Lone Star College System earns ‘engaged campus’ recognition for student voting

HOUSTON, TX -- The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge again recognized Lone Star College System for its civic engagement efforts in the recent general election. This time, the college system was named a 2024 ALL IN Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting for increased student participation.

“This recognition acknowledges the efforts that Lone Star College and its Center for Civic Engagement are making to help our students and community understand the importance of elections while providing them with resources so they can make informed decisions,” said Michele Richey, LSC-Montgomery sociology professor and civic engagement campus coordinator.

LSCS is one of 471 colleges and universities recognized for outstanding efforts to increase nonpartisan student voter participation in the 2024 election. ALL IN selected the honorees based on four core actions:

• participating in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge,
• sharing 2022 NSLVE Reports with campus voting data with ALL IN,
• developing and submitting a 2024 democratic engagement action plan with ALL IN and
• having a current signatory to ALL IN’s Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation.
  

“One of Lone Star College’s core objectives is personal responsibility and our voter engagement efforts are just one of the many ways we demonstrate personal responsibility in action,” said Richey.

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. Campuses that join the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge complete a set of action items, with the support of ALL IN staff, to institutionalize nonpartisan civic learning and voter participation on their campus.

“The research is clear: colleges and universities that intentionally increase nonpartisan democratic engagement have higher campus voter registration and voter turnout rates,” said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge executive director. “This year, we saw more colleges than ever step up their efforts to ensure that their students were registered and ready to make their voices heard at the ballot box.”

The LSC Center for Civic Engagement aims to get more students involved in activities that promote participation, advocacy, social justice and sustainability. For the election process, the program engages student voters through voter registration drives, deliberative dialogue events and community-based service-learning projects.

“The college is creating a culture of expectation and responsibility around voting,” said Richey. “Democracy only works if the people are part of the process; building lifelong habits of voting and being informed will benefit democracy.”

Learn more about the Lone Star College Center for Civic Engagement at LoneStar.edu/CivicEngagement.