The Importance of Civic Engagement
October 30, 2024
Dear Stony Brook Campus Community,
With Election Day approaching on November 5, and opportunities to vote through early voting or by absentee ballot having already begun, many of our students will be participating in the nation’s presidential vote for the very first time. In making that observation, I cannot help thinking back to when I first voted in a presidential election.
In some ways, things were quite different then. Campaigns did not last nearly as long because there were fewer primaries and caucuses. There was no TikTok or Instagram. Unless you had a good reason to ask for an absentee ballot, you could not vote before Election Day. Perhaps most significantly, you had to be at least 21 years old. Because of that age requirement, I missed out on voting in the 1968 election by one month.
Four years later, thanks to the 1971 ratification of the 26th Amendment, 18- to 20-year-olds had just won the right to vote. The passage of that Amendment with bipartisan support in only 100 days was due in large part to a recognition that young people who were considered old enough to be drafted to fight in a war should also be considered old enough to vote.
We hear a lot about polarization today. Yet, the United States in 1968, torn apart by the Vietnam War abroad and the civil rights movement at home, was every bit as divided as it is today. I cast my first presidential vote in 1972, and, despite the continuing acrimony of that era, I remember the distinct pride I felt in casting it.
I urge you to exercise your right to vote and help shape our world. I am hopeful that those of you who are voting for the very first time will feel the same sense of pride that I did, as well as a deep engagement with the millions of others who are helping write the next chapter of the American experience.
I also hope that, whether our preferred candidates win or lose, we provide an example of the magnanimity in victory and graciousness in defeat that we wish to see in others. To assist you in learning more about the electoral process, including information about how to vote, Stony Brook’s Center for Civic Justice has compiled extensive resources at www.stonybrook.edu/elections. I encourage all of you, including students, faculty, staff and healthcare workers, to visit the site, take advantage of its extensive information, and above all, vote. Our collective and on-going civic engagement is essential to making a meaningful impact on the communities where we study, work and live.
Richard L. McCormick
Interim President