The family of computer engineering freshman Jordan Grant donated $50,000 to Associated Students Inc. (ASI) to increase awareness of student voting registration, in memory of their son.
“We want Jordan’s classmates to share the excitement he had for voting,” Jordan’s dad James Grant said. “We think beginning to vote and finding a voice will change how each student embraces their education.”
After Jordan was hit by a driver crossing Highway 101 on El Campo Road, the Grant family actively worked to close several dangerous crossings.
During their campaign for the intersection shutdown, the importance of voting and increasing awareness of local issues resonated with the Grant family.
“Jordan was really excited about voting,” James Grant said. “As soon as his registration card came in he immediately signed it and him and I were texting back and forth about him getting his friends to vote with him on election day. Sadly we realized he will never get to vote.”
Since Cal Poly’s win for the most new voter registrants of any school in California through the Secretary of State Ballot Bowl Competition, the push for more awareness has not stopped.
“ASI’s been pretty successful with our voter registration efforts and this money is really going to help bolster those effects,” ASI President and political science junior Jasmin Fashami said.
The specific use of what the funds will go towards has not been finalized as ASI must carefully follow election codes.
Some ideas for the money include throwing a concert for the student body to come and enjoy the music while also encouraging students to vote at the same time, putting on different competitions among clubs and organizations on campus and increasing awareness of voting registration among college freshmen through various aspects.
“I think it’s very important that once the learning has happened, ASI share that with other college campuses through various means because that’s the way I think you become teachers and leaders in every respect,” James Grant said.
