Decades after the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, the fight to register voters continues.
Inspired by a book about the turmoil, the Honors College is helping students register to vote at several booths on and off campus through the Every Voice Registration Drive.
The drive, planned in preparation for the Oct. 22 gubernatorial election, will run through Sept. 19.
Honors students volunteered to work the registration drive after reading “Freedom Summer,” a book about civil rights in 1964.
“We want them to engage with the topic of the book in a real way,” said Mark Dochterman, student activities coordinator at the Honors College.
The registration drive is part of a service project in which many Honors College freshmen participate. More than 140 students volunteered to help register, he said.
According to Colette Childress, secondary education freshman, community service is the main theme of the Honors College.
“We are using the right we were given to register people to vote,” Childress said.
Turnout for voter registration has been surprisingly large, she said.
To register to vote, students must be 18 years old by the time of election and must be Louisiana residents. Students are required to fill out a 15-step form that includes students’ addresses and either a Social Security or driver’s license number. On-campus registration sites are located in front of the Journalism Building, the 459 Dining Hall and Free Speech Plaza.
 
____
Contact Josh Naquin at [email protected]