As midterm week descends upon campus, a familiar wave of panic is present, and stress seems to grab ahold of campus. It’s a defining moment in Fall Term, as students face critical exams which they will see as a testament, as the final chance to drop courses has passed. This air of panic, stress or the “Lawrence Busy” — whatever one may call it — becomes even more contagious. While pressure builds around academics, another important event becomes even more palpable on the horizon: the presidential election on Nov. 5.
Sophomore student Leo Rodda organized a Mocktails for Voter Registration, held on Wednesday, Oct. 2 from 3–7 p.m. More than 70 students registered to vote at the event while they enjoyed music-themed mocktails. As a first-time voter himself, Rodda wanted the process to be as straightforward and enjoyable as possible.
Rodda’s motivation to host the event was rooted in his worries surrounding such a “high-stakes election.” Recognizing the intimidation for first-time voters, he wanted other students to have an environment to feel excited about voting. For Rodda, “it is very anxiety-producing”; he states, “I wish we could associate registering to vote as something fun.”
In a way, Rodda is currently combating the implementation of the daunting first tasks of registration by offering a mocktail reward at the end. The voter registration mocktails were all music theory–themed, with names such as “Shirley Tempo,” the “Deceptive Cadence” — a version of the Old Fashioned — and “So-La-Ti-Do,” a clever acronym for flavors.
Mixing drinks was something that his mother had done as a hobby. Rodda would take inspiration from the hobby to make it something more: a way to bring the Conservatory and Lawrence together. For Rodda, this was not his first time hosting an event like this. He had previously hosted events at the Con to alleviate stress or foster community. He states that “this isn’t my primary goal with it — though I hope that, by doing mocktails, I can help the community in the Con breathe a little bit.”
There are limitations to what Lawrence can do for university students, according to Rodda, though he adds that there are also probably more ways for Lawrence to continue to assist. Stating the importance of assistance, as there are always “obstacles for voting — as not everyone has the time or mental bandwidth,” Rodda hopes that more attention could be put into absentee voting as an option. He states, “In this event, I encouraged absentee ballot voting — but there could be a bit more encouragement for people, in the future, to vote absentee.”
The turnout rate for Rodda’s event was overwhelming, though he seemingly looked back fondly at his progress. He states, “Personally, I had a lot of trepidation and anxiety, [such as] what if I screw this up? What if everyone thinks they are registered to vote even though I messed it up? […] But having done this now, I feel very confident.” The organization of this event took a lot of planning and mixing drinks, as Rodda worked with family, friends and the Office of Student Engagement, Activities and Leadership (SEAL). Rodda reveals that he paid for everything a few days before, only to find out that SEAL was covering the ingredients for mocktails. “I couldn’t have done this without Aaron Wojciechowski and Hannah Osborne,” he credits as encouragement, along with his friends.
SEAL and students like Rodda have been supporters of first-time voters here at Lawrence University. The next step is submitting one’s ballot on Nov. 5. We’re all wondering what the results will be in this presidential election.