Tag: vote

OWU helping to get out the vote

Katie Cantrell

Transcript Correspondent

kmcantre@owu.edu

The deadline looms.

Ohio’s presidential primary election is March 17 and Ohio Wesleyan officials have made efforts to ensure all students eligible to vote in this year’s election can register in time by the Feb. 18 deadline.

OWU promotes voter registration every election year and it has created registration opportunities on campus for both the primary and general elections.  Now, students can register at the OWU Campus Store or Beeghly Library.

And today and Monday, Feb. 10 organizers will set up a table in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center with information about voter registration. Students can also follow the link here if they have questions or are looking for information on registering to vote.

Freshman Elizabeth Dickey said this election is important so she was sure to register.

“This is the first election where I can vote so I’m actually paying attention to the candidates and what’s going on,” Dickey said.

Sophomore Danielle Black said she thinks this election is going to be a tipping point.

“We have gay men running, we have women running, we have diverse candidates running for one of the first times in history, so I’m really interested to see what the outcome’s going to be and how it’s going to affect the future,” she said.

Junior Fatima Iqbal is an international student and unable to participate in U.S. elections, but she said she believes it is important for people to be registered to vote.

“Especially people 18-25, because the current data shows that 30% of those people are registered to vote and that’s very low,” she said. “They’re the upcoming generation and if they don’t vote for the correct person who’s actually working for them then you know it’s not good news for them.”

Senior Ahmed Hamed said he believes many key issues are at stake for the future of the United States and the direction we move in as a country.

“As important as I think this election is, I also think every election is important, even the local elections,” he said. “I vote in every single election that I can and I try to vote on every issue that’s on the ballot.”

Club pushing students to take action

By Alex Emerson

Transcript Correspondent

A three-year old club at Ohio Wesleyan University still pushes for action on issues of justice on the basis of class, race and gender.

The Young Democratic Socialist Association meets on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. to discuss and take action on social and political issues, said Carl DeScott, the current co-chair.

“Our mission is to educate and organize students and the community in order to promote movements for social justice on campus, in our community, and nationwide,” DeScott said. “Our vision of socialism is built on democratic, feminist and anti-racist ideals.”

The club was founded on the basis of democratic socialism, but it has become a melting pot of left-wing ideals where everyone is open to a range of opinions, said John Bowman, the co-founder of the club.

“There were a few major things holding us together like anti-fascism, but our members were a whole spectrum of left-wing students with differing opinions,” Bowman said. “One of the greatest parts of the organization is playing to the skills of different people, creating discourse and moving away from a power dynamic.”

Both DeScott and Bowman emphasized the importance of not only discussion but action as a part of the organization’s goals.

“What one should expect if they were to join the YDSA is that we are a club that doesn’t just talk about politics, we act,” DeScott said. “We choose to fight so that we can live in a more equitable and just society.”

Bowman said, “our chapter of the YDSA isn’t like other political organizations that act like a book club where everyone just talks about what’s wrong with the world. It provides a place where we can come together, organize and then act.”

Quoting U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Bowman said, “I don’t want to watch the polls, I want to change the polls.”

During the fall semester, the YDSA hosted “Rock the Vote,” a concert with registering to vote being the price of admission. The organization has been preparing events for next semester, DeScott said, including hosting a veteran to talk about war and the treatment of veterans, which is will be in March. Also, the YDSA plans to collaborate with the Democrat and Republican organizations on campus to inform students about the candidates for the national primaries.

“We are making pamphlets for each of the relevant candidates solely based on what their positions are on the issue, and collaboration will help remove any indication of bias,” DeScott said.

The club was founded in 2016 by Trevor Martin and John Bowman. “After the election in 2016, I wanted to try and make a change,” Martin said. “John and I met at the Columbus chapter of the YDSA agreed to organize a YDSA at Ohio Wesleyan.”

Bowman said during their time as co-chairs, the club organized a trip to Washington, D.C. for the Democratic Socialist Association convention, protested against Bret Kavanaugh in 2018, and laid the groundwork for the club so it could grow.

For more information on the YDSA, which has chapters in schools across America, look on the website here.