From the president
AJ Hartwick, a third-year student at Denison University, is a leader creating social change through his advocacy for marginalized communities and his work regarding voting rights and access on Denison's campus and in the community. AJ is a Co-Coordinator of DU Votes and has worked to institutionalize civic engagement on Denison's campus, has promoted civic education and discourse, streamlined the complicated voting process for Denison students, collaborated with the Board of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to provide training and voter registration with clients, partnered with the Black Student Union and the National Pan Hellenic Council to provide voter education events for students to learn about gerrymandering and voting rights issues that affect BIPOC communities. Due to AJ's leadership, DU Votes was named a Standout Nonpartisan Campus Student Voting Group at the 2023 ALL IN awards. Denison was recognized as a Voter Friendly Campus and awarded a Most Engaged Campus. AJ cares deeply about inclusion and equity for all communities on Denison's campus and is passionate about social change. AJ’s work shows the ability to collaborate with campus and community partners and a deep motivation for effective long-term civic engagement long after Denison.
Personal Statement
I first got involved in promoting civic engagement and social justice on campus when I ran for a position in Denison's student government during my first week of classes. Later that year, I was elected Student Body Vice President in a campus-wide election. As a representative for my peers, I worked to increase legislative output and advocate for marginalized groups. This advocacy culminated in an effort alongside alumni, students, and local organizations to support instituting an annual day of observation in honor of National Coming Out Day. I have also served as Co-Coordinator of Denison’s nonpartisan civic engagement group, DU Votes, and the Campus Vote Project (CVP) Democracy Fellow representing Denison. As Co-Coordinator, I work to register students to vote and promote civic education and discourse. This has entailed facilitating collaborative events, moderating debates, conducting outreach via text banking and tabling, and generating multi-media educational materials to streamline the complicated voting process as a college student. For these efforts, DU Votes was named a Standout Nonpartisan Campus Student Voting Group at the 2023 ALL IN awards, and Denison was recognized as a Most Engaged Campus.