Democracy Day Events Spark Student Engagement

Last Wednesday, the college celebrated the anniversary of the Constitution’s signing through a series of school-wide programs, called “Democracy Day.”

These programs hoped to engage students in democracy through a civic engagement fair, cupcake decorating, a Center for Humanistic Inquiry (CHI ) Think Tank speaker event, and a community dialogue hosted by Braver Angels, an organization created to “bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.”

“We are required to celebrate Constitution Day by federal law … It’s tied to our federal financial aid,” said Sarah Barr, director of community engagement and co-chair of the elections working group at the Center for Community Engagement. This stipulation stems from a 2005 congressional initiative requiring post-secondary educational institutions to implement informative programs on the day. Barr worked to organize several events and helped establish the overall focus of the day. Amherst Students for Democracy, an organization focused on promoting democratic engagement, and other student groups, spearheaded efforts to promote civic engagement as part of Democracy Day festivities. 

The college’s tie to civic engagement has been a dynamic effort throughout its history in the form of protests and community-organized events. “There’s always sort of ebbs and flows of this … you need to build trust. The Covid years made it really hard to do that, because we were pretty separated from [our] neighbors,” Barr said.

This year’s events were tailored to promote unity. “There [are] lots of different ways [one] can be a kind of civic actor, and some ways can look and feel really small and not take a lot of effort at all, but are meaningful, and other things can take a lot of effort,” said Barr. The Civic Engagement Fair, held at Keefe Campus Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.,  helped emphasize opportunities for students to connect with their local communities, including volunteering to serve on town committees to combat potential growing political apathy.

Democracy Day’s focus on the role students can play in government hoped to bring more attention to the power that individuals hold in their democracy. “We’re just tired,” said Hedley Lawrence-Apfelbaum ’26, a leader in Amherst Students for Democracy. “We’ve been in the same political phase, for what, 10 years now?”

The CHI Think Tank played a similar role in highlighting how individuals, especially those with a liberal arts education, can impact democracy. Several professors spoke on the topic from 4:30 to 6 p.m., intending for students to grow an understanding of what their impact can look like during uncertain political times.

Students were also able to discuss politics during the community dialogue hosted by Braver Angels at Converse Hall from 7 to 8 p.m. The event was held in a parliamentary style, where speakers addressed one another in the third person in an attempt to limit accusatory language and create a more formal and understanding environment.

“It was interesting to see the kind of factions that are here. I learned about what Amherst is like, and I also learned about other perspectives,” said Parker Alleman ’29, a student who spoke at the event. “We may be radical, and we may talk about radical subjects, but we are capable of talking to [one] another.”

The administration echoed this sentiment as well. “I will use any opportunity and any group of people to try to help bring more voices to the table in our local … national, international [community],” Barr said.“We all have to work together to create the communities that we want to be a part of.”