TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — In the weeks leading up to the presidential election, a Troy University typography class was tasked with creating a nonpartisan campaign encouraging people to vote.
“You can say that you believe all you want,” said junior graphic design major Icie Wallace. “Until you take action on what you believe, no change can be made.”
“Take action make change.” That’s the phrase Wallace based her most recent typography project on. Wallace says it was an eye-opening experience.
“In researching how many young people vote, just in it of itself, I realized that I wasn’t registered to vote when I started this project,” Wallace said. “It helped me get into more depth and research how I can register, getting my family members to register, encouraging my brother, having discussions with friends respectfully about things that are going on in the world.
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With new generations, we are the ones in charge of taking the reins and growing the world to the place that we want it to be.
Junior graphic design major Icie Wallace
According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), less than 15% of Alabamians ages 18-29 voted in the 2022 midterm election. These statistics inspired the students in assistant professor Thiffany Belda’s class to target younger generation voters.
Belda is an assistant professor of design. She says this project has helped her students realize the impact their work can have on others.
“They were very surprised,” Belda told TrojanVision. “Not just by how much their vote counts, but by how much their design skills can be used for civic engagement.”
Belda’s art students even got to see their designs on display.
“Professor Stagl got us connected with the Office of Civic Engagement,” Belda said. “They had a voter registration booth so that gave our students an opportunity to design for that, and connect with other students.”
Belda says it’s important for everyone to realize the impact that this election has on the world.
“One of the international students turned to me and said, I don’t understand, you are asking international students to teach the national students to vote? And I said to him, I understand it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but whoever becomes the next president of the United States will impact not people here, but the people globally.”
