Election 2015: Who says young people won’t vote?
They call themselves the election committee – but they want University of Toronto students to do more than just vote on Oct. 19.
Civic and social engagement is also on the agenda for the committee, composed of staff and students from across all three U of T campuses.
“U of T and other higher education institutions have a culture of community engagement and caring about the community,” says John Beebe, manager of outreach at Samara, a non-profit organization that works to boost civic engagement.
“U of T is a significant player in the larger community of Toronto. It will be a huge asset to the community if we can connect that culture to some of our political institutions.”
The committee has been working with Elections Canada to open voting stations for students living on campus and with Samara to boost engagement. They’ve organized voting pop-up booths, documentary screenings, art exhibitions, candidates fairs, field trips, panels and more – all in a bid to help students explore and disprove the notion that young people are not interested in civic engagement. Students can even take “voteposal”selfies as part of a social media campaign.