JAMES LILLIN
Staff Writer
With the presidential election right around the corner, Fredonia has been searching for ways to drum up student involvement and, ultimately, to increase voter turnout come election day.
One of the most recent signs of political apathy among Fredonia students was a campus report detailing the voting rate among students published by the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement, showing significantly lower-than-average turnout among students.
“In the last presidential election, our voting rate for students was about 30 percent,” said Vice President for Engagement and Economic Development Dr. Kevin Kearns, “but our peer group is closer to 50 percent.”
Fredonia has joined the nationwide ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, with a local committee chaired by communication professor Angela McGowan, to help reverse this decline in participation
“Right now, we’re just focused on the 2016 elections and getting students to go out and vote,” said McGowan. “Moving forward, we want to encourage more civic engagement, and not just in election years. [ALL IN] is going to become a fixture at Fredonia.”
To achieve that goal, ALL IN is taking a multi-pronged approach to that problem with a litany of events and incentives for students and clubs.
“Any time a student comes to any of our events, their name will be entered into a raffle, along with a club of their choice,” said McGowan. “And during election night, we’ll have a drawing of two names, split according to group size, and the winner will get an extra chunk of money in their budget.”
These events take the form of catered, live-watch parties with extra commentary from faculty and students on the days of the presidential and vice presidential debates (Sept. 26, Oct. 4, 9 and 19), as well as visiting speakers with great swaths of political experience.
“I’m definitely the most pumped for the upcoming Craig Smith lecture on Oct. 5,” said McGowan. “He wrote for Presidents Ford and George H.W. Bush, as well as [Ford Motor Company executive] Leigh Iacocca, and he brings a lot of awesome insights to campus.”
ALL IN hopes to become a transformative force on the Fredonia campus, outstripping past involvement efforts that haven’t always borne fruit.
“I hope the campaign can eventually get the vast majority of students voting because then we can talk to Norm Green about getting an election booth on campus,” said committee member and senior English and international studies major Zach Beaudoin. “The last time he brought one, he was embarrassed because only two or three students voted.”
The campaign may be helped by the unique nature of this year’s high-stakes presidential election, which is certain to have far-reaching consequences beyond who ends up in the Oval Office.
“One thing that I think is important to stress is that elections aren’t just about who the president is, it’s that this election and others will influence our futures and others futures through years to come,” said Kearns, “whether it’s for Supreme Court [appointments] or on a more local level.”
Come Election Day, ALL IN will be providing buses to and from nearby a nearby voting station, as well as sending out students to drum up awareness and motivate others to get out and vote.
“What I want students to get to learn is that politics can be interesting if you know how to approach it,” said Beaudoin. “There is a reason to vote if you care about the environment, women’s issues, art or anything, really.“
In the end, ALL IN is optimistic about achieving its goals, but is fully aware that turning around the decline in participation may take time.
“It’s a long term process, and it’s easy to say that the students aren’t participating,” said Kearns, “but we as an institution have a responsibility to not blame the students, and do all we can to help reverse the problems and raise awareness, including involving student leadership, clubs and the administration.”
For more information on the ALL IN campaign, as well as ways to get involved, visit https://home.fredonia.edu/engagement/all-challenge.
(I know the last sentence may not fit, but if we can include it as a side blurb or something the committee would be really appreciative.)
TAGS: ALL IN, POLITICS, ELECTION, DEBATE, CRAIG SMITH, VOTING
Included is a fascinating chart from the :CAMPUS REPORT Rate Breakdown Student Voting Rates for By Age Group By Education Level By Field of Study SUNY at Fredonia.
From the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement,
Might make for a cool graphic to recreate if there is space or time, thought I’d include it just in case.