League of Women Voters establishes YSU chapter

By Mikayla Mustard 

The League of Women Voters of Greater Youngstown is establishing a new chapter at Youngstown State University. 

The nonpartisan, grassroots nonprofit organization is dedicated to empowering both men and women who participate in a democracy. The YSU chapter is looking for students from all backgrounds to join.

Sophomore Elise Bush is working with the League of Women’s Voters to get this new on-campus chapter started. 

As a political science major, she said she’s taking the reins of spreading her knowledge to women and getting a headstart on what she wants to do in her future. 

“After getting an internship with them and discussing it with the league, we both thought it would be a great addition to get people at YSU to join to get more participation from college students in politics around the area,” Bush said. 

The organization encourages people to actively participate in government and works to increase understanding of major public policies by providing education and advocacy, according to an LWV spokesperson.

“One thing we want everyone to get out of this is to be involved in politics and to be an active person in policy making because it affects all of us,” Bush said. “It is important we are all involved and we all know who we are voting for and what decisions will be made for our future.”

The LWVGY has been encouraging her to get the campus edition started. 

LWVGY President Leah Sakacs said she’s very excited to work with Bush and has wanted to reach the student community of YSU for a while now. 

“When Elise came to us and was willing to take this on, we were very excited,” Sakacs said. “For it to be successful on campus, you need to have a student willing to take an initiative and to take leadership on this.”

 

Founded in 1920, the league was created by the merging of the National Council of Women Voters and the National American Women’s Suffrage Association and developed a way to help women exercise their right to vote. 

There are active leagues in all 50 states and more than 750 leagues across the country. The LWV engages in advocacy, education, litigation and organizing to protect every American citizen’s freedom to vote. 

In its first year, the YSU group is looking to get as many members as possible with limited meetings as the chapter gets started. With not many signees thus far, it’s always looking for more to get involved, Bush said. 

Vice president of the YSU chapter Julia Csernyik is a sophomore criminal justice major who recently joined the LWV on campus. 

“The benefits of having an organization on campus allows for students to get registered to vote who aren’t already registered and to be informed in a bipartisan manner on the different policies of the different political parties in the area locally and nationally,” Csernyik said. 

For more information on the League of Women Voters YSU Chapter, visit its Instagram @lwv_ysu