KATIE MILLER
Special to The Leader
At 18-years-old, Professor Mike Igoe was considered old enough to die for his country, but too young to vote for the direction it would take. In 1971, he saw first hand the real-life effects of the U.S. Constitution.
In the years since, he has been an attorney, a reporter and an international teacher. With this resume and set of personal experience, Igoe spoke on the impacts of the First Amendment to a crowded garden area of Reed Library on Sept. 17.
Fortunately for 18-year-old Igoe, President Nixon ended the Vietnam War before he got called for the draft, which was crucial, seeing that he drew number 13 in the military draft.
In that same year, the 26th Amendment was ratified, lowering the voting age from 21 down to 18.
Ever since, Igoe has voted in nearly every election.
“Because I was denied it [the ability to vote], it had a certain resonance with me,” said Igoe. Not all Americans feel as obliged to their civil duty, however.
According to Igoe’s presentation, in the 2016 presidential election, 42 percent of eligible voters did not vote. That’s 117 million Americans.
Fredonia’s American Democracy Project (ADP), which organized Monday’s event, hopes to increase that number.
“Colleges and universities are fertile grounds for voter mobilization campaigns,” said Angela McGowan, chair of ADP.
“The mission of ADP is centered on higher education’s role in preparing the next generation of informed, engaged citizens for our democracy,” said McGowan.
Voter registration forms were located at the back of the event and Kerrie Wilkes, Associate Director for Research, Outreach and Assessment, came up with an idea to get students involved.
Enlarged posters of each constitutional amendment were placed on display for students and faculty to wander through and read. Students were encouraged to place a sticker on the amendment that meant the most to them.
In her recent research, McGowan found, “Despite the wealth of information and opportunities for political learning on college campuses, millennials, people aged 18-35, had the lowest voter turnout in the 2012 election.”
“Their lack of political participation is concerning,” McGowan said.
To drive home the importance of voting, Igoe cited a case in upstate New York where an election was decided by just fifteen votes.
“Your vote matters,” Igoe said.
He hopes his talk encourages students to become more aware. And above all else he hopes students take away one message: “Don’t take your freedoms for granted.”
Having taught in China and Turkey, Igoe knows what suppression of speech looks like.
According to Igoe, Turkey has more journalists jailed than any other country. In China, soldiers have been censoring all aspects of civilian life, including burning church crosses.
“I think we sometimes forget how lucky we are to be living in the U.S. with all of our freedoms,” Kevin Siracuse, a sophomore journalism major, said.
During his stay in China, Igoe had a personal experience with its strict oversight.
While communicating with a friend over Skype, he received a censorship message. He was told to cease the conversation immediately. Now he knows, “Facebook is a dirty word in China.”
Through his teaching experiences, he learned the importance of The Fourth Estate (the press). “It is another check and balance,” said Igoe.
On the issue of journalists having the power to change things, he said, “Absolutely,” they do.
Igoe talked about the power we now have with social media. “It serves as a forum for people to react . . . It’s important that voices can be heard,” he said.
Near the end of the talk, Igoe touched on the powers of the judicial and executive branch. On the issue of executive orders, Igoe warned, “We have to keep an eye on that.”
He used President Trump’s recent rollback on protections for the environment as an example.
“Speaking up is so important in the times we’re living in now,” said Igoe.