Intermediate Grassroots Politics: Election Day

Often, we hear politicians talk about revolutions that must start on the grassroots level, but most of us either do not know what that means, think its political jargon, or we wonder if it means the people holding signs and handing out pamphlets in front of the voting office door. To find out the meaning of grassroots for ourselves, we (Alex, Megan, Austin, Brittany, Bella, Casey, Jessica, Christina, Alex, Jasmine, and Bryan) took part in various election-day roles.

On March 1st, one of the biggest elections days nationwide with eleven states holding their primaries, I rushed from my class in Huntsville all the way to Conroe, where I was stationed outside Greystone Hills Community polling center, a neighborhood along I-45.  Surprisingly, I soon found out that there are rules to what exactly can be handed out to voters and the very important rule that there has to be a 200 ft. arc around the door that we had to stay out of while speaking with potential voters.  Within the first hour, I learned the ritual I was to adhere to in order to successfully distribute our message.

Casey Janda Distributes Literature
Casey Janda Distributes Literature

The strategy was a friendly smile, a good-natured tone, a confident voice, and the ability to anticipate both welcoming and not-so friendly reactions from the voters. We quickly learned that when it comes to politics, people will show their true emotions. Essentially, this meant getting accustomed to hearing “no” and other negative feedback when approaching voters with pamphlets, or voter guides, about certain candidates. For Austin Campbell, he claimed that the hardest “no” he received came from a senior citizen lady who decided to let him know how she not only did not like the candidate whose pamphlet he was trying to give to her, but also how she strongly did not approve of the parking situation. Austin said it was one of the hardest tongue-lashings he had ever received, including his years as a football player. However in my experience this negativity of some voters did not deter me from continuing my task with the positive energy that I had started the morning with.

“In all, I was glad I volunteered on primary election day. I had the opportunity to participate in yet another part of our political process.  I admired the will of every day citizens to spend time from their busy schedules to exercise one of the most valuable rights of our democratic nation .” –Austin Campbell

We’d like to thank the many campaigns, workers and candidates that gave us advice, training, and this opportunity. 

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For Megan Chapa and Bella Abril, it was also a long and exciting day, albeit one that unfolded in a different location. They were both election clerks at the Walker County Annex. They were not just thrown to work on Election Day; the two attended trainings leading up to their electoral duties.

The polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m. so they committed half a day to serving Walker County. Their duties included checking people in, handing out ballots, securing the voting grounds, redirecting folks who were at the wrong voting poll, and working with the election judge at the end of the night to count and turn in votes.

Following her long day, Chapa summarized her experiences, “Election day was really hectic! We ran out of ballots halfway through and we had to help our election judge get new ballots for the voters.  But it was a great experience, and even as Political Science majors, we learned so much.  It is a hands-on democratic workshop.”

 

As the thirteen-hour day came to an end, the LEAP Ambssador team decided to reflect on their day at an Election Day party with the other Ambassadors, Professor Mike Yawn and Former Mayor Woodward and Mrs. Woodward. As the local and state level election results from early voting were gradually released, we passed time by sharing our experiences of working at the polls. For Alex, Austin, and I, we shared our continuous rushing from voter to voter that left our feet sore and blistered. As for Megan, she shared her experience as a poll worker and the range of voters whom she had to assist. Even though some of the ambassadors were unable to participate in this political process, they got to witness the toll of this tiresome day in our weary expressions and captivating anecdotes.  Soon we knew who had won the various Walker County government positions that were up for election and Ted Cruz’s victory in Texas.

The ambassadors felt really good about the work they did, and the role that they played in the political process. Although the day was long, it was an amazing experience to see what exactly grassroots politics was all about and how it could impact communities.

This point was driven home repeatedly  in our experiences, but perhaps most impactfully by the election returns.  One candidate in Walker County made a runoff by only two votes, reminding us of the importance of campaign get out the vote efforts and of accurate, professional poll workers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Road to Success: LEAP Offers Mock LSAT

As it does every semester, the LEAP Center again collaborated with Kaplan testing to offer a free Mock LSAT, an opportunity for students to assess their performance on one of the keys to being admitted to law school.

The LSAT is a different test than the SAT or ACT because it tests different skills than what students were exposed to in high school and, to some extent, college.  It takes intelligence, grit, and a lot of practice for students to do sufficiently well to get into the school of their choice.

The LEAP Mock LSAT is traditionally offered from 9:30-2:00pm on a Saturday and this semester was no exception.  A bit before 9:30am, students began filing into the classroom, and we listened to Randy, our prep course instructor.  He was enthusiastic and charismatic, and he captured our attention as we learned how the Mock LSAT is structured.  The sections include: Logical Reasoning (2 such sections), Analytical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension.  The actual LSAT also has a writing section and an experimental section. Each section allows 35 minutes for completion.  And with that intro, we began.

If anyone were to look into that room at that moment, they would have seen 20+ students with their heads bent down, faces scrunched in extreme concentration.  As it turns out, Professor Yawn did exactly that…

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Some were scribbling furiously, while others were staring intently at their paper. All of us were intensely focused, ready to take charge of this challenge. At the second to last section, we were able to take a 15 minute break, where we were provided chocolate chip cookies to give us some much needed energy. Once the 15 minutes were up, we were all energized and I was ready to start the exam again to finish the last section.

Finally, at around 2 p.m. we finished the last section. Randy then started to explain how to complete various questions from some of the toughest sections. He explained it in such a way that I could not believe I did not understand it the first time around.

It was time for the results. We all walked to the computer lab where we were able to receive the scores we got. Emotions varied with each score but everyone was happy that they had taken this test as it had bee worth it. Overall, I enjoyed the experience. Even though it was my second time taking it, the Mock LSAT still makes me nervous but by having the opportunity to take it before the real deal helps me feel more prepared. This experience has boosted my self-confidence and helped me make new goals for myself.

Leaving Little Rock

Following a whirlwind tour of Little Rock and central Arkansas, it was departure day.  But before we left, we had a couple of sites left to see.

First, we did a quick photo op of the Capitol building…

 

 

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…where the LEAP Ambassadors visited (by unofficial count) their 18th state capitol building.  Bill Clinton’s office was here in the late 70s, most of the 1980s, and the very early 1990s.  They also have an interesting set of statues paying tribute to the Little Rock Nine and, in apparent contradiction, a monument to the confederate soldiers as well.

We chose to focus on the Little Rock Nine, so shortly after visiting the capitol we made our way to Little Rock Central High.  LRCH is the original school that the Little Rock Nine first attempted to integrate in 1957, and it is very large.

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It’s a humbling experience to stand where the Little Rock Nine stood.  They faced taunts, hatred, and ignorance and, in the process, made major progress for the country.

On the front of the school are four pillars, each representing a quality crucial to success…

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…ambition, personality, opportunity, and preparation.  Interestingly, these four qualities are also stressed by the LEAP Center, and that added an extra dimension of interest.

Spurred on by this interest, we went to the LRCH Musuem, located across the street.  This is a small museum, but it has an intimacy with its subject matter that makes for a compelling experience.

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The Museum begins with an overview of the Civil Rights experience, which is described along the left wall.  Toward the rear of the Museum are videos with headsets telling the stories of each of the Little Rock Nine.

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Intriguingly, the video screens are facing Little Rock Central High, which brings the experience home with greater impact.  Even sixty years later, it’s difficult to listen to the turmoil that these heroes went through…

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The right side of the Museum is dedicated to other civil rights struggles…

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…and the center of the Museum is a fairly in-depth story of the integration of Little Rock Central High.

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They give an overview of the events, with video of Eisenhower discussing the importance of the rule of law, as well as journalists and the original Little Rock Nine looking at these events retrospectively.

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It captivated our group.

We ended the tour with a film from 1964, which was shown to foreign audiences and detailed the experiences of the Little Rock Nine six-seven years after the integration.

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It was interesting to learn more about the integration process, and also interesting to see how these events were presented in the mid-1960s.

The LRCH is a can’t-miss site in Little Rock, in a City that is full of fun and interesting attractions.  It was a sobering but fitting way to end our trip, and our departure was made more acceptable knowing we’d be making a return visit in July.

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