At Virginia Commonwealth University, we believe that civic engagement and participation in the democratic process are fundamental to the development of informed, responsible leaders. VCU’s commitment to fostering a culture of democratic engagement aligns with our mission to prepare students for their future career path, community leadership journey, and pathway of growth through equipping students with skills aligned with critical thinking and public discourse.
VCU Votes’ overarching theme encourages our students to participate in the democratic process—whether through voting, civic dialogue, or community action.
VCU Votes is currently used as an umbrella term that encompasses three components.
VCU Votes Student Coalition
The VCU Votes Student Coalition is a network of VCU students dedicated to promoting voter engagement on campus. VCU Votes coordinates campus-wide voter engagement events, provides voter education, and works to make VCU the most voter-friendly campus it can be. The Student Coalition coordinates campus-wide voter engagement events, provides voter education, and works to make VCU the most voter-friendly campus it can be.
VCU Votes Advisory Council
The VCU Votes Advisory Council is composed of faculty, staff, and students campus wide that are passionate about civic engagement work on our campus. This council coordinates the activities through three working groups: the Student Coalition, Communications & Mobilization, and the University Civic Engagement Plan.
If you are interested in serving on this committee please reach out to: James Gahagan, jsgahagan@vcu.edu
POLI 391: VCU Votes
The VCU Votes Course is designed to address an important problem in U.S. electoral politics: the age gap between young voters and those of older generational cohorts. Students in this course will collaborate to register eligible voters, and will be tasked with engaging with the political science literature and public opinion polling in order to design and execute team-based projects that successfully and efficiently mobilize their peers to vote.
This course gives students the opportunity to be involved in voter engagement on VCU’s campus while getting 3 course credits to utilize towards their graduation.
