Faculty

Speak Up Democracy is co-led by two Loyola faculty members from the Political Science Department:

Yuna Blajer de la Garza, Political Science (she/her)

Dr. Blajer de la Garza is Assistant Professor of Political Science. Dr. Blajer is a political theorist, studying lingering inequalities in democracies. Her research combines canonical debates of political philosophy with ethnographic methods, seeking to understand how political principles and institutions are (mis)translated into everyday politics and ordinary speech. Dr. Blajer focuses on the summer component of the program and the academic coursework of the two weeks that students spend on campus. She can be reached at yblajer@luc.edu.

Meghan Condon, Political Science (she/her)

Dr. Condon is Associate Professor of Political Science. Her research examines the politics of inequality in the US and the relationship between education and democratic engagement. Her first book, The Economic Other: Inequality in the American Political Imagination, was published in 2020 by the University of Chicago Press. Dr. Condon directs Speak Up Democracy and organizes all the monthly meetings during the school year. She can be reached at mcondon12@luc.edu

Loyola Undergraduate Students

A select group of Loyola advanced undergraduate students participate in Speak Up Democracy as student mentors in two roles (Academic Assistants and Residential Assistants), supporting Speak Up Democracy's students as they navigate the summer program and the months after. Applications for interested undergraduates open in late March--stay tuned!

Program Manager

For any inquiries, please email us at SpeakUpDemocracy@luc.edu.

Speak Up Democracy enrolls a small cohort of rising seniors from Chicago Public Schools and has two components. Participating students commit to participating in both.

• Summer component: In 2025, the summer program will run from Sunday, July 13th, 2025 to Friday, July 25th, 2025. Students will be housed in Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus dormitories, but will spent the last two evenings in Loyola’s Retreat and Ecology Campus. During these two weeks, students will read and discuss in a small seminar setting some of the foundational texts of the humanities.

• Year-long component: Participating students will commit to engaging in monthly meetings for the rest of the 2025-2026 academic year, starting in September and continuing until May. During those meetings students will be guided and supported as they apply for college. In the spring, they will build on what they learned during the summer to hone civic action strategies.

Participating students will investigate the connection between speech and political power, ruminating on whose voices are heard (and silenced) in a democracy. Speak Up Democracy is animated by a central question: how should we speak to one another in a democracy? To address this question, we will read some classical texts of political thought, starting with Plato’s Crito, a dialogue reconstructing Socrates’ refusal to escape Athens after being sentenced to death. Instead, Socrates insists on facing punishment.

Our texts will be organized around three themes: the citizen and the law, freedom and responsibility, and critical democracy and action. Together, these transformative texts provide a glimpse at enduring debates in political thought about the duties and responsibilities we have toward others; the role of the law in mediating those interactions; and the ways in which we can engage with others we may disagree with but share a community with.

These discussions will be led by Loyola faculty members and a small team of Loyola undergraduate students. Our goal is to provide a rigorous yet engaging academic space to discuss these transformative texts in ways meant to convey to students what a liberal arts education is about, why we cherish it, and how can these discussions provide guidelines for everyday civic life. We also hope that Speak Up Democracy will be a space where students can forge connections and lasting friendships with other high-school students.

Accommodations, meals, readings, and transportation to Loyola’s LUREC will be covered by Speak Up Democracy.

Speak Up Democracy is part of the growing number of Knowledge for Freedom programs across the United States. Knowledge for Freedom is an initiative created and generously funded by the Teagle Foundation, a foundation committed to supporting and strengthening liberal arts education, which they see as "fundamental to meaningful work, effective citizenship, and a fulfilling life." Knowledge for Freedom Programs, such as Speak Up Democracy, combine academic discussions of classic texts of social and political thought discussing perennial questions for democratic life that humans have grappled with since Ancient Greece. Our discussions do not end with the texts, but seek to apply the insights of those texts to contemporary challenges and new dilemmas.

Speak Up Democracy alumni have access to the resources and networks provided to Knowledge for Freedom alumni too.

The application for the 2025 Speak Up Democracy program is open and will close on May 23, 2025.

Eligibility

• Speak Up Democracy students must be high school students from Chicago Public Schools at the time of application.
• Current high school juniors (rising seniors) will be given priority.
• Our program is designed to serve rising seniors from low-income families or who would be the first in their families to attend college, but it is open to any rising seniors from Chicago Public Schools.
• Participating students must commit to attend both weeks of the summer program, first arriving to Loyola's Lake Shore Campus in the evening of Sunday, July 13th. Students stay on campus from Sunday, July 13th to Friday, July 18th, before spending the weekend at home. They return to campus on Monday, July 21st and stay until the evening of Friday, July 25th. Note that the summer portion of the program is residential.
• Participating students are also expected to attend the monthly meetings during the school year.
• The program is completely free to participating students.

Application instructions

To apply, you will need:

1. A copy of your high-school transcript to upload with the application.
2. Two short essays. We recommend, first, typing your answers to the questions in a word-processing program (such as Word or Google Documents), editing carefully, and then, when you are ready, pasting your answers into the online application.

• • Essay 1: In 100-200 words, tell us, what interests you most about this program? Why have you chosen to apply to the program?
  • Essay 2: Answer one of the following prompts with a 350-600 words essay:

1. 1. 1. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
      2. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
      3. Some students have a background, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
      4. Tell us about a character in a book that you have read during the last year that made a strong impression on you. How and why did this character stand out in your mind?

3. Optional) A brief recommendation letter from a teacher, librarian, or counselor. This is optional. If you decide to include a recommendation letter, your letter will be submitted directly by your recommender, but it is your responsibility to ask for it and remind them to submit it by the deadline. A single paragraph (100-200 words) explaining your preparedness and motivation for college-level academic work suffices, though your recommender is welcome to submit a full-length letter. Your recommender will have until May 31st, 2025 to submit their letter.

The deadline for applications is May 23, 2025.

For any questions, contact us at SpeakUpDemocracy@luc.edu.

All Speak Up Democracy students are part of the Knowledge for Freedom (KFF) network, organized by the Teagle Foundation.

• If you are a Speak Up Democracy student:
  • Click here to learn more about college access, including information on how to get organized, choose a college, craft a personal statement, address immigration status, or apply for financial aid.
  • Here is a good timeline for your Senior Year to keep you on track!
  • Here is an excellent list of scholarships, including scholarships to consider during your college years.

• If you are a Speak Up Democracy alumnus or alumna, click here for resources for our alumni, including the Teagle Humanities Fellowship, Scholarships and Opportunities, and to read writing from other KFF alumni.