{"id":1117,"date":"2016-02-11T12:54:11","date_gmt":"2016-02-11T18:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/?p=1117"},"modified":"2016-02-11T12:54:11","modified_gmt":"2016-02-11T18:54:11","slug":"sorority-gets-students-involved-with-voting-and-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/2016\/02\/11\/sorority-gets-students-involved-with-voting-and-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"Sorority gets students involved with voting and politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

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by Imani Brown<\/p>\n

While 2016 is an election year, it only seems fitting that there is so much talk about the presidential candidates and their policies. Find out what Bradley students are doing to stay up to date on the race and check out the attached video.<\/p>\n

Sorority gets students involved with voting and politics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated hosted Know Your Vote, an event aimed at getting students better informed about government and politics.<\/p>\n

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The event was Wednesday night in Baker Hall and open to the entire Bradley campus. Approximately 15 students attended and participated in different activities, including an open discussion about some of this year\u2019s presidential candidates.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOne of our Programmatic Thrusts is Political Awareness and Involvement,\u201d said chapter president Danielle Peterson. \u201cWe wanted to bring awareness to the upcoming election.\u201d<\/p>\n

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They most certainly raised understanding by displaying a PowerPoint about four of the frontrunners in this year\u2019s election, including Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, John Kasich, and Donald Trump. The slides detailed each candidate\u2019s policies regarding key issues like education and gun control.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs far as the Republican Party, I do know a lot more than I did coming in,\u201d said junior Accounting major Malik Chappell. \u201cI definitely do appreciate John Kasich\u2019s criminal justice policy, with reducing nonviolent crimes and not sending people to [prison] for nonviolent crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This portion of the event seemed to really resonate with students. After each slide, students were asked to chime in with their likes and dislikes regarding the candidates\u2019 policies. Education was a big issue, as some students explained their concern about student loan interest rates.<\/p>\n

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The ladies of Delta Sigma Theta also included an activity where students were broken up into two teams and were tested on their knowledge about each branch of government. They were given a large poster board and asked to write down what each branch does based on a word bank on the PowerPoint.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe also wanted students to know that the president does not make all the decisions,\u201d said chapter secretary Briana Mathews. \u201cCongress plays a big part. Although the presidential elections are coming up, Congress is still important as well as our state governments and local governments.\u201d State and local government was another key theme of the event, with a segment in which students were presented with a scenario and asked which government entity they should call: local, state, or federal.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI wasn\u2019t planning on voting this year, but I think I am,\u201d Malik added. Looks like the Deltas accomplished their goal.<\/p>\n

Bradley students exercise their right to know their vote<\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out this video to get an inside look at the event and visualize the awareness being spread about government and politics.<\/p>\n