CIVIC START
WELCOME TO YOUR GUIDE TO CIVIC AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN ST. LOUIS – AND BEYOND!
Here at the Gephardt Institute, we’re excited to support your journey at WashU and in our hometown of St. Louis. Whether you’ve been here your whole life or are in St. Louis for the first time, and whether you’re a first-year student or a PhD candidate, this guide and our team are here to support you as you navigate St. Louis and find your pathway to civic engagement.
In the pages that follow, you’ll find resources for understanding and impacting St. Louis, and opportunities for civic engagement through classes, voting, fellowships, and so much more! We hope this guide will prompt you to reflect on how you'll become civically engaged in St. Louis and throughout your life.
Now let’s get started!
CAHOKIA MOUNDS WORLD HERITAGE SITE — 15 MINUTES FROM CAMPUS
The Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement is located at Stix House, 6470 Forsyth Blvd. You're welcome to stop in or attend one of our events to get connected, seek guidance on engaging with civic and community issues, meet other civic-minded people, or just to find out what the Gephardt Institute is all about!
STIX HOUSE, HOME OF THE GEPHARDT INSTITUTE
About the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement
We invite you to imagine our shared civic future.
The Gephardt Institute fosters a vibrant culture of civic engagement throughout WashU by catalyzing student learning, participation, and impact in civic life.
We're a nonpartisan “action tank” that empowers WashU students to positively impact public challenges.
Through Gephardt, I got to engage with an amazing cohort of people I now consider my dear friends. It was rewarding to meet so many other driven, intelligent, civic-minded students. I was able to explore neighborhoods and issues in St. Louis that I likely would not have otherwise, and I learned so much about the history of St. Louis and how to engage in discussion with others when they might not know the whole story behind our fascinating city.
-Zach Trabitz '26
What does Gephardt do?
We catalyze your learning, participation, and impact in civic life.
Engage Democracy
Engage St. Louis
We teach you the knowledge, skills, responsibilities, and habits of citizen engagement in democracy
We foster opportunities for you to learn from and contribute positively to change efforts in the St. Louis region
Engage Democracy
Engage St. Louis
We foster opportunities for you to learn from and contribute positively to change efforts in the St. Louis region
We teach you the knowledge, skills, responsibilities, and habits of citizen engagement in democracy
Lead Change
We prepare you to be a civic leader wherever you live and work throughout your life
Who is Dick Gephardt?
Our founder, Congressman Richard Gephardt, is President and CEO of Gephardt Government Affairs. He served for 28 years in the United States House of Representatives (1977-2005), representing Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District, home to his birthplace St. Louis. His public service roles ranged from serving as Precinct Captain for St. Louis' 14th Ward to serving as House Majority Leader. After his retirement from public office, Congressman Gephardt established the Gephardt Institute to serve as an "action tank" to equip new generations of young people for active participation in democracy.
What Is Civic Engagement?
The term "civic engagement” encompasses all the ways members of a community work to change and improve their community.
Civic engagement can take place on scales small to large, from getting involved with your local neighborhood group to advocating for policy change in Congress. Voting, volunteering, donating goods or money, organizing, advocating for or against policies, writing an op-ed, dialogue, mutual aid, civil disobedience, and running for elected office are all forms of civic engagement.
Are you concerned or passionate about a social issue? The Gephardt Institute can help you learn about different strategies you can pursue to address that issue, help you build your civic skills, and get you connected with local leaders to work together toward the change you want to see.
Mutually beneficial engagement with a community doesn't start—or end—with action. It's vitally important that civic engagement begins with inquiry and empathy before arriving at action, and then ensuring those actions align with the other five values at every stage. Although each value can function independently, they are intentionally organized here as a continuous cycle—mirroring the process of engagement.
Civic Engagement Starts Local!
The Gephardt Institute offers many programs and resources to help you engage WashU. If you’re not sure how or where to get started, then let us help you navigate Visit us at Stix House or contact us online. Remember: We're here to help you!
Civic Fellows
Civic Fellows dive deep into civic leadership training through a 14-month fellowship that combines 3 semesters of coursework (8 credits total), a trip to Washington DC, learning with St. Louis community leaders, and a self-designed, funded Civic Summer anywhere in the world. First- and second-year students are eligible to apply.
St. Louis Fellows
St. Louis Fellows dedicate a summer to St. Louis with peers from across schools and majors. Fellows receive funding to immerse themselves in St. Louis through a full-time nonprofit or civic internship, a range of community events, and a 4-credit experiential curriculum on St. Louis’ history, culture, politics, challenges, and opportunities. Undergraduates in their first, second, or third year are eligible to apply.
The Longest Table
Create new connections and get into meaningful dialogue about things that matter! Held each September, The Longest Table brings together hundreds of WashU students, faculty and staff with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and interests, not just to share a meal, but to envision ideas for our shared civic future and foster understanding through dialogue.
Civic Action Lab Courses
Civic learning and engagement happens both outside and inside the classroom. Integrate civic learning and action into your academic schedule through Civic Action Lab courses. You'll learn about different civic and community engagement strategies and best practices so that you feel ready to contribute to the community and the civic issues you care about.
engage St. Louis while at navigate your civic journey.
Civic Café
Civic Café is a weekly dinner and dialogue event hosted every Wednesday night at Stix House. You're invited to share a meal and dive deep into significant civic topics with community and campus experts. Come share your thoughts, connect with peers, and meet local civic leaders!
St. Louis Impact Fund
The St. Louis Impact Fund catalyzes and supports mutually beneficial partnerships between WashU students and community organizations aiming to advance efforts critical to community needs. You can apply for up to $10,000 for projects aimed at advancing regional priorities.
WashU Votes
The Gephardt Institute's nonpartisan student organization, WashU Votes, promotes student voter registration, education, and turnout. By joining WashU Votes, you have the opportunity to expand civic engagement on campus and become more educated about issues facing our communities at the local, state, and federal level.
Civic Action Week
This annual spring semester series highlights opportunities throughout WashU for you to engage civically with local communities. All week across campus, student groups, WashU departments, and community organizations will host events and other opportunities for civic learning and engagement.
Civic Engagement Looks Like...
Joining
What issues are important to you? How would you like to impact them?
Contacting public officials about an issue you care about
Attending a public meeting
Running for a public office
Raising or donating money for a cause
The St. Louis Region
Rich with culture and always evolving, our region is a confluence of people, imagination, and challenges that mirror those of our nation.
St. Louis is home to unique neighborhoods, world class cultural institutions, expansive greenspaces, and a can-do community of dreamers, thinkers, doers, and storytellers.
What similarities and differences do you see between STL and your home community?
Our history is complex — and our future is ripe with possibility. You have the opportunity to be part of it all.
St. Louis County
St. Louis City Illinois Mis isissiRipp v er
Considering Place
Context is critical to making sense of our environment. When we think about St. Louis, we need to consider the history, the cultures, the experiences of people who live here, and the stories of people who once lived here.
There are many different experiences with — and countless narratives about — St. Louis. We encourage you to form your own understanding of St. Louis by exercising your curiousity, seeking multiple perspectives, and getting to know St. Louis for yourself.
One important note is that St. Louis City and St. Louis County are distinct entities from each other — the city is not within any county, and has its own government, police and fire, laws, tax rates, etc. Further, St. Louis County contains 88 municipalities, and many of those communities likewise have their own set of government bodies, laws and services.
The St. Louis City/County border goes through WashU's Danforth Campus, and even bissects some buildings, like Jubel and Weil Halls. Neighbors who live on the same block might have different representatives, ballots, places to vote, sales tax rates, trash collectors, and more.
If you vote in St. Louis, it's important to know if you live in the City or the County!
WashU School of Medicine St. Louis Lambert Airport
Civic Engagement in Democracy
Participating in our democracy depends on engaged citizens who are informed, equipped with civic knowledge and skills, and compelled to take action. (Hint: That’s you!) As Congressman Gephardt said, “What is at the core of why our democracy functions as well as it does? In the end, it is because of the presence of our citizens, engaged in our governance and in the communities they live in — helping people who need help and being involved in the dialogue that has to go on in a democracy.”
Policy advocacy and community organizing
Collaborating with neighbors on a local level
Civic dialogue
Improving information literacy skills
Voting
As a student in higher education, it’s up to you to decide where you register to vote, if you are eligible. You can register to vote in Missouri or your home state. We encourage you to research the issues you care about and decide based on your civic values.
As you make your decision, consider:
• Which location is more convenient for you?
• Who is on the ballot in each place?
• Are there local policies or particular issues that are important to you in either place?
Scan the QR for more Vote.gov student voting info!
All Things Voting
WashU Votes is a Gephardt Institute-sponsored student group that promotes voter registration, education, and turnout in all local and national election cycles. All students are welcome to join. For those who are eligible to vote in U.S. elections, it’s good practice to update your registration address whenever you move to a new location, even to a new apartment in the same city. To register in any state or update your voter registration, visit washu.turbovote.org.
Some important voting reminders:
• Check and update your voter registration every time you move. Note: St. Louis City and St. Louis County are different voting jurisdictions, so make sure you complete a new voter registration if you move across the City/County line.
• Ensure you have the proper form of photo ID (U.S. passport, Missouri driver license, or other form of approved ID) if you plan to vote in Missouri.
• Request an absentee ballot by your state's request deadline for the option to vote before Election Day in Missouri or your home state. If you need to notarize your ballot, come to Stix House.
• If you are voting by absentee ballot, make sure you mail your ballot with ample time so that it is counted. States have different requirements on when absentee ballots must be received.
• Students may access free election-related postage at Stix House, and the South 40, Village, or Lofts mailrooms.
Visit vote.washu.edu for more information about voting, or email washuvotes@wustl.edu with any questions and for additional resources for ineligible voters.
Resources to begin exploring St. Louis
Consider visiting...
• Cahokia Mounds
• Gateway Arch National Park Museum
• Griot Museum of Black History
• Missouri History Museum
• The Old Courthouse
• Pillars of the Valley at Energizer Park
Consider listening to...
• The Gateway by St. Louis Public Radio
• Meet St. Louis by First Alert 4
• St. Louis on the Air by St. Louis Public Radio
• We Live Here Podcast
Consider reading...
• St. Louis American
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• St. Louis Public Radio’s STL Welcome Kit
Consider following...
@explorestlouis
@humans_of_stl
@ninepbs
@saucemag
@stlartmuseum
@stlbucketlist
@stlouismag
@stlpublicradio
@stltoday
@washuforstl
Finding Community Beyond Campus
Our "In the Lou" video and interactive Neighborhood Guide accompany this book and help you get to know St. Louis' diverse neighborhoods, guided by the people who call them home. Learn more about what makes St. Louis such a special place — and about the opportunities, history, and challenges of our region.
Get Started & Stay Informed!
There are countless opportunities at the Gephardt Institute, across campus, and in St. Louis to support your civic learning and engagement.
Take the next steps to get involved:
Follow @washugephardt on Instagram and LinkedIn to stay up to date on upcoming programs, opportunities to engage with St. Louis, and more
Attend the Gephardt Institute's Civic Café on Wednesdays for learning and dialogue with local civic leaders
Visit WUGO to find nearly 200 student groups focused on community engagement, social action, or politics
Stop by Stix House, home of the Gephardt Institute, for guidance on your goals and next steps with civic and community engagement
Volunteer through Campus Y or join WashU's "In St. Louis, For St. Louis" Team for Service Saturday events
Everything above, and so much more, is included in our weekly Opportunities Newsletter. Scan the code to sign up!
More WashU resources to support your civic and community engagement:
• Brown School's Clark-Fox Policy Institute and Center for Social Development
• Campus Life's In the Lou programming
• Dialogue Across Difference
• Danforth Center on Religion and Politics
• Government & Community Relations’ WashU Advocates
• Olin Business School's Center for Experiential Learning
• Public Service at WashULaw
• Sam Fox Office for Socially Engaged Practice
• School of Medicine’s Gateway Curriculum
• School of Public Health
• Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy WashU is committed to being in St. Louis and for St. Louis. By leveraging the university’s strengths, WashU can contribute meaningfully to the region’s momentum and long-term growth. To learn more, visit StLouis.WashU.edu where you’ll find a searchable database of WashU’s St. Louis-focused initiatives and resources.
I see all of you as the future of this country and world, and it really is in your hands.
-Former Congressman Richard A. Gephardt