2008 Carolinas Region
Honors Study Topic Program

"The Paradox of Power: Voice Your Vote"

What is the “Paradox of Power?” Ever see something on the news or in your local newspaper that makes you want to scream? Are your political leaders lying down on the job? Do you feel they are not speaking about the issues that affect you or your loved ones personally? Ever wanted the opportunity to “have a say” in the policies that matter to you? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you are in good company with many of your fellow Americans. How can we sit back in our comfortable chairs and watch the daily news, gripe about our leaders while we choose to not utilize our most powerful tool? That’s right, if you want to see a change in your local, state or national political offices, then you need to make a stand and register to vote, or if you are already registered to vote...USE YOUR POWER! What good is your power if you do not use it? 

Voice Your Vote is a Phi Theta Kappa International civic engagement initiative that ties both Honors Study Topics together “Gold, Gods, and Glory: The Global Dynamics of Power” and “The Paradox of Affluence: Choices, Challenges, and Consequences.”  We have the power to effect political change in our country whether our reasoning is spiritually based, financially based, or for personal elevation, and it doesn’t matter if your yearly income is $5,000 or $105,000, your vote carries the same weight!

Whether you choose to vote, or not, it will provide challenges and consequences in the future. It is our duty as Americans to make educated choices regardless of our personal reasons for making that choice.

With that thought, the 2008-2009 Carolinas Region Honors Study Topic Program will concentrate on 1) Getting people registered to vote 2) Educating voters concerning the issues at-hand, and 3) Empowering our fellow Americans to VOICE YOUR VOTE!

This will be done in two stages, the first will be in a questionnaire on the region website pertaining to voting in order to collect data and provide it to each chapter. Our goal is to provide statistics on how many students vote and if they know who is running for office. This should be made available to all students on campus so we can maximize our impact. The questionnaire will be available through September 17, 2008 at which time we will gather the data and provide feedback to each college in the form of charts.

See questionnaire results below

The second stage will be to provide this feedback to your campus and then take action. What action you may ask? On the website there will be links that the students can go to get information on all political candidates in order to make educated choices. Too many times we have heard “I don’t know anything about them” or “I don’t know who is running.” We want to encourage all individuals to vote intelligently. Each campus should make plans to have a couple of days to have voter registration on campus and provide an educational forum on campus with a question and answer time. (A Political Science Professor would be an outstanding choice for a presenter) Remember, the voter registration needs to be planned to take place by the last week of September in order to be eligible to vote.

 Try to get local candidates/politicians to your campus for a debate and have your members provide the questions. The feedback from these events can then be recorded and shared with the Carolinas Region during the 2009 Hallmark Awards Convention. So, you are challenged to get up, get out, and VOICE YOUR VOTE today!

Results from Voice Your Vote Survey

Carolinas Region Phi Theta Kappa Members

Carolinas Region Non-Phi Theta Kappa Members

North Carolina Phi Theta Kappa Members

North Carolina Non-Phi Theta Kappa Members

South Carolina Phi Theta Kappa Members

South Carolina Non-Phi Theta Kappa Members

The following link is to the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society Voice Your Vote site:

Voice Your Vote: Empowering One Voter at a Time

Project Vote Smart website:

Project Vote Smart