HLP Supports Eight-Campus N.C. Youth Voting Initiative
Across the nation, young people between the ages of 18 and 24 are the least likely to vote. At Duke, the Hart Leadership Program at the Sanford School of Public Policy is aiming to change that.
PEP is a leadership initiative for Duke undergraduates interested in political engagement and includes coursework, support for summer internships, and mentoring.
The Political Engagement Project (PEP) is a collaboration between the Hart Leadership Program and POLIS: Center for Politics. PEP is designed to inspire, cultivate, and prepare future leaders in democracy and provide them pathways to meaningful participation, contributing to more diverse and inclusive political representation at all levels in the United States. PEP is open to all Duke undergraduates in their junior year who are interested in political leadership, broadly defined. However, the program has a special interest in supporting students from communities who have historically been disenfranchised from or underrepresented in formal political power.
The PEP experience involves five core components:
POLIS and HLP will work collaboratively to nurture the PEP Fellows’ political and leadership abilities through engagement with guest speakers and participation in training and mentoring activities centered on running for political office or building careers in public policy.
PEP is supported by a generous gift from the Carrin M. Patman Fund. Patman was a long-time activist for political reform and inclusive political practices in Texas. She successfully lobbied for a law requiring political parties to publicly disseminate their participation rules prior to making decisions. On the national level, she led the fight against winner-take-all presidential primaries at the 1976 Democratic National Convention. Patman was an advocate for political engagement, and multiple members of her immediate family served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Texas legislature.
Across the nation, young people between the ages of 18 and 24 are the least likely to vote. At Duke, the Hart Leadership Program at the Sanford School of Public Policy is aiming to change that.
This semester's Connect2Politics events tackled a variety of topics related to political leadership and community-engaged work, including local government innovation, journalism, and data analysis.
The Hart Leadership Program and the Center for Political Leadership Innovation and Service (POLIS) are excited to launch a new undergraduate fellowship program focused on political engagement.
Connect2Politics promotes student engagement with critical political issues and actors by hosting intimate gatherings with political practitioners of all types and stripes.