Louisiana State University Valencia Richardson Kira Schuette REDISTRICTING AND THE POLITICS OF COLLEGE TOWNS This is a complex topic, so in this proposal we will divide the discussion of redistricting and the politics of college town separately, then discuss goals we would like to accomplish before finally outlining plans of actions to complete two of those goals by Spring 2015. REDISTRICTING What is it and why is it a problem? Redistricting is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as a divide or organize (an area) into new political or school districts done on a state by state basis, usually based off of an area s population. State legislatures typically vote on Congressional Districts and those districts are approved by the governor. This process can be problematic because of hyper partisanship. Since districts are typically determined by state legislatures, the majority party has the potential to redistrict areas in a certain way to ensure that their party maintains control of the state. This process, known as gerrymandering, can be based on factors other than political affiliation. For example, one could gerrymander based on race or socio-economic status leading to government supported discrimination. Redistricting is not negative if voters understand the process and hold representatives responsible. Why is this significant to LSU? Louisiana has not had the best history with voting rights in many different ways, and many people on campus feel that the conservative nature of Louisiana leads to more discriminations in many sectors. Without efforts to educate young people about the different ways that our right to vote can be minimalized, then we are taking away rights and representation from the younger generation through a lack of information. Students at LSU and schools around the country have the potential to be affected by this attempt to essentially fix elections by drawing convenient lines. 1
What can be done? Mostly students need to be engaged in the process to better understand how their political system works. To complete this goal we have various proposals that will be discussed on pages 3-5. POLITICS OF COLLEGE TOWNS What is the problem? College towns have the potential to become major political players. In fact, in the 2012 election, President Obama targeted college campuses in swing states because they typically favor Democrats. Unfortunately, the age group 18-24 (college-aged students) has one of the lowest voter registration and turnout. College students are not typically engaged in the process. Why is this significant to LSU? While Louisiana is not a swing state, it is clear that students on college campuses have strong opinions about current political issues. Unfortunately, these opinions often lead to separate groups who do not discuss their differences in ideology. This practice mirrors and reinforces the partisanship in Congress. Without an opportunity to have a meeting of the minds or a discussion with an opposing viewpoint, then students, future voters and leaders, become complacent with their opinions and reluctant to change or consider a different ideology. In addition, while many students may be interested in working with the government or getting involved in their hometown s politics, at LSU there is not an efficient way to do so. For example, there is no information on absentee voting readily available to out-of-town students, there are minimal internships with government officials available and the most spirited debate on campus happens when preachers come to give their message. GOALS What we would like to accomplish Register students and community members to vote Set up an absentee voting system through student government Work with the state legislature to create internship opportunities for students 2
Have a political party fair (invite different political parties to free speech alley to give out information) Invite candidates to debate on campus (this race is the second most important senate race in the country) What we WILL accomplish 1. Register students and community members to vote 2. Facilitate a debate between political candidates PLAN OF ACTION GOAL 1: Register students and community member to vote 1. Recruit volunteers to aid with registration 2. Create and send out survey to gauge student interest and why or why not they are involved/registered to vote. 3. Go to campuses around Louisiana (Baton Rouge Community College and Southern) and reach out to students who would like to be involved in a voter registration event at their school. 4. Have a meeting of representatives from all colleges involved who will be running the registration. In this meeting we would start the process of becoming deputy registrars. 5. Set agenda for place, time, advertising and budget (if applicable). 6. Start a media blitz. Create a Facebook page, twitter account and hashtag, Instagram, Tumblr. Contact local and school media about the drive. 7. Create interest around campuses with an advertising campaign. 8. Hold drives at the respective schools. Extra Considerations: *Should we give incentives to register (you get a ticket for a raffle if you register and for every friend you bring to register)? *We must post to social media regularly. 3
*Should we encourage local political parties to come out and support the cause or would this pressure students to put a certain political party when registering. *Do we advertise the drive to the community as well as the schools? *Look into making colleges polls. How can other colleges/universities get involved with these projects? Our current plan already incorporates local colleges and universities, but it could also be used to facilitate voter registration drives schools that are further away. If our plan works, then we would have a solid system and advertising basis that could be sent to other colleges to implement. Having a written template to follow would allow for colleges to more easily host these drives. LSU, BRCC and Southern would essentially be the guinea pigs for a bigger movement. GOAL 2: Facilitate a debate between political candidates 1. Find volunteers. 2. Create a debate proposal (date, time, place, subject and format) 3. Contact local and state media to determine whether or not they would cover the event. 4. Set up meetings to persuade candidates to participate (present proposal and discuss media coverage-also known as publicity). 5. Once candidates agree, start a media blitz (explained in the first plan). 6. Create interest on campus (speak to classes about the debate). 7. Have the candidate, or their party, visit the main campus area (Free Speech Alley), to advertise for their candidate and party. 8. Have the debate. Extra Considerations: *Do we open the debate up to the community? *The moderator should be someone of high importance on campus (President/Chancellor?) 4
*We should get the student government involved by having them help coordinate the event. How can other colleges/universities get involved with these projects? Locally, we could invite other colleges and universities to attend the debate or aid with planning the debate. This would get more people actively involved with the political process. On a larger scale, this model could be implemented in each state s flagship schools for other statewide elections. 5