By AILEEN BURKE
Executive Editor
National Voter Registration Day was this past Tuesday, and Saint Rose students took the charge seriously, registering 103 individuals in 3 class periods with Dr. Ryane Straus.
Voter registration drives are a project that Straus has conducted in recent years with her classes at the college. She uses it as a first-hand exercise in popular sovereignty, and the democratic process at large. This drive comes in conjunction with voter registration efforts on behalf of other organizations, ranging from grassroots to the state government.
The first time she ran the drive in anticipation of the 2016 election, students were able to register 77 people. Last year, students registered 49.
“This tells me that college students are becoming more and more active and involved,” said Straus. “I think the number was so high partly because we targeted students, and many of them have just turned 18 or haven’t yet had the opportunity to register.”
Classes were trained in advance of the drive by Straus and a representative from the League of Women Voters, Andy Lee. Students were instructed to be non-partisan, and use their knowledge to help others. The class also discussed the high turnout rates for young people in the 2018 midterm election; this election resulted in the House of Representatives going to the Democratic Party.
“Ryane is amazing,” said Lee in a phone interview. “She gives me as much time as I need to train them.”
According to Lee, the number that Saint Rose students were able to register was comparable to the University at Albany, which registered 110 students. The 103 student total was higher than that of Siena and Sage Colleges, combined.
Students went out to different parts of the campus, including the Events and Athletics Center, first-year dormitories, in front of the Neil Hellman Library, Albertus Hall, and the Science Center.
Different sections of Straus’ Intro to United States Politics course elected to go to other locations, depending on how comfortable they were with the neighborhood. Straus said a particularly successful location was at the bus stop on Madison and Ontario, where well over 20 individuals were registered.
Straus’ students were excited about the dialogue that this drive initiated, and readily shared the importance of the vote to them.
“I want to contribute,” said Julia Plumadore. She was approached directly in the Camelot Room by Jack Stanton, one of Straus’ students.
Kayla Todd and Kamala Hall, two other Saint Rose students, were surprised by how quick it was to fill out their forms.
“I thought it would take longer,” said Todd.
The educational significance of the day was not lost on the students who went out to facilitate the drive.
“I was 16 when the 2016 vote happened,” said Shane George, a sophomore psychology major. “I remember feeling voiceless, so the first thing I did when I turned 18 was register to vote.”
This was the first drive where Straus harnessed the power of social media to contribute to the experience. #StroseVotes is attached to many photos of students registering to vote in New York State.
Twitter proved not only to be an interesting educational tool, but a fun way for students to further contribute to the presence of the drive on campus.
“The easiest thing we have is the vote,” said Straus to her class before they went out around the campus to complete registrations.
