The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge recognized Vanderbilt as a 2024 ALL IN Most Engaged Campus for its efforts toward raising voter registration rates, promoting civic education and bolstering student voter turnout for the 2024 election. Vanderbilt was recognized alongside 471 other colleges for its work promoting high standards for civic and democratic engagement in secondary education.
In an interview with The Hustler, ALL IN Program Manager Olivia Antigua described the four steps Vanderbilt had to take in order to receive this recognition. These included becoming a participant in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, sharing student voter data with the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement — a national database of student voting habits — creating an action plan for civic engagement-oriented goals the university plans to implement and serving as a signatory to ALL IN’s Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation.
The Campus Democracy Challenge was started in 2018, and Antigua described how ALL IN recorded a nearly five-point increase in voter turnout rate among university students between 2018 and 2022. Antigua said she believes Vanderbilt’s current involvement in the program will have a greater impact on students’ voter participation now and into the future.
“The work that’s being done at Vanderbilt in a strong, non-partisan manner is getting the students to turn out and stay engaged once they’ve left the institution, which I think is awesome,” Antigua said.
Antigua attributed a large part of the ALL IN award to the efforts of Vandy Votes, a student-led organization devoted to boosting civic engagement at Vanderbilt. Antigua said that ALL IN’s main goal is to support campuses in helping their students navigate the voting process and develop their own thoughts, feelings and opinions about politics, and Vandy Votes’ efforts align with that goal.
“I have worked really closely with Vandy Votes over the past two years, and I can really see the passion and excitement they have for supporting their fellow peers and for doing this work and making sure that people understand that they’re doing something to prepare them for the rest of their lives,” Antigua said. “I can speak so highly for the work that Vandy Votes does on a day-to-day basis.”
Vandy Votes hosted Ballotpalooza, a fair dedicated to increasing student voter registration, on Alumni Lawn on Sept. 17, 2024. Senior Advisor of Vandy Votes Celeste Dorantes, a senior, said that this event was the first civic engagement fair Vanderbilt has ever hosted, and, despite its novelty, over 300 students had attended.
“I was really proud of that event because not only did it foster a more inclusive campus, but it also brought so many students in to really engage,” Dorantes said. “I thought it was such a great event, and I really hope that it is something Vandy Votes continues to do in the coming years.”
Sophomore and Vice President of Vandy Votes Yotam Peer described the varying efforts the organization made toward encouraging student political participation in addition to Ballotpalooza, including general body meetings aimed at amplifying the importance of voting and local voting efforts and weekly tabling to provide students with voter registration information. Peer said he is grateful for the recognition by ALL IN because of all the effort Vandy Votes put in leading up to the presidential election.
“Being considered one of the ‘most engaged campuses’ is a testament to the tremendous effort many of us at Vandy Votes invested in the campus community,” Peer said.
Peer emphasized how, even after Vanderbilt received their recognition on the ALL IN list, Vandy Votes continues to advocate for student participation in politics.
“The election season [having] passed us doesn’t mean Vandy Votes’ work is done until the midterms,” Peer said.
Dorantes echoed Peer’s statement and said Vandy Votes is still striving to show students that their vote has more power than they often believe.
“It is really important to me that everyone eligible can vote and will because I think everyone’s voice counts,” Dorantes said. “I feel, with this organization at Vandy, that it is really important to show people how much they can really contribute to their society and government.”
