In the fall, Daemen launched an important collaborative college-wide effort titled, Get Civically Fit at Daemen, to promote voter registration, provide information on the voting process, and to help boost voting among students, faculty, and staff.
The effort included a number of different activities, including voter registration stations and kiosks on campus, discussions and panel events, and a robust Get Civically Fit at Daemen web presence. The web page provided website users with information on ways to register to vote, detailed the many options for voting in 2020, provided instructions on how to become an Election Day poll worker, and more.
“There is no greater responsibility than to vote and it is one of the most important civic responsibilities we have to exercise our political power,” said Dr. Lisa Parshall, professor of political science, who oversaw the voting initiative. “By having a physical presence on campus for this effort, it will underscore to the Daemen community the importance of voting and provide the opportunity to register to vote and ask questions about the process.”
The Get Civically Fit at Daemen initiative was spearheaded by the Daemen College History and Political Science Department in collaboration with the college’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the Division of Institutional Advancement, and the Division of Student Affairs. The institution-wide initiative fit into one of Daemen’s core values on informed civic engagement, with students, faculty, and staff all encouraged to take an active, engaged role in their community, making the voter registration effort a timely and practical example of civic engagement in action in the college community.
According to Parshall, college students and young adults are considered one of the most influential voting groups in the country. The collaborative effort across different divisions and departments engaged the college community in civic engagement that may have looked slightly different in 2020, but accomplished many important goals.
