They live in College Park. They study, eat, sleep and party in College Park. But how many students vote in College Park?

Not too many, student leaders say, despite the Student Government Association’s push to open students’ eyes to their opportunities to shape their temporary home through civic engagement.

“It’s easy to sit back and just let things happen, and it’s natural for a bunch of 20-year-old college students to be apathetic about these sort of things,” city council student liaison Jesse Blitzstein said. “In a way, that’s sad, but I think there is some truth to that.”

Some, including District 3 Councilman Andrew Fellows, attribute this disinterest to students not realizing their status as citizens of the city and instead seeing themselves solely as students at the university.

“The biggest challenge is making people feel a sense of ownership over the community,” Fellows said. “Part of campus life should involve looking at the issues, getting involved where they feel comfortable and making a difference.”

With an objective similar to Fellows’, SGA President Emma Simson has led a large-scale campaign registering students to vote in the upcoming September primary elections and encouraging them to make it out to the polls.

The results of the SGA’s voting campaign have fallen short of Simson’s inaugural address pledge to recruit 1,000 students, registering just under 100 students to vote at the Stamp Student Union and Ritchie Coliseum locations since April.

Despite these low numbers, Simson is hopeful the increase, along with the relocation of a polling place to the on-campus Ritchie Coliseum in July, will yield a higher voter turnout.

Engagement doesn’t end with voting. However, the city and SGA are working to increase activism within the community and at weekly College Park city council meetings.

Fellows said on average, one student a month attends a city council meeting, but more have attended when hot issues such as police department funding or fire safety have been debated.

“Other than response to those issues, students naturally focus on their future and where they are headed and don’t take the time to focus on where they are now,” Fellows said. “Students don’t see the effect they can have in the short time they are living here.”

The potential impact is monumental, Blitzstein said, but students must first decide to take initiative and put themselves out there.

“[Involvement] could be contacting someone in a position of power and sharing ideas, or something more proactive like going out and showing support or a lack of support for something,” Blitzstein said. “As city council liaison, I’d love more student involvement in city affairs in any shape or form.”

How to get involved

City Council meetings are open to the public and held weekly on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m in City Hall.

For more information on upcoming city events, visit www.collegeparkmd.gov or call city hall at (301) 864-8666.

How to contact city officials

Mayor

Stephen Brayman:

sbrayman@collegeparkmd.gov

District 1 Council members

David Milligan:

dmillig@collegeparkmd.gov

John Krouse:

jkrouse@collegeparkmd.gov

District 2 Council members

Jack Perry:

jperry@collegeparkmd.gov

Bob Catlin:

rcatlin@collegeparkmd.gov

District 3 Council members

Eric Olson:

eolson@collegeparkmd.gov

Andrew Fellows:

afellows@collegeparkmd.gov

District 4 Council members

Karen Hampton:

khampton@collegeparkmd.gov

Joseline Peña-Melnyk:

jpena@collegeparkmd.gov

City Council Student Liaison

Jesse Blitzstein:

jblitz@umd.edu.

Contact reporter Steven Overly at overlydbk@gmail.com.