Civic engagement is defined as any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern, to make a change or difference in the community by the American Psychological Association.
Civic engagement is defined as any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern, to make a change or difference in the community by the American Psychological Association. To Keith Lanser, the Associate Director of Service Learning and Civic Engagement at Mount St. Joseph University, this also means stepping outside of your comfort zone.
Lanser’s job is to get students to contribute meaningfully to their community, whether it’s volunteering, donating, or voting. The Mount started encouraging service learning through volunteering in 1994. Since then, the Civic Engagement Office was added, urging students to engage in their communities in more ways than just volunteering. The Mount was even ranked one of the top voter campuses by Washington Monthly, and has received silver and gold seals from All-in Campus Democracy for having “excellence in student voter engagement”.
Lanser’s Office has been setting up registration booths across campus in order to encourage students to register to vote in preparation for the 2020 primary in Ohio on March 17. Lanser and his team have set up a “Campus Vote Plan 2020” which included four “buckets”, the first being registration and the second, voter education.
Lanser believes that educating students on democratic engagement is the first step to getting students out to vote. He plans to have tabling sessions offering education opportunities and debate watch parties, and is even trying to have a congressional debate on campus. The third bucket is access to ballots. The Mount recently became a polling location and Lanser helps students to get absentee ballots if needed.
The final bucket is to get students to vote. Lanser plans on having a social media campaign for “Why I Vote” and holding an election night party to get students excited about voting.
“Often times elections come down to one vote,” Lanser says. “I want students to know that their voice matters. If the young people show up and vote, they will outnumber the older generations and their vote will mean everything.”
For information on your polling station and ballots, visit vote.org.