VOTE RIOT: Warren Wilson College’s New Voter Mobilization Contest
Eli Styles | September 27, 2023
On Sept. 19, Associate Dean of Community & Global Engagement Anna Welton sent an email to the student body of Warren Wilson College (WWC) officially announcing VOTE RIOT, a nonpartisan voter mobilization effort and social media campaign contest.
The contest will run from Oct. 5 to Nov. 30. WWC students, individually or in teams of two to three, are challenged to create a social media campaign that encourages other college-aged students to vote and educates them about why voting is important.
But that’s not all: the winner and runner-up of VOTE RIOT will be awarded $5000 and $3000 cash prizes respectively. This money could be a game-changer for many WWC students, especially those who do not have the time or transportation to get a job off-campus. The position is roughly a 65-hour time commitment over the course of the fall semester.
The money for VOTE RIOT was generously donated by local, retired businessman and political advisor Stephen Herbits. Herbits has a long, detailed history with politics and is passionate about mobilizing the next generation of voters to get to the polls.
On top of the cash prizes for the two strongest social media campaigns, $1,000 stipends are to be given to four current WWC students serving as Student Voting Ambassadors for VOTE RIOT. These students are a part of the VOTE RIOT team, which also includes four faculty members.
Welton, who has been working at WWC for nine years, is one of these faculty members and the “point person” of the VOTE RIOT team. She is passionate about the cause and is looking forward to the contest getting up and running.
“I think that Warren Wilson has a lot of potential to get the word out [about voting] in ways that are really powerful,” Welton said. “I’m excited to engage students down ballot with more local politicians because there’s a lot of passion in our student body. Supporting students to figure out how to make their votes count as much as possible so they can support the issues they’re passionate about feels really important.”
VOTE RIOT is targeted towards Generation Z, more specifically 18-25-year-olds.
“Whether or not that demographic actually turns out the vote could be the strongest determinant of who wins the election in 2024,” Welton said. “So convincing young people their vote matters is really important to me.”
Robert Miller, a history professor at WWC and another faculty member on the VOTE RIOT team, agreed with Welton.
“I think it’s easy, perhaps, to feel like one’s individual vote doesn’t matter,” Miller said. “But it really matters. Putting aside the whole presidential question, locally, it matters tremendously. In local and state elections, [Gen Z] could change everything.”
Miller himself spent time as a political activist before coming to teach WWC.
“Back then it was about trying to stop the war,” Miller said. “But those kinds of political memories, and then thinking about how close things were both in the presidential [and local] sphere[s], just often a few votes one way or another, always gave me the sense that every single vote matters.”
This is the ultimate goal of VOTE RIOT—to get students to understand that their vote has weight no matter how hopeless the political realm may seem. As a history professor, Miller has a lot of insight into the power of voting.
“History is not just about the past; it’s about the present, it’s about the future,” Miller said. “And if we think about all the different possibilities where victories did happen for working-class people, for marginalized communities, and we think about how those were successful in shifting the arc of justice, then we can think about the future in terms of possibility instead of simply dystopia.”
Madison England, a senior on the Inside Out Crew, is one of the four Student Voting Ambassadors chosen for VOTE RIOT. She decided to apply after seeing the initial email from the Center for Experiential Learning about the position.
“I think it’s good to find a way to connect people to wanting to vote,” England said. “The political system is not ideal and it can be really frustrating for a lot of people, specifically in this age range, who feel like [their vote] doesn’t really matter because everything is already corrupt.”
This is a sentiment that many people share. Young voters have become discouraged by the political climate that they came of age in and are losing faith in the system. Alongside this, it has been estimated that there were 8 million more new voters in the 2022 midterms than in the 2020 presidential election. It is more important than ever for this demographic of people to vote, but many of them are shying away from it.
“While [the large systemic issues] are super frustrating, it’s still worth it to vote,” England said. “Even while you’re trying to work towards bigger changes happening, it’s still good to make sure you’re voting in what’s already existing. If everyone who’s tired of [the system] stops voting, the people who are still voting might not be promoting the things that we all want to happen.”
As a Student Voting Ambassador, England will be working to reignite the passion for voting in fed-up college students. She will also work to get the word out about the VOTE RIOT contest and serve as a bridge between the faculty and the student body.
Many believe it to be significant that VOTE RIOT is making its start at WWC. The significance can be skewed in a critical or encouraging light. In terms of the former, some feel that students at WWC are a little out of touch with the true importance of voting.
“There are many people here that are interested in living off the land, and it’s great to be sustainable,” England said. “But it’s also important to remember that there are people around us that need representation and resources. Not everyone has the opportunity to step away from the rest of society. There are a lot of people actively living within systems that aren’t taking care of them. We need to remember that, and to make sure that we’re voting and staying as aware as we can of things bigger than us.”
Another worry about the contest is WWC students’ lack of social media presence. Despite this, leaders are still optimistic about the contest’s beginning. There are many activists within the WWC student body who are sure to make a splash through VOTE RIOT.
The primary hope for this contest is student engagement and creativity. Every WWC student is welcome to participate and get involved in voter mobilization at the college.
“We all have to learn what this next generation wants,” Miller said. “And I think it’s time for Generation Z to show its radical potentiality.”
If you are planning to enter the VOTE RIOT social media campaign contest, you must attend the kickoff event in Canon Lounge on Oct. 5 from 5:30-7 p.m. Until then, you may direct any questions about VOTE RIOT to Amy Welton (awelton@warren-wilson.edu) or get in touch with one of the rest of the VOTE RIOT team.