STEMulate the Vote: Uniting Science Advocates Prior to the 2020 Election
Talia Henkle
Summer 2020. A seemingly innocuous phrase unless you happen to be living through it. All of us know the tribulations it entails; a spike of COVID-19 cases, civil unrest due to racism embedded in our culture, wildfires and hurricanes running rampant across the country, and an increasingly decaying political landscape where actions are being taken to actively push scientists out of the policymaking process, be they assisting with the global pandemic or the climate crisis. Personally, my outlook of the future was becoming increasingly dreary. Luckily, we are lifted up by those who can see the light in dark times.
Rather than giving in to dejection, my friend and colleague, Bernat Navarro, was inspired into action by this turmoil. One Saturday night in mid-July he put together a proposal for the student organization we lead, the Johns Hopkins Science Policy Group (JHSPG), to unite the Hopkins community in support of science prior to the 2020 election. The JHSPG has been growing since its inception in 2016, but our campus recognition is still relatively low. Bernat envisioned the JHSPG becoming a hub for all of Hopkins where students and affiliates are empowered educate, debate, and advocate for science in the policymaking process, and the 2020 election was our moment to make this vision a reality.
And thus began our initiative, “STEMulate the Vote!”. Alarmed by the data that showed STEM majors are less likely to vote than other majors, we wanted to create content to educate fellow STEM students and professionals about the integral relationship between science, policy and politics to motivate them to become more civically engaged. Additionally, we aimed to raise awareness about local, state, and federal elections and further foster discussion about science issues on the ballot, highlighting each candidate’s stance on scientific topics. In this age of social distancing, we decided to spread our messages through social media, op-eds, and virtual seminars. Luckily, the JHSPG is not alone in our mission and we have been fortunate to partner with professional organizations like NSPN, Science Rising, Science Debate, and Research!America to help elevate our message and provide logistical support.
So far, we have been thrilled to see that STEMulate the Vote! has attracted volunteers from many schools around Hopkins, many of them citing the ‘state of the world’ as their motivation for joining. We are still in the early stages, but our reach is already growing. We have connected with other student organizations at Hopkins and at other universities around Maryland who are interested in sharing our messages. We are hopeful that this network will continue to expand and will grow to be as inclusive as possible. Now, looking at the future, I am slightly more hopeful, thanks to the inspirational work ethic and creativity of our STEMulate the Vote! volunteers. Together, united in science, my Hopkins and STEM community has inspired me to work towards a brighter future for science.
If you are interested in learning more or helping us with STEMulate the vote!, please contact us at jhscipolgroup@gmail.com.