The week of Oct. 6-11, Baldwin Wallace University invites students to participate in fun and educational activities as a part of National Voter Education Week.
These activities, such as trivia, painting and bingo, aim to teach students about different aspects of voting and politics in America. There will also be free food and chances to win a variety of prizes throughout the week.
BW’s Brain Center for Community Engagement will host these events throughout the week. Derek Larner, the student director of the Jackets Engagement Team described the annual program at BW.
“Nationally, it’s a yearly program, and colleges around the country try and promote it,” Larner said. “We have a big lineup this year ready with events for students and faculty and whoever would like to attend.”
Larner also emphasized the importance of college students being educated on these matters, such as how to register to vote.
“A lot of our student base are commuter students, out of state students who don’t have access to all the necessary materials to go vote, all the processes of how to get registered to vote, how to cast a mail ballot or an absentee ballot or a provisional ballot,” Larner said. “I think that’s really important to get those students out and informed.”
Larner said that, now more than ever, in light of recent events, it is vital to have safe places to engage in political discourse, which is another reason why the Brain Center for Community Engagement is hosting these events.
“We are just coming off of the murder of Charlie Kirk and the polarization around that, around the issue of political violence and political discussion,” Larner said. “I think it’s opened up a lot of people’s eyes as to what it looks like to not have an environment where you can speak out and be passionate about issues you care about. I’m just hoping that students feel like they have a platform to speak out no matter what side of the aisle you’re on.”
Here is BW’s National Voter Education Week schedule:
Monday, Oct. 6 – Political Trivia Night, Sandstone I, 3-4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 8 – Social Media Campaign (follow @bwbraincenter on Instagram and Facebook for more details!)
Thursday, Oct. 9– Paint & Politics (Tacos + Paint Night), Sandstone III, 5-7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 10 – Political Bingo, Sandstone II, doors open at 3 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 11 – Democracy & Dialogue Summit, Sandstone III, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Learn more about these events by checking out this Instagram post by @bwbraincenter:
View this post on Instagram
Any students that have any questions or concerns about the events throughout the week can visit the Brain Center for Community Engagement which is located on the upper level of the Student Union or students can reach out to Derek Larner or Marsita Ferguson, the director of the Brain Center for Community Engagement.
