The Civic and Community Engagement Center (CCEC) hosted the ‘Po Vote Civic Fair at the Grove on Wednesday, Oct. 23. This event was one of the many events that the CCEC has been offering this semester to encourage students to vote in this year’s election.
Different clubs and organizations here at Ramapo contributed to the event with tables set up with pamphlets, forms where you can pledge to vote, QR codes to scan for additional information and merchandise such as stickers. The event was meant to showcase these different civic engagement clubs and bring them together to encourage students to vote.
The Center for Health and Counseling Services provided information about “togetherall,” an online peer support community in which you can connect with others when feeling stressed over the election, and the program is completely anonymous. The staff was also promoting the wellness room here at Ramapo by sharing a QR code to book a reservation.
The Organization of Latino Unity table featured pamphlets filled with information on why Latinx citizens should vote. “Many people in the Latinx community are unable to vote, due to gerrymandering, immigration status, and sneaky voter suppression tactics” according to their pamphlet. Their display also showed a “meet the e-board” with pictures and facts about the members to get to know the club better.
“‘Po Vote was an initiative that was a discussion between Project ARCH and the Civic of Community and Engagement Center,” says Sarah Glisson, Student Manager of CCEC and Vice President of Project ARCH, “we want students to know that there are resources for them.”
Other tables featured the CCEC and Project ARCH themselves. These displays were similar to the others, except they showed how to check your voter status with Chappell Roan’s song “HOT TO GO” being used in a catchy title, “Hot-To-Vote.”
Additional seating was provided for students to fill out mail-in ballot applications. Voting by mail was seen as the easier option for Ramapo students to vote because many do not have access to vote in their county if their hometowns are far from here. For students to be able to vote is very crucial for our strong voices to be heard. Events like these are a great way to get students informed in more detail about their role as a voter and the resources available to them.
More information about the voting initiative here on campus can be found on the CCEC section of the Ramapo College official website.
jcaramag@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Julia Caramagna, Ramapo News
