Fall 2022

Community Learning Day

Assignment Guide

Please Note: Your assignment for the fall asks you to plan for the particular
advocacy/project you will complete before and present at the Spring
Community Learning Day.

The steps are as follows:

Step 1: Attend your assigned SBU SSW Community Learning Day (October 4 or
October 25)

A. Actively listen to speakers on gun violence and strategies for social change
C. Pay attention to the provided example by fellow students of what advocacy strategies can look
like
D. Prepare for completing your assignment:

- The assignment is to be an individual project

- PLEASE NOTE: Your action cannot be overtly partisan (associated with a particular
party or candidate) - it should be framed as action based– There will be videos,
references and resources on BlackBoard detailing the steps in developing a strategic plan
for advocacy and writing letters to legislators and to the editors of news media.

Step 2: Create a vision, research and define your action plan.

A. Choose an issue (social problem) related to gun violence that you want to address B. Develop
your “vision” (See Example below)

a. Visioning should follow the format of: “My vision is a world where...”
b. A vision should be framed as a snapshot of a moment where the problem does not
exist. (See Example below)

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C. Identify a potential “goal”, “strategy”, and possible “actionable steps”  See the example on
the next page

Example:

Social Problem: Currently unlicensed private firearms sellers are exempt from conducting
criminal background checks on buyers at gun shows or over the Internet, giving felons, the
severely mentally ill and others prohibited from owning firearms access to weapons.

Vision: “My vision is a world where anyone who wants to buy a gun must pass a rigorous
background check.”

Goal: Increase civic engagement to demand action by political and/or corporate leaders to
address the ease of access in purchasing guns.

Research: Search for specific data that that document the seriousness of the problem and current
policies that either support or obstruct my goal, and identify organizations who are currently
engaged in advocacy around the issue.

Strategy: Alert people in the community about the dangers of gun violence and encourage civic
participation in support of changing the laws.

Tactic (examples)

1. Writing letters to the editor or to legislators, or corporate leaders including sharing the
video link in order to demand accountability. OR
2. Utilize social media (TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, etc) to mobilize collective
campaigns to contact legislators urging them to take action.

Step 3: Upload Answers about your Advocacy Action Plan into BlackBoard under
the Assignment Tab

This is the Assignment due for Fall 2021 semester. Your responses must be submitted no later
than end of day on December 1, 2021 in order to receive completion credit for HWC
396/397/596/597 A: Community Learning & Professional Preparation – Fall 2022

Your answers should be brief  Maximum of four sentences for each question.

The assignment is due December 1st.

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 FOR YOUR REFERENCE, these are the questions on BlackBoard that you will respond to in
order to document your process and plan and demonstrate your progress:

THIS SEMESTER: Answer and upload your responses to the following

questions:

Your answers should be brief  Maximum of four sentences for each question 
 
 
1.    IDENTIFY A SPECIFIC SOCIAL PROBLEM THAT IS A VIOLATION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN RELATION TO GUN CONTROL THAT WILL BE
THE FOCUS OF YOUR ADVOCACY.
 
2.    WHAT ORGANIZATIONS ARE DOING WORK IN THIS AREA?  CHOOSE ONE
THAT YOU’RE INTERESTED IN AND DESCRIBE THE ADVOCACY FOCUS OF THAT
ORGANIZATION.
 
3.    WHAT IS YOUR OVERALL VISION FOR THE COMMUNITY YOU ARE
ADVOCATING FOR? WHAT DOES YOUR REIMAGINED SOCIETY LOOK LIKE?
                 (My vision is a world where…etc.)
 
4.    WHAT ARE YOUR OVERALL GOALS TO HELP ACHIEVE YOUR VISION? 
                [Goals are broad outcomes that support your vision]
 
5.    WHAT SPECIFIC RESEARCH WILL/DID YOU DO TO PREPARE? 
                [Learning more about the problem and what policies need to be supported or
opposed]]
 
6.    IDENTIFY A STRATEGY AS TO HOW YOU WILL MOVE IN THE DIRECTION
YOUR GOAL. 
[Your strategy is your overall approach to achieving your goal such as educating people in
the   community, or directly persuading legislators, persuading corporate leaders to
change their policies, etc.)
 
7.    IDENTIFY THE TACTIC YOU WILL USE AS PART OF YOUR STRATEGY IN
PURSUIT OF YOUR GOAL. 
[The tactics of your plan are specific advocacy actions you take to implement the strategy
such as:  writing letters to the editor, organizing a protest, calling legislators, posting on
social media, etc.]
 
 
 

Then… to enact your plan as part of your

completing the assignment for the spring
Community Learning Day:

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Step 4: Undertake the advocacy action of your choice (social media, letter to
editor or legislators or ... other creative action)

• You may engage in your advocacy action at any time between the close of your Fall
Community Learning Day and February 18, 2023 (the deadline date for submission of your
screenshot...see below).

THEN NEXT Take a screenshot of the action (your letter or social media post, or link to
SEMESTER: TikTok for example) and make notations about what you did and your
experience: this will be uploaded as a part of your Spring 2022 Community
Learning Day assignment: the deadline date for submission of your screenshot
in the Spring semester is February 18, 2023

- Further instructions will follow on the Spring semester BlackBoard pages for
396B/397B/596B/597B

Resources on the CLD Blackboard for Training on Advocacy:

• Indivisible.(2020) How to Write Letters to the Editor that Really Get Attention. https:/
indivisible.org/resource/write-letters-editor-really-getattention
• Pursuit of History. (2017). How to write to your Congressperson. https://
youtu.be/BjELzsqu0AE