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CURL alum Dylan Matthews helps students Pledge to Vote with local nonprofit, Future Majority

Our movement across Canada has so far collected over 20,000 youth pledges, and through increased media exposure, is changing the debate around the issues which matter to youth, such as climate change and affordable living. Every day, we are mobilizing more and more young Canadians to get involved in the political process.

Dylan Matthews

Past CURL Fellow and HUCSC Dylan Matthews smiles on campus, wearing a Huron-branded collared shirt.Dylan Matthews, recent Huron graduate, former HUCSC president and CURL alumnus, is currently involved with a local organization called Future Majority, a non-partisan non-profit organization whose mission is to increase youth engagement in politics, starting with the 2019 Federal Election.

Dylan says, “For the first time in Canadian history, youth make up the largest voting bloc in this election, which presents the unique opportunity to make the priorities for youth the priorities for all politicians across all political parties. Yet, at the same time, we see this disillusionment among youth—and certainly the ones I have spoken with—toward the national political narrative. They are unhappy with what is currently being offered by political parties.”

Dylan is working as a Lead Organizer at Western University and is asking students to sign a “Pledge to Vote” for the upcoming election. He notes that Western currently has over 1,300 signatures to the pledge and is on-track to walk over 800 students to the on-campus polls starting October 5th.

When asked how Huron students specifically can be influential in local politics and this year’s election, Dylan responds, “Imagine we take a school like Huron, with just over 1,000 students, and we make a statement that says, ‘Every one of our students has pledged to vote in the upcoming election.’ This means that all politicians will have to compete for the 1,000+ votes that come out of Huron and, as such, will have to debate about the issues important to this youth group. They will have to provide policies addressing climate change. They will have to anticipate the future of work and the ‘New Normal’. Huron students, alone, can change what they want to hear out of their representatives. That is the power they have to make a difference this election.”

Dylan remarks that one of the things he learned in the role of HUCSC president was that Huron students have a certain maturity to them; they are passionate and engaged in the world around them. He says, “They are global citizens, welcoming the challenges of tomorrow and not afraid to ask the morally ambiguous questions.”

Dylan wants to take that energy and amplify it across all Canadian youth.

“Let Huron serve as a testament to the potential for youth mobilization to elevate our national discourse. My hope, simply, is to inspire the next generation to have the moral courage to take on the challenges of today and tomorrow. For me, that starts with voting on October 21st.”

On-campus polls are open at the UCC Basement from October 5th to October 9th (Saturday – Wednesday). Students can vote in either London North Centre or their home riding.

Follow this link to Pledge to Vote:  https://huronvotes.futuremajority.ca/

Danika Morrison