The Triangle Fall 2021

A simple and impactful way Phi Mu Delta, its members, and chapters can lean into its democratic mission is to create partnerships with the many organizations that are doing this work and rely on connecting with college students: Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP) is a national nonpartisan project that helps administrators, faculty, staff, and student leaders at America’s colleges and universities engage students in federal, state, and local elections, working to promote a more equitable and inclusive democracy and to overcome the ever-changing barriers to voting. They also hire students to do voter engagement initiatives on their campus.

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge strives to change civic culture and institutionalize democratic engagement activities and programs on college campuses, making them a defining feature of campus life.

The Andrew Goodman Foundation’s Vote Everywhere program empowers Millennials to register voters and engage in issues activism. The Foundation’s vision is that “young people become active, engaged citizens who ensure a peaceful, just and sustainable future The Campus Vote Project, helps college students work with administrators and local election officials to make the process of voting easier and overcome barriers students often face to voting such as residency laws, registration deadlines, and voter ID requirements.

Rock the Vote’s mission is to engage and build political power for young people in our country. They use music, popular culture, new technologies, and grassroots organizing to motivate and mobilize young people in our country to participate in every election.

Pizza to the Polls is a nonpartisan, nonprofit initiative with the simple mission of delivering snacks to people at polling stations with long lines. Since starting delivery in 2016, Pizza to the Polls has raised $490,000 and delivered 16,500 pizzas to 2,500 polling places.

The Students Learn Students Vote Coalition promotes civic learning and engagement on campuses across the country by providing a series of key steps and information on best practices that institutions can use to create a more voter-friendly campus.

Additionally, there is a voter engagement flavor for everybody. For example, HeadCount is a non-partisan organization that uses the power of music to register voters and promote participation in democracy at concerts. Gamers.Vote’s mission is to empower gamers to rally the 160+ million potential voters to register, vote, and participate in the democratic process at the federal state, and local levels. Drag Out The Vote is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works with drag performers to promote participation in democracy.

If the anecdote holds true that college campuses are a concentrated reflection of American society then it will be vitally important to fight against polarity that is starting to emerge in other realms of life. For example, Dr. Helen Fisher, the chief scientific advisor to the popular dating service Match.com, recently cited a study where 76% of respondents shared that is important to date someone who shares the same political view. According to Dr. Fisher that is an increase of 24% in just two years.

With the unique founding value of democracy and over 100 years of practice, Phi Mu Delta has the opportunity to play an important role on campus by bridging students with differing ideologies and helping put civility back into civil discourse.