Prince George’s County Council member Wanika Fisher joined three other Maryland leaders Monday for a discussion about the importance of voting and student voter engagement in Stamp Student Union.

The “Power to the Polls” event was co-hosted by this university’s Black Girls Vote student organization and the Student Success Leadership Council. Fisher was joined by Laurel Mayor Keith Sydnor, Howard County Board of Education member Robyn Scates and state Del. Jheanelle Wilkins (D-Montgomery).

The organizations hosted the event to emphasize the importance of students being engaged in the electoral process ahead of November’s election, Rhiley Jones, the event’s moderator and SSLC member, told The Diamondback.

“[Voting] is your power. That’s your way of making change,” the senior government and politics major said. “If you’re not happy with something, you have the right to vote.”

Voting is crucial because laws dictate many aspects of daily life, including taxes, infrastructure, educational systems, Sydnor said during the panel.

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Like Sydnor, Wilkins said it’s important for people to voice their opinions on critical issues. Wilkins also encouraged students to remain engaged in politics beyond voting in elections.

“We have to stay civically engaged,” Wilkins said. “This is a full-contact sport in terms of politics and our democracy, it’s an exchange of ideas.”

Jones then asked the panelists to detail key issues affecting young voters.

Abortion, climate change and immigration are all important topics ahead of next month’s election, according to Scates, who referenced a referendum in Maryland that would amend the state’s constitution to secure the right to abortion and access to birth control.

But it’s important for students to do their own research on political issues, she said.

Wilkins agreed abortion rights and reproductive healthcare will be crucial issues and emphasized the inequities in maternal healthcare for Black women.

The pregnancy-related mortality rate for Black Marylanders was more than double compared to the rate for white counterparts between 2018 and 2020, according to a 2022 Maryland health department report.

At the end of the event, panelists took part in a question-and-answer period with the audience.

Aeirss Prince, a junior government and politics major, asked the panelists about what keeps them politically energized.

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For Fisher, who represents District 2 in Prince George’s County, she said she hopes to leave her community better than how she found it.

“There’s nowhere I’d rather fight than the United States of America and I’m gonna fight for her every single day,” Fisher said. “I’m gonna make sure that it’s better for the next woman and man coming behind me.”

Scates said she wants to ensure everyone is encouraged to achieve their goals. There is no ceiling on what anyone can achieve, she added.

Trevor Paige, SSLC’s vice president, said he enjoyed the atmosphere at Monday’s event. The event felt inclusive and intimate, the senior geographical sciences major said.
“Even though there were state legislators here, it felt like … my voice and my questions matter, Paige said. “I felt like I was getting really personal insight about what was going on.”

Sydney Allen, a sophomore government and politics major, said many pieces of legislation are crucial because they concern fundamental rights, including abortion. Voting will allow her to have her voice heard as a Black woman, Allen added.

“I feel like me voting is taking that voice back and being able to get my opinion out there,” Allen said.