Pacific Index

With the presidential election closing in, Pacific gears up to engage students

“I wasn’t always engaged in politics,” reveals senior Skylar Carothers. She continues, “It wasn’t until my senior year of high school when my teacher started off the class with, ‘You might not want to be engaged in politics, but politics is going to be engaged with you.’” 

That reality has somewhat forced her to be interested in politics—and with the upcoming, contested presidential and federal elections.

“The serious threat of my rights as a woman concern me,” Carothers says worriedly. “The rights I have now are somewhat diminished from what they used to be.” This, and other issues that hit closest to home for Carothers, are what initially introduced her to the world of politics.

A criminal justice major, her focused career point is intertwined with politics whether she likes it or not. But, Carothers, like all her age, is part of the age-group least likely to vote. 

“I don’t have a direct say of how much our vote matters; but I know I would feel awful if I didn’t do something to vote in this election,” she adamantly voices. 

“There’s a lot of anger and hatred,” Carothers says about America’s political scene. “But the thing I think we can all agree on is we’re all humans and we’re all just trying to do what’s best for our individual lives.” 

Carothers painted a picture of the cultural diversity in the U.S. which brings a mix of different beliefs, values, and ideas. She contested that not everyone will agree due to the massive variety of personal backgrounds, but that’s the reason we should be respectful to all people. “Politics should not get in the way of you being friends with someone,” she conveyed with an easy-going shrug. 

Director of Political Outreach for the Tom McCall Center for Civic Engagement, Dr. Jim Moore, offered some wisdom that closely mirrored Carothers’ experience. “Think about what you want to do with your life,” he starts, his glasses reflecting the many politically themed pins and posters displayed across his office. “Do a little research on what the role of the government is with that thing.” 

Many university students ponder their careers and lives after graduation, but don’t always consider what role politics will play in that life. Dr. Moore offered the example of becoming a teacher. Public schools are run by elected board members and funded through the government; all of which is political. “Whatever it is, do a little thinking: where do I want to be in five years? How does politics have a role?” He brainstorms out loud. “It has a role in everything that you do.”

During the last presidential election in 2020, 68 percent of the Pacific student body participated in some form of voting—whether that was local, state, or federal. That number exceeds national averages for 18-29 year olds. Two years after that, though, voting rates at Pacific had fallen to 48 percent, right on pace with national averages. 

“Over my career, I’ve seen students pay less attention to politics,” admits Dr. Moore. “But the country as a whole pays less attention to politics.” Dr. Moore has seen politics take an ugly shift, moving away from impactful policies to becoming a contest of which candidates will take the throne. He contests that politics only really exists every two or four years because that’s when the main elections draw the focus of the public. “But part of the university’s mission is, you know, go out and fight for justice,” he fervently contends. “Justice is the policies—that’s where justice is.”

The intricacies of voting are another thing that may scare the younger generation away from opening their ballots. Depending on which state you call home, there are different rules and regulations. Some states are stingy with mailed ballots; others are strict on when ballots are postmarked. 

Thankfully, Pacific is well equipped to help with that. The McCall Center for Civic Engagement has trained employees to help students register for voting in Oregon, send in ballots, and understand their home state’s voting process. “The McCall Center has got people who are trained on walking you through all this,” Dr. Moore shares.