With Election Day less than a month away, Wellesley students are making the remaining days count.
On Saturday, Oct. 5, I had the opportunity to go on a canvassing trip to Manchester, New Hampshire with Wellesley Students for Harris and the Harris-Walz Boston Student Coalition, organized by Harvard Students for Harris. About seven other Wellesley students and I woke up bright and early for what was, for a few of us, our first time campaigning.
Wellesley Students for Harris is a student-run Instagram account unaffiliated with Wellesley, whose mission is to cultivate a platform and space for students to support the election of Vice President Kamala Harris. Generating memes, posts, and stories, the account provides voting resources for students. The account also works with the Wellesley College Democrats in publicizing events, such as debate watch parties.
Before boarding a bus at Harvard, we met many students from schools around the Boston area, including Boston University, Suffolk, Northeastern and Harvard. The amount of enthusiasm and joyful energy was palpable. When we arrived in Manchester, we met with the Manchester Democrats and went through canvassing training. Governor of Massachusetts Maura Healey visited with us, joined by the former mayor of Manchester and now Democratic candidate for New Hampshire Governor, Joyce Craig.
Soon after, we split into small groups of students mixed with the different Boston schools and began canvassing. Though we had a script if we needed it, by observing those in my group who had canvassed before, I found that instead of memorizing the script, using it as a guide and being present in the moment was more valuable. For most of the canvassing time, I helped distribute the bundles of political literature the New Hampshire Dems prepared for us.
During this experience, students appeared to have become more hopeful about politics and realized their participation impacts America’s future and what it can be, especially Maura Journagan ’28, a fellow first-year and first-time canvasser.
“My biggest takeaways from this experience were just how important it is to get involved and educate yourself about what is going on.” When asked what she wanted fellow new canvassers and others to know before Election Day, she encouraged them to, “Just get out there! No matter how little difference you think it’ll make, voting and educating yourself about political issues are super important and can actually have an effect on the trajectory of an election.”
Lunch was provided by the New Hampshire Democratic Committee, when we could speak with members and volunteers, as well as receive some Harris-Walz and election-themed posters, buttons and stickers. This was a great time to have deeper conversations with other students and adults about the issues at stake in this election. There was a great emphasis on translating the newfound hope students feel into urgent action.
“You may not think your vote will make a difference, but I assure you it will,” said Ava Orcutt ’28, one of the members of my canvassing group. She emphasized how generations will be affected by this race, especially if Trump wins, claiming that “ … this election is not just about us. Whoever the next president is will likely have the chance to appoint several Supreme Court Justices. As we learned when Roe vs. Wade was overturned, those who sit on the court have a massive amount of power and hold that power for decades.”
For more information about voting in the 2024 election, visit votesaveamerica.com, vote.gov and vote.org.
Image credit: Wellesley Students for Harris
Contact the editor responsible for this story: Phoebe Rebhorn
