Virginia Student Voting Summit comes to VCU this week

By Sian Wilkerson

With midterm elections just weeks away, Virginia Commonwealth University is highlighting civic engagement by hosting the annual nonpartisan Virginia Student Voting Summit.

The daylong event on Friday, Sept. 25, in the Commons will bring together students, campus administrators, election officials and community advocates from across the commonwealth to collaborate and share resources to promote dialogue and engage voters.

Now in its ninth year, the summit has been hosted at various universities around the commonwealth. This year's summit at VCU is presented by the Office of Student Leadership and Engaged Learning in VCU's Division of Student Affairs, the Baldacci Institute for Civil Discourse in VCU's College of Humanities and Sciences and the Campus Vote Project of the Fair Election Center.

"This program will provide VCU students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of voting and civic engagement, learn from student leaders across Virginia and build relationships with peers engaged in similar work," said Amanda Wintersieck, Ph.D., director of the Baldacci Institute and associate professor of political science in the College of Humanities and Sciences. "Participants will return to campus with new ideas, resources and practical strategies for strengthening nonpartisan civic programming."

Virginia Student Voting Summit

To cap the summit, the Close Up Foundation, an event partner, will facilitate a moderated dialogue asking students to deliberate on key policy issues with mutual respect, helping participants "practice engaging across differences, listening to competing perspectives and discussing complex policy issues in a respectful and constructive manner," Wintersieck said.

For Roqia Ali and Jolene Amissah, co-directors of VCU Votes, a student-led nonpartisan initiative that works to increase student voter registration, education and turnout, the summit can highlight the work being done on campuses around Virginia, including at VCU.

"The future is us," said Ali, a fourth-year political science and homeland security major. "The next generation is doing the work."

To kick off the event, first-time attendee Amissah will give an introductory speech.

In addition to the summit, VCU Votes is continuing to expand its footprint. Now with more than 300 members, the group is busy ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3, promoting civic engagement through tabling events and social media and getting students across campus registered to vote.