Victors Vote: Educate, Empower and Excite
10/30/2020 10:00:00 AM | Field Hockey, Football, General, Men's Soccer, Men's Track & Field, Women's Basketball, Women's Gymnastics, Rowing, Women's Track & Field, Volleyball, Features
By Barbara Cossman
As director of the Michigan Athletics Leadership Development Team -- and a University of Michigan football letterwinner himself -- Brian Townsend sees first-hand the incredible ways in which U-M's student-athletes make an impact. This summer, as part of the Big Ten's Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition voting initiative, he helped advise Victors Vote, a committee comprised of 10 Michigan student-athlete leaders who are committed to being active participants in their community and in democracy.
"I'm proud of our Michigan student-athletes for becoming informed voters and influencing others to actively participate in the election process," Townsend said.
Established in June, Victors Vote focuses on three pillars: educating, empowering and exciting the campus community and beyond to participate in the election process. They've worked in partnership with U-M's Turn Up Turnout -- a student group on campus whose goal is "to increase voter registration and voter turnout among 18- to 24-year-olds in midterm and local elections" -- and U-M's Ginsberg Center, the Big Ten Conference, RISE and the State of Michigan's Secretary of State office. And as with everything since March, it was all done virtually, making it that much more impressive.
The education and empowerment part of the equation has included multiple virtual workshops covering topics such as "What is Civic Engagement," the history of voting, and learning about the November ballot itself. Earlier in October, Victors Vote launched an informational social media campaign during National Voter Education Week. They provided information on voting checklists, helping people register, stressing the importance of educating yourself on your ballot, and requesting mail-in ballots.
"Voting is one of the best ways to implement change in our society that needs systemic changes on many different levels," said Carlos Tellez, a senior on the men's soccer team from Hollywood, Fla. "Over the past few months, I believe the people that make up the committee have embarked on a significant educational journey, and the Victors Vote group was one of the ways to put what we learned into action.
"For example, until really taking the time to educate myself on the importance of voting, I was entirely unaware of how slim the margins of victory were in some Michigan districts in the 2016 election. This fact really resonated with me as it showed that every vote truly matters. Through the actions of Victors Vote, we attempted to truly drive home the importance and value of voting."
It's no surprise that time is a hot commodity for student-athletes. Providing voter registration opportunities and allowing for time to go vote seems rather basic, but in truth can be a challenge when balancing time commitments of both academics and athletics. This fall, at the behest of the national Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the NCAA Division I Council approved civic engagement legislation that prohibits practice and competition on the first Tuesday of November every year with the intent of making it easier for student-athletes to vote and be civically engaged.
The Ann Arbor campus also made it easier for all students, faculty and staff to register to vote and cast early absentee ballots in-person. The University partnered with the City of Ann Arbor to provide a satellite location for the City Clerk at the Museum of Art (UMMA) on central campus.
And what would any Michigan Athletics initiative be without good, healthy competition? That's where the excitement factored in. Another social media campaign was pushed out as a Team Voter Registration Challenge in an attempt to get 100 percent of U-M's eligible student-athletes to register to vote. As of mid-October, 14 teams achieved 100 percent registration: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's cross country, women's golf, women's gymnastics, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, and volleyball.
The Michigan volleyball team has been learning about elections in other countries from foreign-born teammates and coaches.
Volleyball head coach Mark Rosen and his team took a slightly different approach to civic engagement. With the intent of volunteering at polling stations on Election Day, they applied to be workers but weren't needed. So instead, they took the opportunity to educate themselves on a broader scale.
Wednesdays have been a team activity day for Rosen's squad this fall. On those days, they often participate in leadership training with Townsend and Colette Hemker, Assistant Director of Leadership and Community Engagement. On the Wednesday before Election Day though, the theme turned to international elections, thanks to their student-athletes -- Kiara Shannon of Oshawa, Ontario, and Jenni Liu of Berlin, Germany -- and assistant coach Jerome Fraisse, who came to Ann Arbor by way of Grenoble, France. It proved to be a unique educational opportunity for the team.
"With our international student-athletes and coach, they couldn't be involved (in the voting process), so they contributed by educating all of us on the election process in their countries," Rosen said. "We asked questions; is there a voting age like in the U.S.? What percentage of people vote? Does it take place on one day or is it a longer period of time? What are their political parties like? We learned some interesting information about how other countries approach elections, and what factors would be important to each of them if they were voting in this election."
From learning about candidates and their platforms, voter suppression, and getting the word out on the importance of simply casting a vote, Michigan student-athletes are making sure they have voice while encouraging others to use theirs as well.
As Townsend said, "I hope you'll find inspiration in the great work our student-athletes have been doing to become active participants in our democracy."
Victors Vote Committee Members
- Roland Amarteifio, men's track and field
- Kate Burney, field hockey
- Haven Essien, rowing
- Lauren Farley, women's gymnastics
- Naz Hillmon, women's basketball
- Briana Nelson, women's track and field
- Hunter Reynolds, football
- Jeri Rhodes, rowing
- Adam Shibley, football
- Carlos Tellez, men's soccer
Top 10 Themes Michigan Student-Athletes Want to Learn More About Prior to the Election
- Vote by Mail
- Registering to Vote - Changing locations
- The Issues
- Finding Polling Location
- Party Affiliation
- Roles and Responsibilities of Congress
- Voter Identification
- Voter Suppression
- Sample Ballots - What am I voting on?
- The Candidates: their platforms and where to find unbiased and accurate information
"It's saying what you stand for, and just importantly it's often saying what you stand against."
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 24, 2020
Pat Hobbs and @bigten student-athletes share why it's important to vote. pic.twitter.com/Bu1ar5zKnb
Players Mentioned
