Election season can be noisy with demeaning television advertisements, fiery debates, constant hard mail and more recently, a rush of text messages to sway voters one way or the other. But between all the campaigning and ads, voters still must be educated enough to cast their ballots by Nov. 3. At IUPUI, students have a wealth of resources available to them as they ready their decisions.
IUPUI has received national recognition for its student voter engagement over the last several election cycles thanks to the work of the Political Engagement Committee, which is made up of students, faculty and staff from various academic schools and departments. The honors include the All-In Democracy Challenge with a Silver Seal in the 2018 mid-term elections, a Voter Friendly Campus designation for the last two election cycles and a 2020 Best College for Student Voting honor from Washington Monthly.
Brian Starkel, associate director of Campus Center and Student Experiences, oversees student civic engagement programs at IUPUI. He believes students need to get past the excitement of voting and discover why they are voting the way they are.
“During election season, understanding the ‘why’ behind voting can sometime get lost in the excitement of ‘vote, vote, vote’ messaging,” he said. “Many people refer to voting as a ‘civic duty’ or that you have ‘a right to vote.’ But history teaches us that this right and this duty was not always a given. Each vote holds not just power, but a privilege. You hold the power to impact other lives. It could mean funding for your school district, which stores or services move into your neighborhood, or if you have sidewalks down a busy road.”
Starkel stresses that a moment of reflection is important for voters as they consider a few things:
- Is who I am voting for a reflection of my community’s needs?
- Are there issues that are meaningful to me?
- If they aren’t meaningful, are they to someone else?
“Voting is a responsibility at the end of the day, and the great part about it is that you are an active citizen in your community,” Starkel said.
Students looking to learn more about the elections and voting can visit go.iu.edu/jagsvote. The Office of Community Engagement has worked with a team of campus partners to provide a one-stop shop. Included on the site are key election deadlines, who is on the ballot, early voting dates and much more. Students, organizations and classes can also request a presentation from the Division of Student Affairs on a variety of civic engagement topics.
If you’d like to connect with a student Civic Engagement Assistant, send a direct message on the @jagsvote Instagram account or email the team at cea@iupui.edu.