ROAR the Vote

ROAR the Vote supports students' involvement in electoral politics by helping to ensure that students understand the voting process — including voter registration and absentee ballots, as well as the importance of voting in local, state, and national elections.

The ROAR the Vote initiative is led by the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement and the Office of Government and Community Relations.

ALL IN Most Engaged Campus Seal

RIT is proud to be recognized as one of ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge’s Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting. In addition to developing a 2022 democratic engagement action plan, RIT also participated in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, shared 2020 campus voting data with ALL IN, and is a signatory on ALL IN’s Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation.

ALL IN Distinction Ribbons

7%

increase in voting rates among RIT students from 2012 (32%) to 2016 (39%)

A 10% increase (45% to 55%) in the voting rate among registered students during that same time period.

18%

increase in voting rates among RIT students from 2014 (8%) to 2018 (26%)

A 23% increase (15% to 38%) in the voting rate among registered students during that same time period.

34%

A 34% increase in the number of students registered to vote between 2014 (n=7555) and 2018 (n=10,076).

Events and Programming

Congress to Campus

Congress to Campus provides RIT students with a unique civic education by engaging our community in honest dialogue with bipartisan teams of Former Members of Congress, Congressional staff, and American diplomats. These dialogues bring today’s issues to the forefront and display the benefits of healthy partisanship and civility within disagreement.

Horizons

Horizons is rooted in the National Issues Forums model for deliberative dialogues, the goal of the program is to promote active listening and dialogue rather than debate on difficult topics. In a space where students, faculty, and staff can approach what may seem like a difficult conversation in a respectful, educational, and constructive manner, attendees will come away with a greater understanding of others who hold diverse views and be able to form an educated opinion on challenging and complex issues our society faces today. Example topics could include national debt, immigration, universal healthcare, etc.