By Anthony Howard
Jackson State University’s student organizations are observing Constitution Day by launching the JSU Votes Civic Engagement Initiative. On September 19, JSU Votes and student chapter of the NAACP hosted two events, Politics on the Plaza and Meet the Candidates.
Politics on the Plaza provided local and state candidates time to speak to the public and encourage them to vote. A host of candidates and elected officials spoke at the plaza telling students about the importance of registering to vote and exercising their voting rights in the November election.
“How many of you think Mississippi is headed in the right direction?” asked Mississippi State Senator David Blount, District 29. “Raise your hand if you’re happy with everything that’s happening in the state. If you want things to get better, you have to get out and vote.”
The student organizations also hosted a voter registration drive on the plaza helping nearly 300 students get registered to vote.
The Meet the Candidates event in the F.D. Music Hall Auditorium provided candidates for state offices time to interact with the student body and surrounding public and allowed them to introduce themselves and their campaign.
Each candidate was presented with 1-2 neutral questions at the public forum and explained why they were the best fit for the job.
“It was an opportunity for students and members of the community to get to know the people who are seeking to represent them in state and local government,” said Maruice Mangum, Ph.D., chair for the department of political science. “They should use the information they gathered to help them determine their vote in November.”
This JSU Votes Civic Engagement Initiative was developed to educate and inform politically underrepresented demographics in a manner that dismisses indifference and apathy.
“Changing tomorrow starts today. We are a demographic that matters, but we must understand that how much we matter starts at the ballot box,” said, JSU Votes President Kennadie Boykin. “We must exercise our right to vote on matters politically.”
The events were organized in an effort to consistently provide ballot education and election cycle awareness to make voter registration more impactful. The student organizers of JSU Votes and the NAACP chapter are spearheading an effort to unite the student body to combat civic indifference and voter apathy among the millennial and Gen Z demographic.
The JSU Votes Civic Engagement Initiative was launched to educate and inform politically underrepresented demographics in a manner that dismisses indifference and apathy. Nearly two dozen local and state officials attended the events to engage with students and the community.
In direct response to low voter turnout at the campus precinct, the Political Science Department is launching a new initiative and research hypothesis on civic engagement. Over the next four years, the voter registration data and election cycle statistics will be analyzed to measure more effective methods to engage the millennial and Gen-Z demographics in the democratic process.
“The civil rights era struggles are not extinct,” expressed political science and criminal justice professor Jacobi Grant, J.D. “It’s evident as demographics are represented socially, but not politically.”