This project is part of the University of Portland inaugural Public Research Fellows program designed to engage the tools of the public humanities through faculty-directed exploratory research.
teaches us how to use audio recording equipment for our podcast.
Team Members
Sam Barrett [she/her]
I’m a junior social work major with a psychology minor from WA state. This research project has heavily impacted the way I think about voting by uncovering some of the bigger issues currently present. Such issues include disenfranchisement, disempowerment, and political disengagement. I think voting is important because it gives a voice to minority and underrepresented groups that are otherwise being silenced and excluded.
Erick Berrelleza [he/him]
I’m a senior political science and Spanish double major with minors in Social Justice and Sociology. Expanding voting rights younger people can cultivate awareness. We need to educate young people, and they need to know what’s going on in the world. Considering I’m the first person from my family to ever vote, voting means a lot. It makes me feel like I am somebody in this country. In the LatinX community, we are constantly told that we don’t belong here. I have practiced my right to vote and each time I look forward to voting because, although I am a child of immigrants, I’m actually exercising a right that many other American Citizens fail to exercise.
Francesca Chicoine [she/her]
I am a senior Philosophy and Political Science double major and social justice minor from the Bay Area. I believe that voting is a tool to advocate for social change in our country. It is essential that individuals have the opportunity to have a voice in policy decisions that impact them. It is important to continue to fight for representation and enfranchisement, especially for marginalized groups that have been historically suppressed from the voting process.
Mackenzie Mitchell [she/her]
I am a senior sociology major with a psychology minor from Santa Cruz, CA. This research project has brought to light many issues that stem from the voting process. These issues involve the lengthy history of voting rights and voter suppression, exclusion, and discrimination. While it has its complications, I think voting is one of the most important rights and responsibilities that we have—it is powerful and gives us a voice in our government. Voting gives us the opportunity to progress and it is not just owed to ourselves, but to everyone involved or affected.
Brian Phan [he/him]
I am a Biology major with a minor in Sociology. The right to vote is one of our most powerful tools as a citizen. It allows us to voice our opinions and ideas in a civil manner to fight for the things we believe in. Many who have come before us have fought long and hard to ensure everyone receives this right. I believe that my individual voice in conjunction with the voices of many others can make a difference in the issues that are occurring in our country today.
Alice B. Gates, MSW, PhD [she/her] is an Associate Professor of Social Work and serves as the faculty advisor for this project.