Beyond the ballot box: computer science education and social responsibility

ABSTRACT

On 2 November 2004, millions of Americans went to the polls and cast their vote for the person they felt would best determine the future of America. Young people constituted a crucial part of the deciding vote and many organizations from MTV to the presidential campaigns made considerable efforts to increase the political awareness and involvement of this demographic category, typically characterized as the 18--24 year-old voter. This attentiveness to youth participation in national politics, albeit commendable, should not begin and end on Election Day. All citizens have a responsibility to remain informed of government actions and to express their approval or disapproval though public elections, communication with their elected representatives, or participation in any number of public forums or community organizations. However, readers of this magazine have a particualr responsibility as educators of the future generation of computer and technologically literate citizens.

REFERENCES

• 1: J. A. N. Lee, Where did history go?, ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, v.34 n.4, December 2002 [doi>10.1145/820127.820134]
• 2: Paulina Borsook's book, Cyberselfish, PublicAffairs, New York, 2000, provides a humorous, yet provocative, look at the ideological predominance of libertarianism within high-tech culture.
• 3: Lawrence Lessig , Lawrence Lessing, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Basic Books, Inc., New York, NY, 1999
• 4: For a further examination of free software in the developing world see Eden Miller, "Freedom in Code: The Birth of the Chilean Free Software Movement," ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America, Spring 2004 (available online at http://drclas.fas.harvard.edu/publications/tcontents.php) and Anita Chan, "Coding Free Software, Coding Free States: Free Software Legislation and the Politics of Code in Peru," Anthropological Quarterly, forthcoming 2004.
• 5: Center for Democracy and Technology, http://www.cdt.org. The CDT website is a wonderful resource for those who want to stay current on the latest digital technology issues being discussed on Capitol Hill.