Student Organization Spotlight: GEAUX VOTE

Geaux Vote was an on-campus initiative that promoted both voter registration and education during the months before the 2008 national elections. It was an initiative led by Project Geaux, a civic engagement organization that was started in fall 2008, who worked closely with many other campus organizations.

After setting a goal of registering 2,000 campus students to vote, it was exceeded by the registration deadline. Working closely with The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs, Student Government, College Republicans and College Democrats, we were able to successfully put on educational events before Election Day.
We helped plan and host the Voter Registration Drive Kickoff where we had both Louisiana’s Secretary of State, Jay Dardenne; and Haverford student and Director of 18 in ’08, David Burstein speak to students about the importance of fulfilling their civic duty in the form of voting.

Other successful events included speakers such as Charlie Cook and Callie Crossley; an educational event called Are You Red or Blue with a panel of representatives from ECO@LSU, Spectrum, the Economic Graduate Department, and Teach for America to discuss current events; a debate simulation by the College Democrats and Republicans; presidential debate watching parties; and numerous table sits at various campus events to register voters.

Project Geaux will continue to deal with various current events and promote civic engagement and interest, and hopes are that Geaux Vote will continue to be an initiative students will embrace in the future during election times.