity that prompted the students to teach and advocate for a particular policy that interested them. The second lecture was done by Dr. John Curiel from ONU political science, teaching them about redistricting. The final lecture was Dr. Robert Alexander discussing the Electoral College. To round out their day, students were given a tour of campus, lunch, and had time to work on their own leadership projects through the ALL organization. It was a great day for students to connect with each other and to learn more about civics and leadership.

Campus Vote project

ICAAP has recently joined forces with the Campus Vote Project, an organization that is dedicated to improving and increasing voter registration and voter turnout among college students on college campuses across the country. Campus Vote Project has Democracy Fellows for each college campus that work to clear up misconceptions about voting and voter registration, as well as to help students register to vote and educate students about the importance of voting and having your voice heard. The Democracy Fellows for ONU are Nicholas Maccani and Shea Johnson, who have worked closely with ICAAP on ways to help make ONU a voter-friendly campus. In April, ICAAP and CVP held their first joint Voter Registration Drive, and have continued to plan on ways to increase CVP’s presence for the upcoming school year and to help voter registration and turnout among ONU students to increase for the next election.

ICAPP on social media and holidays

ICAPP has increased their presence on all social media platforms. ICAPP is active on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tiktok. They have been able to celebrate all major holidays, including Black History Month and Women’s History Month. Social Media has also been a great way to promote the new podcast and the returning critical question series. ICAPP can be found on all social media platforms with the handle @onu_ICAPP.