Senior Otto Brown steps down as SU Election Commissioner, plans to continue STL civic work after graduation

NATASHA CHUKA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A Gephardt Institute

Bob & Gerry Virgil Civic Scholar, a St. Louis County election worker, and a Missouri Notary Public, Senior Otto Brown has demonstrated his irrefutable passion for civic engagement throughout his four years at Washington University. Brown is majoring in both Economics and Political Science, and has been involved in election work and voter education since he first stepped foot on campus.

“I really value the democratic process and democracy and having an informed citizenry,” Brown said of his passion for politics. “I think that’s a central part of the American story that we’ve lost.”

Before beginning his voter work on campus, Brown noted that the Common Reading Program (CRP) played a pivotal role in his engagement. The CRP was a former part of Washington University’s Bear Beginnings for incoming first-year students, during which students are assigned a book to read over the summer.

Brown said that his book conversation was facilitated by the previous Associate Director of Civic Engagement at the Gephardt Institute, Theresa Kouo, who was one of the first people he met at the University. It was through her and through this experience that he initially became involved with civic engagement.

During Brown’s first semester in the fall of 2019, the Democratic Debates were in full swing. “I was really interested in the electoral process,” Brown said. “I got involved by watching the Democratic Debate watch parties at the Gephardt Institute.”

The opportunity ultimately introduced him to WashU Votes, a student organization that emphasizes voter education and engagement. Originally a graduate-student-led club, Brown was one of three undergraduate students elected to leadership positions as the club transitioned to being undergraduateled. Brown has served as co-chair of WashU Votes for two years.

In his four years at the University, Brown has fostered his interest in election work through various on and off-campus

SEE BROWN, PAGE 5

“readerly communities’’ that consume true crime are often the suburban white woman who is relatively distanced from the threat of violence itself. What may understanding the target demographic of true crime literature have to tell us about its study writ large? Windle comments, “It’s fascinating to think about what readers are getting out of true crime when they consume it.”

When considering true crime in a more removed and academic manner, the way Windle’s class does, different questions are interrogated: Whose story am I consuming? Who is involved in the re-telling of

ILLUSTRATION BY CHARLOTTE CHEN

this story, and how are they benefitting? What may they not be saying?

Windle admitted to being a fan of true crime, as are many students who enroll in the course. Her class offers an opportunity to interrogate the widespread fascination with the genre, and question how it functions both as entertainment, and as a reflection of greater systemic issues.

But Windle said at the core, the fascination with true crime stories is simple. “We can’t look away from the crime, and also our interest in it,” she said.