Students making signs at a polling location on Bard College campus. Photo by Jonathan Asiedu ’24.
Jonathan Becker, acting president at Bard College and GHEA21 Vice Chancellor, has published a
New York Times Opinion guest essay about student voting rights. In the article, “American Colleges Should Not Be Neutral on Democracy,” Becker argues that institutions of higher learning have a duty to assist their students in navigating the registration and voting process, educating them not only about their democratic rights but actively helping to realize those rights. He views this as especially crucial given new federal regulations set to take effect in October, in which the Office of Management and Budget has proposed to classify voter registration efforts by colleges and other nonprofit organizations as lobbying, which would curtail student democratic engagement. “American colleges and universities must not be neutral on the issues of democracy and civic participation,” Becker writes for the
Times. “In the 2022 midterms, only 30.6% of college students voted: we should all view this as unacceptable. College leaders should articulate their opposition to the proposed rule changes and find resources to promote and defend the most foundational of democratic rights.”
Post Date: 08-19-2026