Collins Living-Learning Center

On Monday, September 30th, Collinsites had the opportunity to learn more about voting from the BOEP-sponsored Gen Z Votes event! This hour-long lecture and discussion covered the basics of voting in Indiana, including registering to vote, updating registration information to students’ Bloomington addresses, and requesting a mail-in absentee ballot. This section also included information about researching  candidates effectively, mainly by using Ballotpedia’s Sample Ballot Lookup tool to preview the ballot before Election Day. Next, Collinsites learned more about the interests that motivate people to vote, and the ways in which political theorists have conceptualized the purpose of government and how different interests should influence it. They also learned about issues like grievance and reactionary politics, as well as the concept of the culture war, and how these serve to distract from the primary objectives of our American political processes. Finally, Collinsites had a group discussion about what defines productive politics and how we can all adopt practices that contribute to better policy outcomes for all Americans. Overall, this was a fun and informative event that gave Collinsites a place to discuss
one of the most important parts of our democracy, and it was only made better by the tasty cheesecake bites and other snacks provided by BOEP!