The new Governor M. Jodi Rell Center for Public Service will play host to an upcoming panel discussion regarding the topic of political incivility on Thursday, October 25th, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Wilde Auditorium.

With Election day coming up very soon, candidates for the Presidential election, as well as for Senate here in the state of Connecticut, are resorting to more and more means of slander and negativity.

The high amounts of negativity, and the countless number of political television ads are enough to turn voters off on politics.

Professor Jilda Aliotta, an associate professor in politics and government, and the director of the Rell Center for Public Service, says perhaps it is time to start “demanding more substance from candidates, and penalizing candidates that don’t provide it.”

The discussion is titled “Where Do We Go From Here? How Will Public Officials Govern After the Incivility of the 2012 Campaign?”

Professor Aliotta also says that it is important that students are aware of the idea of political incivility, as it has long plagued the world of politics. Students must know what is really going on in the world of politics before they go off to vote for a Senator or President.

She says, “One of the things that makes government unique is that it will do business with you, whether you want it to or not. And the thing about a democracy is that you can also influence government. And I think it’s incumbent on all of us to take advantage of that.”

Governor M. Jodi Rell herself will be in attendance at the discussion, serving as the panel moderator for the evening.

Other esteemed guests that will be on the panel to discuss this topic include: Nancy Johnson, former State Senator and House Representative, Tom Monahan, chief political correspondent for NBC Connecticut, and Karen Hobert Flynn, vice president for state operations at Common Cause Connecticut.

Admission to this event is free, but tickets are required. To order tickets, call 860.768.4228 or 1.800.274.8587.