Isa Abbott, Asst. Opinion Editor–
With the presidential election around the corner, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. hosted a non-partisan event called “Know Your Candidate” for students on Oct. 22. The purpose of the event was to educate students on who they might want to vote for on the Ohio ballot.
Throughout the presentation, Greek life students from Delta Sigma Theta and Alpha Phi Alpha went into detail about each candidate’s policies and values of healthcare, the economy, climate change, criminal justice reform, and education. Beyond the typical Republican and Democratic parties, the presentation informed students about the Libertarian party and the Green party.
Part of the Greek students’ non-partisan presentation was their informative explanation on Chase Oliver, a Libertarian. He offers economic policies that will reduce government spending in response to inflation, and supports free trade without tariffs. For education, he believes we should remove federal backing of student loans and education costs. In terms of criminal justice reform, Oliver wants to end the immunity for law enforcement and abolish the death penalty.
Another example beyond the Republican and Democratic candidates would be Richard Duncan, an independent candidate. Even though Duncan has not campaigned to the extent of the other candidates, the students still researched and presented his values of affordable healthcare with less government intervention, assistance of small businesses, and environmental controls that would offset the effects of pollution to protect our planet.
Chloe Echols ‘27, a student viewer of the event, said, “I think it was really helpful because it allowed, not just me, but everyone to see the main points of each candidate that’s on the ballot. Sometimes it’s really confusing because the media is very biased and only shows certain answers when you look up ‘what is this person’s main policy goal?’. It will only show you certain policies that will go with the certain agenda that that media outlet is trying to produce. “I think it was really helpful to get an unbiased source of what this person is trying to do with the government, how do you want to secure equality, security, and liberty, etc.”
The advisor for Phi Kappa, Marjorie Nicole Robinson, voiced the importance of the event.
“Tonight was about knowing your candidates, and knowing your candidates so you can make an informed decision on who you want to vote for. Remember whatever policies we put in place today will reflect us tomorrow and for the future to come, regardless of what candidate you choose,” Robinson said.
Robinson is a part of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., an organization that was founded on social action.
“One of the first things that we did in 1913 was the women’s suffrage march. Back in that time, in the early 1900s, let alone women being able to get out and vote, black women were not also able to get out and vote…we need to understand that some individuals in the political field are trying to take that right away, not only from black individuals and brown individuals, they’re trying to take it away from women,” Robinson said.
Taking action on voting is a key focus for sororities and fraternities. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. are no stranger to using their voices to encourage voting.
“We directly reach out to help people to vote…as an organization we don’t go out and tell you to vote for a specific candidate, we just open up that room for everyone and invite everyone to be like ‘yeah you can vote,’” said Tef Tewoldeberhan ‘25, secretary for Alpha Phi Alpha.
Tewoldeberhan also said that “in terms of different programs…earlier throughout the semester, we have collaborated with DU Votes on a tabling event where we just help people get registered to vote and answer some common questions…and that’s what all D9 organizations kind of stand for.”
“[Alpha Phi Alpha] are also looking to uplift every community and continue to have the right to vote for black men, as well as any man, because it is your right to vote, you should have a choice and do have a choice to decide whether you want something today, or something tomorrow,” Robinson added.
Robinson said that voting is important because it affects the outcomes of our future.
“I remember when I first was able to vote at 18, I didn’t understand the impact of voting… Some people right now are saying ‘well I’m not going to vote because I don’t want to deal with either candidate’, and it’s not about dealing with either candidate, you need to listen to what the people are saying,” Robinson said.
“Not being educated enough is not an excuse, especially when we have the internet. You can say ‘I’m not educated enough’, but there are so many resources. There is no excuse at this point to not be voting, especially when we live in an age where you can get the answer literally like that…it’s not only your civic duty, but also your own responsibility as a human to care for yourself and others,” Echols said.
Echols also said that “I think that fraternities and sororities have a lot of influence… events like [this] are helpful to the community because they see… their peers that are trying to promote positive change and promote democracy.”
Nov. 5 is election day for the 2024 presidential election and sororities and fraternities continue to plan events and get involved in ways they can promote voting for American citizens at Denison.
Upcoming student events related to voting include: Oct. 31, DU Votes Tabling from 11 to 1 p.m., Nov. 5, “Election Safe Space” from 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. with the Spiritual Life Center, and on Nov. 5, “Doughnut Forget to Vote!!” by DU Votes from 9 to 11 a.m.
Photo: Tef Tewoldeberhan ’25 adresses students at “Know Your Candidate” event on Oct. 22.