Archer School Students Canvass Brentwood Village for Voters [VIDEO]

Archer School for Girls took to Brentwood Village Tuesday to push the "No Vote, Big Voice" campaign in collaboration with the Los Angeles League of Women Voters.

This fall the school will be one of more than 20 non-profit organizations allied with the L.A. League of Women Voters of Los Angeles, sharing the common goals of educating voters, boosting voter registration and participating in the upcoming presidential election. The campaign is non-partisan.

See the attached video interview with seniors Nahal Shakib, Rachel Arditi and Hannah Eshaghian, student council president, for their thoughts on Tuesday's canvassing effort. Also, see the attached photos of Archer's 2012 "No Vote, Big Voice" campaign. 

"Just as casting an informed vote is a crucial element in making democracy work, as educators we are also dedicated to offering a curriculum which engages and empowers girls politically," Elizabeth English, head of school, in a press release. "Our new campaign initiates girls with a sense of civic responsibility, preparing them to engage in mature political discourse and active citizenship."

The purpose of the school's campaign is primarily to establish a sense of political engagement in the democratic process among Archer students, even before they are old enough to cast their ballots in an official election. Volunteers from The League of Women Voters of Los Angeles came to campus and trained the girls in voter registration protocol.

Participating students in the Voice of Democracy class who are between the ages of 16 and 18 offered voter registration assistance in Brentwood Village on Tuesday and they will contact family members and friends who are of voting age to encourage them to learn the issues and cast their ballots on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Additionally the girls will be using their ‘voices’ by pledging to call ten women (mothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and friends) in their lives to encourage them to get out and vote. Each of the women they contact will also be asked to use their ‘voice’ and to call ten women in their lives, in turn, to spread the message of the importance of women voting in this year’s election.

"It is important for women and girls to be engaged in the electoral process because we have different voices on the issues," said Raquel Beltran, executive director of The League of Women Voters of Los Angeles. "That is why league membership is so important. Our life experiences are different and so too are our priorities. Of course, we have to be well informed about our choice but the first step is to get registered."

For more information, visit the school's blog Take Aim and the League of Women Voters of L.A. website.

To register to vote on Nov. 6, visit the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/City Clerk website. Monday, Oct. 22 is the final day to register in California. 

Mount St. Mary's College recently held their voter registration, and many first-time voters in L.A. weighed in on the 2012 election.