Vote Like A Citizen Katie
How St. Kate’s is encouraging students to step up and do their part.
By Mia Timlin
By now, you probably know that there’s an election coming up. There are political ads on nearly every TV station, and every corner of the internet is crawling with politicians telling you why you shouldn’t vote for their opponent and that they “approve this message.” In fact, the promotion has gotten so prevalent, you may have even blocked it out by this point, like some kind of campaign-powered white noise machine. Even with the seemingly constant reminders that there’s an election coming up, St. Kate’s wants to make sure no one falls through the cracks.
The voting rate of Katies sits at 80%, and according to the National Study of Learning, our voting and engagement is significantly higher than the national university average of 66%. This doesn’t just happen—there are people hard at work on campus to make sure no student misses the opportunity to cast their ballot.
“I think [the voting rate] is a lot higher because we try to engage with our community and put the idea of voting in people’s faces,” said Sarah Miller, civic engagement student coordinator. “We table one to two times a week—trying to get people aware of registering to vote and making sure they know what’s on the ballot.”
If you haven’t gotten the chance to stop by one of their various voter-resource stacked tables throughout campus, there’s still time. Center for Community Work and Learning (CWL) director D’Ann Lesch says that they’ll be tabling several more times before election day on Nov. 8, as well as hosting events like their Cookie Decorating and Politics night. If you see them, stop by to say hello, check your registration status, pick up some voting resources and grab some stickers on the way out!
Students Alejandra Kelly and Grace Kielsa want you to vote!
Feeling overwhelmed by voting? There’s a lot of steps before you can hit the polls, from registering to researching to requesting and returning your mail-in ballot or physically making your way to your polling place. Fortunately, the CWL has you covered, and wants to make the process easier for you every step of the way.
“November sneaks up on all of us and there’s a lot going on, so part of it is just seeing voting stuff to help you remember, ‘Oh yeah, I gotta get on that, I gotta look up my information, I gotta make my voting plan,’” Lesch said.
The “voting plan” in question is a new infosheet the CWL is promoting to help students keep track of the voting process and what steps need to be taken. “The idea is that people actually formulate and write out ‘I’m going to vote in this way, on this day,’ and have it on record.”
“I think the most helpful resources would be the little bookmark we offer which brings people right to the website to register to vote and the QR code that brings people to what’s on the ballot,” Miller said. “People can see exactly what it’s going to look like when they go to the polling places.”
She also suggests visiting the secretary of state’s website to learn more about who and what you’ll actually be voting for. “I found it so beneficial with finding out who the candidates are,” she said. “There’s various resources that will tell you who’s on the ballot, and the pros and cons to these people.”
St. Kate’s will also offer a Voter Van service to shuttle students back and forth from campus to the polling location, which is a longstanding tradition for the school.
“It started as a way to encourage resident students and make voting more accessible for resident students,” said Lesch. “We are not a campus like St. Thomas or Macalester that has their polling location really close to campus. We want to make sure that students can get to their polling location and back.” The Voter Van will run in a continuous loop from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will pick students up from the roundabout in front of St. Mary’s residence hall. The van will transport to Highland Park Community Center, where any registered student living on campus will be eligible to vote.
Above all, when the CWL is encouraging students to vote, they’re encouraging them to be citizens. Citizens of their world, their country, their town and their campus. When students are socially and civically engaged, the results bleed into campus life, which, according to Lesch, is easily evident.
“I think our students are all-around engaged,” she said. “What I know about our students is that they’re doing a lot of stuff. They’re working in ways they care about, they’ve got a lot of responsibility, they’ve got a few jobs. I think that that motivation to be involved comes out through work, through school and in their home communities. The students are doing a lot.”
Miller agrees civic engagement plays a role when it comes to Katies “doing a lot.”
“I think it’s so beneficial to have people who are socially involved and socially aware,” Miller said. “I think that it’s a huge benefit to our campus in general to have people who are aware and who want to make a change.”
