Spring 2015 semester wrap-up

UT Votes ends its spring 2015 semester today at 7pm at Austin's Pizza for some good food and trivia!

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Clink onward to read more about of spring semester activities including our first ever high school Democracy Class, our special VDR recognition, and next year's new UT Votes program coordinator.



Travis County VDR Recognition
The spring semester started off with a bang - on January 15, 2015, we celebrated democracy with a special Travis County VDR recognition and training, held in the spacious LBJ Library.

 

UT Votes and Strauss alums were in attendance. Annette Strauss Director Dr. Regina Lawrence gave the inspiring keynote on the importance of voting and how to engage citizens who ask, 'Why bother?'

UT Votes Vice President Zachary Foust received special recognition for registering over 100 voters in Travis County, thereby becoming a member of the "100 Club."

Democracy Class

A large portion of the semester was spent adapting and conducting Rock the Vote's Democracy Class. Using RtV's original lesson plan, we updated the information to include an informative presentation with Texas specific facts. The lesson involved a discussion on issues important to the students, a mock election, and voter registration. We took Democracy Class to two Travis high school government classes and had a wonderful time talking with students. For more details and a step-by-step plan to help you conduct your own local Democracy Class, take a look at our program guide.

Go Rebels!

Campus Events
In other campus news, we tabled at the spring student organization fair and the civic engagement fair registering students to vote. We also created a social media initiative placing fliers around campus encouraging students to voice their thoughts on voting rights using the hashtag #UTCivicTalk.

New UT Votes Coordinator
Next fall, we welcome a new UT/TX Votes coordinator to the Annette Strauss Institute, Ms. Kassie Barroquillo. Kassie will be working toward her PhD in journalism. She is interested in community journalism, both the business structures that allow small newspapers to continue to exist and the ability of small newspapers to impact civic involvement in their communities.

Kassie currently works as an English teacher, sports writer and photographer, and tennis coach in the north east corner of Indiana. In her spare time, Kassie likes to snowboard, play with her cats, read, and cheer for her younger brother’s wrestling team.