{"id":57963,"date":"2019-05-10T14:57:04","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T18:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=57963"},"modified":"2019-05-10T15:04:18","modified_gmt":"2019-05-10T19:04:18","slug":"first-vote-readies-teens-for-their-first-trip-to-the-ballot-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2019\/05\/first-vote-readies-teens-for-their-first-trip-to-the-ballot-box\/","title":{"rendered":"First Vote readies teens for their first trip to the ballot box"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canadian youth don\u2019t vote in sufficient numbers to make their voices heard. <\/span>But third-year Political Science student Hope Tuff-Berg is determined to see that change.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tuff-Berg is the CEO of First Vote, a one-day educational conference that aims to prepare senior high school students for their first trip to the ballot box.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, May 8, more than 100 local teens gathered at Brock\u2019s Pond Inlet for the second annual event, which is intended to improve awareness, knowledge and understanding of politics.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Hope Tuff-Berg, Brock Political Science student and CEO of First Vote, thanks Regional Councilor Diana Huson for sharing her story of political involvement.<\/p><\/div>\n

The young learners participated in a mock election, listened to a variety of speakers and engaged in a networking session with local politicians and civil society organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope it helped high school students get a taste for politics, while also seeing some of the opportunities available to them at Brock,\u201d Tuff-Berg said.<\/span><\/p>\n

First Vote began at the University two years ago when a group of Political Science students \u201crealized there was a gap in our voting system and politics \u2014 youth involvement,\u201d she said. They set out to discover why young Canadians historically have the lowest voter turnout of any age category.<\/span><\/p>\n

Contrary to popular myth, the low participation rate is not because youth don\u2019t care. From household debt to social justice, many young people are passionate about issues affecting Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re very vocal on social media and active in starting demonstrations and rallies, which is inspiring,\u201d said Tuff-Berg. \u201cNow they need to vote for someone who can represent their views.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She hopes First Vote can help youth make the link between their passion and political engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Politicians gear their policies toward the segment of the population that is most likely to vote, she said, and unfortunately, right now, that\u2019s not youth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPoliticians don\u2019t target youth because youth don\u2019t vote. But youth don\u2019t vote because politicians don\u2019t target youth,\u201d said First Vote\u2019s Social Media Manager Rory Bulmer. \u201cAt some point we have to get the ball rolling. If we help youth vote, politicians are going to target them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Associate Professor of Political Science Tim Heinmiller explained to the First Vote crowd the left-right ideological spectrum and how those terms are commonly used to describe Canadian politics.<\/span><\/p>\n

The self-described \u201cpan-partisan\u201d \u2014 he purchased memberships in all major political parties in Canada \u2014 situated the parties along the spectrum from communism on the extreme left to fascism on the extreme right.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInvolvement at the fringes should raise a red flag,\u201d Heinmiller told the crowd, as both left- and right-wing extremists abandon values of democracy and human rights. He urged anyone toying with extreme ideologies to \u201ccheck yourself before you wreck yourself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Niagara Regional Councillor Diana Huson (BA \u201911, MA \u201913, MBA \u201917) shared with the group her early experiences with politics, describing her days volunteering for her aunt\u2019s political campaigns as a teen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Huson who also works as Brock\u2019s Manager of Curriculum Management, Policy and Outreach, encouraged attendees to \u201cbecome informed and engaged in as many ways as possible. This includes potentially putting your name on the ballot in a future election.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be the leaders of tomorrow when you can be the leaders of today,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade 12 DSBN Academy student Justice Landry felt First Vote was an \u201cextremely important\u201d event both he and his classmates benefitted from.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never knew about politics. We don\u2019t talk about it at home,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to vote but (until today) I knew nothing about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The First Vote committee is hopeful Landry is only one of many students who had an eye-opening experience at the conference.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis initiative is an excellent example of the fundamental role that universities play in developing good citizens who want to make a difference in their communities,\u201d said Ingrid Makus, Dean of Social Sciences. \u201cI applaud the students, faculty and staff engaged in this significant project.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The First Vote organization includes Political Science undergraduate and graduate students, as well as volunteers from Brock\u2019s Model UN team.<\/span><\/p>\n

While First Vote currently serves high school students in Niagara, there\u2019s potential to expand into Hamilton and other areas of the province.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d like to spread this message and do cool things throughout Ontario,\u201d said Tuff-Berg.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information or to get involved in First Vote, visit the organization\u2019s<\/span> website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

First Vote event organizers Eve Nyambiya, Rory Bulmer, Noah Nickel, Carlin Saunders, Kailene Jackson (front), Hope Tuff-Berg, John Turner, Nour Hage and Keaton Scarff were pleased with the turnout at the second-annual event held at Brock May 8.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Canadian youth don\u2019t vote in sufficient numbers to make their voices heard. But third-year Political Science student Hope Tuff-Berg is determined to see that change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":57965,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,1,4,38],"tags":[7881,7884,7880,7883,42,7882,31,3956],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57963"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57963"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57971,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57963\/revisions\/57971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}