In the midst of election season, President Reveley IV of Longwood University along with the Student Government Association lead a discussion called This is Democracy: Charting the Path Forward, a conversation with President Reveley on Thursday, November 5.
Students and faculty gathered in Soza Ballroom in Upchurch University Center as well as on Zoom to join in on the discussion. Longwood Student Government Association President Brandon Bowen welcomed everyone to the event and thanked everyone for coming. Director of Multicultural Affairs Johnathan Page introduced President Reveley for the event. Reveley spoke about the current status of the election and the history of elections in the past. He referred back to the election in the 1800s between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams where the United States did not know who the president was on the night of the election. He reassured the Longwood community that even though the stakes are high, the United States will come out on the other side better and stronger.
Reveley explained the process of the electoral college and how each state has two votes for the two state senators as well as the additional number of votes for the members in the House of Representatives that each state has. He also explained the significance social media can have on the election. He stated that even though there has been an increase in social media, the accuracy within the social media platforms has decreased over time.
At the end of the discussion, Reveley opened the floor up for questions. A student brought up the concern of Longwood holding classes on Election Day and how a lot of students had to choose whether to skip class to vote or request an absentee ballot. President Reveley stated that how it is important for Longwood students to voice their opinions and utilize their rights as Citizen Leaders and how he will potentially consider that in future elections.
Another concern that was brought up during the discussion was the concept of privacy within the public eye. Reveley stated that in today’s society, privacy is extremely hard to have, especially with the ongoing rise of technology and social media. He enforced the importance of monitoring what you choose to upload onto your social media platforms. He also focused on the virtue of transparency and how he hopes it will increase in the future.
Lastly, President Reveley discussed the importance of being citizen leaders both on and off campus especially during election week. Overall, even though there is a lot of division within the United States, it is important to consider what we, as citizen leaders can do to help minimize the unrest within the world around us.
Longwood University President Taylor W. Reveley IV discusses topics surrounding the 2020 election such as past elections, social media's impact on the election and keeping the University open on Election Day.
