It’s presidential election season now in 2024, which means people across the nation are being bombarded with political advertisements asking for donations and votes. By now many citizens are fed up with political discourse, simply begging for this season to be over.
With this being the case, many institutions are wondering how they can tap into the minds of otherwise indifferent citizens who, if left unreached, may determine not to vote. Dallas College is seeking to mobilize their large student body of young, otherwise unenthused citizens to have their voices heard.
The young adult demographic is consistently the largest pool of non-voters in the United States, but in the case of Dallas College specifically, there is a high volume of historically underserved population groups. First- or second-generation immigrants, first-generation college students, and traditionally redlined groups. Since these groups make up a large portion of the student body, Dallas College (and by proxy, the Brookhaven campus) is looking to enlighten voters about the powers of their voices.
Dallas College seeks to encourage voter registration and activity as much as possible. They have deployed a force of voter registration officials out on campus asking students if they are registered to vote, making a point to emphasize that it is a deceptively quick and easy process.
For those on the fence about registration, there have been events across the campus wherein leaders of citizen empowerment campaigns and Harvard professors work to make known the power that individual citizens hold.
Especially poignant is that these events are taking place in the state of Texas where there is a small, but realistic, possibility of Texas being a battleground state. Whether these are politically charged events or not is beyond the scope of this article, but the larger point remains clear. Dallas College is working to empower its student body to have their voices heard.
Sometimes, the seemingly mundane actions can make a difference in the minds of the most influential population in any election, those whose voices go unheard. The big events may deter the voting population who do not care about the election, but Dallas College has made a point to bring voter registration and empowerment straight to students in their own homes.
Putting registration links and voter eligibility checklists into their community pages and even providing resources for candidate research tools. Granted, these are small things, but the convenience of these resources on the community pages that many students browse from the comforts of home can mobilize a student who otherwise may not have voted at all.
Additionally, all of these resources available to Dallas College’s higher education students are also available to the Early College High School students on campus. This means that not only is Brookhaven investing in the student body to mobilize during the 2024 election, but also for future elections with the rising league of young students who will be eligible to vote very soon.
Why all this investment though?
Dallas College cares about the student body. Part of caring for people is empowering them to have their voices heard. Especially at a public institution, citizens and students are the most important assets you have. Unrest can arise from people who feel like they are being ignored, especially in the case of young, educated people. Organizing those people to have their voices heard is a smart move in both investment and security. Thankfully, the adept move to mobilize and invest in the student body is also a public service to the citizenry of America.
Every person has a vote. You may disagree with the electoral politics and processes, but you can put forward your voice because you have a stake in the country. You are just as responsible as the rest of us for the nation’s future. You too can vote and be heard, and maybe we can all move mountains together.
