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Making a Difference: Delanie Blubaugh, Maryland
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.
Delanie Blubaugh (00:00): Okay. My name is Delanie Blubaugh. I am a junior political science and legal studies double major at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland. So all the way up in the mountains in western Maryland. So I serve as the co-chair of the University System of Maryland Civic Engagement Student Leadership Committee which is a whole mouthful of a title.
Delanie Blubaugh (00:22): But we have been talking about the strategic plan for continuing civic engagement outside of election cycles because obviously we have an election every two years, the midterms seem a little less important to a lot of people than the presidential elections do, but we need to continue civic engagement outside of the election cycle. And so that doesn't just mean going to cast your vote, going to cast your ballot, or casting your vote in an election, it also means engaging with interest groups and with different activist groups in your region.
Delanie Blubaugh (01:02): If there are community activist groups that are engaged and working towards a specific issue that you feel passionate about, it's about getting involved there. It's about always looking at your state legislatures and seeing what kind of bills they're passing and how they can affect you personally.
Delanie Blubaugh (01:21): It boils down to having tough conversations with your family and with your friends. It's about engaging in civil discourse, but not civil discourse in the way of we're arguing about one topic or another, but actually having tough conversations and listening to either side because no one person has the exact same experience.
Delanie Blubaugh (01:41): And, so we all arrive at our beliefs in different ways and in different experiences. And so civic engagement is about listening to everyone, listening to your peers and listening to people that you wouldn't necessarily talk to in a normal day-to-day life. And so it goes a whole lot more past just casting your ballot during an election cycle.
Asset ID: 2021.03.08.e
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By The PealeRecorded 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.
Delanie Blubaugh (00:00): Okay. My name is Delanie Blubaugh. I am a junior political science and legal studies double major at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland. So all the way up in the mountains in western Maryland. So I serve as the co-chair of the University System of Maryland Civic Engagement Student Leadership Committee which is a whole mouthful of a title.
Delanie Blubaugh (00:22): But we have been talking about the strategic plan for continuing civic engagement outside of election cycles because obviously we have an election every two years, the midterms seem a little less important to a lot of people than the presidential elections do, but we need to continue civic engagement outside of the election cycle. And so that doesn't just mean going to cast your vote, going to cast your ballot, or casting your vote in an election, it also means engaging with interest groups and with different activist groups in your region.
Delanie Blubaugh (01:02): If there are community activist groups that are engaged and working towards a specific issue that you feel passionate about, it's about getting involved there. It's about always looking at your state legislatures and seeing what kind of bills they're passing and how they can affect you personally.
Delanie Blubaugh (01:21): It boils down to having tough conversations with your family and with your friends. It's about engaging in civil discourse, but not civil discourse in the way of we're arguing about one topic or another, but actually having tough conversations and listening to either side because no one person has the exact same experience.
Delanie Blubaugh (01:41): And, so we all arrive at our beliefs in different ways and in different experiences. And so civic engagement is about listening to everyone, listening to your peers and listening to people that you wouldn't necessarily talk to in a normal day-to-day life. And so it goes a whole lot more past just casting your ballot during an election cycle.
Asset ID: 2021.03.08.e