Young people have historically stayed on the sidelines during elections until very recently. Florida International University facilitated a voter-friendly campus to help encourage civic engagement among the youth.
Campus Vote Project and NASPA has awarded FIU with being a voter-friendly campus. The groups decided this by weighing multiple factors, using written plans put in place by colleges and universities during the 2022 election season to foster students’ lifelong civic engagement by educating them on the political process, registering to vote and the importance of casting a vote – even in a non-presidential election year.
FIU's Civic Engagement Committee is responsible for putting the resources all together. which comprises faculty and administration across disciplines. The committee is responsible for launching Vote.FIU.edu, an online repository for information on voting in Florida.
The university also mobilized to create new programs that promote civic literacy and engagement programming across the university’s many academic and business units. These events were sponsored by the Maurice A. Ferré Institute for Civic Leadership along with community partners.
“One of the most important ways young people in particular can have their voices heard is by voting,” said Agatha Caraballo, director of the Ferré Institute and a member of the Civic Engagement Committee.“When students vote, they are exercising their right to participate in our democracy and shaping the future of our country. By encouraging students to vote, we empower them to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of others.”
Outside of the student involvement, FIU has been a space for plenty of South Florida residents. During election season the campus serves as an early voting location for constituents who live in Miami-Dade County to make early voting more accessible.
