Eight years ago, I was a freshman on campus at Wichita State. It was the first presidential election in which I could vote, and I remember the feeling of relief that so many of us were on the cusp of embracing as the dust settled on the 2016 election. Donald Trump’s scary — and quite weird — audition in political theater would be over, the U.S. would elect its first woman president and politics would return to some sense of normalcy.
Of course, the exact opposite ultimately happened.
Although politics had been my passion since a young child, when I first came to WSU, I planned on pursuing education or academia instead of politics. After grappling with the reality of what happened that November, I eventually changed my mind and volunteered for Democratic campaigns, which led to my career in Kansas politics.
In the months and years after that November, so many engaged Kansans asked themselves what they could do to make their voices heard — and make a difference.
The level of political activity on and around campus in 2017 and 2018 far surpassed what I had seen prior. Whether it be voter registration drives or students volunteering for campaigns, Shockers were energized. There was a collective feeling of urgency post-2016, and it led to real change in the coming election cycles, both in Wichita and Kansas.
In 2022, we saw a similar wave of enthusiasm in Kansas with the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the Aug. 2 constitutional amendment thereafter. Due to that historic level of enthusiasm, activism and support, the amendment was defeated with almost 60% of the vote.
Eight years later, we find ourselves in a very similar situation to 2016 with an even closer race, and another chance to elect our first woman president. While Kansas will likely not be competitive this cycle on the electoral map, there are simple actions you can take, like phone banking for swing states or volunteering for campaigns at the state legislative and local levels.
Whether it be knocking on doors, making phone calls or just encouraging your friends and family to vote, small actions by many can make the decisive difference in the end.
I encourage everyone to ask themselves what they can do prior to Nov. 5 so that rather than face the same grim reality of 2016, we can move our state and our country forward.