Washington D.C. — For immediate release:
Today we are writing to commemorate the third anniversary of the Task Force’s creation. This day three years ago, on July 14th, 2021, Kaden Ouimet convened a group of students to protect our rights and increase our community representation. Since that day, our “task force of students” has evolved into a robust and national organization defending democracy and preserving our civil liberties. Let’s take this opportunity to briefly reflect on our work these past three years:
- In late 2020, our founders began a campaign to ratify a student constitution which would serve as the framework for our national student rights initiatives, leading to our Campus Democracy Coalition and work on the Universal Declaration of Student Rights. The Constitution Campaign eventually led to the Task Force’s creation as a group aimed at engaging young voters to be active participants in our democracy.
- On February 24th, 2022, recognizing the need for a more agile organizational structure that could tackle local democracy issues, the Task Force incorporated as a nonprofit organization and assisted local student advocacy groups to host a series of five town hall meetings to break down barriers between young voters and elected officials—laying the groundwork for our national Town Hall Project in 2024.
- During the 2022 Midterm Elections, Task Force leaders helped educate thousands of Arizona voters about democracy related ballot initiatives, leading to increased young voter turnout in AZ.
- More recently, in 2023, the Task Force realized its dream of relocating to Washington, D.C. to organize advocacy organizations, students, and scholars in defense of democracy. Our relocation resulted in our Mission to the National Capital Region and AU, whose objective is to transform American University into the central hub for civic leadership and engagement.
Now, in 2024, we face our most challenging realization yet—that American democracy is under immeasurable strain. During this period of unprecedented polarization, as Americans, we must find strength in each other and strength in the democratic values we strive to protect. If we trust and believe in each other, the ideas that started the Task Force will never fail—ideas such as persistence in the face of repression and hope in the face of apathy. So count on each other, count on your faith, and count on your dedication to the pro-democracy movement. Democratic values will inevitably win not only because we want them to, but because we see no other path forward for our future than an inclusive and representative democracy.
Regrettably, we are also writing today about the attempted assassination of former President Trump. Political violence has no place in our democracy. As we mentioned in an earlier post, as Americans, we should make our voices heard with ballots, not bullets.
Our governing document, the Task Force Mandate, states that all Task Force campaigns “shall be peaceful in nature,”. That message of peace and condemnation of political violence in our democracy runs core to our organization. We encourage all readers to take this day to reflect on how much our democratic way of life, a life free from political violence, means to us.
Looking forward to what we can accomplish over the next three years!
The Board of Directors,
Kaden Ouimet
President, Board of Directors
Asher Heisten
Vice-President, Board of Directors
Eduardo Sanchez-Clavel
Chief of Staff to the Task Force
Quinn Fitzpatrick
Member, Board of Directors
