Election Engagement
From the colorful “Vote” banners hung throughout the science quad to the standing-room-only watch parties for the U.S. presidential and vice presidential debates, the campus was abuzz with activity leading up to the national elections.
EphVotes, a student-led organization of about 60 volunteers, hosted a full day of activities on Sept. 17 to celebrate National Voter Registration Day. Scores of students visited the Paresky Center porch to register to vote, update their voting status and learn about voting rights. That evening, the ’68 Center for Career Exploration hosted a panel of alumni discussing their work related to political campaigns.
EphVotes “has been particularly creative this year,” says Paula Consolini, director of the Center for Learning in Action, who has worked with the group since its founding in 2019. “Their tabling and other outreach work, such as providing state-by-state registration support and reminders, has been a huge help to their fellow students.”
The college calendar was peppered with other talks, panel discussions and films on election-themed topics such as U.S.-China relations, a historian’s view of the Republican Party and the implications of the election on economic policy. The campus community took part in workshops with author and philosopher Peter Boghossian on what he calls “impossible conversations.” And they attended screenings of documentary films such as social scientist Robert Putnam’s Join or Die, about the decline of civic engagement in America.
Events were scheduled to continue after the election and into the spring semester, including a Q&A featuring political science professors Mason Williams, Justin Crowe ’03 and Nicole Mellow, and a conversation with journalist and best-selling author Anand Giridharadas.
To learn more about these and other events that are open to the public, visit events.williams.edu.
Photo, at top: Students gather for a vice presidential debate watch party on Oct. 1, 2024, organized by EphVotes. Photograph by Maya Singh ’27