(SUNY Geneseo photo/Keith Walters '11)
Long recognized as a voter-friendly campus with high levels of student voter engagement, SUNY Geneseo has expanded those efforts in anticipation of the 2024 election.
A new staff and faculty-led voter-preparedness task force has helped foster conversations about civic engagement and encouraged the campus community to both register and learn more about the voting process. The task force sought a long-term presence on campus with routine tabling in MacVittie College Union and other high-traffic areas. Their efforts included distributing forms and guidance templates to help students with voter registration.
“We’re giving individuals the opportunity to absorb information,” says Genevieve Labe, assistant director of multicultural affairs for LGBTQ+ life and a leading member of the voter-preparedness task force. “It also gives people a plethora of opportunities to engage with the material.”
The College also partners with the Andrew Goodman Vote Everywhere program, a national, non-partisan, civic engagement movement of student leaders and their institutions. The program provides training and resources to student ambassadors while they work to register voters on their college campuses. Brendan Fuhr, community outreach assistant, notes, “When it comes to students, having dedicated and passionate students to drive [voter] efforts themselves provides some of the most significant successes.”
Several days during the fall semester were dedicated to student voter registration, such as National Voter Registration Day, Constitution Day, and National Black Voter Day. The Office of Student Life is sponsoring Pie for Democracy, an effort to engage students in the voter registration process by tossing a pie in a willing volunteer’s face. After the New York state voter registration deadline on October 26, the Goodman Ambassadors will count down to Party at the Polls, their annual Election Day celebration.
The College is also hosting several events throughout the voting cycle focusing on the history of voting and voter rights, including a screening of the documentary film Electoral Dysfunction. Events hosted by Student Health and Counseling and Student Life will encourage self-care during the election cycle, such as meditation activities and a post-election mindful yoga session.
To learn more about student voting on SUNY Geneseo’s campus, visit Student Voter Information.