Stay up to date on civic and community engagement news and events on campus and in St. Louis.
Democracy is a Substitute for War
When Congress reconvened in the late hours of Wednesday evening, January 6th, following the cascade of violence that swept through the halls of the Capitol earlier in the day, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer recalled the words of our founder, former Congressman Dick Gephardt, to capture the severity and magnitude of the moment: “Democracy is […]
#MyFirstElection Social Media Campaign
This fall, the Gephardt Institute launched #MyFirstElection, a storytelling campaign that shares individuals’ experience engaging in the U.S. 2020 presidential election. Posting a series of short videos on our Facebook and Instagram social media accounts, we aimed to address any uncertainties that first-time voters may have been feeling toward the election. Featured stories shared other […]
US Elections 101: Partnership with the Office for International Students and Scholars
In preparation for Election Day, the Gephardt Institute and our campus partners mobilized efforts to register voters, educate voters, and ensure voters make their voices heard. Suffrage is at the core of U.S. democracy, but for the international student body of Washington University, civic engagement is still possible outside the ballot box. International students comprise […]
Washington University designated ‘Voter-Friendly Campus’
By Diane Toroian Keaggy • March 15, 2019 Originally featured in The Source Washington University in St. Louis has been recognized, for the second time, as a “Voter-Friendly Campus” by the Campus Vote Project and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. The Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement, through its comprehensive Engage Democracy initiative, increased voter […]
Class of 2021 Spotlight: Andrew Whitaker
By Leslie Gibson McCarthy • October 28, 2020 Originally published in The Source Andrew Whitaker has spent his undergraduate career at Washington University in St. Louis giving back. A biomedical engineering major at the McKelvey School of Engineering, he has danced and played with kids who have cerebral palsy so they can put on a dance recital through Dance […]
Class of 2021 Spotlight: Jessica Yu
With involvement in Civic Scholars, WashU Undergraduate and Graduate Workers’ Union (WUGWU), Asian and Pacific Islanders Demanding Justice (APIDJ), and Abolish WUPD, senior Jessica Yu is no stranger to student activism. In high school, she got involved in a community organization for Asian youth, which exposed her to social justice and community-centered initiatives. As these […]