HGSE Admissions Blog

The all-inclusive HGSE experience is about opportunities beyond the classroom. We asked several students to share their experience with different social organizations. Lauren Dorst is in HGSE’s Higher Education master’s program and shares her experience as a member of the Harvard Votes Challenge.

Tell us about your organization:

The Harvard Votes Challenge (HVC) is a non-partisan civic engagement initiative committed to increasing voter registration and participation among eligible voters in the Harvard community. Whether a student has voted in a presidential or midterm election before or is casting a ballot for the first time, the HVC ensures all voters have the tools to register, find their polling location, understand their ballot, make a voter plan, and energize community members to do the same. In line with Harvard’s mission to “educate citizens and citizen-leaders,” the HVC strives to inform and embolden students to not only follow through in their pledge to vote in the upcoming election, but commit to a lifetime of engagement as voters and voting ambassadors.  

What events or programming do you have planned for the year?  

The HVC is coming off of National Voter Education Week (October 5th-9th) where organizers hosted events and shared resources about upcoming voter deadlines, how to vote by mail, the importance of local elections, and the value of a single vote. Programming and education series’ will ramp up as we approach the November 3rd election, and continue throughout the academic year as we strive to help newly eligible voters register for future elections and create continuity in students’ civic involvement.   

Why did you join this group? 

I got involved with the HVC while interning at The Institute of Politics (IOP) at the Harvard Kennedy School. The position gave me to the opportunity to marry my passion for supporting student activism and civic efficacy with the mobilization efforts of student programs like the HVC that help get students voter-ready. With the 2020 election on the horizon, it is more important than ever that students feel empowered when voting, recognize the value of their vote, and understand the power of participating in local elections. Ballot initiatives are an integral way for all voters to influence change within their communities and support the policies that affect those they care about and who may be unable to access the polls or are ineligible to vote. Anyone can develop civic competence and through the HVC, all students, regardless of eligibility, have the opportunity to gain confidence and get involved in civic engagement at Harvard and beyond.   

How is the online format of your organization different from the in-person format?  

Civic engagement work doesn’t pause during a pandemic; it becomes even more important. While the HVC has gone virtual this year, organizers are still working to make the HVC a pervasive presence at Harvard, launching a texting hotline and mobilizing teams of student leaders among Harvard’s 12 degree-granting schools to help answer voting questions and connect with students remotely. We may no longer be able to reach our community members by door-knocking or tabling near their residential dorms, but the shift to online learning has provided an opportunity for new and creative approaches. During the past several weeks, we have launched robust pledge campaigns via email and social media, created educational videos and multimedia series’, incorporated the HVC’s work into virtual events, and utilized administrative and faculty support to reach zoom classrooms and the broader community. The new format has come with silver linings. As students are learning and working in diverse locations around the nation and globally, they are arguably even better positioned to share the HVC’s message and tools to educate their local community about the importance of voting.