As election season approaches, numerous partisan and nonpartisan groups are encouraging student voters and placing issues such as climate change and reproductive rights at the forefront of concerns for young voters.

This month, Democrats speaking on behalf of the Harris-Walz presidential campaign appeared on campus in a bus featuring the words “fighting for reproductive freedom,” highlighting one of the campaign’s key focuses in this year’s election.

Among the Democrats in attendance were State Rep.  Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) and Wisconsin College Democrats Chair Matthew Lehner.

“As Democrats on the ballot, we tend to work together a lot,” Emerson said. “We’re working within our districts to get out the vote and talk about the issues because the same things the vice president is fighting for are the same ideas that I have.”

Emerson was born in 1972, which was the year before Roe came into effect. She said it is “heartbreaking” for her to think the protections she grew up with no longer exist for her daughter and granddaughter.

Emerson said when she hears people talk about the election, they often highlight “kitchen table” issues like the economy. She said setbacks like hospital closures and a lack of sufficient childcare all factor into economics, and that attacking the root of the problem is key.

“Childcare right now costs as much as college does,” Emerson said. “There is no bigger impact on where you’re gonna be financially in your life than being in charge of the decision of when and if to start a family.”

Emerson said the younger generation of voters will have a strong impact on the future of reproductive freedoms.

“We know that this generation, this age group, is a group that can make a difference and make a huge difference, or they can step back and let people get elected who don’t have our values,” Emerson said. “I would just encourage people to make sure they have a plan to vote, and that their registration is up to date.”

Lori Lodes is executive director of Climate Power, a strategic communications group advocating for climate-forward politics. 

“Climate Power is reaching out to campuses and mobilizing voters around climate this election and making sure people see the very stark contrast between Harris and Trump’s policies,” Lodes said. 

Lodes said she believes the 2024 election will be a pivotal event for climate change action. 

“This election will very much determine the future and what that looks like,” Lodes said. “Donald Trump refuses to acknowledge climate change is real. Harris and Walz say this is an opportunity to invest in communities, innovation and leadership to build out our economic future.”

Lodes said student voters have a unique perspective on climate change and its future connotations.

“Climate is such a critical issue and no one knows that more than young voters,” Lodes said. “It’s an issue young voters care deeply about because they are the future.”

Third-year graphic communications student Kirsten Thell is president of UW-Eau Claire’s College Democrats. She said the group is actively tabling to encourage student voters on campus.

“You can find us around campus quite a bit,” Thell said. “We’re out there tabling and talking about how to register, where to vote and just encouraging some democratic candidates.”   

Thell said she’s noticed an uptick in student voter turnout since the primaries, and hopes to exceed the level of participation shown in spring of 2023, when Janet Protasiewiscz was elected.

Thell said the College Democrats are encouraging students to vote at local, state and national levels.

“We’re talking about Harris-Walz, we’re talking about Rebecca Cooke, we’re talking about Christian Phelps,” Thell said. 

Third-year biomedical engineering student Tatiana Bobrowicz is chair of the College Republicans. She said the group participates in tabling roughly one to two times per week.

“We try to get out there and just encourage students to get out and vote,” Bobrowicz said. “We have stickers that promote republican candidates such as former President Trump and Eric Hovde.”

Emerson said she sees reproductive rights as one of the top issues that resonates with students. 

“Reproductive rights are absolutely on the ballot, and that is something foremost in Wisconsin’s mind because we still have that law on the books from 1849,” Emerson said. “Our rights to be fully in charge of our bodies and our futures can be ripped away at any moment. That’s what motivates me to get out and fight for what we’re fighting for.”

Second-year speech, language and hearing sciences student Audrey Stokosa said she is a Harris supporter and that she believes the bus stop was a good way to reach students.

“The people who stand here with anti-abortion signs and kind of harass students, to me, is the incorrect way to do this,” Stokosa said. “If a Trump bus were to come, obviously I would be like, ‘urgh,’ but it’s their right to be here, and I’m all for anybody campaigning here because they have that right.”

Stokosa said as a college student, reproductive rights are an important issue for her in this election.

“I think reproductive rights is a big issue that resonates with a lot of us,” Stokosa said. “I am on birth control, I am sexually active and it’s just terrifying -– I’m not in the place to be able to support a kid … I think protecting my right to choose is one of the biggest things for me.”

Stokosa said she thinks the number of student voters will increase this November in comparison with previous elections. 

“As a female and a young Gen Z person, I’ve had more drive to vote, even in the primaries, than in the past,” Stokosa said. “On the other side, too, I think Trump somehow has a really big connection with young men, and that is also drawing a lot of people to the polls.”

Bobrowicz said she believes students have the power to sway this election one way or another. 

“I personally think that student voters are going to be one of the deciding factors in this election,” Bobrowicz said. “I think it’s very important that the student groups here vote and voice their opinions because even just a few votes can sway the needle one way or the other.”

Wojahn can be reached at [email protected].

Note: Some of the interviews in this article were taken as part of a CJ 222 class instructed by Professor Pechulano Ngwe Ali.