With less than a month to go until Election Day, students across the nation are gearing up to participate in an election that decides many important issues. Not only will the outcomes of this election strongly influence future generations, but they also might directly impact our bank accounts — something UC Davis students are taking very seriously.
What’s impressive to us is the amount of participation and passion for politics on our campus. UC Davis boasts multiple influential and powerful student groups — many of whom have created programs and spent hours organizing events in order to get the rest of campus to care enough to vote.
First of all, let us commend the Davis College Democrats. Not only do they provide opportunities for those who wish to get involved in the election through campaign work, community service and lobbying on behalf of student issues, but they pulled off one of the coolest events to happen on our campus in a while: hosting Bill Clinton at a rally on the Quad to endorse some Democratic congressional candidates.
With most of the Quad filled with thousands of students and community members, it’s safe to say that the event served as an inspiring and monumental event for those in attendance. Not many other schools can say that they’ve hosted President Clinton twice in the past four years.
ASUCD brought John Garamendi, and will be bringing Kim Vann, to speak with students, giving students direct access to the congressional election.
Two other huge groups on campus got together to create Aggies Vote, a nonpartisan coalition of ASUCD and California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), whose main purpose was registering UC Davis students to vote. ASUCD also has the New Voters Project, a continuous effort to register undergraduate students to vote.
By hosting presidential debate screenings and tabling, these groups had a strong presence on campus and have fostered a sense of political awareness in students.
We’re impressed and proud of these groups for getting out there and encouraging our campus to exercise our right to vote. There are six days left to register; what are you waiting for?
