Middlesex College is one of more than 200 colleges and universities in 37 states and the District of Columbia designated as a “Voter Friendly Campus.”
The initiative, led by national nonpartisan organizations Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project (CVP) and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, held participating institutions accountable for planning and implementing practices that encourage their students to register and vote in the 2020 election and in coming years, according to information provided by Middlesex College.
The mission of the Voter Friendly Campus designation is to bolster efforts that help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process. Middlesex College was evaluated based on a campus plan about how it could register, educate, and turn out student voters in 2020, how it facilitated voter engagement efforts on campus, and a final analysis of its efforts – all in the face of the upheaval caused by a global pandemic, according to the statement.
The designation is valid through December 2022.
As part of the effort to be designated a voter-friendly campus, the MCC Votes! Team spearheaded creation of an internal webpage with voting information; service-learning classes partnered with the League of Women Voters; and the college participated in New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way’s 2020 Ballot Bowl, placing third, the only community college to place, according to the statement. The team was second with its “Get out and vote” video submission.
Diana Osorio, a member of MCC Votes! Action Team through Democracy House, the college’s civic engagement initiative, said it was a valuable experience.
“I learned about the power of voice, as a single voice can raise many voices, and many voices have the power to overcome any type of challenge, only if it is done collectively,” she said in the statement.