Around Town and Around the Globe
Morgan Levy and Zane Hensal sitting together a table with paperwork between them
Photo: James T. Giffen
Morgan Levy ’25 and Zane Hensal ’26 are raising awareness about voter registration.

’burg and Beyond

In Lewisburg and far afield, Bucknellians make a positive and palpable difference
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Lewisburg

2024 is the year of elections. With over 60 national elections occurring in the U.S., India, Taiwan, France and elsewhere, more than a billion people worldwide, including Bucknell students, are considering where and how to vote. “If you want to change things, the most tangible thing you can do is vote,” says Professor Michael James, political science. “But a lot of students don’t know how to register.” It’s a gap that several Bucknell students are working to address.

What They Are Doing

The Mauch Fellowship, funded by the League of Women Voters of the Lewisburg Area, provides Bucknell students a stipend to organize events that support student political engagement during federal election years. This fall, political science majors Morgan Levy ’25, Zane Hensal ’26 and Victoria Romero ’25 are leading voter registration information sessions in classrooms and at club meetings.

Their Goals

“I hope to increase the turnout rate for Bucknell as a whole,” Hensal says. “The decisions being made in these upcoming elections will impact college students’ lives for years to come.” The fellows are committed to providing unbiased, easily accessible voting information. “Election times are associated with political polarization,” Levy says. “It is my goal to urge students to unite, celebrate our right to vote and remember that before parties, we are Americans.”

Additional Efforts

The Student Voting Coalition is another initiative, started by Juliana Fedorko ’25, to educate students about the voting process. “It’s typical to say your vote doesn’t matter, but in Pennsylvania it really does,” Fedorko says. The group is dedicated to voter education and establishing lasting initiatives, including creating a voting manual to support current and future Bucknell students.

— Sarah Downey ’25