When Austin Pawar woke up on Monday, he thought his day would be like any other, but when he went home later that night, he returned as a registered voter.
Pawar, a sophomore history major, can vote in the November election due to the Ohio Student Activist Alliance’s (OSAA) Day of Action. In addition to registering students to vote, the event educated students about higher education in state legislation, invited students to advocate on any topic they’re passionate about and hosted student organizations to inform others about their mission and beliefs.
Miami’s chapter of the Ohio Student Association (OSA) was one of the organizations tabling at the event. OSA president Rag Banerjee, a sophomore public health and policy administration double major, said she worked closely with the organizers for OSAA in the past and wanted to educate students about some of the current state legislation.
“We’re all about getting out and talking to the students, hearing their voices, and that’s exactly what we’re here to do today,” Banerjee said. “Getting people registered to vote, [that’s] our kind of party.”
Ohio Student Association president Rag Banerjee stood at one of the corners during the Day of Action to educate students about some of the current state legislation.
The event took place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. outside Armstrong Student Center on the corners of Maple and Spring Streets.
Olivia Gallo, one of the organizers of the event, said the location was partly chosen because of its central location on campus but also because of her success with hosting events there in the past.
In May, Gallo helped organize a protest outside Armstrong for the state’s Senate Bill 83 (S.B. 83) which would limit diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training, outline who can and cannot strike and prohibit professors from taking a stance on controversial subjects such as climate and foreign policy, electoral politics, immigration and abortion.
“Last year, with the S.B.83 protests, we got a lot of people just walking by and chatting,” Gallo said. “In addition to that, we really wanted this event to be multifaceted.”
And that was true around noon that day, as students passing by stopped to participate. Pawar was on his way to Spanish class but decided to stop in order to register to vote.
“Voting is important to me, but it depends on what is on the ballot,” Pawar said.
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Students could register to vote during OSAA's Day of Action.
Gavin Meeker, a sophomore robotics major, heard about the event after it was promoted in a club’s group chat. He made sure to stop outside Armstrong to fill out his absentee ballot.
“Last year, I forgot to [get a ballot] before the date, and this year, I was like, ‘I really have to do it, so I can actually vote before the date,’” Meeker said.
As of noon on Monday, more than 20 students were registered to vote, and Gallo was impressed by the turnout.
“It makes me so emotional to be here because I feel like right now our country is so divided and we’re just here to say that students have a voice,” Gallo said. “Whatever your voice is, we want to hear it.”
Students had an opportunity to join OSAA and take their survey.
Miami joined the University of Cincinnati, Kent State University, Ohio University and the Ohio State University in participating in OSAA’s Day of Action. Although the Day of Action is the first event Miami’s OSAA is hosting, this is just the beginning.
The day is a precursor to a larger project called the Young People’s Platform. The project is a survey available to all Ohio college students to poll what students care about.
The survey asks students to rank the top five out of 14 issues that are most important to them, and they are asked how they feel their campus administration would respond to those issues. It also evaluates student awareness of different activism organizations on campus.
Those responses will be evaluated and presented at a conference in the spring.
“[OSAA] wants to say, ‘What do you care most about? What do you care least about?’ and that ranges from reproductive rights, K-12 education, climate change, gun control, all kinds of major issues that we would care about,” said Gallo, who was hoping to receive 200 responses by the end of the day.
For those interested in completing the form, click here for more information.
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