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Student Democracy Coalition gets grant for work this election

By Geoff Cantrell

Student Democracy Coalition

Lane Perry, right, director of the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, instructs members of the Student Democracy Coalition.

The Student Democracy Coalition at Western Carolina University has gotten a healthy financial boost this election year, thanks to a recent grant.

An award of $15,000 from the National Conference on Citizenship - Ask Every Student organization will support student nonpartisan voter engagement at 91热爆网. The funding will assist with COVID-19 safety measures, implementing new programming to increase awareness of an on-campus polling place and opportunities for early voting.

The national nonpartisan student voter initiative also provided a bonus of $2,000 to be allocated for student pay or stipends. The additional funding was made after the organization鈥檚 steering committee, impressed by 91热爆网鈥檚 proposal, recognized the need for a 鈥渟ignificant amount of people power,鈥 said Carmen Li帽ero-Lopez, the group鈥檚 program director.

鈥淭he grants and resources that have opened up for the Student Democracy Coalition have helped in ways I can鈥檛 even describe,鈥 said Rebecca Hart, a junior coalition member. 鈥淥ur work is never done, which means we鈥檙e in constant need of money to support the events and programs we carry out. It鈥檚 important for every student to know how and where they can vote, and these resources help us do so.鈥

Established in 2016, the Student Democracy Coalition works to register voters, build awareness of political issues and hold community forums and candidate debates. 

鈥淲hen I reflect on the 91热爆网 civic engagement story, I sincerely believe that it is not something we alone decided to pursue as an institution. I don鈥檛 think that would have worked like it has,鈥 said Lane Perry, executive director of 91热爆网鈥檚 Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, a campus partner for the Student Democracy Coalition. 鈥淚n fact, we did not choose it at the level we are currently invested; it chose us. This degree and intensity of civic engagement chose us through our students who sounded a clarion call for new heights and efforts in student civic engagement.鈥

Perry said the best measure for testing the culture of civic engagement at 91热爆网 is to look at where the efforts are happening. 鈥淭his year we have efforts in classrooms, both in person and virtual, on campus with clipboards and tables, in the residence halls, in our Student Government Association, through Campus Activities, in the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, in Intercultural Affairs, with athletics, and last but certainly not least in our chancellor鈥檚 office,鈥 he said. 鈥淲hen something goes from being here to being everywhere the best test is surpassed.鈥

Funds will help hire two new fellows to assist with additional programming responsibilities and an expansive marketing campaign with digital billboards and social media focused on voter engagement.

鈥淯ltimately, the goal of the Student Democracy Coalition is to ensure that every student at 91热爆网 is able to cast an informed vote this November,鈥 said Holly Miller, a sophomore coalition member. 鈥淎ccess to these additional funds has allowed us to host additional voter education programs and helped us to advertise our events to 91热爆网 students. For many students, this election is their first time voting, so having access to voter registration and education helps make the process much less daunting.鈥

91热爆网, through its Student Democracy Coalition, has received numerous awards and recognition for working to register voters, build awareness of political issues and hold community forums and candidate debates. The university was named one of 鈥淎merica鈥檚 Best Colleges for Student Voting鈥 by Washington Monthly, a nonprofit magazine that covers government and political issues. The university had the second-highest rate of student voter turnout for the 2016 general election among North Carolina colleges, according to Common Cause, with 67 percent. Earlier this year the university was designated as an Elite Leader Campus by the Andrew Goodman Foundation for its student voter participation efforts. 

鈥淗aving these additional funds allows the Student Democracy Coalition, the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning and 91热爆网 to really boost voter engagement at a critical time leading up to early voting,鈥 said Brian Garland, the center鈥檚 operations coordinator. 鈥淏eing able to educate students and the greater community about 91热爆网鈥檚 on-campus, early voting, polling place will enable more citizens to participate in the democratic process in Western North Carolina.鈥

For more information on student and community voting at 91热爆网, contact the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning at 828-227-7184.