With Election Day just around the corner, Hamilton students and faculty are taking action to encourage student participation in the election. Democracy Matters, a non-partisan, non-profit organization with campus-based chapters around the country, engages students in efforts to strengthen democracy in America. Kevin Rowe '10, president of the Hamilton chapter of Democracy Matters, has been leading efforts to both register and educate young voters on campus through Engage '08, a campaign designed to mobilize and excite Hamilton students about the 2008 election.
Between orientation week and the middle of October, Engage '08 registered 211 new voters and helped 528 students request absentee ballots. While Rowe is impressed with the registration numbers, he stresses that registration is only half the battle. He said, "Once students are registered, we think it's important that they actively engage in the election by seeking useful information on candidates and ballot proposals to make informed choices."
Engage '08 has attacked voter education in several ways. It has published side-by-side comparisons of the presidential candidates' stances on seven issues, and has held debate watches and discussions on issues that will face the next president, such as the economy and the environment. Rowe is impressed by students' recent enthusiasm to get involved. He said, "I was really surprised when at our first Debate Watch, the 55-seat room we reserved was nowhere near sufficient to seat everyone who came out to watch." To Rowe, this is an indication that students are excited and interested in the election.
Hamilton faculty, too, have taken the initiative to encourage student voter participation. Executive Assistant to the President and Secretary to the Board of Trustees Meredith Bonham is engaging students through the Campus Votes Challenge, an anonymous survey sponsored by Campus Compact in conjunction with Tufts University. The Campus Votes Challenge aims to reinforce the efforts of schools across the U.S. to increase student voting rates and demonstrate the positive impacts that colleges and universities can have on youth voting. Bonham is proud of the efforts of student organizations that energize student voters, and is impressed with the reaction of the student body. She said, "I think that the upcoming national election has galvanized young people and college students in particular, which makes me exceedingly hopeful for our country's future."
In the week prior to the election, students in Education Studies Program Director Susan Mason's Issues in Education class have been providing the campus with bipartisan election information through flyers, brochures, posters, HCTV television and WHCL radio. Activities have included panel presentations and informal discussions and debates. The focus of the project was to expand voters' understandings of topics related to K-12 public education.
The campus will also provide transportation to and from the polls on Election Day. Jitney service will run continuously from 4-6 p.m. on Nov. 4, departing from Emerson Hall and transporting voters to Clinton High School, the location of the polling place.
Kevin Rowe is optimistic about what has been accomplished in the past few months with the encouragement of student participation in the election. Although students may not be able to compete with corporations and national interest groups in influencing American politics, he says it's important to take advantage of the organizational power of college campuses to mobilize students to vote and continue participating even when there isn't an election. He said, "If young voters turn out in this election in the numbers expected, they will have played a role in deciding not only the president, but also elected officials in all levels that cannot be ignored any longer."
-- by Patrick Dunn '12
