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.