President’s speeches, letters, and articles
Subject: Your Vote Counts—A Reflection on the Midterm Elections
November 7, 2018
Many of us are a little bleary-eyed this morning from a long and exciting night of U.S. election returns, which revealed historic voting participation around the country. While my role requires that I keep my opinions about the results to myself, I want to take a moment to thank the Reed students, faculty, and staff who encouraged participation in this election and to celebrate an election that has delivered a more diverse leadership to national, local, and state offices.
To name a few:
- A record-breaking wave of female candidates ran for office, and at least 100 women were elected to the House
- The first Native American women were elected to Congress
- The first Muslim women were elected to Congress
- The first openly gay man was elected as governor
- The youngest woman ever was elected to Congress
- Several states elected their first person of color for the positions of Congress-person, Governor, and Attorney General
Reed graduate Suzan DelBene ’83 was reelected to her position in the House. And Christine Lewis ’07 will be the new councilor for Metro District 2, which encompasses our regional parts of Southwest Portland and Clackamas County.
The results listed above indicate that voting is still an effective method for raising our voices. Thank you for your efforts over the past few months to get out the vote.
- SEEDS (Students for Education, Empowerment, and Direct Service) and the Voter Engagement Working Group, led by Tara Miller, created a social media voter turnout campaign, conducted a tabling on National Voter Registration Day, executed a “Local Elections Matter” event, and provided voting resources, envelopes, and stamps for students.
- All student mailboxes were supplied with Oregon voter registration cards, followed by an email to all students from Kristin Holmberg, Director of Student Engagement, explaining how to register to vote in Oregon.
- Students were sent election reminders through Student Body Info emails.
- A “Helpful Voting Information” email was sent to faculty and staff by Emily Hebbron, Faculty Administrative Coordinator.
- Voter turnout posters were posted everywhere around campus.
- An Election Night Watch Party was sponsored by Reed's political science department. I stopped by early in the evening to find students from around the country nervously watching returns in their home states, alongside faculty and staff members.
- Professor Paul Gronke continued to provide his expertise on elections and electoral behavior, both here at Reed with his co-taught class with Professor Chris Koski that closely predicted the major seat change in the House, and to major news sources including Slate.com, The Washington Post, and Al Jazeera.
Your passion for the issues framed in this election, and your participation in its outcomes, has inspired my hope for the future.
Onward,
Hugh