Madison Haley Larsen spends much of her time educating her college colleagues about the political process and their right to participate. This year, she's also working her way to one of the most civically engaged campuses in the country.
Larsen, a second-year marketing major, is one of four voter engagement student ambassadors at Metropolitan State University of Denver, working on voter education efforts across the Auraria campus. Students disseminate information by visiting classrooms and staff tables at public events on and off campus.
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Nationally recognized civic activities MSU Denver has been recognized by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge in the following categories:
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Their efforts have resonated in past election years. MSU Denver was recognized as the nation's “Most Engaged Campus” in his 2022 year and had the highest undergraduate voting rate in the nation in 2016.
But in the highly charged environment of a presidential election year, where the two leading candidates are nearly 80 years old, many of the young people Larsen encounters are apathetic and generally distrustful of the political process.
She often encounters a “mixed attitude.”
“People can be subject to a type of surveillance, and they're not necessarily excited to participate in social activities because there's no reason to do so,” she says. “So I try to say, 'Hey, here's why you should care.'
For example, Ms. Larsen might remind other students that politicians are considering restrictions on TikTok, a social messaging platform popular among young people. “Just having something that people are excited about gives them an incentive to get involved in politics,” she says.
Dr. Robert Preuss, a professor and chair of the political science department at MSU Denver, said the ages of President Joe Biden, 81, and his chief rival, Donald Trump, are of little concern to young voters at the moment. Here's one reason why they don't. 78.
“I think every voter really wants to be able to empathize with the candidate, and they want the candidate to empathize with them,” he said. “When you get into the age range of our two major party candidates, the sense that they are looking at people who are two, maybe three generations removed from their 18- to 24-year-old experience completely disappears. ”
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Ployff points out that young voters have come of age at a time when politics are highly polarized and issues such as climate change, economic uncertainty and abortion are top of mind for many people. But he said many people still plan to vote despite their concerns about the process.
“We have this interesting paradox where voter turnout and voter turnout is at its highest level in 30 or 40 years, yet trust in government is at an all-time low,” he said. . “As political scientists, we want people to think that their vote really matters, but at the same time not vote because they're worried about the end of the world or what will happen if the other side wins. So I'm worried that that might not be the most attractive motive for voting.”
The Voter Engagement Student Ambassador Project, which is funded in part by the Community First Foundation and the Denver Foundation, is nonpartisan by design, said Carla DeGette, an adjunct professor of journalism at MSU Denver who serves as the program's faculty advisor. Stated. “We are not promoting one political party or philosophy over another. This is precisely because we want to encourage student participation and focus on civic dialogue and engagement in the public sphere. This is an initiative.”
She said the ambassadors recently received training from the League of Women Voters to help people register to vote, believing that students are more likely to respond to the views of their peers. “For example, it would be much more effective for young student ambassadors to go into classrooms and say, 'Let's register to vote now so we can all overcome this barrier.'”
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MSU Denver 2nd Annual Meeting Dialogue and Citizen Participation Week The dates are April 15-18 and will include campus involvement from Congress and a discussion with former Congressmen Dennis A. Ross and Loretta Sanchez. Please check the details and RSVP. |
Mr. Plouffe sees higher education as a unique opportunity to help people understand the complexities and nuances of governance and policy-making. Auraria His campus is known for having a higher than average student body turnout.
“That's why exposure to civics and civic life in higher education is so important to help students navigate these complex situations,” he says. “VESA is a great example of students addressing that by exposing their peers to that level of participation.”
