With the 2024 election around the corner, the Day of Politics at Pierce College looked to address some of the most asked questions regarding voting, while also commemorating social justice and civil rights movements.
Day of Politics was held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Building 600 on Wednesday, Oct. 9. The event featured panel discussions about topics including the upcoming city council elections, the county ballot measures and the pros and cons of a state ballot measure on rent control.
Political Science Professor Denise Robb is a strong advocate for voting, and an organizer of the Day of Politics.
“Democracy is important,” Robb said. “I don’t want to live in a dictatorship, so I think it’s not a big responsibility, but it is a responsibility to live in a democratic society because you need to participate and educate yourself or else the democracy will die.”
For the government to be responsive, people have to participate by getting involved, Robb said.
“Of course voting,” Robb said. “I always say the reason your tuition is going up is because young people aren’t voting. Another important thing to do is join a club, get involved, and join an organization.”
ASO President Jasmine Minchez looked to focus on the student perspective regarding voting, and understanding the value of doing so. Historical events and laws passed can seem so long ago and students can struggle with relating to these laws, Minchez said.
“The fact that these things happened fifty-plus years ago, means that we can be in this room right now receiving the education that we have, receiving the quality of life that we have,” Minchez said.
At Day of Politics, Minchez spoke about the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling.
“I remember my eighth-grade class and this book we read called ‘Warriors Don’t Cry,” Minchez said. “It was a first-hand account of one of the students of the Little Rock Nine, which were one of the first group of students to integrate into a Little Rock, Arkansas school, three years after the passing of Brown v. Board of Education.”
M Berg, a student at Pierce College and attendee of Day of Politics, listened throughout the event.
“It’s the small incremental change that the speakers were talking about,” Berg said. “I’m going to vote, but also I tend to have those doubts that it might not change much.”
Berg said it is important for students to attend these panels and discussions, because younger people don’t tend to vote as much.
“You don’t want to just be a defensive voter, you want to be an active voter,” Berg said.