Goucher Student-Athletes Educate, Discuss And Empower The Right To Vote With Gophers Vote Movement
Voting is an American principle and a fundamental democratic right. When someone turns 18, he/she gains the chance to vote in an election. In some states, people are allowed to pre-register to vote at the age of 16, but cannot cast a vote until their 18th birthday.
The candidate or issues people vote for or against can cause problems within family and friends, so this article will not address the candidates running in the election or matters that are up for debate on Election Day of Tuesday, November 3. Think of this article more as a social studies lesson on the importance of voting and the lessons learned by the Goucher College student-athletes.
"As mentors and coaches and educators, we need to teach this life skill of civic engagement," said Eric Reveno, an assistant men's basketball coach at Georgia Tech said in an article in theScore. "We teach financial literacy, we teach recovery, we teach nutrition, we teach all the benefits of proper sleep, health. But we haven't done a good job of teaching the basic civics of educating on local elections and getting registered and all that stuff.
A movement that started by Georgia Tech turned into the NCAA declaring Election Day a day off from practice and games for student-athletes so they can vote. At Goucher, that is not an issue because athletic competitions are slated to start after the New Year thanks to "the new normal."
What turned out to be a movement by the NCAA has turned nationwide with colleges, conferences, and athletic programs encouraging students and student-athletes to vote. Goucher and Goucher Athletics have also joined the push to have students vote on Election Day, although looking at a recent report from the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE), the college has been ahead of the nation. Goucher students voted at a rate of 47.9 percent in the 2018 midterm election compared to the national average of 39.1 percent.
Goucher College encouraged students to sign a pledge card in 2020 and were looking for 70 percent participation. Associate Director of Athletics/Women's Basketball Head Coach Andrea Preston and Cross Country/Track & Field Head Coach Erick Camodeca started an initiative to encourage student-athletes to register to vote with Gophers Vote. She organized debate watch parties on zoom for all the scheduled debates and an educational session with Zach Kancher, an associate women's basketball head coach at nearby Towson University and co-founder of the SAVE Alliance (Student-Athlete Voter Engagement). The alliance is an organization committed to voter education and engagement for university athletic departments, coaches, and athletes.
The Gophers Vote movement has been successful, though many of the student-athletes were already registered and excited to vote. For most, it would be the first time.
"This is my first time I have registered to vote in a presidential election, and I am very excited," said cross country/track and field senior Isabel Srour.
"When I got my license, they had asked me if I wanted to register to vote, so I took advantage of the opportunity," said track and field freshman Sean Whitfield.
"This is the first time I have registered to vote in a presidential election, but that is because I was 16 during the last election," said Jackson Penner, a junior on the men's swimming team. "The first time I was able to vote, I did. It was the primary election in 2018, and I just so happened to turn 18 that same day."
"This is the first time I have been able to vote for a presidential election," said men's basketball junior Cam Isaacs. "However, I have been involved in my state-level elections."
The Blue and Gold student-athletes know that their voice is important and are proud to participate in the Gophers Vote movement.
"Gopher Votes is important for student-athletes because we are considered leaders at the school," said women's soccer senior Christina Charikofsky. "We can use our platform to encourage people to vote so that their voices are heard. This election is incredibly important for college-aged students because we are going to be greatly affected by what happens in the next four years as we graduate and look for jobs, get married, have children, etc. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is the most important election of our lifetime."
"As athletes, we are a very visible community, and many of us are leaders outside our teams," said men's lacrosse junior Will Kelly. "If the larger Goucher community sees how important voting is for us, it sends a good message to the community that they should make it a priority as well. We also are a very diverse group, and many of our brothers and sisters feel neglected in our country. We need to help them feel heard and represented."
"Our world drastically changed when the pandemic first started," said women's volleyball sophomore Rachel Chapman. "I was spending a lot of time at home, and I started learning more about what was going on in our world and realizing that my opinion matters as well. I decided to register because I want to be towards a positive change for our country."
"I believe that our voices and opinions matter now more than ever," said Isaacs. "The Gophers Vote campaign helped make my teammates aware as well."
The student-athletes also understand and appreciate the initiative from Goucher College and the NCAA to cancel events and classes to allow them to go in person and vote.
"Voting is the fundamental structure of American democracy and constitutional duty of every American," said men's swimming junior Marcus Montisano. "Voting is important because it allows us to elect representatives who will act by our own political beliefs and (ideally) in the best interest of their constituents. The lack of school events on Election Day speaks volumes to how important it is for everyone to vote."
"I think it is a great idea there is a push to have no events held on Election Day," said field hockey junior Emily Postlethwait. "As much as I love field hockey and would do anything to be at Beldon Field alongside my teammates right now, practices and other events could be used as an excuse for not voting. Canceling events clear up conflicts and provide everyone with the opportunity to vote."
"It's a great idea because it gives you time to focus your attention on educating yourself on who you want to vote for in the election," said women's soccer junior Carsen Delmont. "Having this day off allows for that to happen because life can get pretty distracting."
The main push to vote is for the presidential election, but student-athletes also know that there are other things at stake besides what is happening nationally.
"Besides the stakes that this election carries on the national level, it is far more important to vote for your local elections since those are the people who will be directly affecting your everyday life in your community," said Kelly.
"It is important to vote because our democracy depends on participation," said Charikofsky. "Our system of government only works as much as we allow it to, and it heavily depends that citizens take on their civic duty of voting. If college-aged people vote in big numbers this election, we have the numbers and drive to change the outcome of this election."
Part of the Gopher Votes movement was to try and attain 100 percent of eligible voters to register to vote for each team. Some teams have international students or students under the age of 18 that would be ineligible to vote this year, so they do not count against teams. It also serves as a positive way to have student-athletes come together to talk about voting and the process.
"When it came to discussions about voting, everyone on the team was really for it and understood how important it is to have your voice heard," said women's lacrosse senior Abbie McHerron.
"The men's basketball team had several open discussions about current events and our opinions," said Isaacs. "We believe it is essential to stick together, especially since we are so far apart. When it came to speaking about registering to vote, everybody was on board because they wanted to have a voice. Some of my teammates were eager to get started, even though they did not know where to start."
"Becoming registered to vote was the easiest conversation our team has had!" said Chapman. "My team is very passionate about the upcoming election, and everyone was already registered by the time I had asked!"
"Most of our guys were already registered, but the conversation around the importance was good and difficult at the same time," said Kelly. "Questions of "why is it important" and "what if I don't like the choices?" were abound. So we had good, hard conversations about the need to participate."
"The discussion with the men's swimming team was extremely easy," said Penner. "I asked in our group chat who was registered. Almost instantly people responded, saying that they were registered. I am very proud of my team because I didn't have to convince anyone to vote."
"I was lucky enough that my teammates have all registered to vote, and I didn't need to encourage anyone to do so," said women's golf sophomore Randi Marshall.
"I was happy to find out that most of my team was already registered!" said Charikofsky. "Most of their questions were about how to check if they are registered and voter registration deadlines. A few of my teammates also asked my opinion on whether they should vote in person or by mail."
Equestrian, field hockey, men's swimming, women's basketball, women's lacrosse, and women's volleyball all achieved 100 percent for team registration.
"Having the entire team registered to vote is really awesome and means a lot," said McHerron. "It is so great to know that voting is so important to everyone on the team and that everyone's voices will be able to be heard."
"Saying that it means a lot to me would be an understatement," said Penner. "If you look at the voter turnout for the last election and compare that to the team (and most of athletics), our voter turnout is about twice as high as the entire country."
"I was ecstatic and am extremely proud of all of my teammates for meeting the goal of being 100 percent registered and all having pledged to vote," said Postlethwait. "It shows that they understand the importance of participating and using their voice to support the greater population—and especially representing the voices of those who can't vote. It also sends a message to other Goucher teams, as well as other athletic programs across the country, that we are more than just athletes, and our college experience goes further than what we do on the field or in the classroom."
"I am so proud of my team reaching 100 percent registration!" said Chapman. "It is so inspiring to have the chance to works with such goal-oriented and passionate ladies. They truly help me become a better person every day."
Some teams did not reach the 100 percent goal, but that doesn't mean that a positive change did not happen for those teams since every vote counts.
"Changing the narrative as a men's lacrosse team is what we are striving to do on a day-to-day basis," said Kelly. "Getting most of or all of us registered shows that we care about not just our country, but the Goucher community, and those in it that feel marginalized."
"If we can increase the number of women's soccer players registered to vote even by one, I think this effort was a success," said Charikofsky. "It is important to create the habit of voting at a young age, and registration is the biggest barrier preventing people from voting. If we can register my teammates, we have taken the first step to create a life-long voter."
Most student-athletes have previously watched debates with their family or on their own. This time around, they enjoyed the experience of having a debate watch party over zoom.
"It was very fun to watch a debate with other student-athletes," said Srour. "I learned that I share a lot of values with other student-athletes."
"It was nice to be able to react in real-time with other student-athletes," said Montisano. "It created a new sense of community among the student-athletes in the sense that we could transcend team lines and connect on political matters."
"It was a different feeling watching the debate with people other than my parents," said Penner. "There was a lot of talking in the chat window about what was going on, which is great."
"I enjoyed watching the debate with other student-athletes because it is a different community experience than the one I get at home with my family," said Postlethwait. "We all are pretty like-minded in the fact that a lot of what we do on a team is working towards something greater than ourselves. A few of my teammates and I started a group chat that we use solely to discuss what is said in debates and other social media platforms—it really has helped us facilitate and validate our thoughts and beliefs with the new information that was presented."
"I definitely did not say a lot of things I thought because I wasn't sure if others would agree with me or not, but I liked hearing what people thought when something happened," said Delmont. "Different perspectives are always interesting to me, and I love listening to them."
While dealing with the "new normal," this was one of the first time that all student-athletes could get together for an event, and for freshmen and transfers, it was a chance to meet athletes from other teams for the first time.
"It was very different," said Whitfield. "I was not able to be in their presence, but having conversations with them via zoom allowed us to connect."
Some of the student-athletes also took part in the SAVE Alliance presentation to learn more about voting, and it might have helped them feel better about the process.
"It made me feel a lot more confident in myself. I feel that not only could I confidently fill-out and return a ballot, but I felt that I had learned enough to help my teammates with any problems they may encounter when they vote," said Charikofsky.
The movement across the nation started because the turnout for young eligible voters was low in the past. Only 30 percent of 18- to 24-year-old voters turned out for the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, according to survey data from the United States Census Bureau. In 2016, a presidential election year, only 39.4 percent voted. Nearly half of the 29,320 surveyed in 2016 were not registered to vote.
"I believe it is especially important for student-athletes/the younger generation to vote this election," said Chapman. "We were too young for the last election, and many of us now have become educated and truly passionate about the things going on in our current political climate. The younger generation has the opportunity to affect this election, so it is important that we are all given the opportunity to do so."
"When discussing with other student-athletes, I learned that as a community, at least within the individuals who have attended the Gophers Vote initiative events, that we are all eager to be a part of this voting experience," said Postlethwait. "I think it's safe to say that this is a huge deal to all of us, and it's a priority that we encourage as many people, collegiate athletes and students alike, to vote because we do have the chance to make an impact on the future of our democracy."
"I hope that some of the student-athletes realized that it could be fun to participate in the political process, and you can connect with people who you might not have connected with otherwise," said Charikofsky.
Voting matters, and it is outstanding to see Goucher student-athletes taking the initiative, pride, and accepting their civic duty to vote. It has been a strange year in 2020, but this is something we can be #GoucherProud they are achieving.