The fall 2019 semester saw not only a series of hot days on our Clemson campus, but also the launch of a much-needed initiative – “Clemson Votes.”
A joint Academic Affairs and Student Affairs endeavor,[1] Clemson for Democracy is a broad-based, nonpartisan effort aimed at improving the democratic engagement[2] of our student population – graduate and undergraduate.
Why?
National data indicates that behaviors related to democratic engagement begin in early adulthood, at the age when many students have left their homes for higher education. Navigating state-by-state laws and deadlines can be a confusing impediment to voter participation. Holistic campus efforts (curricular and co-curricular) are part of the duty of a public, land-grant institutuion such as ours.
What next?
We have developed a focused coalition of students, faculty, staff, and community members to build our campus plan for improving voter registration, voter education, and voter participation while focusing on a holistic climate to support democratic engagement. Our on-campus plan will initiate in January 2020, as we are working in fall 2019 to:
Want to know more or be part of the efforts?
Contact us and stay tuned!
[1] Initiated by: the Division of Undergraduate Studies (Associate Dean Bridget Trogden, trogden@clemson.edu) and the Clemson Office of Student Involvement & Leadership (via Associate Director Kate Radford; radford@clemson.edu).
[2] Democratic engagement involves actions such as voter registration, education, and voting, as well as broader institutional civic learning and democratic engagement efforts. It is strictly nonpartisan and, therefore, does not include advocacy of any particular candidates, issues, parties, or policies.