Courtesy photo Bay College is designated a Voter Friendly Campus by NASPA and the Campus Vote Project. Bay College student Charles-John Manansala, left, and Michigan Coordinator for the Campus Vote Project Landon Myers.

ESCANABA — On March 28, Bay College was named a Voter Friendly Campus, one of 258 campuses in 38 states and the District of Columbia by Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. The initiative recognizes institutions that have planned and implemented practices that encourage their students to register and vote in the 2022 elections and in coming years.

The mission of the 2023 Voter Friendly Campus designation is to bolster colleges and universities’ efforts to help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process — every year, not just during years featuring federal elections. Bay College was evaluated based on a written plan for how the College planned to register, educate, and turnout student voters in 2022, how Bay facilitated voter engagement efforts on the campus, and a final analysis of the College’s efforts.

“Bay College has been providing voter registration drives and election information events in coordination with the Delta County League of Women Voters during major election cycles, but the Campus Vote Project has solidified our commitment and expanded our focus to include more regular student engagement between major elections,” said Bay College Political Science Instructor Molly Campbell.

Much of the work in earning the designation as a Voter Friendly Campus was done in the fall 2022 semester with the help of Bay College student Charles-John Manansala, who was chosen to serve in a statewide role as a Democracy Fellow for the Campus Vote Project.

The Michigan Coordinator for the Campus Vote Project, Landon Myers, met with Campbell and Manansala on the Bay College campus to announce the Voter Friendly Campus designation.

Bay College has made a strong statement about their civic mission to prepare students to be engaged participants in our democracy and is eager to continue engaging students through 2023, 2024, and beyond.

The institutions designated Voter Friendly Campuses represent a wide range of two-year, four-year, public, private, rural, and urban campuses, collectively serving over 3.5 million students. Notably, the list of designated institutions includes 49 Minority Serving Institutions and 13 historically Black colleges and universities, as well as 41 community colleges.