As a college education in Oregon becomes less and less affordable and available grant aid continues to decline, students of color are increasingly unable to access higher education. At the same time, communities of color in Oregon are voting at significantly lower levels than whites.
It’s not often that we hear about the rich history of grassroots organizing in Oregon by communities of color; these efforts brought us major victories, like outlawing racial and ethnic discrimination in public spaces. Grassroots organizations fought for the ability to vote, and translated that into power by registering and turning out communities of color.
This election season, students of color will be working to educate our communities about the power we can gain through voting. If communities of color turn out to vote, we’ll have a much stronger voice in the legislature next year when we ask the state to fund programs that give students of color, first generation students, and low income students the tools to access higher education and to extend in-state tuition rates to undocumented students.
Join the Oregon Students of Color Coalition in getting communities of color to the polls. Register yourself to vote by Oct. 17 and stop by the ASUO office to get involved.
Lorena Landeros is a University Student and ASUO Multicultural Advocate