KCC Political Science Professor Jon Williams talks about Students and Politics

What do KCC Students think about politics?  Well, it changes from time to time, says Professor Jon Williams, who has been teaching it at KCC for 20 years. Williams campaigned for Joe Swartz years ago as a much younger person, and also worked for state legislators, and currently is a Jackson County Commission.   He says he's always been passionate about politics, and loves the chance to try and get his students interested and regularly voting as well.

He said that several years ago when he started, several "non-traditional" students came to KCC for retraining as their jobs were lost as a result of NAFTA.  He said those students had a different perspective on how government can affect their lives.  He said now, he has a lot of students at KCC who are actually still in high school, who have a lot less experience with government to draw on.  He said he's always looking for the latest "hot button" issues and then using them in class to link back and relate them to the constitution and our political process.

Williams also talked about "gerrymandering", the make up of our state supreme court,  state conventions, and what makes good government.  He also talked about increased polarization and a lack of camaraderie among elected officials in the current political climate.