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By Erinn Gardner, Secretary

With the 2024 presidential election approaching, students in the Atlanta University Center (AUC) have articulated their enthusiasm to become politically engaged and show up to the polls in November. This sentiment has been amplified by tonight’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

While there are several moving factors in this election season, AUC students continue to be motivated to take action and initiate the change they hope to see. 

Since commencing his matriculation at Morehouse in 2022, junior sociology major and Howard Thurman Honors Program president Jeremiah Lowther unpacked the significance of bills such as SB 202, which limits access to ballots, restricts the number of ballot dropboxes, shortens the window for absentee and early ballots and bans the distribution of food and water in voting lines. 

Lowther has actively strived to mitigate the effects of the bill through the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. 

“If our vote didn’t matter, and our voices were not powerful, the legislature would not intentionally be passing laws to make it more difficult for the Black community to vote,” Lowther said. 

Although Lowther uses a hands-on approach, a multitude of Gen Z students and activists have found social media to be just as effective in garnering political change. However, conducting individual research remains crucial for in-depth learning regarding a variety of topics. 

“Anytime I see social media posts having to do with voter registration, voting rights or  information about the candidates, I always try to read more about it and share it with other people,” sophomore English major Abriana Northington-Winston said. “I get the most reliable resources and information, and once I fully comprehend that, I will share with others.”

Misinformation tends to spread on social platforms, making it difficult to differentiate between credible and dubious sources.

“We see so much fraudulent information online, but if you take the time to educate yourself in order to have an opinion backed by facts, I think that’s the best way to get involved,” sophomore finance major Charles Winfrey said. 

Winfrey claims that society must also get out of the stigma of choosing a political party based on their parents’ views, but becoming knowledgeable enough through research to shape their own views. 

Ultimately, political involvement in school, through organizations and on social media prepares the world to exercise their constitutional right: voting. From political organizations on campus to voter registration tables in the student centers, The AUC highly encourages its students to take part in their civic duty. Not only is voting the first step to becoming a changemaker, but it pays homage to those who were forced to take impossible literacy tests in an attempt to vote less than 60 years ago.

A handful of Americans are under the impression that their single vote will not make a difference in the presidential election. However, this statement stands far from the truth. 

“Your vote matters. We get caught up in the narrative of there being millions of voters and we say ‘my one vote isn’t going to make a difference’. If five million people have that attitude, that changes the entire outcome,” Winfrey said. 

Copy Edited by Bradley Morrison