Rima Shah, a first-year student at College of DuPage (COD), never imagined she would become an active participant in COD Votes, a political engagement project spearheaded by the Student Leadership Council (SLC).
“I thought it may be a good learning experience, but I wasn’t sure I would be the best for it,” Shah said. “I mean, my major is in the music industry, and I am not the most involved in politics.”
What started as a learning experience quickly turned into a passion. Shah and her peers now work year-round to empower fellow students to get involved in the political process.
“It is so important for students to get involved because their voices help shape policies that directly impact their education, future careers and overall quality of life,” Shah said. “The people who are deciding who’s going to be in charge of tuition costs, student loan policies, public transportation and future job opportunities shouldn’t be the people who are already out of college with their paychecks already set for them, but the students who will be impacted by those changes.”
In recognition of all of their hard work this past year, the All-In-Campus Democracy Challenge by Civic Nation recently awarded COD with the Most Engaged Student Voting 2024 award. This national, nonpartisan group encourages and supports colleges and universities in getting students registered and voting.
“This award belongs to the students,” said COD Coordinator of Student Life Stephanie Quirk. “This would not have happened without the dedication of the teams that have been working on this. It’s a great acknowledgement and validation of the work that we do.”
This is the fourth award COD has earned from the All-In-Campus Democracy Challenge, Quirk said. COD previously earned the Most Engaged Student Voting 2022 award, a silver seal for voter engagement during the 2022 midterm election and a bronze seal for voter engagement during the 2020 presidential election.
“We don’t do what we do to earn awards. We do what we do because we know it matters, and we know that the student voice matters, and we know, more specifically, that College of DuPage students as community college students matter.” Quirk said.
Founded in 2019 as part of a pilot Living Leadership program, COD Votes began as a small group of students aiming to launch a campus-wide voter engagement initiative. The group was later adopted by the SLC, which continues to actively promote the importance of exercising civic duties.
“We have a lot of first-time voters, so we want to make sure that they feel supported the first time they go to the polls,” Quirk said. “We want to demystify the process by providing as much information as we can. We want to make sure that we have all of our voices heard.”
These past two years, COD Votes set a goal to make direct contact with 1,000 students to engage them in educational material and inform them about voter registration. After hosting 20 voter engagement events and 26 classroom visits, they exceeded their goal by reaching 2,270 students from Aug. 1 to Nov. 4.
“I think that this past election, whether students have a good or bad outlook on it, has shown students why they should vote and be involved,” Shah said. “If this past election was a good outcome for them, they have seen that voting has gotten the people they want to be in office, and they should do so or continue to do so if they want to continue having people that share their opinions in office. If [not], it should have shown them why it is so important to get the community involved with their civic duties. One vote matters when each one of those votes becomes millions.”
On April 1, COD will host a local election for new members of the school’s Board of Trustees. COD Votes is preparing for this cycle by gathering information for the community on members.
“It’s really important for students to understand that they have a direct connection in this election,” Quirk said. “These are the folks that decide your tuition, your policies. This is your opportunity to do the research. COD Votes is here to support.”
To learn more about COD Votes or to get involved, email [email protected], visit the Student Leadership Council office in SSC 1135 or the Office of Student Life in SSC 1111.
