Recorded from Cumberland, Maryland, 2021.

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.

Madison Kirkpatrick (00:01): Okay. I'm Madison Kirkpatrick. I'm 18 years old, and I go to Allegany College of Maryland here in Cumberland, Maryland.

Madison Kirkpatrick (00:08): I think to be American means you have to love everybody and respect your country, and want what's best for the country and everyone in it. You have to remember why this country was made. It was to give everybody an opportunity for everyone to have a good life and good experiences.

Madison Kirkpatrick (00:28): And I think it's important to take a step back and look at how we are being treated in our country and how we can improve it, and compare it to other places and see what needs fixed. And look at it as something that has flaws and can be improved, instead of just this all-great thing.

Asset ID: 2021.03.12.a

Recorded from Salisbury, Maryland, 2021.

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.

Kacie Cassar (00:00): My name is Kacie Cassar. I am originally from Lansdale, Pennsylvania. I currently go to school at Salisbury University, down on the Eastern shore in Maryland. I am a current graduate student studying history. My focus is on public history, as well as I am the graduate assistant for PACE, which is our Institute of Public Affairs and Civic Engagement here at Salisbury University.

Kacie Cassar (00:23): I think a lot of things play into why my generation is working so hard, and being more involved, and not everyone is, and we're getting there, and I think we're starting to learn the importance of being involved, which is amazing. We are, at the click of a finger, could be in touch with so many people across our country. With that, it makes it easier to connect, to form these bonds with people you would initially not be able to since they're not right next to you, or in your town, or even in your state. But as my generation, we are seeing a lot of things happen that are hurting people, are upsetting people, are not okay. Because we have these connections, and we are able to have these communications, we're using them.

Kacie Cassar (01:09): I think there's a variety of things. I think part of it is how we are educated; we're becoming a more progressive education, trying to push students to be their best, to get more involved, to do more. As well as, simply, I think there's a lot of times the things that are going on in our government and our country is upsetting, and really affecting people in my generation. They're finding the support they need, and the networks they need, to go out and make those differences, whereas older generations are... That's how things have been there. It was more seeing how life is, and it's like, "That's life." But my generation doesn't want to accept that, and with that, they go on, and they do great things, and make those changes they feel is right for them, and people like them.

Asset ID: 2021.03.12.e

Recorded from Salisbury, Maryland, 2021.

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.

Kacie Cassar (00:00): My name is Kacie Cassar. I am originally from Lansdale, Pennsylvania. I currently go to school at Salisbury University, down on the Eastern shore in Maryland. I am a current graduate student studying history. My focus is on public history, as well as I am the graduate assistant for PACE, which is our Institute of Public Affairs and Civic Engagement here at Salisbury University.

Kacie Cassar (00:23): We see how extreme an election can get this year; this was one of the craziest elections we've seen, and I'm really hopeful that, with our education systems, and working towards these civic engagements, and building communities that, the younger generations, as they move up, can create more of this balance, and this understanding, more compassion and empathy.

Kacie Cassar (00:49): Until then, I think a lot of older generations are stuck in their ways, and this is the time to help mold, and educate, and provide the information the voters need to realize what's out there, and what can and can't be, and move on from there. Right now, a little pessimistic, but until we are reforming how we educate about being civically engaged and involved, I'm hopeful it can get better.

Asset ID: 2021.03.12.d

Recorded from Salisbury, Maryland, 2021.

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.

Kacie Cassar (00:00): My name is Kacie Cassar, I am originally from Lansdale, Pennsylvania. I currently go to school at Salisbury University down on the Eastern shore in Maryland. I am a current graduate student studying history. My focus is on public history, as well as I am the graduate assistant for PACE, which is our Institute of Public affairs and Civic Engagement here at Salisbury University.

Kacie Cassar (00:23): So, this past election was actually my first election I voted in. As much as I was eligible in previous years, I did not vote, but this year was a really cool experience for me because besides being my first time voting in a presidential election, I also ended up working as a poll worker in my district back in Pennsylvania. So, it was really cool experience to see the other side of the elections as well as participating in them. We were in a very cramped little space, but we made it work on there, we did a whole setup, and tons of people were coming through.

Kacie Cassar (00:58): I was there just doing a lot of disinfecting the materials, as well as kind of guiding people if they had questions, helping with check-in. So, I did a little bit of everything in the roles, as well as trial and error for them too, learning to use these machines. So, I was just as new to that as some of the people who've been working the polls for a long time have been. We had really no issues.

Kacie Cassar (01:22): There is, of course, some people out there, as like any polling place, were trying to do the last-minute campaigning for their representatives they were interested in, but overall it was a really nice day. Extremely long day, but I definitely felt really rewarding after doing it, because I felt like I was being a part of something bigger, especially since this election was so contested in such a tight race, and everyone had so many thoughts and inputs towards it. So, it definitely felt as if I was a part of something bigger happening.

Asset ID: 2021.03.12.c

Recorded from Salisbury, Maryland, 2021.

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.

Kacie Cassar (00:00): My name is Kacie Cassar. I am originally from Lansdale, Pennsylvania. I currently go to school at Salisbury University down on the eastern shore in Maryland. I am a current graduate student studying history. My focus is on public history, as well as I am the graduate assistant for PACE, which is our Institute of Public Affairs and Civic Engagement here at Salisbury University.

Kacie Cassar (00:23): In past years when I didn't vote, I feel like that was kind of my mindset because there are so many people and it's like, what does one vote make a difference? But going into this year with it being such a tight race, it truly did make a difference. It does make a difference. You can see the numbers, by just a few thousands where some candidates were over others.

Kacie Cassar (00:46): And so, it was a change in mindset for me. And I'm glad I made that change because it definitely does and that's a part of being civically engaged. If you want your government and your community to go certain ways, the only way you're going to get that is if you start having input and a part of that is voting.

Asset ID: 2021.03.12.b

Recorded from Salisbury, Maryland, 2021.

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.

Kacie Cassar (00:00): My name is Kacie Cassar. I am originally from Lansdale, Pennsylvania. I currently go to school at Salisbury University down on the Eastern Shore in Maryland. I am a current graduate student studying history. My focus is on public history, as well as I am the graduate assistant for PACE, which is our Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement here at Salisbury University.

Kacie Cassar (00:23): I feel, especially in this year, it's been really difficult because there are extremists on both sides and they've created this cancel culture, that if you're not for one or the other, you're no longer in their life, which is really hard and difficult. So, having my viewpoints on areas, I honestly didn't want to share them with people because I didn't want to lose people in my life. I was honestly silent a lot of times when I'm having discussions, which I know isn't the best thing to do, but also in my situations, I didn't want to lose people.

Kacie Cassar (00:58): But if a dialogue were to happen, of course, I would have any conversations should happen, you should always hear both sides and kind of... Not saying you want to change their mind or have your mind changed, because everyone's lots of times stuck in their ways, but just being able to listen and have those conversations and hear where they're coming from, have them hear where you're coming from.

Kacie Cassar (01:17): It just has... The divide has become so deep that it's really hard to be in the center, because whether you're being very negative or positive about something, someone else being opposite, you being in the middle upsets everyone. So, it's very difficult. And I feel everyone's just kind of stuck in their ways, which is unfortunate. There's not distance which there should be, it's always that's wrong and this is right, or this is right and that's wrong. It's really hard to change that when you have so many people supporting both sides.

Asset ID: 2021.03.12.a

Recorded from Frostburg, Maryland, 2021.

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.

Jessica Thayer (00:00): My name is Jessica Thayer. I'm a senior studying law [inaudible 00:00:05] philosophy at Frostburg State University. I'm the vice president of the student government association and the founder and president of our university debate team.

Jessica Thayer (00:14): I think sometimes the greatest amount of change can literally lie at the community level, starting with having a conversation with your neighbor and reaching out to other people in your community who are in need or who have a difference of opinion than you. And we've been unable to do that because the rate of polarization has sort of made us segregate into our camps. It's so easy to just hang around people who agree with you or find a news outlet that will tell you exactly what you want to hear. That's a major, major problem.

Jessica Thayer (00:52): I think that with the most recent election, I am hopeful that we can start to move away from polarization and find a more moderate lane because at the end of the day the differences are really not that huge and political parties are not the end all be all. American people have a lot in common and it's pointless to try and divide ourselves into camps and be divisive because nothing will ever get done.

Jessica Thayer (01:21): So I am really, really hopeful. And I think with the uptick in young voters and activism, I think we're seeing a lot of issues come to the forefront and the quicker that those things get addressed the more prosperous nation that we're going to have. So I really am hopeful that we can move towards a respectable nation where we really do care about our fellow citizen.

Jessica Thayer (01:50): I dream about times, I don't know, long ago were really, that was the building democracy and being able to live in a peaceful world while having differences. If we had a democracy full of like-minded people, it would be terrible. Nothing new would ever be created, we would all always agree or always disagree and nothing would be productive or new or exciting.

Jessica Thayer (02:19): And people want to make a democracy, this perfect union where there's no disparity, no disagreements, no anger or mistrust. And I don't think that's how it was meant to be, I think that we are all individual-minded people, and there's something spectacular in how we use those differences to put us together. And compromise is absolutely everything. So, I'm really excited to see how the Biden administration works through that in these next couple of years.

Asset ID: 2021.03.11.f

Recorded from Frostburg, Maryland, 2021.

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.

Jessica Thayer (00:00): My name is Jessica Thayer. I'm a senior studying law philosophy at Frostburg State University. I'm the vice president of the Student Government Association and the founder and president of our university debate team.

Jessica Thayer (00:14): I did vote in the 2020 election. It's been an awesome experience because this was the first time that I've gotten to vote for a presidential candidate. I remember going to the polls and the midterm elections and feeling like my vote mattered, but I think a presidential election obviously carries a lot more weight with it. Being able to exercise a duty that I've looked forward to for so long was really, really awesome.

Jessica Thayer (00:45): I guess my story isn't exactly what you would expect from the first answer I gave. Growing up in Garrett County, Maryland, it's a very rural, conservative, small town. Politics was never really something that I was necessarily encouraged to get into or just not a common topic of conversation. However, once I went to college and I got involved with political science and met some really awesome professors, I realized just how powerful our civic duties really are.

Jessica Thayer (01:18): Just the ability that each of us have, regardless of our socioeconomic status, our race, religion, creed, background, we have this awesome opportunity to vote. I think that's something that once I came to college, I really realized the full impact of, and I knew that, especially in an area like my hometown, how important each and every vote can be.

Asset ID: 2021.03.11.e

Recorded from Frostburg, Maryland, 2021.

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.

Jessica Thayer (00:00): My name is Jessica Thayer. I'm a senior studying law philosophy at Frostburg State University. I'm the vice president of the Student Government Association and the founder and president of our university debate team.

Jessica Thayer (00:15): I had discussed politics with my grandparents for quite a while. Before I was really old enough to vote, I had just sort of assumed that they voted and that almost everybody old enough to vote would just go vote because that's their duty. That's what they're meant to do.

Jessica Thayer (00:34): A few years ago, I discovered that my grandmother wasn't registered to vote. It just blew me away because the conversations that we would have about politics and the changes that she wishes to see, it would just stop at the discussion. It's not like any action would result out of that because she didn't go vote. That really changed my perspective and really reminded me of how far we've came, I think, as a country, too.

Jessica Thayer (01:05): Previously, I think there were a lot of party loyalists who held up the party line and you could always count on older voters to come out and go to the polls. Young voters weren't really seen to be as active. But today's America is really seeing a rise in young voters, and young advocates, and young activists.

Jessica Thayer (01:28): I think just one notion that really stands out to me is the transition that we've made from "my vote doesn't count" to "count every single vote". If there's anything that 2020 taught us, it was the power of each and every single one of our votes. Really, if you break it down to the most basic level, that's how you get a majority. If enough people thought, "Oh, my vote doesn't matter," we would never get a majority, nothing would ever get passed. It's people, I think, who tell you, "Oh, your vote doesn't matter," are probably just scared of your vote. That is all the more reason to get out and go vote.

Jessica Thayer (02:11): I am thrilled to see young people getting more active and engaged with politics because they are the future. The sooner we can get involved and the sooner that we can share the concerns that are important to our communities and the goals that we have set for ourselves, the more people will hear us. I think that it's a really, really awesome time for young Americans right now.

Jessica Thayer (02:38): We're bringing up issues that have needed to be addressed for so many years. I think [inaudible 00:02:46] silencing happened where people are not afraid to speak out and people are not afraid to really share the hard issues and have the hard conversations that are really lying at the heart sometimes of our American divide. I'm really thrilled to see that.

Asset ID: 2021.03.11.d

Recorded from Frostburg, Maryland, 2021.

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.

Jessica Thayer (00:00): My name is Jessica Thayer. I'm a senior studying law philosophy at Frostburg State University. I'm the vice president of the student government association and the founder and president of our university debate team.

Jessica Thayer (00:14): I obviously grew up in Oakland, Maryland, which is a really tight-knit community, but I have to say that that same sort of community closeness has carried with me into college being in Frostburg. It's one of those really awesome character traits about a small town where everybody knows everybody and we're sort of all looking out for each other. And with that, I think comes a lot of responsibility to make sure that the tight-knit community that we're creating is also really welcoming to everybody. So not just locals, not just people who are born and raised in that area, but finding ways to share our unique rural areas with people who may not know our experiences.

Jessica Thayer (01:05): And I think that's something that I've really enjoyed, getting the opportunity to bring back to Garrett County, specifically. Going to college obviously opened my eyes to a whole new community that I had never experienced before. And I think the power of sharing those experiences and bringing differences into such a homogeneous area is so important, because it really just allows people to branch out and extend their minds into other people's eyes and other people's shoes that they might not necessarily see on a day-to-day basis.

Jessica Thayer (01:43): So, just working on creating an inclusive environment is absolutely something that I'm passionate about on [inaudible 00:01:51] hometown, and I've had a challenging experience coming from a rural area where there's not a lot of diversity. There's time to time a lack of education and I think starting those grassroots conversations with people who may share different opinions with you and opening people's minds to things that are outside of their communities is really important. And it's been an opportunity that I've been glad to have.

Jessica Thayer (02:25): Truly, it starts with communication. We all have precognitions and predispositions about certain people or certain groups or certain areas, and being able to just be vulnerable to unlearning the things that you've been taught over time and being able to have an open mind, to hearing people's opinions that you may disagree with. Specifically in my hometown, I've had quite the unique experience trying to advocate for things that my community isn't necessarily aware of or isn't overly educated on.

Jessica Thayer (03:05): So, I've found that a lot of times, the way to approach those difficult conversations is coming from a place of respect, because our experiences and our environments shape how we see the world. And if you come from an area where those experiences are not broad, or the diversity that you see is so limited that you don't really get the experience to engage with others who are different than you, you have to understand that those people mindset than somebody who grew up in a different type of environment.

Asset ID: 2021.03.11.c

A full transcript is available on the Museum on Main Street website.