Preparing for Election 2024: Get Involved at Seton Hall University

The Division of Student Services, its Office of Student Engagement and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee in partnership with campus partners from across the University are collaborating on efforts and sharing campus and national resources to support get out the vote efforts as the November 2024 election approaches.

Civic engagement meetings and campus-wide planning meetings involve CCRE, Campus Ministry, Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute, the Black Caucus, SGA and numerous student organizations. Organizers are providing resources, QR codes for voter registration and education efforts, weekly tips on voter education and engagement, mediations, entertainment, educational resources, virtual panels and election focused conversations. Many opportunities are being organized now for members of the Seton Hall community to engage with each other respectfully and celebrate this vital contribution to democracy as servant leaders and global citizens.

“At Seton Hall, we are committed to creating a culture of inclusion that is our strength as we honor each other with respectful dialogue and space to prepare and learn together on how to fulfill this most important civic responsibility of our democracy and participate in the 2024 vote,” said Monica Burnette, Ph.D., vice president, Division of Student Services.

SGA and Seton Hall have teamed up with the NJ Ballot Bowl for Student Engagement voter registration competition, sponsored by the Department of State, to learn which of New Jersey higher education institutions can register the newest voters. In 2020, Seton Hall came in first place with 541 TurboVote users registered. 

“For many students, this is their first opportunity to actively participate in our electoral system. I encourage students to take the pledge to vote and SGA hopes to inspire that action through a series of voter registration programs and events throughout this election season. We hope to utilize mechanisms like TurboVote and the Ballot Bowl to enable our students to have their voices heard, irrespective of their political affiliation or state of residence,” said SGA President Kai N. Hansen, who can be contacted for more information at kai.hansen@student.shu.edu. 

Political science students Jordan Paris, Amos Willey and Lizi Shcherbakovi are recruiting students for voter registration tabling during the first two weeks of October.

“Seton Hall University’s commitment to civic engagement goes beyond the ballot bowl. Our initiatives toward voter registration showcase something much greater: an understanding among the student body that it is our duty to vote. Following our model of student leadership, these voter registration drives will bring accessibility to that duty,” noted Willey.

Associate Professor and Chair Michael A. Taylor, Ph.D., Department of Political Sciences and Public Affairs, College of Arts and Sciences, is working closely with the student leaders. 

“It is gratifying to see our political science students, and their peers, organize a campus voter registration drive to enable all Seton Hall students to participate in the upcoming elections. Voting is the language of democracy and taking action to participate in local and national elections is critical to communicating our needs and desires” said Taylor.

Numerous events and programs are being developed. To learn more about TurboVote visit this page.

Upcoming events include:

Luis A. Miranda Jr.
September 19:
Fireside chat: 6-6:45 p.m., Bethany, Room A
Book signing: 6:45-8:30 p.m., Bethany, Room A
Political strategist and philanthropist Luis A. Miranda, Jr., the father of Lin-Manuel Miranda, who inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony and Grammy award-winning play, Mr. Miranda will spend an evening with our community with a discussion of his life, Latino culture, community activism and his new memoir, Relentless: My Story of the Latino Spirit That Is Transforming America. Presented by the Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute.

Braver Angels: Reuniting America documentary viewing and facilitated discussion
September 30, 4-6 p.m. & October 22, noon-2 p.m.: University Center Theater

Braver Angles is the nation’s largest cross-partisan, volunteer-led movement, whose mission is to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic through education. This is a kick-off event to encourage conversations on the summer reading book, I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times, by Monica Guzman. Registration is open. Contact Nicole LaCapria at nicole.lacapria@shu.edu and (973) 275-3392.

We ask our entire Seton Hall University community to pledge to vote and to participate in these non-partisan programs, events and opportunities.
To learn more about Campus Inclusion and Community Center voting resources and events, contact Ghana Hylton, director, Campus Inclusion and Business Affairs, at ghana.hylton@shu.edu and (973) 275-2906.

To learn more about important voting resources provided from University Libraries visit this page. 

Categories: Nation and World