Barry University has been designated as a “Voter Friendly Campus” for 2021–2022, thanks to the success of the Campus Democracy Project (CDP).
“Your institution is part of a select group of campuses from around the country that participated [in the Voter Friendly Campus designation process] and received the designation,” the administrators said in an email to the Center for
Barry is one of only 15 higher education institutions in Florida that have received the designation this year.
The Voter Friendly Campus administrators added: “Your institution’s efforts, despite great challenges presented by Covid-19, to break down barriers and empower students with the information and tools they need to participate in the political process [led] to [a] historic youth voter turnout and opened the door to lifelong civic engagement for your students.”
In 2019, the university developed a major plan to increase civic learning, political engagement, and voting rates among students. And last May, the CDP Committee submitted Barry’s Democratic Engagement Action Plan to the administrators of the Voter Friendly Campus designation: FairElectionsCenter’s Campus Vote Project and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. The nonpartisan administrators evaluated the plan as “established,” which means it was placed in the top category of such plans.
Implementation of the Democratic Engagement Action Plan, which had got underway at the start of the 2019–2020 academic year, intensified in the run-up to the 2020 elections.
As the university worked toward the Voter Friendly Campus designation for 2021–2022, the CDP promoted participation in the democratic process through voter registration, education, and mobilization, which involved the creative use of online platforms and social media.
Some 20 students at Barry were registered as first-time voters in 2020.
A National Voter Registration Day event in September, Barry’s Florida 2020 Ballot Forum in October, political debate watch discussions, and a “vote” art contest were among a slew of focused activities that engaged Barry’s campuses and produced outcomes that demonstrated significant success in voter education and engagement. A walk to the polls—billed “Exercise Your Right … Exercise Yourself”—rounded out a challenging year in civic learning and democratic engagement.
Throughout calendar year 2020, students were offered nonpartisan educational resources covering such topics as voting rights, ballot issues, voting methods, candidates, voter registration, and polling place information. “Know Before You Go” tips were posted on social media for students’ benefit.
A notable achievement was the broadening and strengthening of the CDP coalition for year-round work.
The CCSI established Barry’s Campus Democracy Project in 2012 to encourage voting among students and to foster interest in political issues at the local, state, and national levels.
In 2020, CDP Committee membership increased to 20 with the addition of representatives of Intercollegiate Athletics, the School of Law, the School of Podiatric Medicine, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and the Division of Business and Finance. They joined representatives of Campus Ministry, the CCSI, the College Democrats, the College Republicans, the Department of History and Political Science, the Department of Housing and Residence Life, the Office of Mission Engagement, the Office of Student Life, the School of Business, the School of Education, the School of Social Work, and the Student Government Association.
The CCSI, in association with the CDP Committee, submitted Barry’s Campus Report to Campus Vote Project and NASPA on January 31.