Schools
Towson University And The 2020 Election
An overlook of how TU prepared its students for the 2020 General Election and beyond
By Cody Boteler, Roy Henry, Rebecca Kirkman, Matt Palmer and Kyle Hobstetter on November 1, 2020
Find out what's happening in Towsonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Find out what's happening in Towsonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Towson University is ready for the 2020 Election Day.
Whether it was getting students registered to vote, informing students of issues and
candidates on the ballot, raising awareness in the community, or just being an early
voting polling place, Towson University has worked to get its community involved in
the 2020 Election.
Over the past year, members of the Towson University community have put effort into
making voting a part of university’s culture. That effort has paid off, as TU is one
of just nine institutions with a student voter registration rate above 85%, according to Washington Monthly.
Washington Monthly also named Towson University one of America’s Best Colleges for
Student Voting.
“Towson University's ability to engage and create opportunities for students is a
differentiator," TU President Kim Schatzel says. "I am so very proud of our engaged
student community, as well as the efforts by our students, faculty and staff to build
voter turnout.”
READ MORE: TU one of just 9 institutions in U.S. with 85% student voter registration
National Voter Registration Day
TU students participate in a march organized by dance professor Vincent Thomas on
October 13, 2020. The march is part of a performance Thomas' modern repertory class
will debut during the department's virtual dance concert in November. (Photo by Alex
Wright)
One of the biggest examples of engaging students was on National Voter Registration
Day.
Lead by the Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility and the TU Votes Coalition, several TU organizations and groups developed special
physically distanced programming to register members of the TU community to vote this
November.
“Knowing that so many members of the TU community are involved in these efforts is
great, because it means that we continue to take steps forward to institutionalize
voter engagement at Towson University,” says Luis Sierra, assistant director of civic
engagement. “We strive to provide resources and opportunities for every student, faculty
and staff member to consider the TU Votes initiative as part of their Towson University
experience.”
READ MORE: TU Celebrates National Voter Registration Day
TU and TurboVote
Along with getting students registered to vote, TU has also been providing students
information about the election — including if they are already registered and what
are the next steps.
One of the ways TU has done this was by partnering with TurboVote, an online tool from the Office of Civic Engagement & Social Responsibility that
helps users check their voter registration status, register to vote, develop a plan
to vote and track upcoming elections.
“Students' voting needs are different, so TurboVote assists us in providing steps
and information that are relevant and customized by state, registration status and
voting method,” Sierra says.
TU Athletes Vote
Towson University student-athletes promote voter registration on National Voter Registration
Day. (Photo by Towson University Athletics)
Members of Towson University Athletics are also raising election awareness, not only
with TU’s student-athletes, but with student-athletes around the country.
Towson University women's basketball associate head coach Zach Kancher served as the lead in TU Athletics in creating TU Athletes Vote, a nonpartisan group that connects TU student-athletes with educational resources
related to voting.
TU Athletes Vote, a partnership with the Office of Civic Engagement & Social Responsibility
and the TU Votes Coalition, provides resources on absentee ballots, information on
candidates and each state’s voting rules. The work has paid off: 11 Towson University
teams have 100% of the rosters registered to vote.
Along with working with students on campus, Kancher has presented voter registration
to more than 60 schools, organizations and athletic conferences. When Kancher presents,
he leans into his coaching background and creates voting and election scouting reports.
“It’s like we’re playing James Madison, and our scouting report lets us know everything
about the team,” Kancher says. “This is the same thing. I’m scouting this election
and the voting process. I think by presenting it within that framework, it becomes
more digestible for student-athletes and, frankly, coaches as well.”
READ MORE: TU Athletes Vote is a Slam Dunk for Democracy
TU Protecting the Polls
Associate Professor Natalie M. Scala standing at the ballot drop box on the Towson
University campus about two weeks before the 2020 General Election. (Photo by Lauren
Castellana)
Towson University student-athletes have also been volunteering in the parking lots
of TU’s early polling place located at the South Campus Pavilion.
And that’s not the only way that TU is helping at the polls. Towson University’s Natalie M. Scala and Josh Dehlinger have stepped up to train Maryland’s poll workers on identifying and addressing election
security threats.
For the last three years, Scala, an associate professor in the Department of Business Analytics and Technology Management, and Dehlinger, a professor in the Department of Computer & Information Sciences, have partnered with local election boards to train election judges.
Scala and Dehlinger study how best to respond to and prevent cyber, physical and insider
threats to elections and use that research to create training modules. The faculty
duo is continuing work originated by Megan Price ’18 and Scala as part of an Honors
College research project.
READ MORE: Protecting Maryland’s Polling Places
Providing a Unity Flag
Towson University interdisciplinary arts graduate student Ana Maria Economou works
on the flag artwork she made with assistant professor Kate Collins and adjunct faculty
member LaVerne Miers-Bond in July 2020. The piece is on display at Belmont University as
part of the “Unity Flag Project.” (Photo by Kate Collins)
Towson University professors and students have also had their work displayed during
the final presidential debate.
The final presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville on Oct. 22, featured
artwork by artists representing more than 30 states as part of the “Unity Flag Project:
Building Purple Empathy Through the Visual Arts.”
Those artists include Towson University assistant professor Kate Collins, director
of the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts Infusion program (MAIAI), program alumna and adjunct faculty member LaVerne Miers-Bond ’19
and graduate student Ana Maria Economou ’21.
The “Unity Flag Project” is on display in the campus’ Leu Center for the Visual Arts
and online at unityflagproject.com. Over three days in July, Collins, Miers-Bond and Economou worked to create “These
Truths,” their contribution to the exhibition.
READ MORE: ‘Unity flag’ by TU artists exhibited alongside final presidential debate
The Emotions of the Election
And with Election Day fast approaching, the Towson University Counseling Center is providing resources to help with the related tension and anxiety that can come
from the election.
Staff psychologists G Wei Ng, diversity coordinator, and Oluwatofunmi Oni, digital
mental health coordinator, have collaborated on a Facebook Live series called, “Managing
Election Stress,” which debuted Oct. 7.
Read More: How to take care of your mental health during the heated election season
Moving Forward: What Now?
Members of the Towson Community line-up to vote early at Towson University's South
Campus Pavilion. (Photo by Alex Wright)
The Counseling Center, supported by the Center for Student Diversity and Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility, will host spaces for students to
emotionally process, regroup and rethink about ways to move forward with social justice
work sustainably, deal with negative impacts of voter suppression and hate speech/actions
on wellbeing, & manage political differences in relationships.
Zoom link will be shared with attendees prior to the event date. All students are
welcome to join! For questions or accommodations, please contact diversityworks@towson.edu. Also students can now sign up for these sessions, with dates taking place:
- Wednesday, November 4, 12 p.m.
- Friday, November 13, 4 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 18, 4 p.m.
- Friday, December 4, 4 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 9, 12 p.m.
To learn more about TU Voter Coalition and Civic Engagement opportunities, follow
The Office of Civic Engagement & Social Responsibility on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland.
This press release was produced by Towson University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
