It’s an early Tuesday morning, in a small, stuffy conference room that could be compared in size to that of an old telephone booth.
Here, the College Democrats of Oakland University are having an E-Board meeting discussing their current objective: To educate voters on the entire 2024 presidential ballot from top-to-bottom with the election less than one month away.
The time crunch has the president of the College Democrats, Rose Smith, burning the midnight oil. The time for action is now.
With most of the Oakland University student body already registered to vote, the group needs to pivot into another direction. Their new strategy is to hold Ballot Workshops “EVERY single Wednesday until the election,” Smith stressed to the members of the group.
“We need to be on our A-Game,” Group Treasurer Brendan DeVore said emphatically.
The goal of the workshops is to “further educate people on which candidates match up with their beliefs and who is actually representing them,” said Smith.
An issue for Smith is reserving space for these events. “The OC Reservations Office normally wants us to reserve rooms at least two weeks in advance, in politics that’s just not an option sometimes.”
Oakland University has roughly 315 other groups and organizations on campus according to the University’s GrizzOrgs website. Many of them are fighting for the same limited spaces and rooms.
Smith is no stranger to pressure; she overcomes the challenges of hate and insensitivity directed towards transgender folks, as well as other members of the LGBTQIA+ community experience, every single day.
Smith received attacks online based on her lifestyle after being interviewed by local media outlets, who were covering a watch party hosted at Oakland University for the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I got so much hate from it, even death threats,” said Smith. Though, she does not let that stop her from staying productive. “The solution I found, is just focusing on the goals ahead of me. Play it one day at a time.”
Smith has hosted many “Coming Out Day” events on campus for students to actively spread awareness, the most recent being Oct. 11, 2024.
She has been stretched thin this election season, with roughly 30 hours of her week split between being President of the College Democrats, working for Disability Support Services, a member of Student Congress, as well as working at Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
Smith manages the workload, all while still being a student taking classes and maintaining her academic performance.
SAFB Chairperson and OU communications major Gio Liotti spoke to Smith’s work ethic,
“During the summer we worked a lot in person together, she was only getting paid for four hours a week and was here all the time getting stuff done. It’s really admirable,” Liotti said.
Smith was not always a Democrat. “I used to be hyper-conservative,” she said. “I grew up in a conservative area.”
She became more aligned democratically as she got older, more confident in her own opinions and beliefs.
The political science major, who’s only in her second year at OU, started the organization after being invited to the Michigan College Democrats shortly before starting classes at Oakland. She decided to advocate for Oakland’s own chapter which was established in July 2023.
Smith finds fulfillment through “building a community” and makes it easy for new members to join their organization. The club is now up to over 50 members and growing.
Nia Matthews, a film student at OU and SAFB co-chairperson, spoke to Smith’s leadership style while working with her in Student Congress.
“Rose is a no B.S. type of person. She doesn’t care how you do it; she just wants it done,” Matthews said.
Matthews went on to say, “Rose is one of the main reasons why OUSC has a financial manager again, we haven’t had one in five years.”
The 2024 presidential election is among the most controversial we have ever seen. Smith’s goal is to “retain democracy.” She cites both former President Donald Trump’s resistance to being fact checked and Senator Vance’s controversial comments about creating stories for media attention as “abhorrently dangerous.”
She stays as active as she possibly can with the organization, handing out flyers, tabling in the Oakland Center on campus, as well as representing OU at the Michigan College Democrats convention.
“There’s so much on the line in the general election,” Smith said.
What makes our country unique, is the fact that everyone’s vote has the same worth. From the president themself, to a janitor or unemployed student. Part of what makes you an American is your ability to vote, do not squander it.
