Protect the Student Vote PA Road Trip

As we approach one of the most historic elections in American history, it is essential that voters across the country – particularly first-time voters – are aware of the rights, procedures, and responsibilities that come with voting.

One of the major campaigns I am leading at Common Cause is our Protect the Student Vote campaign, which is designed to educated student voters about how and when they can register, where their polling places are located, during what hours are the polling places open in their state, and what to do if they feel they have been illegally barred from voting.

Watch the short promotional video I made during my road trip.  This short video was shot on a Sony mini DV camera and editing on Windows Moviemaker.

Gandhi/King Conference

This weekend I presented a paper at the Gandhi/King conference in Memphis, TN.  The paper is titled, “The Structural Violence of American Politics: Barriers to Peace and Justice in the World’s Most Powerful Democracy.”  Here is a quick excerpt from the introduction:

One of the biggest challenges America faces today is the overwhelming role of private money in the political process. The private financing of election campaigns is a form of structural violence in America’s political system because it creates an inequality of political power. This form of structural violence perpetuates social inequities and injustice that in turn enable and encourage the use of violence as a tool of American foreign policy. This paper makes the case that citizens need to combat this form of structural violence in America’s political system in order to overcome barriers to peace and social justice in the world’s most powerful democracy.

This was the second time I had presented this paper.  The first was at the Gandhi Center for Nonviolence conference at James Madison University.

Global Nonviolence Student Conference

Yesterday I gave a presentation at the second Nonviolence Student Conference which is organized by the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence at James Madison University