BSU Votes / en Vote Casting Call /stories/2024/vote-casting-call <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Vote Casting Call </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang about="/users/hharrisbridgewedu" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype>HHARRIS@bridgew.edu</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-09-20T11:33:12-04:00" title="Friday, September 20, 2024 - 11:33" class="datetime">Fri, 09/20/2024 - 11:33</time> </span> <div class="layout layout--onecol"> <div class="layout__region layout__region--content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-short-description-v2 field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <p><span>Campus-wide initiative seeks to inform newcomers to the electoral process</span></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-article-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <time datetime="2024-10-01T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">October 1, 2024</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-article-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> Heather Harris Michonski </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <p>Many college students will be casting their ballots for the first time in this November’s presidential election. To ensure these electoral newcomers are educated about where to vote and related issues, 51Թ is offering the campus-wide initiative <a href="/bsuvotes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><u>BSU Votes</u></a>.</p><p>“Knowing how to vote is important. The ability to exercise our right to vote, no matter who you are voting for, is also important,” said <strong>Summa Slater</strong>, ’25, who serves as a voting and civic engagement ambassador as part of the initiative.</p><p>Organized through the Martin Richard Institute for Social Justice (MRISJ), BSU Votes has been a resource for a number of years.</p><p>“As a university, part of our identity is being civically engaged…through service and active citizenship this is a chance for folks to really focus on that in the upcoming months,” said <strong>Jill Beckwith</strong>, executive director of MRISJ.</p><p>To help students navigate this year’s presidential elections, peer-to-peer support is being offered with students like Summa getting the word out.</p><p>“This is my first time voting, and it’s important for me to be educated, but to also educate my peers as well,” she said.</p><p>Throughout the fall semester, Summa and other ambassadors set up informational tables across campus to provide educational resources for students.</p><p>And students are hungry for information. Turnout has been positive, with 65 students checking in at Summa’s table during one session alone.</p><p>“It’s really made me realize that this work is so important,” she said. “If I wasn’t on this side of the table, I would want someone to be there to help me, to talk about voting.”</p><p>Aside from the tables, BSU Votes has a <a href="/bsuvotes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><u>website</u></a> chock full of information including registration deadlines and how out-of-state students can vote.</p><p>Events, including “Vote Fest” were held at the MRISJ building, on National Voter Registration Day, Tuesday Sept. 17. Participants grabbed a bite to eat from the Bear Bites food truck, signed up for raffles, and played games, all while creating a voting plan for November 5, 2024, aka Election Day.</p><p>Oct. 7-11 is National Voter Education Week and BSU Votes has more events planned.</p><p>On <strong>Monday, Oct. 7</strong>, a “What’s on Your Ballot” panel will be held in the Rondileau Student Union (RSU) 201, Council Chambers, from 10:10 to 11:20 a.m. This event will help explain the five questions on the Nov. 5 ballot.</p><p>Also that day, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., a “Get Vote Ready Election Fair” is slated to take place by the RSU fountain/backyard (rain location will be inside the RSU).</p><p>A “Voting Your Vibes” event will take place <strong>Tuesday, Oct. 8</strong>, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Dunn Conference Room, Crimson Hall.</p><p>On <strong>Wednesday, Oct. 9</strong>, from 12 to 2 p.m., lunch will be served during an “Engage, Advocate, Empower: A Civic dialogue,” held in the RSU Council Chambers.</p><p>And on <strong>Thursday, Oct. 10</strong>, “The Power of Young Voters” will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the RSU Demo Room.</p><p>Whether students attend the in-person events, check out the website for more resources, or stop by an informational table, the goal is to make information accessible for all who seek it.</p><p>“We want to provide materials that our students can engage with and feel comfortable digesting,” Beckwith said. “Learning about the issues, the candidates, how they want to vote…there is a lot at stake for voters and we want to make sure students are given the opportunities to ask any question.”</p><p><em>Do you have a BSU story you'd like to share? Email </em><a href="mailto:stories@bridgew.du"><em>stories@bridgew.du</em></a><em>&nbsp;</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-hide-featured field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> No </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="ckeditor-media-class"> <div class="layout layout--onecol"> <div class="layout__region layout__region--content"> <div class="blazy blazy--field blazy--field-media-image-9 blazy--field-media-image-9--image-max-470x470 field field--name-field-media-image-9 field--type-image field--label-hidden field__items" data-blazy> <div class="field__item"> <div data-b-token="b-7c24f01347d" class="media media--blazy media--image is-b-loading"><img alt="A person is holding a BSU Votes sticker in front of their face with colorful fingernails" decoding="async" class="media__element b-lazy" loading="lazy" data-src="/sites/bridgew/files/styles/max_470x470/public/media/article_featured_image/bsu_votes_photo_for_story__0.jpg" src="/sites/bridgew/files/media/images/image-loading.gif"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-testimonial field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <section class="paragraph paragraph--type--testimonial paragraph---id--236196 scroll-reveal box1 paragraph--view-mode--default" aria-label="testimonial content id-236196"> <div class="media-wrapper"> <div class="media"> <div class="media-body"> <blockquote> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <p>As a university, part of our identity is being civically engaged…through service and active citizenship this is a chance for folks to really focus on that in the upcoming months.</p> </div> </div> </blockquote> <div class="field field--name-field-title field--type-string field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> Jill Beckwith, executive director Martin Richard Institute of Social Justice </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline field__items"> <div class="field__label">Tags</div> <div class="field__item"> <a href="/tags/bsu-votes" aria-label="Related stories tagged BSU Votes" hreflang="en">BSU Votes</a> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-credit field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> Photo by Ben van der Voet, '25 </div> </div> </div> </div> Fri, 20 Sep 2024 15:33:12 +0000 HHARRIS@bridgew.edu 253361 at