NextGen Day of Action

 NextGen America hosted a Day of Action on Tuesday the 30th on campus, where they tabled, approached students to inform them about their voting rights and opportunities, and even reverse trick-or-treating. 

With the upcoming election, NextGen America has been trying to rally students to increase voter activity. Vanessa Calabrese, the organizer for NextGen, had this to say, “I want the Plymouth State community to know their voting rights, and want them to know the correct information about voting. I also want everyone to practice their civic duty and vote on Tuesday, and to know that that vote has power.” 

NextGen cares about many political issues, and aims to rally voters on a lot of relevant issues. Calabrese said, “NextGen was founded in 2013 as ‘NextGen climate’ for the purpose that young people had the most at stake to protecting the climate for the future. So, we started to mobilize students to be ‘Climate champions.’ But then we started realizing that young people started talking about more issues than just climate change. They started talking about things like immigration, and LGBTQ+, and the trump administration. Which is when we rebranded to ‘Next Gen America.’”

With only a week from the election, NextGen has expressed that they aim to get every student to the voting polls. “What we are looking to do is let every single person on campus in less than one week, on Tuesday at Plymouth elementary school. We are trying to make sure that everyone has a plan to go vote,” said Calabrese. If you don’t already have a plan to go vote, or don’t know how to get to the polls, NextGen has recruited Volunteers to give rides over to the voting polls. 

If you ever want to get involved with NextGen, Calabrese said, “We are always looking for volunteers right up to the election, we are normally tabling in the hub and would love to answer any of your questions.” 

Whether you need to get a ride to the polls or want to help shape a political future for the United States, NextGen has opportunities for you.