RVC-Students-ALL-IN-for-Democracy.php

RVC Students ALL IN for Democracy

• Students
• 02/06/2025

“I’ve never seen anything like this on campus before,” said Dr. Mathew Oakes, Professor of English and RVC Votes! Advisor.

 

Dr. Oakes was not referring to an astrological phenomenon, a natural disaster, or a man-made spectacle. He was talking about the reactions of the Rock Valley College (RVC) students, faculty, and staff to RVC Votes!, a nonpartisan, student-led coalition working to increase student voter registration and turnout.

Oakes explained that this grassroots effort, led by RVC students and launched in the fall of 2024, “engaged students by registering voters, educating voters, and helping voters make a plan to vote. They visited classrooms, set up tables, and attended events. The outcome was wildly successful!”

That is an understatement.

Thanks to the RVC Votes! coalition, RVC has been recognized by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) as a 2024 ALL IN Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting. The ALL IN Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting recognizes colleges and universities for outstanding efforts to increase nonpartisan student voter participation. RVC joins a group of 471 colleges and universities across the nation recognized by ALL IN – only 16 are located in Illinois.

The colleges and universities are recognized for completing four core actions:

• Participating in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge,
• Sharing 2022 NSLVE Reports with campus voting data with ALL IN,
• Developing and submitting a 2024 democratic engagement action plan with ALL IN, and
• Having a current signatory to ALL IN’s Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation. 

“RVC is known as the Home of Champions for our excellence in and out of the classroom, and RVC Votes! is another fine example of that title,” said RVC President Dr. Howard Spearman. “Through service-learning projects like this, our students participate in civic engagement to foster the democratic process and enrich our community.”

“The research is clear: colleges and universities that make intentional efforts to increase nonpartisan democratic engagement have higher campus voter registration and voter turnout rates. This year, we saw more colleges than ever before step up their efforts to ensure that their students were registered and ready to make their voices heard at the ballot box,” said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, Executive Director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “These Most Engaged Campuses are setting the standard for nonpartisan civic engagement work for colleges and universities across the country.” 

While this was the first year for the student coalition, they celebrate several accomplishments:

• RVC won a $5,000 grant and a $2500 grant from Ask Every Student (AES) to support RVC Votes!.
• Students traveled to Columbia College Chicago to learn how to become voting geniuses.
• They created nonpartisan presentations regarding ballot issues and delivered them to fellow students.
• Over 300 students registered to vote through RVC's custom portal. 
• Almost 2,000 students and community members voted at the City of Rockford voting site on RVC’s Main Campus.

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. Campuses that join the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge complete a set of action items, with the support of ALL IN staff, to institutionalize nonpartisan civic learning and voter participation on their campus. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge currently engages 10.8 million students from more than 1,075 institutions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The students' efforts will not stop with the 2024 presidential election. Rock Valley College students have indeed been empowered in nonpartisan democratic engagement, and they plan to continue their activities throughout the spring semester and beyond.

“Local elections are just as, if not more, important than federal elections. We want to continue our efforts to educate our fellow students and make RVC Votes! a permanent part of Student Life here on campus,” explained Jacari Box, RVC Votes! student voting genius.

ABOUT ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge: 

ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. Through an intentionally-designed program that provides structure, support, and recognition, ALL IN works to improve civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation on more than 1,075 campuses nationwide. ALL IN believes higher education should play a role in developing an active and informed citizenry by educating students, motivating them to engage in American democracy, and instilling the value of lifelong participation. ALL IN is an initiative of Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Learn more here.

ABOUT Civic Nation:

Civic Nation is a nonprofit ecosystem for high-impact organizing and education initiatives working to build a more inclusive and equitable America. Civic Nation shifts culture, systems, and policy by bringing together individuals, grassroots organizers, industry leaders, and influencers to tackle some of our nation’s most pressing social challenges. Civic Nation is home to seven national initiatives and campaigns: ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, Change Collective, It’s On Us, Save On Clean Energy, SAVE On Student Debt, We The Action, and When We All Vote. Learn more here.