Shepherd students write letters to local representatives

ISSUED: 31 January 2025
MEDIA CONTACT: Hans Fogle

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV - Shepherd University students made their voices heard after spending an afternoon writing letters to local representatives as part of a program hosted by Shepherd's National Writing Project (NWP) site, Common Reading program, and TRIO Support Services.

On January 28, Shepherd staff and faculty prepared a booth in the Ram's Den equipped with free supplies for students to write letters about their concerns. The booth also supplied resources encouraging students to call local representatives about more pressing issues.

Roughly 50 students stopped by the booth for information, with 20 preparing sealed letters for Shepherd's NWP site to stamp and drop in mailboxes.

Dr. Heidi Hanrahan, a Shepherd professor of English who assists with the NWP site, believes this event empowered students to use their voices on issues they are concerned about.

"Students can feel disconnected from politics and government," explained Hanrahan. "Moreover, many of them have never written a physical letter. It was such a pleasure and genuinely moving experience to watch them sit down and write their letters."

This initiative is inspired by the Common Reading program's 2024-2025 common reading selection, "Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America" by Heather Cox Richardson, which explores the current health of democracy in America.

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