Students learned that astronauts can vote in space when they gathered in the Rhatigan Student Center to participate in voting and culture-based trivia on Blooket. The event boasted snacks, free t-shirts and special prizes for winners.
Loren Belew, who supervised the event, explained that Shockers Vote! Coalition hosted the event in order to motivate young people to vote in a friendly and lighthearted environment.
“It’s an opportunity to encourage students to vote early and have a chance to come together and participate in an activity that will hopefully pique their interest in voting and civic engagement,” Belew said.
Belew encouraged students to vote early in order to destress the process. She also encourages students to be informed voters and contemplate all their options.
“Just researching issues and finding out their options for voting, whether it’s voting early, or voting in person, or voting on Election Day, and just making a plan to make sure that they get out to vote,” Belew said.
Amelia Locke, a freshman majoring in political science, ran the Vote Early Day trivia. She said that it’s especially important to encourage college students to vote.
“College students are among the lowest registered to vote and actually voting in elections, both on the local and the presidential scale,” Locke said. “So it’s kind of good to bring awareness about why it’s important to vote and how college students use their voice and easily access resources to vote while in college.”
Locke explained that Shockers Vote! Coalition aims to act as a resource for students who are unfamiliar with the voting process but want to participate in upcoming elections.
“It’s an accessibility issue. People on campuses away from home don’t know how they can vote in their local elections,” Locke said. “So it’s good to allow them access to resources that can help them do that.”
For more information on how to vote, visit thesunflower.com.
