Students from across the city filled Boston Common less than eight months ago as they protested gun violence by pushing for stronger gun control at March for Our Lives. Young voters then turned to the polls in the days and weeks leading up to and on Tuesday.
Early voting numbers suggested that young voters would participate at significantly higher rates than in the 2014 midterm election. Leading up to the election, young activists prepared for the election by aiding in local campaigns, such as Yes on 3.
Question 3 on the Massachusetts ballot proposed to uphold legislation SB 2407, which prohibits discrimination based on gender in public spaces, which includes stores and restaurants. Yes on 3 is a bipartisan movement to encourage voters to vote yes to uphold this legislation.
Carmen Fonseca, a graduate student in Boston University’s School of Social Work, said she began volunteering at Yes on 3 after learning about the movement at an office open house.
“I was originally interested in Yes on 3 because I have folks who identify as transgender in my life who I care about,” Fonseca said. “I don’t really want our state to be the first state to take away people’s civil rights in this way. Those two reasons were enough to get me to the office to volunteer.”
Fonseca said her role within Yes on 3 has been focused on data entry and organization. She volunteered two-to-three hours at a time to record information volunteers received while canvassing.
“For me, it was the opportunity that fit best into my schedule,” Fonseca said.
When a leaked memo from the Trump administration was released by The New York Times concerning the need for a legal definition of sex “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable,” Fonseca said she organized her peers on campus to spread the word and make signs for a rally.
One of her favorite moments working with Yes on 3 so far took place right after a rally on Oct. 28, she said. Fonseca was on schedule to do data entry and was pleasantly surprised to see “three times as many volunteers as I had ever seen in the office before.”
“It was really cool to see how people were responding to something truly awful from the Trump administration and seeing a concrete way they could be involved in fighting back,” Fonseca said. “I am all fired up now.”
Daniela Reyes, a graduate student in SSW, began interning at the the National Association of Social Workers Massachusetts chapter this September.
Reyes said she helped organize phone banking for Yes on 3, helped finalize last-minute details, worked with the co-chairs and delegated work.
“It’s been a challenge, but we are trying to do everything that we can to support these important issues,” Reyes said.
Reyes is the Legislative Education Advocacy Day coordinator at NASW. She said she was initially interested in the opportunity as a way to build a larger community and network.
Reyes is also the second-year co-chair for Social Workers for Action at SSW. As a co-chair, Reyes said she plans to help students get involved in social justice issues, advocacy and activism.
Without young people active in politics, Reyes said there will be “just rich white people with power.”
“We would be stuck in a place with no progress,” she said. “Getting students engaged and active in any type of political or social movement is really important to make voices heard.”
Drew Powell, a sophomore in the College of General Studies, is a public relations coordinator for the Center for Gender, Sexuality and Activism at BU who focuses on outreach.
“As a trans student, I think CGSA is a very important space for marginalized groups, such as trans people and queer people on such a large campus,” Powell said.
Powell said he has been volunteering at the Yes on 3 campaign by phone banking alongside the CGSA. He said he believes it is important for young people to be active in politics so their voices will be reflected in government.
“In our society and our world, there is a lot of work to be done,” he said. “As a young person involved in activism, I am contributing to getting that work done so that the people that come after me don’t have to fight so hard for basic rights.”
