Eleven might sound like a daunting number of propositions to dig through for some aspiring voters this election season.
Have no fear– the Pierce College Day of Politics II is set to pick up the slack.
The Day of Politics II on Oct. 11 is designed to help student voters get the facts on all the propositions that will be on the upcoming ballot from both sides of the table, according to Dr. Denise Robb, political science professor at Pierce.
The official sponsor of the event is the Political Science, Economics, Criminology and Chicano Studies Department but the idea was formed by a number of professors, according to Robb.
“I was at a meeting with my colleagues and I said ‘why don’t we have a day when we go over all the propositions’,” Robb said. “And then somebody else said ‘and have all the candidates.”
The event was planned to be on two separate days due to the amount of propositions and topics on the ballot, Robb said.
The League of Women Voters came to Pierce to speak about many of the propositions from both sides during the Thursday, Sept. 27 portion of the event.
“[The League of Women Voters is] a non-profit group that goes around the country to give nonpartisan information,” Robb said.
Green Party candidate for president Dr. Jill Stein was on campus for a 30-minute speech at 5 p.m., according to Robb.
On the Oct. 11 date, congressmen Brad Sherman and Howard Berman will be speaking, as well as a number of Pierce College professors.
Dr. James McKeever and Dr. Pamela Brown will be debating two propositions, 30 and 32, and professor Brian Walsh will be debating in favor of repealing the death penalty, according to Robb.
Aside from professors taking part in the event and the sponsorship of the Political Science Department, many other Pierce groups will be lending their help to the event.
Students Organizing for Success will be there volunteering and registering voters.
Alpha Gamma Sigma, an honor society, also played a role in the set up of the event, according to Alex Allam, one of the AGS leaders and a former student of Robb’s.
“[AGS] was pretty much in charge of publicizing the event,” Allam said. “We made the flyers.”
The honor society will also be helping out during the event, according to Allam.
“We’re going to have volunteers at the kitchen preparing food, on the floor helping speakers,” Allam said. “We’re going to have members in charge of checking in and checking out guests.”
Despite all the political story lines and agendas, the real purpose of the event is to educate students.
“I thought it was important for the students because they’re gonna be voting on 11 propositions and I’m pretty sure most people don’t know anything about them,” Robb said.
This was true with aspiring Pierce student from Moorpark Jared Williamson, who was planning on attending the event.
“I really have no clue what [the propositions] all are,” said Williamson. “It’s my first time voting, I don’t want to go in and just guess.”
For more information about the Day of Politics II, contact Denise Robb at [email protected].
