Final Reflections on DC

Our Duke Engage assignment is nearing its end as we are in the final week of our service. Wow, time really does fly - major DCProblem. Our group has seen so much in such a short amount of time. We've had the opportunity to witness the democratic process in various ways - listening to politicians speak, receiving multiple tours of Congress, witnessing a vote in the House and sitting in on a Rules committee hearing. We've also learned a ton about voter's rights and social inequalities.

On a lesser scale, we've learned life skills such as working in an office environment and living on our own. Hopefully, we can take these lessons from our 8 weeks and apply them as we continue in service, work and everyday life. Our Duke Engage professor, Kristin Goss, has been telling us that our little group is different. We are different from the rest of the Duke Engage groups in that Duke Engage DC feels more like an internship than a service trip. As I read and learn more about how extreme voter registration regulations disenfranchise so many different people, I can't help but think that this is very important service. Everyone deserves a say in the political process and hopefully we have been helpful in asserting that.

Last, but certainly not least, the six of us will always have our DCProblems.

The Happy Family :)
(From the left: Jacob, Me (Mitu), Katie, Alexa, Perry and Becca)

Taxation Without Representation

Last week, our little Duke Engage group gained some insight into a pretty huge problem in DC. We see it spelled out in front of us every day on the DC license tag, "Taxation without Representation." Our Duke Engage professor, Kristin Goss, invited a representative from DC Vote to dinner with us so we could learn more about DC's efforts to have a voice (DC currently has no voting representatives in Congress). To be completely honest, I never considered this much of an issue. I figured that since DC has three electoral votes, they didn't have much to complain about. Boy was I wrong.

During the dinner, Jennifer Matson, the representative from DC Vote, explained how much DC actually lacks in terms of rights. DC, without any sort of state recognition, has no voting representation in Congress. DC only has one nonvoting representative, Eleanor Holmes Norton, who serves on two committees: the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Without recognized statehood, DC also has to have its budget approved by the federal government and has thus been used as a bargaining chip in partisan politics. Not allowing DC to be a voting member of Congress essentially silences the more than half a million residents of DC. Check out this link to DC Vote's website for more information on this issue.

While listening to Jennifer speak about DC's issues, I thought about Rock the Vote and its message. People need to step out of their comfort zones and take a second to see what other problems people may have. Had Jennifer not agreed to speak with us, I would have probably continued to consider DC's lack of voting rights to be a problem but not a serious one. She personalized the issue and we got some insight into understanding why there needed to be a solution. I am very passionate about the issue of voter registration and ensuring universal voting rights, but not everyone feels the same way. Hopefully, pundits, politicians and any members of the the general public who paint the issue of a disenfranchised youth as a trivial one will step out of their comfort zones to get some insight on this troubling predicament.

Engaging the Youth

We are wrapping up week 5 here in the Rock the Vote office and it really was an exciting one. This past Wednesday, our very own Alexa Galan and Becca Ward got to go see President Clinton speak at a Campus Progress event for youth activists. Topically, he brought up voter registration laws and compared them to Jim Crow. Click here to read what he said. While Alexa and Becca were listening to a former president speak, Katie Scholick got to witness President Obama's twitter town hall. As she put it, they were close enough to make eye contact (yes, the rest of us were incredibly jealous - DCProblems). Our whole group got a tour of the capitol later in the afternoon by North Carolina representative, Virginia Foxx. She even had us sit in on a House Committee on Rules session and witness a vote.

All this interaction with politicians made me think of what Rock the Vote's president, Heather Smith (Duke grad!), calls a dangerous cycle. Politicians do not pay attention to youth constituents because they do not vote at high enough levels. Thus, youth constituents do not vote because they feel that politicians exclude them. Clearly, something has got to give. The rising levels of youth participating in philanthropic rather than political work proves that they are not apathetic. Young people want to make a difference and are trying to do so within their own means.

Strict voter registration laws and the current media portrayal of the youth as apathetic are detrimental to youth political engagement. Every day, politicians are making decisions that will have long term affects on my generation. I find it so frustrating that more isn't done to engage us. The twitter town hall was a great first step. Having a town hall via the internet allowed for anyone with access to a computer to join. The vast popularity and number of questions submitted by young people proves that they are interested in current political events.

Hopefully, more events like the twitter town hall will happen in the future - the youth want to be involved and need opportunities to engage.

Click here to read Katie Scholick's blog post about her experience at the Obama town hall.

Yes, Katie was actually this close to the President.

Rep. Virginia Foxx meets our Duke Engage family!

Overcoming DC Problems

       We are ending week four and are now ACTUALLY halfway through our Duke Engage experience at Rock the Vote. I know I've written this every time but time is honestly zooming by. Work is going well and we are now getting to see our projects come to fruition, which is pretty cool. There are six of us and five staff members so there's clearly work to be done. 

At first, our group did have trouble adjusting to the work that needed to be done that was outside of what we prepared to do. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job. I could not be any happier when I perform my Marketing intern duties. I'm sure the same goes for everyone else in the group as far as their respective job positions go. We have, however, learned to swallow our pride and do whatever else needs to be done (you know, overcoming our DC Problems – please don’t think we let that inside joke die). For example, we sat down for a lot of Thursday and Friday last week to label, stuff and seal envelopes to send to donors. Believe me, you would be sadly surprised to find out how long it took us college students to figure out the proper method of assembly line. But it's fine; we figured it out, and the embarrassing road to figuring it out stays between the six of us. 

At first, I was not thrilled to label, stuff and seal what seemed to be an endless pile of envelopes, but then I remembered the significance of what we're doing. Rock the Vote is a nonprofit and thus needs donors and support. What we were doing with those letters was just as important if not more important than some of the other jobs we've done. We're learning that, as interns, we are called to do whatever Rock the Vote needs us to do. To be completely honest, the assembly line was one of the coolest experiences I've had this summer. Every member of the company pitched in - it turned into quite the communal bonding experience with everyone cracking jokes and getting to know each other better. I know you’re dying to know the final assembly line setup so here it is: the VP of marketing & communications pulled a letter and handed it to the president to sign, who passed it down to an intern and a couple staff members to stuff into an envelope, who finally passed the envelope to another staff member and me to seal. Pretty solid system, right? 

On another note, forty years ago this day, we ratified the 26th Amendment allowing 18 year olds the right to vote. Meaning, at the time when it was debated and subsequently passed, kids were being drafted and serving in the Vietnam War without a say in electing the politicians deciding what was going on in the war. The 26th Amendment's passage allows for the youth to have a say in what happens in this country (especially with issues that directly affect them) and I am more than happy to do anything for Rock the Vote in order to not halt that progress. 

Witnessing History

Here in DC, we are starting week 4 and are currently freaking out at being almost halfway through this incredible experience. I feel like it was just yesterday when we were trying to figure out if our cabbie was cheating us on the way from the airport to our intern housing (jury's still out on that one - seriously). We've already gone grocery shopping about three times and we are now nearly registered experts at being adults in a city as amazing as this one.

Last week, we went to the film premiere of the "Barber of Birmingham." The movie is about Civil Rights foot soldier, James Armstrong, who carried the flag in the Civil Rights marches in Alabama. He survived the police brutality and harsh discrimination in the South while marching and performing sit-ins. He even demonstrated in the "Bloody Sunday" march on Selma and proudly proclaimed that amidst all the chaos, he never let his flag touch the ground. He was one of the foot soldiers who would have remained nameless had the documentarians not chosen to make a movie about him. At the film premiere, his four children spoke about his fight - about him always being ready to march even in his old age. After his children spoke, a Civil Rights foot soldier, Amelia Boynton Robinson, took to the podium. She said that we (those who are voting now because of her and other foot soldiers' efforts) were standing on her shoulders and we needed to quote, "get off and start our own fight." She called the youth to action and told us that if we could not vote, we were second class citizens. While she was speaking, I could not have been more proud of Rock the Vote's efforts. Rock the Vote and other organizations dedicated to asserting the rights of all voters are continuing the fight of these Civil Rights foot soldiers. I was in awe of the audience at the premiere and all that they had done to secure my right to vote.

In addition to learning about African-Americans securing their right to vote, we learned about the women's suffrage movement from our Duke Engage professor. She took us to the Sewall-Belmont House (headquarters of the National Woman's Party) and invited us to her home to show us the movie, "Iron Jawed Angels." The movie brought to life what we saw in the Sewall-Belmont House. We witnessed people abuse and fight women simply because they wanted a say - a right to vote. After the movie, our professor invited Nancy Tate, the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters, to come and speak to us. The League is a continuation of the National Woman's Party. Ms. Tate discussed the fight that the League has continued in order to ensure that everyone has a right to vote. Mainly, she discussed the new voter registration laws that will make it much harder to vote, including strict photo I.D. and residential requirements. Again, I was in awe of what women like Alice Paul did with the National Woman's Party to secure the right to vote and what people like the League of Women Voters are doing to make sure that the right to vote does not go away.

We have come so far in society, especially here in the States, and I would hate to see that progress go backward. We need groups like Rock the Vote, the League of Women Voters and the League of Young Voters to continue the fight for equality so that all of us can be first-class citizens.

Lessons in Faking Adulthood

Here in DC, we're on week three of our Rock the Vote experience. Last week and especially the week before were centered around the release of Rock the Vote's report card of the fifty states and their voter registration practices. Things are starting to pick up now as we settle into our individual roles. There are six of us and five Rock the Vote staff members in the office. Obviously, this is the perfect equation for a mutiny. Rather than plan intern revolt, we’ve been learning a ton from each of our bosses. Each intern is assigned a job and a boss who specializes in the field. For example, I am the marketing intern and I work for the V.P. of Marketing and Communications. We are learning from and about our bosses, and are benefiting from the one-on-one experience. Rock the Vote does not believe in busy work because they do not have the time nor number of staffers to give us menial jobs. We get to work on big projects and are already happily seeing the payoff from our labor. 

One especially cool part of this job is getting to play grown-up. We have deadlines, lunch breaks and weekly staff meetings. Our group also pledged daily gym trips – so post work (from 9am-6pm), we head over to Fitness First and have Becca train us in weights. Clearly, we’ll be in top fencing shape with guns of steel by the end of this trip. Now, I totally get why my parents are in bed by 10pm every night. By the time we work, get home from the gym and make/get dinner, I’m exhausted. Seriously, muy cansado. (Major DC Problems - yes, we are still cranking out Inside Jokes like it's our job) Despite the fact that staying up late during the weekend meant a Friday bedtime of 11:30pm (I know, we’re rebels), I'd like to think we’re having a pretty great time. Our tight knit family is a support group. We hold each other accountable (especially if one of us accidentally sleeps in) and challenge each other to try new things. For example, we were all pretty tired last night but we had planned on seeing the monuments at night. While we could have stayed home and slept, we decided to go. 

Sight seeing in DC has been one of the most rewarding experiences. This city is full of history and we are actively trying to learn as much as possible about it. Honestly, the Washington National Monument was breathtaking at night, the World War II memorial was touching, the monkeys at the Zoo are adorable, the Capitol Building is full of rich history (the inside mural took multiple painters – one was fired after painting his own face in a tree and another quit after almost falling) and the Lincoln Memorial is much bigger than you’d think. Here are some pictures of our trip so far!

 The Lincoln Memorial 

 The Washington National Monument at night

 The WWII Memorial and the Washington National Monument 

 The Lincoln Memorial

 The most adorable Orangutan at the zoo

Becca choking Alexa - our not so perfect family

 The awkward Alpaca - he had just finished peeing

 The Potomac River

The Capitol

The Capitol

Just a Collection of Inside Jokes: DC Problems

          So we've been in DC for what feels like weeks - it's actually only been one week. Time is certainly not going by slowly, we have a ton of work that we're doing so the day actually zooms by. The reason it feels like weeks is that we are so settled here. DC automatically started feeling like home. Our group clicks really well (none of us really knew each other, but we became fast friends) and our apartment came equipped with anything we might need to make it more "homey." As we sat around and decided what we would put into this blog, we kept cracking inside jokes (we have way too many for a group that's only known each other for six days). One example of an inside joke is us using the phrase, "DC Problems." "DC Problem" is a turn of the phrase "First-World Problems" since our biggest problem so far has been securing more plates for our apartment and wi-fi without an ethernet cord. 

          One a more serious note, I was strongly considering the idea that our trip actually was not as important or impacting as the other trips enlisted by the Duke Engage trip. To be honest, we are living a pretty cushy life here in DC. Our apartment is in a great location surrounded by the zoo and some of the best restaurants in the world. We even checked out a restaurant yesterday called We the Pizza that was opened by some Food Network Star (seriously, everyone needs to check it out). 

          While I was considering our trip and its importance, the Rock the Vote report card came out for states and their ability to facilitate youth votes. Then it hit me, what we're doing as interns at Rock the Vote is incredibly important. The only way to make true change in society to benefit an ignored group such as the youth requires true policy changes. Out work at Rock the Vote is providing the steps necessary to ensure those necessary policy changes. The average score for a state was 41%. The youth face so many hurdles when it comes to registering to vote such as out of state I.D. laws and lack of early voting. Currently, the youth are painted as a lazy and apathetic group. The truth is quite the contrary with record numbers of our generation getting out and changing the world through volunteer work. We are making a difference any way that we know how. Now it's time for us to get and assert a voice in the policy world. We need to advocate for better voter registration laws in order to secure our representation. The government passes way too many laws that affect us without our say (see: basically every policy on the docket). We, at Rock the Vote, are going to work hard to change that. If you want to check out how your state did, click here.