ALYSSA BUMP
Life & Arts Editor
The upcoming 2020 presidential election is less than a month away.
With tensions high and political polarization across the nation, there is no doubt that this election’s results will have a huge impact on the American people.
With that being said, the importance of voting has been stressed by many. Even social media sites, such as Snapchat and Instagram, urge people to register to vote.
The process of voting may seem overwhelming to college students because many are first-time voters away from home.
Thanks to the Intercultural Center at Fredonia, a virtual event titled, “Your Vote Matters!” was hosted on Oct. 8 to guide young voters on how to register and vote.
David White, the Director of Multicultural Services at Fredonia, began the Zoom meeting by giving opening remarks.
White introduced Miles Thompson, the main speaker of this event.
Thompson graduated from Fredonia in 2014 with a degree in political science and minors in sociology and anthropology.
Thompson recently founded Civic Citizens, a non-profit organization that helps the average person find the resources they need to become civically literate.
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“Civic Citizens takes the best publicly available resources out there and puts them all in one place,” said Thompson.
Valerie Cella, the founder of The College Voter, was also a speaker at this event.
Cella explained that The College Voter is, “a student-run non-profit that works to engage people in a different mindset about how we all interact with our vote.”
Attendees of the event were encouraged to ask questions about the process of voting and other important concerns. White gave out free Civic Citizens t-shirts to everyone that asked questions.
During this event, Thompson explained why this election is so important to college students.
Issues like student loans and the current pandemic are a huge concern that students are directly affected by.
It was also explained that many eligible young voters do not actually go out and vote.
In the 2016 presidential election, only 51% of eligible voters under the age of 40 actually voted, compared to 70% of those over the age of 55.
Thompson made sure to include many rights that Americans now have due to voting. Some of them include: women’s rights, public schools, minimum wage and environmental laws.
“There are a lot of people out there who really did fight for a lot of these rights here.” Thompson continued, “Some of these rights can be taken away. They are not set in stone. Whether you want that or not, that is all determined by your vote.”
Thompson also explained the importance of doing research and voting for governors, representatives, district attorneys and senators.
People who are elected into these positions directly affect citizens as well, if not more closely than the president.
Attendees were then shown how to use Civic Citizens’ website in order to get the most information.
Many other important steps for voting were shown, including how to register, check your voting status, request an absentee ballot and find a polling place.
Towards the end of the event, Thompson and Cella talked about their recent podcast together, which can be found on The College Voter’s website.
After the event was over, Thompson said, “I believe that the event added value by emphasizing the reason students need to take part in this election. As college students are not typically exposed to civics in their schooling, we were glad to fill in that gap and serve as a resource.”
The entire Zoom event was recorded and posted on Instagram via IGTV @civiccitizens, therefore allowing it to be viewed by those who could not attend the event in real time.