With increasing attention on national politics, the Creating Change panel event Thursday, highlights getting involved in local politics.
Kate Bradshaw, alum of Westminster and the now elected mayor of Bountiful emphasized the importance of getting involved with the community by following local social media accounts, joining Facebook groups and volunteering for campaigns to stay informed and gain experience in the political sphere.
“I’ll just take a second to reiterate how much impact you can have locally,” Bradshaw said. “Both in terms of a relationship that you can establish with a local politician or officials, and in the kind of change that you can see locally. By that, I don’t even just mean necessarily Salt Lake City or the city that you’re coming from, but even [at] Westminster.”
All three panelists highlighted the difficulty of being involved in politics as a student, especially when national politics can seem heavy.
“I think I would say find an organization locally that you care about and volunteer with,” said Marissa Neuman, a justice studies professor. “That’s the easiest process. I think that one thing to remember is that what you have to give of yourself will ebb and flow, and that’s okay. Maybe around finals, it’s not as easy to volunteer your time, but over the summer it’s easier.”
Panelist Alex Lopez, a senior psychology major and student activist, mentioned the importance of students sharing about their activism or topics they care about with friends.
“Getting your friends informed and involved [is important] because it takes so much weight off your shoulders to know I’m not the only one that cares about this,” Lopez said. “My friends are also safe spaces for me to talk about these issues.”
Many students, including Nora McAndrews, a junior justice studies major, can feel helpless in the face of national and global politics. The purpose of this panel is to help alleviate some of that weight.
“I liked the emphasis all of them put on local politics and how that can make the global feel less heavy,” McAndrews said. “Because a lot of us are feeling the weight of that lately.”
Mayor Bradshaw said the change many students wish to see in national politics can be seen in and starts from local politics.
“Instead of getting bogged down in the things in national politics that you’re unhappy about, I encourage you to focus on the things locally that you can change.”
