CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.–Bret Curtis, a fourth-year student at the University of Virginia, watched as recent events catapulted his beloved university into the national spotlight. There was the abduction and murder of a student, a high-profile magazine article reporting on false rape allegations and, most recently, a violent march of racist extremists.
“We face obstacles all year round,” Curtis, the head of University Democrats, told his team who was holed up a room looking out on The Lawn. “We can’t let rain stop us now.”
After months of campaigning, University of Virginia students headed to the polls on Tuesday to cast their votes for governor and various other state government positions. The weeks leading up to the election were in the aftermath of the deadly Aug. 11 demonstration when White supremacists and alt-right groups marched on campus and one of them drove into a group of counter-protesters killing a young woman.
According to members of the UVA community, these recent events have impacted activism on campus and have fueled student-led, bipartisan efforts that have resulted in thousands of new voter registrations.
On the night before the election, University Democrats phone-banked until eight in the evening. The organization also spent the last weekend knocking on doors in contested areas.
Elizabeth Parker, a fourth-year student and the campaign chair for University Democrats, said a team of 11 students knocked on over 1500 doors on Friday. Saturday was spent doing phone and email outreach. On Sunday, the Democrats hosted a visit from Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee.
“It’s easy to fall in love with a presidential campaign,” Parker said, “but by being invested in a gubernatorial [campaign] and these statehouse races, I think I’ve learned a lot about how to be effective in a campaign.”
