CUMU Conference 2019

Given the perceived decline in civic participation practitioners will discuss how student democratic engagement efforts in the higher education context connect with civic institutions and public discourse along with elected officials, ballot initiatives, and voting. Panelists bring a range of perspectives from the community college and public and private university contexts along with nonpartisan nonprofit organizations that have supported their efforts to institutionalize voter registration, voter education, and voter turnout at their campuses. Based on the contentiousness of recent national elections and confusion reported by new participants in the voting process panelists and participants will discuss lessons learned from past nonpartisan student democratic engagement efforts and planning underway for the 2020 elections, a truly massive election cycle as a presidential election year as well as the elections that will determine who leads redistricting efforts in states across the country following the decennial census. Campus-based panelist come from institutions with civic engagement centers and will discuss what this has meant for their institutions, how participants can connection with centers at their own institutions, and efforts to build campus-wide coalition of administrators, faculty, and student leaders to foster a culture of democratic engagement across an institution. The panel discussion will be very timely for participants as the timeline required to build coalitions and integrate democratic engagement efforts into existing campus programs and communications should begin months before Election Day.