UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As Election Day nears, Penn State communications students continue to play a big role in informing their fellow students about candidates and encouraging them to vote.
Lakyn Meeder, who represents the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications on the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA), was one of a handful of students who led an effort to create a voter’s guide — available in print and digitally — for students at the University Park campus.
“It’s my first year with UPUA and even with the challenges of this mostly virtual semester it’s so great to work with students who are dedicated to making the lives of other students better,” Meeder said. “I think part of that is getting involved and voting. We wanted to have a way to provide students with information about candidates in one place.”
Meeder, a junior majoring in advertising/public relations as well as political science, from York, Pennsylvania, said UPUA worked closely with the League of Women’s Voters to compile the information in the voter’s guide for students. She thinks another resource of information specifically for students (the League of Women’s Voters does produce an overall voter’s guide) is important.
In addition, CommAgency, the student-run media production agency housed in the Bellisario College, has helped UPUA with social media content for its non-partisan PSU Votes initiative — a get-out-the-vote and registration effort — throughout the fall semester.
“We helped them brainstorm content that could get students educated, engaged and excited,” said Sarah Dziuba, a senior advertising/public relations major and director of CommAgency’s social media division.
Three of the nine students in CommAgency’s social media division worked exclusively with UPUA on the PSU Votes effort. They largely focused on content for UPUA’s Instagram account.
“For us, UPUA has been a great client because it’s an important and timely topic,” Dziuba said. “It’s also valuable experience for us in terms of career development to go through a process where we learn about a client’s needs and help them build something.”