(Photo Courtesy of Undergraduate Student Government)
Members of Tempe Undergraduate Student Government kicked off Sparking Democracy on Monday. The week-long series aims to educate students on the candidates running in the upcoming election.
The four-day long series of events will feature gubernatorial candidates Democrat Fred DuVal and Republican Doug Ducey on Tuesday in Old Main, and other state legislators will be on Hayden Lawn on Thursday. The series was organized to allow students to get to know the candidates better.
Tempe USG President Cassidy Possehl said the USG wanted to take a different direction this year and not focus as much on registering students but on educating them on the elections.
“Registering students was a huge focus at the beginning of the year, but we wanted to shift into civic engagement from an education standpoint and make sure that not only are the students voting, but they had an educated vote,” she said.
Nick VandenNieuwenhof, Tempe USG vice president of policy, said he and members of the senate were outside the Memorial Union to engage students, keep them informed and see where they fall on the political spectrum.
“We’re educating them on trying to figure out where they stand, what part of the political spectrum they are on, what party do they want to affiliate with, what political theory do they relate to, and just try to help students figure out where they are,” he said.
Monday's event aimed to find students who aren’t sure about where they fall on the political spectrum and want more information before they go to the polls Nov. 4, VandenNieuwenhof said.
“For the students who aren’t sure, coming to our speaking events and listening to the leaders of our state tomorrow is probably going to be something that will really help them out,” he said. “So hopefully by the end of this, they will have a better understanding of where they stand than they did before.”
DuVal’s son, William DuVal, was at the event speaking to students about the importance of voting.
“There has been a lot of talk about how students aren’t as rallied to go vote this year since it isn’t a presidential election,” he said. “So the biggest thing is getting students from ASU and UA to get out and vote.”
Hearing the candidates speak allows students to better understand where they stand on the issues that affect students and gives more insight to who the candidates are than just what is seen on television, DuVal said.
“I think students connect much more with the candidates when they really get to know what their ideals are and where they are coming from,” he said. “On TV you see ads, the anti-ads, the debates, but rarely do you get to see the energy of the candidates, and that is why I think it is really important to have this event here at ASU, and all the universities for that matter, because I feel like students will get a lot more engaged when they get a chance to see the candidates.”
Reach the reporter at jshanco2@asu.edu or follow on Twitter @joey_hancock
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