Duquesne Students Were ‘All In’ for the 2020 Election

A new effort to help increase Duquesne students’ voting participation in the 2020 U.S. election proved highly successful. Nearly 75% of students voted, almost a 15% increase from 2016.

Duquesne participated in the All In Campus Democracy Challenge, a national program designed to encourage civic learning and engagement on campus. As part of the program, the University convened a campus-wide working group to increase student voting rates and develop and implement a data-driven plan to improve civic learning and political engagement.

“We are very excited to be recognized for our student participation by the All In Challenge,” said Dr. Alia Pustorino-Clevenger, director of extracurricular community engagement. “By helping students become more aware of the political process, we expand their horizons so they better understand their role in our democracy. Thanks to the faculty, staff and students for their work in creating such a successful program.”

With 74.8% of students voting, Duquesne easily outpaced the national average of 66% for college students, according to a report from the Institute of Democracy and Higher Education (IDHE). The effort exemplifies the University’s commitment to broadening student perspectives on political subjects, such as the civil discourse event series.

The IDHE National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement is the nation’s largest study of college and university student voting. Nearly 1,200 campuses of all types participated in the study.