Election Night and the days which followed took University of Idaho by storm.
UI clubs are nonpartisan, serving students of all political beliefs. Several encouraged student voters to get to the polls on Election Day.
ASUI and an assortment of other organizations drove golf carts to help students who needed assistance getting to the Student Recreation Center polling location.
ASUI President Lauren Carlsen served as one of the drivers. The rides helped get voters to the doors faster, which improved morale, Carlsen said.
“Like all Americans, (we) are confused and anxious to see what happens regardless of the results,” Julia Keleher, director of the UI LGBTQA Office, said. “And I think it’s hard because (we knew) this election (would) be complicated.”
Before the election, students had the opportunity to publicly voice their opinions on freedom through the For Freedom Poster Project. This allowed students to voice what they’re thankful for in this country, what they’re working toward and what they do in times of stress, Carlsen said. ASUI’s academic affairs officer, Savannah Stroebel, was approached about the project during Faculty Senate.
The posters were not set up until after the recent windstorm, but they’re now displayed on the Administration Building Lawn.
ASUI also put together a legislative report card to educate people about policies, legislators and polling locations with a focus on the impact on students and higher education.
“There is so many different kinds of students, so I think everything impacts students because you’re toeing this line of adulthood and also being a student, which has its own (complications),” Carlsen said. “For a lot of us just leaving home and figuring how to be an educated citizen of society, there are a lot of things that impact students.”
It’s important for everyone, but especially students, to pay attention to and understand local politics, because local policies, elections and laws impact us personally and can change over time, Keleher said.
For example, the Moscow City Council has begun moving to make some public city bathrooms gender neutral, Keleher said. The Argonaut reported on this in coverage of the Nov. 4 City Council meeting.
Keleher and Carlsen both advise dealing with the stress of the election and politics by stopping in at the Counseling and Testing Center, talking to ASUI members or checking in with Dean of Students Blaine Eckles.
“No, we can’t necessarily change anything, but we can definitely talk about it, make sure to take feelings and abilities into consideration and any worries that students may have,” Carlsen said.
The CTC can be reached at (208) 885-6716 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is an emergency phone line open 24 hours a day at the same phone number.
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Emily _ A_ Pearce.