Middlesex Community College: Middlesex CC Awarded Voter Friendly Campus Designation

Press release from the Middlesex Community College:

Caitlin Buckley

4/16/2021

Dedicated to student academic, professional and personal success, Middlesex Community College strives to support students in a variety of ways. Throughout the pandemic and beyond, Middlesex has continued to offer creative opportunities for students to participate in community events, including providing students with the information they need to become informed and involved in local, state, national and global politics. MCC was designated a “Voter Friendly Campus” for helping students engage in the voting process.

Middlesex is one of over 235 campuses in 37 states and the District of Columbia designated as a “Voter Friendly Campus.” The initiative, led by national nonpartisan organizations Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project (CVP) and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education ¬– held participating institutions accountable for planning and implementing practices that encourage their students to register and vote in 2020 elections and in the coming years.

The mission of the Voter Friendly Campus designation is to bolster efforts that help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process. MCC was evaluated based on a campus plan about how Middlesex would register, educate and turnout student voters in 2020; facilitated voter engagement efforts on the campuses; and a final analysis of MCC’s efforts – all in the face of the upheaval caused by a global pandemic. The designation is valid through December 2022.

“Being recognized as a Voter Friendly Campus reflects the passion that our students have for civic engagement,” said Kelly Bowes, MCC’s Coordinator of Civic & Service Learning. “MCC students understand the importance of using their votes – and their voices – as a powerful tool to create change in their communities and the world. We hope to continue our successes as we strive to ensure that 100 percent of eligible students are engaged voters in all elections, and those who are not eligible are given opportunities to use their voices in other ways.”

As part of the college’s effort to be designated – even amid the COVID-19 pandemic – Middlesex planned virtual activities that include voting registration drives, Constitution Day, campus dialogues, National Voter Registration Day. election event, post-election conversations, virtual debate watch parties, dialogues on racial justice, Get Out the Vote initiatives, virtual class visits and social media outreach.

MCC has made a strong statement about the civic mission of higher education to prepare students to be engaged participants in the country’s democracy and is excited to continue engaging students through 2020, 2022 and beyond.

The institutions designated Voter Friendly Campuses represent a wide range of two-year, four-year, public, private, rural and city campuses. Notably, the list of designated institutions includes many Minority Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The program is ultimately serving over 3.5 million students.

MCC is registering for the Summer and Fall 2021 semesters. To register for classes, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC has been a proven leader in online education for more than 20 years. We educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners, offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!

NASPA is the leading association for the advancement, health, and sustainability of the student affairs profession. Our work provides high-quality professional development, advocacy, and research for 15,000 members in all 50 states, 25 countries, and 8 U.S. territories.

Fair Elections Center is a national, nonpartisan voting rights and legal support organization that works to eliminate barriers to voting and improve election administration across the United States. Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project works with universities, community colleges, faculty, students and election officials to reduce barriers to student voting and helps campuses institutionalize reforms that empower students with the information they need to register and vote.

This press release was produced by the Middlesex Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.