Student-led initiatives are working to spread civic awareness on campus for Voter Registration Day.
As a former faculty member, Adriana Paez recognized the importance of preparing Master of Social Work students to be more politically active and decided to pursue her PHD in Educational Leadership to further engage students civically.
“Everybody turns out for the big presidential election, but there are elections every single year that impact all of us,” said Paez.
Paez has made it her mission to reach out to student organizations to raise awareness for greater success rates of student turnout and voter registration among young people. She has also created a zine on the importance of National Voter Registration Day as a civic holiday and fun facts about voting demographics and Gen Z.
Paez said she noticed that there were limited resources provided by the university for students who are looking for information about voting.
“There is no employee of UMKC that you know that part of their job description is doing civic engagement type work, voter education or engagement on this campus,” said Paez. “When I discovered that I was like, wow, that can’t be. I’ve been in various ways trying to just raise awareness about why that matters.”
The Higher Education Act is federal legislation that public universities must make a good faith effort to engage every enrolled student on their campus, specifically about voter registration.
Student civic engagement is important because it can promote new perspectives, foster a sense of purpose and encourage young people to become better informed in current affairs.
Volunteer canvasser from MO Votes, Steven Walker, has been on campus the last few weeks trying to interest students into registering to vote.
“If you want change, this isn’t only about the presidential election, it’s about the community,” Walker said.
To celebrate the civic holiday, multiple booths will be set up around UMKC with information about voter registration.
The Associated Students of the University of Missouri (ASUM) President, Emily Balentine, stayed up until midnight on the eve of her 18th birthday to register to vote with her mom. Now in her third year as a psychology and criminal justice double major, she is a part of the Civic Action Alliance, which works towards getting students involved in their community while building an education.
“There’s too many ways to vote and too many things to vote on for you to not be passionate about at least one thing on any ballot,” said Balentine.
Voter registration pop-ups are to take place all day Tuesday, September 17.
- Paez will have zines and posters in Atterbury tabling for First Generation Roos from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- SGA President Yasmen Hassen will have stickers and more in the Bloch School from 10 a.m. to noon
- MO Votes will be in Atterbury from 11 p.m. to 1 p.m.
- Emily Balentine will have friendship bracelets at the Playhouse from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- Paez will be outside of the Women’s Center from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. — Delta Rho Chapter is hosting an event from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Student Union room 401 AD called “A Voteless People is a Hopeless People”
For more information on National Voter Registration Day and the history behind it, click here. To stay updated on the importance of civic duty, follow Civic Action Alliance on Instagram.
