Campus civic engagement leaders kick off National Voter Education Week with #UMassVotes summit hosted by UMass President Marty Meehan
BOSTON – To kick off National Voter Education Week, the five UMass student trustees called on their 72,000-plus peers across the UMass system to make sure they are registered and have a plan to vote in the upcoming election.
The student trustees – Adam Lechowicz (UMass Amherst), Michael Dooley (UMass Boston), Maxwell White (UMass Dartmouth), Mina Lam (UMass Lowell), and Bethany Berry (UMass Chan Medical) – issued the following statement:
“Young people have been the catalysts for real change here in America and around the world, and the most effective way that we can create change is to cast an informed vote. As the elected representatives of more than 72,000 students from across the five UMass campuses, we endorse the non-partisan #UMassVotes initiative and urge students to take action now to ensure that they know how, where and when to vote this fall. Every student should make a plan to vote in November in person or by mail. Go to massachusetts.edu/umass-votes for more information.”
The statement followed a voter engagement summit held today, which was hosted by UMass President Marty Meehan.
“Preparing our students for lives of active, informed citizenship is a cornerstone of the UMass mission,” President Meehan said. “Informed voting remains the purest, most powerful form of individual civic engagement. It is clear from the work being done on our campuses that UMass students recognize that voting is a right and an obligation that we cannot afford to take for granted.”
The summit was held to discuss current efforts and share best practices for non-partisan student voter registration and engagement. The event was part of the #UMassVotes initiative to amplify campus efforts in collaboration with the national ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.
The summit featured students sharing voter engagement efforts and additional ideas; a representative from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge offering a national perspective on student voter engagement; and two polling experts from the Amherst and Lowell campuses sharing data about youth voting trends.
About the #UMassVotes Campaign
The #UMassVotes initiative was first launched in 2020, following President Meehan signing onto the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, a nonpartisan campaign aimed at registering 100 percent of college students in the United States to vote. President Meehan was named to the ALL IN Higher Education Presidents Council earlier this year.
In June of 2022, President Meehan and the five UMass chancellors expanded on that commitment and signed onto ALL IN’s Presidents’ Commitment, which calls on higher education leaders to recognize the responsibility colleges and universities have to “prepare students to become responsible and engaged participants in our democracy.”