Xavier Students Make a Splash for Voter Registration Ahead of Midterms 

By Jasmine Martin 

More than a dozen campus organizations brought students out to the University Center Yard on Thursday, Sept. 18, for the Splash-A-Thon: Voters Education Fest. Instead of a traditional Live Music Friday, student leaders used the noon to 2 p.m. time slot to help register Xavierites to vote ahead of the midterm elections.

“I just wanted to put on an event where people could find an engaging way to get registered to vote and learn more about the upcoming midterms,” said Jordyn Nesbitt, a sophomore political science accelerated pre-law major who helped organize the event.

Vote HBCU partnered with campus organizations such as the Student Government Association, Social Justice Coalition and Xavier NAACP, among others, to help with turnout for the event. Upon showing proof of their voter registration, students had the opportunity to splash a student leader from the organization of their choice.

Although the event made a splash on the yard, Nesbitt said she hopes events with a purpose like this one make an impact in the community. Many students simply lacked information about registration deadlines, polling logistics or what was actually on the ballot, and closing that gap was part of the point of the event, she said.

For some students, the event tapped into concerns already on their minds.

“In my state, in Missouri, we lost all SNAP benefits for about three months,” said MiKehael Holman, a freshman biology pre-med major. “That affected my community very deeply.”

That experience, Holman said, shaped how she thinks about her own vote, not as something symbolic, but as something tied to the well-being of her community back home.

“I wanted to have my voice heard, have my impact, and be a part of something that can change our community,” Holman said.

Other students reflected on the generational legacy of voting in the Black community.

“A lot of our ancestors fought for us to have this right, and it’s important that we continue that,” Howard said. “Now we have a lot of Black legislators. If you don’t vote, you can’t blame Donald Trump for nothing. It’s on you.”

That history, Howard said, is not abstract to Xavier. Freedom Riders once stayed on the university’s campus during the civil rights movement, a fact brought up when asked about the importance of voting at HBCUs specifically.

“The Freedom Riders were here, they stayed in the Mikes,” Howard said, referring to St. Michael’s Residence Hall. “A lot of legislation affects us. You can change those things,” he said.