Submission: A message from the Civic Engagement Collective
By Sophie Strzok, Civic Engagement Student Coordinator
As the Election approached, the Civic Engagement Collective was hard at work providing events and spaces for students and staff alike to learn how to be civically engaged. The Integrated Learning Series October focus allowed the St. Kate's campus community to explore and contextualize the Suffrage Centennial and its narrative.
Additionally, the Civic Engagement Collective team collaborated with Ramsey County Elections office to plan the “Popcorn and Politics” event, which brought Resident Students vital voting information. The event proved to be very successful, as we had a high attendance of 30 students. Of course, Commuter students were not left out. They received an educational program of their own on voting information and reviewing the ballot.
We were very active on social media, bringing loads of information to students ranging from the projects done by Marina Gorzig’s “Intro to American Government” and Elizabeth Otto’s “Small Group Communication” service-learning classes to alumna Briana Turnbull’s infamous Right to Vote posters; this engagement was very successful and many departments shared and re-shared information for students to see.
On Elections day, in collaboration with Residence Life, the Civic Engagement Collective set up tabling between the library and the cafeteria to provide yet another space for students to ask questions about voting, or if they had already voted, to share their experience doing so. Many people passed by the table and it was fun to see everyone’s faces (masked up of course) for the first time in what felt like a very long time.
Director of Community Work and Learning D’Ann Urbaniak Lesch and Dean of Students Seth Snyder provided their phone number to anyone who needed support on Election Day; Urbaniak Lesch, along with many others, took time to sit at the table and celebrate first time voters and other voters alike.
On Election night, things were quiet and relatively calm; students had done their civic duty and were gluing their eager eyes to their screens as they watched in silent angst for the results. The anxiety that had overwhelmed them the day and night before was exhausting and many did their homework in bed while waiting for the Presidential race to be called. Things were still uncertain the next morning, as students woke up to a day with no results; COVID complications had caused the ballot counting and calling of the battleground states’ results to take longer than usual. It took nearly a week to receive the official election results and on Saturday, November 7th, the election was called: Joe Biden would become the next President of the United States of America.
As Election season wrapped up, the members of the Civic Engagement Collective gave each other a (safely distanced) pat on the back- we had done what we had set out to do, kept spirits high and educated students about how to be civically engaged.
As we reflected on our work, individuals provided feedback on how we did and things that they felt worked well. One student noted that “the Civic Engagement Collective reflects St. Kate's values and social justice mission. Voting and being politically involved is very important and a lot of action can be taken to change the world in this way. Additionally, civic engagement encourages Katies to lead, influence, and fight for what is important to them.”
True to St Kate's values, the Civic Engagement Collective did their duty in uplifting the social justice mission and encouraging students to take action to promote change. Faculty and staff also received the work the Collective did well, a staff member who is part of the Collective reflected on the way the events helped them be more connected and supportive of students- “It was a great way for me to be involved with the election and support students, staff and faculty and their right to vote. It helped me personally be more informed of the election!”
Overall the work that the Civic Engagement Collective did was a success. Now, we move to the next phase, which is to engage our campus community in policy, advocacy, and dialogue; we know it’s important to provide students with the right tools to go out and be civically engaged members of society. The best feeling is when students who are happy and proud of themselves go out to lead and influence with the means to promote positive change. Our Collective was very excited to hear all the good stories and reflections of the work done. All in all, the Civic Engagement Collective’s mission for this semester has been a great success.
