The U.S Senate campaign of Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke has motivated students at historically Black colleges and universities in Texas, resulting in thousands registering to vote, rallying for the right to vote on campus, and encouraging others to do the same.
O’Rourke, who is an El Paso congressman, has crisscrossed the state, visiting all 254 counties in an effort to unseat incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Along the way, he has stopped by numerous community colleges and universities, including four of the state’s nine HBCUs.
“The pollsters and political consultants would never tell you to visit Paul Quinn College, Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University in the last month of the campaign. With so few days left, with limited time and resources, they would say spending that time with young people is a waste. That’s exactly why this campaign doesn’t use pollsters or consultants,” O’Rourke said. “My campaign is about showing up to every community and not taking anyone for granted.”
O’Rourke’s platform includes prison and judicial reform, supplying school districts with needed resources and increasing Pell grants for students who want to attend college.
Prairie View A&M University
Last month, a town hall meeting at Prairie View A&M featuring O’Rourke as the guest speaker, drew more than 700 students. Tickets to the event sold out in two days and was live streamed to the state’s other HCBUs. Weeks later, during a campus-wide voter registration drive, between 150 to 200 students signed up to vote. More were registered the following week during a door-to-door campus dormitory drive on October 9, the last day to register to vote in Texas.
Kendrick Jones is a senior majoring in agricultural economics at Prairie View and is involved in student government. He is also the youngest member of the Prairie View City Council.
