On Oct. 7, Sacred Heart University held a Zoom colloquium called “Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Voting Rights, Political Engagement, and Inequality in the United States.” In the past, colloquials were held in the University Commons auditorium. This year, students have to attend Zoom presentations due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Typically, students at the university attend these talks for intellectual experiences or as a part of course requirements. This particular colloquium was presented because of the upcoming presidential debate and because of major struggles voting rights and political engagement in the United States have faced. The speakers explored suffrage laws and statistics from different periods in history.
“I want to participate because it is the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage and also an election year. Voters among young people have historically and always been traditionally low. It’s an opportunity to inspire students to vote this fall by looking at important issues such as how women, racial and ethnic minorities have struggled over time to get access to the ballot, something that many of us today take for granted,” said Dr. Kelly Marino, a professor in the Department of History.
Many professors at the university were excited about the event and found attending the event meaningful. Many of them presented their topics and research.
“I am participating in the colloquium because students may not be aware of the role that the fight for voting rights played in the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s or that we need to continue to protect our right to vote as American citizens even today,” said Professor Jennifer McLaughlin, a professor in the Department of History.
Many spoke about gender inequalities and the importance of equal rights for everyone in our society.
“I decided to participate because although we’ve made a lot of strides towards gender equality, there is still a gender gap within political offices held. Despite women making up 51% of the population in the US, their representation in office hovers around 25% or less,” said Professor Adrianne Crowell, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology.
Professors felt that attending this event was necessary, especially with the events that have been ongoing during the pandemic.
“As a social psychologist, I wanted to share some potential psychological mechanisms that could be contributing to that, including gender-based stereotypes and judgments,” said Crowell.
Although the country has experienced some obstacles this year, professors still have hope for the election.
“My hope is by talking about some of the challenges that people have faced, and battles fought to get the opportunity to vote and participate in politics, people will realize how lucky they are to have the rights and chances that they have at the present,” said Kelly.
Even though many students preferred to be in person for the colloquium, they were still grateful for the learning opportunity.
“I enjoyed all the information that was presented by the staff. I feel like events like these are great for educating generations and especially when it comes to times like these. I would’ve preferred for the event to be present in the auditorium, but I am just glad I had the opportunity to learn,” said senior Julian Pedrouzo.
