The years of work that went into preparing Towson University for Election Day

A look at how TU prepared for the 2020 General Election and beyond

By Cody Boteler, Roy Henry, Rebecca Kirkman, Matt Palmer and Kyle Hobstetter on November 1, 2020

Towson University is ready for Election Day.

Whether it was getting students registered to vote, informing students of issues and candidates on the ballot, raising awareness in the community, or being an early voting polling place, Towson University has worked to get its community involved in the 2020 Election.

Members of the Towson University community have put consistent effort through the year into making voting a part of university’s culture. That effort has paid off, as TU is one of just nine institutions with a student voter registration rate above 85%, according to Washington Monthly.

Washington Monthly also named Towson University one of America’s Best Colleges for Student Voting.

“Towson University's ability to engage and create opportunities for students is a differentiator," TU President Kim Schatzel says. "I am so very proud of our engaged student community, as well as the efforts by our students, faculty and staff to build voter turnout.”

National Voter Registration Day

Members of TU community attend a march on campus to promote voter registration — Early voting opportunities have been available at Towson University. (Photo by Alex Wright)

One of the biggest examples of engaging students was on National Voter Registration Day.

Lead by the Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility [BROKEN LINK]and the TU Votes Coalition, several TU organizations and groups developed special physically distanced programming to register members of the TU community to vote this November.

“Knowing that so many members of the TU community are involved in these efforts is great, because it means that we continue to take steps forward to institutionalize voter engagement at Towson University,” says Luis Sierra, assistant director of civic engagement. “We strive to provide resources and opportunities for every student, faculty and staff member to consider the TU Votes initiative as part of their Towson University experience.”

TU and TurboVote

Along with getting students registered to vote, TU has also been providing students information about the election — including if they are already registered and what are the next steps.

One of the ways TU has done this was by partnering with TurboVote, an online tool from the Office of Civic Engagement & Social Responsibility that helps users check their voter registration status, register to vote, develop a plan to vote and track upcoming elections.

“Students' voting needs are different, so TurboVote assists us in providing steps and information that are relevant and customized by state, registration status and voting method,” Sierra says.

READ MORE: Register Your Roar

TU Athletes Vote

TU Student-Athletes promoting voter registration on campus — Towson University student-athletes promote voter registration on National Voter Registration Day. (Photo by Towson University Athletics)

Members of Towson University Athletics are also raising election awareness, not only with TU’s student-athletes, but with student-athletes around the country.

Towson University women's basketball associate head coach Zach Kancher served as the lead in TU Athletics in creating TU Athletes Vote, a nonpartisan group that connects TU student-athletes with educational resources related to voting.

TU Athletes Vote, a partnership with the Office of Civic Engagement & Social Responsibility and the TU Votes Coalition, provides resources on absentee ballots, information on candidates and each state’s voting rules. The work has paid off: 11 Towson University teams have 100% of the rosters registered to vote.

Along with working with students on campus, Kancher has presented voter registration to more than 60 schools, organizations and athletic conferences. When Kancher presents, he leans into his coaching background and creates voting and election scouting reports.

“It’s like we’re playing James Madison, and our scouting report lets us know everything about the team,” Kancher says. “This is the same thing. I’m scouting this election and the voting process. I think by presenting it within that framework, it becomes more digestible for student-athletes and, frankly, coaches as well.”

TU Protecting the Polls

Associate Professor Natalie M. Scala standing at the ballot drop box on the Towson University campus about two weeks before the 2020 General Election. Photo: Alex Wright

Towson University student-athletes have also been volunteering in the parking lots of TU’s early polling place located at the South Campus Pavilion.

And that’s not the only way that TU is helping at the polls. Towson University’s Natalie M. Scala and Josh Dehlinger have stepped up to train Maryland’s poll workers on identifying and addressing election security threats.

For the last three years, Scala, an associate professor in the Department of Business Analytics and Technology Management, and Dehlinger, a professor in the Department of Computer & Information Sciences, have partnered with local election boards to train election judges.

Scala and Dehlinger study how best to respond to and prevent cyber, physical and insider threats to elections and use that research to create training modules. The faculty duo is continuing work originated by Megan Price ’18 and Scala as part of an Honors College research project.

Providing a Unity Flag

Towson University interdisciplinary arts graduate student Ana Maria Economou works on the flag artwork she made with assistant professor Kate Collins and adjunct faculty member LaVerne Miers-Bond in July 2020. The piece is on display at Belmont University as part of the “Unity Flag Project.” (Photo by Kate Collins)

Towson University professors and students have also had their work displayed during the final presidential debate.

The final presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville on Oct. 22, featured artwork by artists representing more than 30 states as part of the “Unity Flag Project: Building Purple Empathy Through the Visual Arts.”

Those artists include Towson University assistant professor Kate Collins, director of the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts Infusion program (MAIAI), program alumna and adjunct faculty member LaVerne Miers-Bond ’19 and graduate student Ana Maria Economou ’21.

The “Unity Flag Project” is on display in the campus’ Leu Center for the Visual Arts and online at unityflagproject.com. Over three days in July, Collins, Miers-Bond and Economou worked to create “These Truths,” their contribution to the exhibition.

The Emotions of the Election

And with Election Day fast approaching, the Towson University Counseling Center is providing resources to help with the related tension and anxiety that can come from the election.

Staff psychologists G Wei Ng, diversity coordinator, and Oluwatofunmi Oni, digital mental health coordinator, have collaborated on a Facebook Live series called, “Managing Election Stress,” which debuted Oct. 7.

Moving Forward: What Now?

Community members line up to early vote at Towson University — Members of the Towson Community line-up to vote early at Towson University's South Campus Pavilion. (Photo by Alex Wright)

The Counseling Center, supported by the Center for Student Diversity and Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility, will host spaces for students to emotionally process, regroup and rethink about ways to move forward with social justice work sustainably, deal with negative impacts of voter suppression and hate speech/actions on wellbeing, & manage political differences in relationships.

Zoom link will be shared with attendees prior to the event date. All students are welcome to join! For questions or accommodations, please contact diversityworks AT_TOWSON. Also students can now sign up for these sessions, with dates taking place:

Wednesday, November 4, 12 p.m.
Friday, November 13, 4 p.m.
Wednesday, November 18, 4 p.m.
Friday, December 4, 4 p.m.
Wednesday, December 9, 12 p.m.

To learn more about TU Voter Coalition and Civic Engagement opportunities, follow The Office of Civic Engagement & Social Responsibility on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland.