Photo by Kyle Vertin
CAMRY DEAN
Special to The Leader
As election season unfolds, Women’s Herstory Month continues. Last Wednesday with a presentation by the League of Women Voters, those in attendance learned importance of voting and political campus engagement.
With over 50 local Leagues across New York State, the organization has been encouraging individuals of all genders to use their vote and voice for change since women were granted the right to vote in 1920.
Dr. Minda Rae Amiran, service chair of the League and Fredonia professor emeritus, began the night by describing to the filled seats around the table the voting system and informing students on how they can make their vote count.
“As students in New York State, you have a choice of being registered to vote at your permanent address or you can vote where you go to school,” she said. “If you want to vote at home but you’re not going to be there, you’ll need an absentee ballot. This is often cumbersome, and it’s a lot easier to register to vote with your college address.”
Following this demonstration, Amiran offered voting registration and absentee ballot forms to the room and made it clear that voting is only the first step.
“Our main purpose is to foster informed participation of citizens in government and that means at every level, every kind of social and political activism. We focus on good government, but our core belief is that we won’t have good government if citizens aren’t involved,” she said.
The conversation quickly shifted from registering to vote to actions students can take for change on campus. In a discussion led by Dean Bavisotto, junior English and women’s and gender studies double major and president of the Women’s Student Union (WSU), and Shannon Bentley, junior art history and arts administration double major and secretary for WSU, specific actions were discussed by students who wish to see changes on Fredonia’s campus with advice offered by Amiran and the League.
The two-hour discussion covered a wide-range of topics that called for change or solution. Bentley opened the discussion with issues faced by those who seek counseling at the LoGrasso Health Center.
Those who spoke about the on-campus center came to a consensus that the student-to-counselor ratio is overwhelming, which results in those seeking help through LoGrasso often not being able to see a counselor for weeks.
In terms of changes that can be made to this, the idea of a peer counseling system was introduced.
“Even psych students who are receiving education in those fields, or even social work, are really qualified to just have an informal meet-up with a student in need, and they could help them in more ways than a detached counselor would,” Bentley offered.
Mental health peer counseling was followed by a more somber topic of sexual assault and harassment on campus and steps students can take to make victims more comfortable through the process following.
Dr. Jeanette McVicker, an English professor seated around the table, spoke about a system that Fredonia had when she was the advisor to the Women’s Student Union in the late 90s.
“There used to be a kind of collaborative effort between WSU and STEPS,” she explained. “There was a kind of training that the counseling center would give for students who wanted to be peer counselors to assist sexual assault victims to go to the hospital while they were being examined, or while the rape kit was being done, or through the questioning. Just to have a peer there. Those people were trained and they volunteered, and that was really successful.”
With these suggestions, the room was ready to work ideas and make plans about what necessary steps to take next.
While this was just the beginning of change individuals would like to see on campus, it’s important to remember that voting in the upcoming elections is one of many things you can do to get involved. The League of Women Voters and WSU encourage students to speak up and use their voices for change.