SVNCast

Campus Vote Project Student Advisory Board Members Gabriella Lewis and Jayme Beasley discuss how Georgia "flipping blue" might be a bit of a misnomer. What if we told you that it was a blueish-purple mirage with a reddish hue? You probably wouldn't be super shocked, but it's important to center the conversation here. They also discuss the jungle primary system in Georgia and analyze the classism intrinsic to Georgia's electoral power structures. Later in the program, Campus Vote Project Democracy Fellows Christina Williams and Crystal Hernandez discuss with moderator Jayme Beasley Georgia's contentious and controversial SB 202. You remember that one, right? It got Coca-Cola cancelled for a few days and drew national indignation. But what is in the legislation and, to use lawyer speech, qui bono? What have HBCU students done to offset sustained attacks on voter organizing in Georgia? Are any parts of the bill helpful for voters? There are shout-outs in this episode to Georgia State Coordinator Ciarra Malone of Campus Vote Project for all of her support of new students entering the voting rights space!

If you're a student and want to join the Student Voting Network, you can join us here: bit.ly/svnslack

If you want to find more resources about student voting in your state, check out Campus Vote Project's nationwide database for voting information: https://www.campusvoteproject.org/

Produced by Gabriella Lewis, Jayme Beasley and Benjamin Nixon.

Music and Editing by Benjamin Nixon.

Recorded September 12, 2021.

Part 2 of the 5-part sub-series on Voting in Pennsylvania. President of the Washington & Jefferson College Student Voting Coalition Nickolas Bartel is joined by Campus Vote Project Student Advisory Board Chair Benjamin Nixon to discuss the Big Lie, QAnon, and other nonsense. Echo chambers harsh our mellows, bruhbruh. Jean-Luc Picard makes a guest appearance. Mainstream media comes unglued and, as usual, falls short of requisite critical analysis we should expect from them. 

Maxime Dafaure's "The Great Meme War": https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-%E2%80%9CGreat-Meme-War%3A%E2%80%9D-the-Alt-Right-and-its-Enemies-Dafaure/ac2e2f036e7d921719589595ccf20a58e7f0fb34

If you're a student and want to join the Student Voting Network, you can join us here: bit.ly/svnslack

If you want to find more resources about student voting in your state, check out Campus Vote Project's nationwide database for voting information: https://www.campusvoteproject.org/

Produced by Nickolas Bartel and Benjamin Nixon.

Music and Editing by Benjamin Nixon.

Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day!

The second Monday of October is Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and this year we are taking time to talk about the experiences and efforts of Native youth organizers when it comes to getting out the Native vote. Campus Vote Project Student Advisory Board member Kamryn Yanchick (Seminole/Mvskoke) is joined by Cordelia Falls Down (Apsáalooke /United Keetowah Band) and Brittany McKane (Mvskoke/Seminole) in this discussion covering topics such as the importance of cultural competency in voter outreach. On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day, listeners are encouraged to acknowledge the land they live on (Native-land.ca) and learn about how to be a better ally to the Native community around them.

Kamryn Yanchick is a proud citizen of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and descendant of the Muscogee Nation. She is in her senior year at the University of Oklahoma studying political science and Native American studies with an emphasis in tribal governance and policy, pre-law. She first became involved in civic engagement organizing through serving multiple roles on the executive team of Oklahoma Votes at the University of Oklahoma. Currently, Kamryn is a member on the Campus Vote Project Student Advisory Board and serves as a Voter Registrar with Rock the Native Vote OKC.

Brittany McKane is Mvskoke and Seminole, from Little Axe, Oklahoma. Brittany attends the University of Oklahoma and is majoring in Native American Studies and Anthropology, with a minor in Social Justice. She has served in various leadership campaigns and roles at both community and national levels. Engaging Native youth in trainings designed to activate this generation of leaders through organizational efforts is Brittany’s focus today and her continued work. Brittany currently works as a teacher’s aide at Sovereign Community School. You can find her on Instagram at @brittanyfaif.

Cordelia Falls Down is a member of the Apsáalooke Nation and United Keetoowah Band. Her name is Biabaashíalebaaxpáash which translates to “Sacred Dream Woman” given to her by her grandfather Art Alden, a Vietnam veteran. Cordelia is from the Crow reservation of Montana but currently resides in Norman, OK where she completed a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. She is currently in graduate school to pursue a Masters in Native American Studies-Tribal Governance and Policy. Cordelia is also active with the Center for Native American Youth, serving on both the Democracy is Indigenous council as well as the Remembering our Sisters fellowship.

If you're a student and want to join the Student Voting Network, you can join us here: bit.ly/svnslack

If you want to find more resources about student voting in your state, check out Campus Vote Project's nationwide database for voting information: https://www.campusvoteproject.org/

Produced by Kamryn Yanchick and Benjamin Nixon.

Music and Editing by Benjamin Nixon.

Okay, we get it, Act 77 is controversial. Senators, Congresspersons, your racist uncle, and pundits from around the country had an opinion about it. It just seems like mail-in voting was bipartisan until suddenly it wasn't. But what is Act 77 and how did it rise to the level of national prominence that it did? President of the Washington & Jefferson College Student Voting Coalition Nickolas Bartel is joined by Campus Vote Project Student Advisory Board Chair Benjamin Nixon to discuss the details of this legislation and how student voting - and voting writ large - was impacted positively by Act 77. Nickolas also moderates a discussion with Swarthmore College Campus Vote Project Democracy Fellows Lily Fournier and Frannie Richardson about how Act 77 played out in part at Swarthmore and how their organizing efforts were supported by administration and faculty.

If you're a student and want to join the Student Voting Network, you can join us here: bit.ly/svnslack

If you want to find more resources about student voting in your state, check out Campus Vote Project's nationwide database for voting information: https://www.campusvoteproject.org/

Produced by Nickolas Bartel and Benjamin Nixon.

Music and Editing by Benjamin Nixon.

There is a need for student voters to organize and agitate for their own bill of rights as a result of historical and recent attempts by antagonistic actors to stymie the student vote. Restrictive voter ID laws, hostile elections officials, sometimes-indifferent college administrations, overworked students, record economic inequality, and a global pandemic have wreaked havoc on the ability of students to make their voices heard easily and reliably. American University Graduate Student Emma Godel speaks with Students Learn Students Vote Coalition Special Projects Director Eddy Zerbe about the Student Voting Bill of Rights and also moderates a conversation with students Maya Mahdi, Christyna Reagan, and Sebastian Canales about how this landmark policy could change the national voting rights landscape.

Maya Mahdi is a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major at Virginia Tech. She is the founder and Student Director of Hokie's Vote Caucus - Virginia Tech's first nonpartisan, student-led voting rights group aimed at institutionalizing voter education at Virginia Tech. Her Instagram is @maya.inc and her Twitter is @mermayamaids.

Christyna Reagan is a Political Science and Gender Studies student at Eckerd College, working as the vice-chair of Eckerd’s chapter of FLPIRG Students and the co-coordinator of the chapter's New Voters Project. She works to engage all students at Eckerd College and hopes to work across the South to empower students from all backgrounds to use their voice. Her Instagram is @christ_y_na and her Twitter is @c_p_reagan.

Sebastian Canales is a Junior majoring in Political Science at the Cleveland State University. He is a member of Campus Vote Project's Student Advisory Board.

Sources:

North Carolina Grants Voting Rights to Former Convicts: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/23/north-carolina-grants-voting-rights/

Students Learn Students Vote Coalition website: slsvcoalition.org

Student Voting Bill of Rights Text: https://slsvcoalition.org/student-voting-bill-of-rights/

CIRCLE's data on youth voter turnout: https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/half-youth-voted-2020-11-point-increase-2016 (with a focus on "Electoral Laws and Policies Shaped Youth Voter Turnout")

If you're a student and want to join the Student Voting Network, you can join us here: bit.ly/svnslack

If you want to find more resources about student voting in your state, check out Campus Vote Project's nationwide database for voting information: https://www.campusvoteproject.org/

Produced by Emma Godel and Benjamin Nixon.

Music and Editing by Benjamin Nixon.

Campus Vote Project Student Advisory Board Member Sebastian Canales sits down for a chat with Ann Mastandrea and Samantha Montañez to discuss the state of democracy and student democratic engagement in Ohio. Among other important topics, they discuss the importance of high school civic engagement, the need for students to volunteer time and effort to normalize voting within peer groups, and the unique role Northeast Ohio played in their civic and democratic engagement journeys. 

Samantha Montañez is a current graduate student at Ohio University. She graduated from Capital University in 2020 where she triple majored in criminology, sociology, and psychology. On the board of the Young Latino Network, she is a Cleveland native who serves as a fellow for the Cleveland Foundation's Public Service Fellowship. She is a member of the LGBTQ community.

Ann Mastandrea is a first year Law and M.P.A. student at Cleveland State. They are also the Leadership Development Intern at the Cleveland Foundation where they help to advance and facilitate programming for leaders in public service. They're passionate about social justice and are hoping to leverage both their work and academic experiences to make a difference for their community, potentially in the world of public policy in the future!

If you're a student and want to join the Student Voting Network, you can join us here: bit.ly/svnslack

If you want to find more resources about student voting in your state, check out Campus Vote Project's nationwide database for voting information: https://www.campusvoteproject.org/

Produced by Sebastian Canales and Benjamin Nixon.

Music and Editing by Benjamin Nixon.

Amanda Shie, rising senior and former Student Government Senator at Purdue University, sits down with Campus Vote Project Student Advisory Board Chair Benjamin Nixon to have a chat about Purdue University. Among other topics, they discuss challenges facing Purdue University's student government, mental health crises and the way in which they are handled by Purdue, former Governor of Indiana and Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, and Indiana's uniquely detrimental contributions to the voter identification politics of contemporary America. 

Content warning: discussions about student suicide and self-harm

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255

Suicide Prevention Resource Center: https://www.sprc.org/

Want to learn more about Purdue's student culture? Follow @BlackatPurdue, @purdue_pisig, @virginsatpurdue, & @purdue_sg on Instagram!

Want to read about some of the happenings at Purdue and in the Lafayette community recently? Check out the Purdue Exponent, Indiana's largest collegiate newspaper: https://www.purdueexponent.org/ 

If you're a student and want to join the Student Voting Network, you can join us here: bit.ly/svnslack

If you want to find more resources about student voting in your state, check out Campus Vote Project's nationwide database for voting information: https://www.campusvoteproject.org/

Produced and edited by Benjamin Nixon.

Campus Vote Project Student Advisory Board Member Benjamin Nixon sits down with Fair Election Center President and CEO Robert M. Brandon. Bob has a few thoughts on ending the filibuster, the creepily repetitive doom that is voter suppression, Arizona's "Fraudit," and why they should all be struck into oblivion via damnatio memoriae. If you're an anti-civil rights activist, you're not gonna like where this conversation goes. If you're into advancing democracy, well, you're gonna wanna hear this.

Want to Kill the Filibuster?

Write an open editorial to your local paper: https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/hks-communications-program/files/new_seglin_how_to_write_an_oped_1_25_17_7.pdf

Sign a petition or three: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-eliminate-the-undemocratic-senate-filibuster

Stay involved with the Fair Elections Center: https://www.fairelectionscenter.org

If you're a student and want to join the Student Voting Network, you can join us here: bit.ly/svnslack

If you want to find more resources about student voting in your state, check out Campus Vote Project's nationwide database for voting information: https://www.campusvoteproject.org/

Produced and edited by Benjamin Nixon.

"The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age."

In this episode, student representatives from the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition, Campus Vote Project, the Student Voting Network, and the Andrew Goodman Foundation join together to share stories about the 26th Amendment and what it meant contemporaneously as well as concurrently. 

CVP's Jenna Greene takes you back in time to relive the thoughts and emotions of young people, writing letters to their representatives, seeking greater representation during the tumult of the late 1960's and early 1970's. SLSV & CVP's Kassie Phebillo shares how people can engage with SLSV and its social media events celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the 26th Amendment. CVP Intern Kyah Probst moderates a discussion between CVP Democracy Fellow Alex Flowers, CVP Student Advisory Board Member Kamryn Yanchick, and CVP Democracy Fellow / Andrew Goodman Foundation Vote Everywhere Ambassador Christina Williams. President of Carnegie Mellon University's Graduate Student Assembly Divyansh Kaushik shares Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf's proclamation making April 27th a recognized day in the pantheon of Pennsylvania's democracy toolbelt.

Join SLSV on Thursday July 1st from 2-3PM EST for a live Twitter chat, and engage with the resources below! You matter. Your vote matters. Your voice matters. Make it heard.

Recommended resources and webpages for further review:

CIRCLE Youth Vote 2020 Data: https://circle.tufts.edu/2020-election-center

SLSV 26th Amendment Homepage: https://slsvcoalition.org/26th-amendment/

SLSV 26th Amendment Communications Toolkit: https://slsvcoalition.typeform.com/to/vTsaktDc

SLSV Twitter Chat, Live on July 1st from 2-3PM, which you can find by following @SLSVCoalition on Twitter or by using #26ForThe26th, #26thAmendment, or #StudentVote

866OURVOTE.org.

If you're a student and want to join the Student Voting Network, you can join us here: bit.ly/svnslack

If you want to find more resources about student voting in your state, check out Campus Vote Project's nationwide database for voting information: https://www.campusvoteproject.org/

A very special thank you to: 

The University of Oklahoma's Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center for sharing constituent letters. 

SLSV Coalition, for tireless work in uplifting student voices. 

All episode participants. 

American Democracy, and the zealous defenders of it. 

Produced by Jenna Greene, Benjamin Nixon, and Kyah Probst.

Music and editing by Benjamin Nixon.

Recorded April 6th 2021.

Campus Vote Project Student Advisory Board Member Benjamin Nixon speaks with Dr. Thomas M. Grace about declining rates of unionization and its broad impact on activism, the intertwinement of economic and social justice, fusion voting's ability to foment student power at the ballot box, and mobilization tactics organized labor can use to incorporate and maximize student voices. They delve into the history of the unionist-activist movement across several decades and look at ways students can learn from organizing successes and, more often, organizing failures.

Dr. Grace is the author of "Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties," where his experiences showed him firsthand the deadly dangers of student activism during the Vietnam Era. He is a professor of history at SUNY Erie Community College in New York, previously serving as a social worker and activist for over two decades.

Produced and Edited by Benjamin Nixon.

If you're a student and want to join the Student Voting Network, you can join us here: bit.ly/svnslack

If you want to find more resources about student voting in your state, check out Campus Vote Project's nationwide database for voting information: https://www.campusvoteproject.org/