Voting Does Not Make Democracy
In her column for Forbes, President Mariko Silver writes about the year-round civic engagement efforts—including, but not limited to voting—that create a robust democracy.
Though voting is often touted as a primary civic responsibility, Silver argues that voting is only one outgrowth of a functional democracy and that additional democratic behaviors extend into daily life: "the real work of running communities and organizations, of disagreeing with our neighbors and finding compromises with which we can all live."
In particular, college students are uniquely positioned to begin incubating these engaged democratic habits, testing political ideas and governing processes, discovering their own agency, and organizing for the greater good.
"This Tuesday, I hope college students turn out in record numbers to vote for whichever candidates inspire them," writes Silver. "I hope they prove the doubters wrong and demonstrate that Generation Z is as politically engaged as every preceding generation. But the real work also happens on Wednesday, and every day thereafter, to foster an environment of action, civility and aspirations for a more robust democracy."
Vote, but don't stop there.
President Mariko Silver