What

is
Civility?

6
C Crea&ng Civility

Celebra&ng Civility on our Campuses

and in our Community

6
C Crea&ng Civility

Celebra&ng Civility on our Campuses

and in our Community

Civility is a core value of a well

func5oning community and one
of its dening components.
Quality of life
depends in great part
on how community
members treat each
other.
We will promote the importance
of civility in a world becoming less
civil, and encourage people to
choose posi5ve and respec?ul
behaviors.

6
C Crea&ng Civility

Celebra&ng Civility on our Campuses

and in our Community

What does civility look like?

1. Listen
Dont Shift
Respect Other
2. RespectListen
Responsibility

Other
Peoples Time

Peoples Time
3. DontAccept
Shift
Respect
and
Others
Give Praise
Responsibility
and
Opinions
Blame
4. Accept
and Give Apologize
Speak Kindly
Sincerely
Praise
5. Respect OthersAccept & Give
Construc5ve
Think the Best
Opinions
Cri5cism

and Blame

Acknowledge
Others

Refrain from
Idle Complaints

Dont Speak Ill

6
C Crea&ng Civility

Celebra&ng Civility on our Campuses

and in our Community

How uncivil are we? Reference: Civility in America 2013

a doubt, America has a civility problem; no area of American
Without
society is untouched. Eroding civility is harmful to our countrys future
and takes a toll on how we interact with the people and ins?tu?ons
around us.

Americans experiences with incivility add a no?ceably disturbing

dimension, par?cularly as we see the Internet increasingly iden?ed as
a cause of incivility.

Despite this persistence of incivility in America, Americans are more

willing to take control of incivility in their own lives half (50%) have
ended a friendship because another person was uncivil. The vast
majority of Americans (87%) say they would be willing to take a na?onal
civility pledge on a na?onal holiday such as July 4th.

6
C Crea&ng Civility

Celebra&ng Civility on our Campuses

and in our Community

Civility in America by the numbers

INCIVILITY EXPERIENCES
17.1 = average number of times Americans encounter incivility in a 7-day week, or 2.4 times per day
8.5 = average number of times Americans encounter incivility in real life/offline in a week
8.6 = average number of times Americans encounter incivility online in a week
Of Americans surveyed
50% have ended a friendship because another person was uncivil
48% have defriended, blocked or hidden someone online because of uncivil behavior
43% expect to experience incivility in the next 24 hours
26% have quit a job because it was an uncivil workplace
24% have personally experienced cyberbullying (threefold increase since 2011)
19% of parents have transferred their child to a different school because of incivility at school
INCIVILITY PERCEPTIONS
Of Americans surveyed
95% believe we have a civility problem in America
87% think it is uncivil to be on a phone while talking with someone else in person
81% think uncivil behavior is leading to an increase in violence
80% agree that the level of civility wont improve until our government leaders act more civilly
71% believe civility is worse compared to a few years ago
70% think the Internet encourages uncivil behavior
70% think that incivility has risen to crisis levels
34% who expect civility to worsen blame Twitter

6
C Crea&ng Civility
What
we
know:

Celebra&ng Civility on our Campuses

and in our Community

Incivility is not just percep5on but reality as well. Although people believe
that incivility is now ubiquitous, we encounter this type of behavior up
close and personally. It is increasingly dicult to avoid incivility in most
areas of society.
Uncivil behavior takes a toll on friendships and online communica5ons,
and even has an eect on Americans willingness to quit a job or change a
school.
Of great concern is that the majority of Americans believe we have a
civility crisis and that uncivil behavior is leading to an increase in violence.

When asked to dene civility in their own words, the most frequently
answered response is Treat others with respect. Following this Golden
Rule when communica5ng and interac5ng with others is the rst step
toward improving our na5ons civility crisis.

6
C Crea&ng Civility

Celebra&ng Civility on our Campuses

and in our Community

What should we do?

Keep your thoughts posi5ve, because your thoughts become your words.
Keep your words posi5ve, because your words become your behavior.
Keep your behavior posi5ve, because your behavior become your habits.
Keep your habits posi5ve, because your habits become your values.
Keep your values posi5ve, because your values become your des5ny.

MAHATMA GANDHI, Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Book of Eastern
Wisdom

Express yourself!
Enter the 2015 C6 Civility Awards by January 20, 2015
Demonstrate what Civility means to you by
Wri5ng a 1000 word essay, or
Produce a 2 minute mul5media video or live performance about civility,
or
Create an art installa5on (in any medium)